The Queen of Deception and the King of Truth

Chapter Thirty-Four : Excuses

Badr's POV

I took a step into the apartment, met with an eerie silence. I looked around, finding no one in the living room, dining room, or kitchen. I rose an eyebrow in complete confusion. There was no one in sight. The only other place they could have been was their rooms, so I walked down to Aleena and Ilma's room, knocking lightly.

There was no answer so I cracked open the door. The entire room was shrouded in darkness. I began to get worried, hurriedly walking down to my own bedroom.

I opened the door in a rush, light pouring out of the room. The sound of giggles erupted into the hallway. Salah, Aleena, and Ilma were sitting on the bed playing Uno.

I let out a groan, slightly annoyed. I leaned against the door frame and shook my head. Salah was the first to notice me. "Oh! Badr! You're home!" She jumped up, glancing down at her clothes. "Ah! I'm not even ready yet!"

Aleena shot me a smile and winked. "So she planned this." I thought, chuckling quietly. "Oh, it's no problem, Sal."

"Hey, Sally, can't you guys go some other day?" Aleena asked, leaning her head on her hand. She made a sad face, "I want to play some more!"

"We can play more when I get back." Salah hurriedly picked out something to wear. She grumbled something about the outfit being really bad and then just said, "Ugh, this'll do." She ran to the bathroom and changed.

I sighed and gently dropped my head against the doorframe. "I should put down my stuff, I guess."

Aleena frowned as I put down my things and sat down. "Just tell her that you don't want to go." She whispered.

"I have to go..." I mumbled, only half believing myself.

"No, you-"

"Let's go, Badr!" Salah called out, walking out of the bathroom and rushing to the door. I gave a small, tired smile and kissed Aleena's head.

"I'll see you later. Khuda hafiz, girls." I walked down to the front door and grabbed the keys. Salah and I got in the car in silence.

"Badr," She started, but I cut her off.

"Lets just wait till we get there to talk about the case," I sighed. "Please?" I started driving.

"Yeah... Sure." She bit her lip and leaned back, looking out the window like usual.

I played some music quietly and drove without a word. We reached the law firm not too long after and entered one of the lawyer's offices. I was uncomfortable, to say the least.

"So, I have all the information I need to run this case, since we have already corresponded over email." The lawyer we had was a man in his late thirties. He had dark hair and dark eyes, but pale skin. "How about it?"

"Uhm, actually," I started. As soon as the words left my mouth, Salah snapped her head towards me. "I was hoping to... get a little more... evidence first..."

"Sir, you can come back whenever." The lawyer leaned back in his chair. "But if you don't want to go through with the case right now, then I can't really help you."

"Alright, then. I'm sorry for tak-" I was cut off.

"Actually!" The man spoke up. "You did mention that you wanted to become the legal guardians of your sisters, right?"

Salah and I both nodded. "Yes, why?"

"Well, you can become their legal guardians without having to persecute your parents." The lawyer looked directly at me, ignoring Salah.

"But-"

"Miss, I would like to speak to your husband alone." The man kept interrupting us, but I was interested in what he was saying.

Salah grumbled quietly, annoyance evident in her stance. "Fine." She got up and left the room so the lawyer and I could talk.

"If we can get your parents to come in and sign the papers, agreeing to give up their guardianship over your sisters, we can get you to be their new guardians. And with all the evidence we have against them, I'm sure they'll be very willing." The lawyer smiled. "I can tell you don't want to do this. You don't have to."

I bit my lip and nodded. "Okay... I'll talk to my wife about it and we'll email you."

The man nodded and got up. I stood, shook his hand, and left the office. Salah and I walked back to the car. "That man was so rude!"

"I mean..." I mumbled. "He shouldn't have interrupted us, but..."

"No, come on." She groaned, sitting in the passenger seat of the car. "You cannot possibly be thinking about this. You want to let your parents go? They're criminals!"

Anger boiled up in my stomach. I clenched my teeth. "They are my parents, Salah." I tried to not sound too furious.

"You know what they did!"

"I felt what they did and I still don't want to do this!" I shouted. "Can't you understand that?"

She let out a frustrated growl. "You're impossible!"

"Me? I'm impossible? Take a look in the mirror, Salah!"

"Why do you hate this so much?"

"Because they are still my family! I don't want to see them in jail! Why don't you see that?"

"I do! But I can't bear to know that the people who did all those things to you can just roam free!"

"This isn't about you!" I shouted, parking the car in the parking lot and getting out. I slammed the door shut.

Salah followed after me, no longer shouting. "Badr- Wait-"

"Don't talk to me."

(The legal information is probably wrong. Please don't kill me XD)