A LOVE LIKE OURS

1. Unfinished business.

AAYAT'S POV.

"By the time I'm back, I need everyone to be ready," Hassan said, his tone clipped and edged with an underlying friction.

"Ready for what? And where are you off to?" Zayd's brow furrowed, his expression shifting into guarded skepticism.

"I'm dropping Arwa off, then we're all heading out to eat. Every last one of us," Hassan murmured, his gaze darting nervously toward the foyer where Ayana stood.

He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "Make sure the word gets around... I can't exactly raise my voice right now, you know?"

"Oowwhhhh, look at that, your babe is listening!" Leena teased, a triumphant, wicked smirk spreading across her face.

Hassan's jaw clenched, a muscle ticking beneath his skin as he snapped a sharp, imperative hand up.

The playfulness died on Leena's lips, she immediately zipped them shut, though her eyes still danced with suppressed mischief.

The brief flash of levity did nothing to temper the cold dread sinking into my chest.

My mood plummeted into freefall the moment he turned his back. Instinct took over, I surged forward, my mind frantically calculating any viable excuse to stall him.

"Hassan, wait up!" Fariz's voice cut through the corridor, sharp and deliberate.

I froze, turning in sync with Hayaat.

"Wait for me..." Reeh's voice echoed from down the hallway, strained and hollow.

Hassan halted in his tracks, sweeping a look of utter disbelief across the two of them.

"You two shouldn't even be on your feet. You need to be resting."

"She needs to buy something from the Family Centre," Fariz stated smoothly, bypassing Hassan's protest entirely.

Closing the distance between us without making a sound, he leaned down, his breath warm against my ear.

"I'm right here," he murmured, his grounding presence cutting through the mounting static in my head.

I managed a faint, rigid nod. Across the hall, Leena subtly intercepted Ayana, gripping her upper arm and steering her firmly toward the main sitting room.

"Oh God... she's being ushered straight to the elders," I muttered under my breath, panic tightening my chest. "This is a catastrophe."

"I know you've only just met her, but give her room to breathe," Hassan whispered, a quiet, reassuring smile softening his features as he misread my anxiety.

"Awee!.." A sharp, breathless exhale escaped me, the oppressive tension cracking just enough for me to register his proximity.

Hassan let out a low chuckle, bringing a heavy hand down on my shoulder.

"Look at you... delicate little birdie." He offered a gentle, affectionate pat to the top of my head.

"This 'little birdie' is a grown woman. Now go. Leave her," I snapped, the icy bite in my tone slipping out before I could reign it in.

Catching the flicker of surprise in his eyes, I forced my voice to soften. "Just... go drop her off."

"I'm set," Reeh announced, joining the cluster in the hallway.

"Go on and take Arwa. Fariz and I will wait outside," Hayaat chimed in, jamming his feet firmly into his combat boots with deliberate, heavy stomps.

I turned back toward the retreat room, my head throbbing from the chaotic sensory overload.