Anisa's POV:

Ali slammed the brakes, making both of us jerk forward.

"You must be kidding me. That's... Just..." Ali trailed off. I knew what was coming and I was dreading it. Maybe he thought I was mentally ill like my father. Or maybe he thought I was making up a story. But nonetheless, my grip on his hand tightened.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" He suddenly asked, concern written all over his face. His eyes looked so soft and it was like he would just pull me into a hug. I looked at him with widened eyes.

"You... Believe me?" I asked in disbelief. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" He told me. I took a deep breath. "Because, I was afraid he would kill me as well." I admitted.

Finally, the truth was out. I had finally let it all out. I felt so much better. All those years, I was forced to keep my mouth shut and it was so hard. Everyone would know that the person they were weeping for was not what he showed himself to be. He was a hypocrite. He was a coward hiding from his crimes.

"Didn't anyone question him when they saw his wife's dead body?" Ali questioned, shaking me out of my thoughts. I nodded. "Everyone did and I guess he was aware of that when he did the deed. He made it look like a robbery gone wrong. The only thing I remember was that he broke the glass window and destroyed the whole room." I paused to look at Ali.

"When he was done, he walked out of the room. But, the thing was... I was there. Peeking through the door, and aware of everything that had happened. I couldn't find the strength to run away and hide somewhere else after that bloody scene. He caught me and knew instantly that I had seen him doing the crime.

I don't really remember what he said but he warned me that if I told anyone, he would kill me as well. Ever since then, I was too scared to even doubt a word he said. I could've easily said a flat no on his face when he ordered me to marry you. But, because of everything, I couldn't do it."

I stopped talking. Ali just quietly sat there and looked at me. "I didn't know you went through so much." He started. I looked up at him. His head was hanging low and he was looking at his thighs. An unknown expression filled his face but I couldn't figure out what it was. His grip on my hand was loose and I was the only one holding on so tightly.

"It's okay. No one knew." I told him. He shook his head. "Yes, but I was the one who bullied you without knowing what you were going through." His voice was low. I stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. After all he had done for me, I couldn't bring myself to push him away. "I think I've forgotten about all that." I told him softly.

He looked at me and made eye contact, his bright eyes looking at me with expectation. "You think. You aren't sure! " He exclaimed. I looked away, knowing that if I didn't I wouldn't be able to hold myself back. "I don't think that what you did was even close to what had happened."

It was as if I were consoling him. A few weeks back, I would have shouted at him and made him almost kiss my feet. But, at that time I had a strange feeling that I couldn't bear hurting him.

I realized that it wasn't a sudden feeling. I had been trying to hide myself from my honest feelings so I didn't have to face him but, it was clear like crystal to me then. I knew what I needed or rather, what I wanted.

I wanted Ali Hassan. I wanted his affection. I wanted his love and I wanted him as a whole.

My eyes met with his and he took both of my hands in his, his touch burning my skin, making goosebumps rise all over my body.

"I am so sorry, Anisa." my name on his tongue felt like music to the ears and he said it with such care and honesty, I felt my knees melt.

"I've been wanting to say that for a while. And it's not because my dad has told me to take care of you. It's because I truly am sorry. I just wanted to get to know you better and I thought you would never agree to be friends with me. I thought maybe bullying you was the only choice. And because you were so hard to get, I wanted to be the one to charm you and look cool. Believe me, I never wanted to hurt you. I truly am really sorry." He finished.

A smile automatically spread on my face. I licked my dry lips and blushed a little. "It's okay. It wasn't so bad after all." I smiled at him.

What was happening? Never even in my wildest dreams I had thought that I would be there, pouring out myself to Ali Hassan who was my number one enemy.

Never had I thought that I would be smiling at him like that. Never had I thought I would be feeling the butterflies in my stomach in his presence. It was like a dream.

"Even if I hadn't forgiven you, I still took my revenge." I told him, smirking. He frowned in confusion. "Check your Facebook account." I told him, pointing at the phone placed on the dashboard.

He quickly took it out and tapped on the Facebook icon. His expression changed from confusion to surprise and shock in a matter of minutes.

I heard a gasp leave his mouth as he went through the whole thing. He blinked twice trying to believe what his eyes showed him. "Remember when you ruined my favorite shirt? I knew I just HAD to do this." I said, laughing. He looked up at me and groaned. "Really? On social media? That's playing dirty!" He cried out and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You should be grateful I forgave you. If I weren't so generous, you would still be feeling guilty about everything." I told him.

He sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right. But from now on, my pranks won't count as bullying, okay?" he looked up. I put my hand on my sides. "It depends. And if you go overboard, remember I have your father's WhatsApp with me. It'll take me hardly a minute to send him a voice note."

Suddenly, he started smirking. "Oh we'll see." he started the car and pulled out from the sidewalk.

When we reached home, I walked up the stairs and to my room. I opened the door and suddenly realized something. Ali dragged himself behind me and was just about to enter when I stopped him.

"I just remembered that you weren't allowed in here." I told him, making his eyes widen. "Wait, you're still angry? You just forgave me, remember?" He reminded me. Honestly, when he spoke like I had the authority to do whatever I wanted, I felt so giddy inside. My stomach did somersaults and I felt my heart beat fast.

I wanted to see more of his cute expressions so I kept it up.

"This was besides the bullying matter. I'm angry at you for another reason." I told him, folding my arms over my chest. He took a deep breath. "Mind telling me the reason, then?"

It was then that I realized I couldn't tell him why I was angry.

To think that one sentence of his would hurt me so much. He stood up for me in front of Brianna just to get rid of her. It made me so mad. The feelings started to come back but I controlled myself. I wasn't going to let my short temper ruin the moments I was going to have with Ali.

"Well?" I blinked and turned to Ali who was waiting for my response. "I... Well... was angry for no reason really. I'll let you off for now but whenever you do it again, I'll tell you."

He raised an eyebrow at me looking unconvinced and confused. But I guessed that he was afraid I would change my mind when he rushed inside.

Suddenly, I started thinking about what Asma baji told me on the night of the dinner. Now that I had accepted my feelings, what was the next step? The next step...

I remembered when Ali said he wanted to kiss me.

My face went red and I froze in my place. "Anisa, do you want to come in or not?" Ali startled me again. That was bad. I couldn't let Ali even get a hint about my feelings for him. My stupid feelings. He was a pro on girls and how to charm them, I was sure that it wouldn't be hard for him to catch me.

I walked inside, careful not to space out again.

Ali closed the door behind me and turned on the A.C. I put my phone on the table and pulled off my Abaya. All the time Ali stared at me. I took off my hijab and opened my hair that was pulled into a tight bun. Slowly, I started feeling paranoid about my body and my looks. I glanced at myself sneakily every once in a while to see whether I was even pretty or not.

I quickly looked away when Ali noticed me checking myself out. I tried to look casually for my pajamas, humming a random tune. Just then, Ali thought of saying something weird again.

"Is it just me or is it getting really hot in here?" He flapped his hand to give a dramatic effect, with his other hand pulling his collar away from his neck. I knew for a fact that the grin on his face meant something else. I shot him a glare. "You DO know that's a pickup line, right?" I questioned. But then I corrected myself.

"Oh I forgot. Who would know better than you what a pick up line is?"

He made an innocent face which looked totally fake. "Pick up line? I was being honest.

"You're so hot the temperature's rising in here."