Trust Me (An Islamic Love Story)

Chapter 67 *NEW UPDATE*

A security guard comes and probably recognizes me because he lets me in without asking me questions.

"Surprise!" A small gathering awaits me at my left, who sings in unison, and Maliha is the loudest of them all.

Maliha comes and engulfs me in a tight hug. "Oh my God, Abeer, it has been so long." She pulls away to look at me properly. "How are you doing?"

"Alhamdulillah, better after seeing you," I answer with a genuine smile. "What is all this?" I ask my question directed at Pops, standing right behind Maliha.

"A small inauguration ceremony for you," he tells me eagerly.

"Thank you," I say and hug him and Mom, who is beside him. Maliha goes back to the crowd and joins Ahmed. I try my best to ignore him because I don't want to express my shock at him being here.

The front yard is decorated with colorful curtains, and a table lined with white silk cloth, and many bouquets and gifts are displayed on it. The trees have fairy lights on them even though it is daylight, and a red ribbon has been tied from one tree at one end of the yard to the other.

A woman wearing a grey, sophisticated skirt, and a matching scarf, hands me the scissors. I recognize her from the file as the temporary head manager. I cut the ribbon, and there is a burst of confetti and a round of applause and hooting.

"Abeer, this is Ms. Neela," Pops introduces the woman who gave me the scissors after everyone has settled on chairs. "She had pursued humanities in her education and is very well experienced. She'll show you around the orphanage, explain your responsibilities and be your assistant."

"It will be a pleasure working for you, Mrs. Abeer," she says courteously.

"Thank you," I reply, failing to ignore the 'Mrs.' part. "It will be my great honor to learn from you."

Pops takes me from the table to groups of people to introduce me to all staff members: the sponsor, financial managers, junior assistant managers, survey reporters, the publicist, the teachers, the counselor, the cooks, and the cleaners of the orphanage.

After a bit of introduction, I decide to talk to Ahmed, who is chatting with two men. He excuses himself upon seeing me and greets me, "Assalamualikum. I almost thought you would avoid me the entire ceremony."

"Walaikumusalam," I answer. "I was not avoiding you. I am a bit surprised to see you here, considering."

"I understand," he agrees with a serious tone. "How is Azar?" His question leaves me speechless for a moment. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," he defends when he notices my astonishment. "I just thought you have been seeing him for the past few days, and I haven't talked to him that much."

"I didn't know you knew," I manage to say. Azar told Ahmed?

"Abeer, I know Azar hasn't been the nicest of all people, but spare him regarding this," Ahmed pleads in a low voice as if he has read my mind. "You don't think he has a right to tell his brother about his life?"

"I am not mad at him," I interject, but I am not sure if I'm entirely being honest.

"Are you sure?" Ahmed glances around as if to check if anyone's noticing us and find everyone busy among themselves. He then continues, "I don't know if you know this, but when you left, he went to your house to apologize to your parents and to see you." My heart skips a beat as I hear what happened after. I wish to hide, but I cannot stop myself from wanting to know more. "I accompanied Azar despite him stopping me. Uncle Irfan told him you weren't there, but he let him in without questions when Azar insisted. However, when Aunty Eshaal saw him, she started hitting him. Slapping him. She kept on saying to him: 'What did you do? What did you do?'" I can imagine everything as Ahmed speaks, and I shudder. I have the urge to protect the Azar in my mind, but I can't. It has already happened. "I stepped forward to Azar's defense," Ahmed continues, "but he gave me one look that said it all. That is the thing with Azar. He had come not to get his apology accepted but to be punished. He wanted pain, pain that could distract him from his regret. I let him have what he wanted. Thought maybe he'd get peace of mind."