The Untainted.
His desperation.
The moment Balkis clearly saw the person standing before her, all the colour drained from her face.
Her body reacted before her mind could catch up.
She hurriedly rose from the chair, the legs scraping sharply against the floor as she stumbled backward. Fear gripped her, forcing her to put as much distance between herself and the man as possible.
"Khalid..."
Her voice trembled.
"What are you doing here?"
She took another step backward.
"What do you want from me again, Khalid? Haven't you done enough?"
Her questions came one after another, without giving him the opportunity to answer.
"Did I owe you something? Or your entire generation?"
Her chest heaved.
"I always thank Allah for not allowing our paths to cross, even though we attend the same university. I was praying it would remain that way until we graduated."
She wanted to tell him that his very existence disgusted her.
But even in her anger, she knew better than to use such words.
She didn't understand why he had suddenly appeared now.
Her heart was unsettled.
Her entire body was screaming at her to get away from him.
Khalid watched her retreat with a mixture of anger and pain.
How could she treat him like this?
Why was that other man allowed to come near her while she practically fled from him?
Was he really that unbearable to her?
His mind desperately searched for a justification.
Yes, I forced myself on her...
But I did it because I loved her.
Is it wrong to love someone?
I only realized how much I loved her too late.
He couldn't seem to accept the truth of what he had done.
If Balkis could hear his thoughts, she would probably have skinned him alive despite the fear coursing through her veins.
To her, he looked like a monster.
And perhaps that was exactly what he had become in her eyes.
Khalid's anger rose.
His fist clenched.
His teeth ground together as he fought to keep control of himself.
For one terrible moment, the anger inside him was so overwhelming that he felt an urge to lash out.
But he forced himself to breathe.
He would not hurt her.
Not again.
"I won't hurt you, Balkis."
His voice was strained.
"I'm not here to hurt you. Can you please let me speak before you start acting like this?"
"Definitely not!"
Balkis's answer came instantly.
"I have nothing to say to you, and I don't want to see you. Please go, Khalid."
Khalid's jaw tightened.
He was hanging on to the last thread of his sanity.
His anger simmered beneath the surface.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Balkis..."
His voice dropped.
"Who is that man?"
She stared at him blankly for a moment.
"What?"
"That man who was with you."
For a second, Balkis couldn't understand what he was talking about.
Then it clicked.
Sulaimon.
He had seen him.
Her expression changed.
Is that why he came to me?
Khalid noticed the realization immediately.
Her face had practically answered his question.
"What does it have to do with you?" she demanded.
Her fear was being replaced by anger.
"Who are you to me?"
Khalid stared at her.
Had she really forgotten?
"Did you forget what I told you?"
His voice was suddenly calmer.
And somehow, that calmness unsettled her even more.
"Apparently, you have."
He took a step forward.
"So let me remind you, babe."
"Don't call me that, please."
He ignored her.
"I told you that you can't have another man in your life while I'm still alive and well."
His eyes hardened.
"You're mine."
Balkis froze.
"Mine to love, mine to have, mine to please, not any other—"
He stopped himself for a moment.
"Mine."
Behind the nearby wall, several people exchanged horrified looks.
What a domineering and foolish way to express feelings to someone who clearly wants nothing to do with you. The girl probably hates you to the core.
They already knew what Balkis's response would be.
And she really didn't disappoint them.
The three young men had followed Sulaimon after he managed to escape them earlier.
He had cleverly tricked them into thinking he was going to the bathroom before slipping away.
When they realized what he had done, they immediately came looking for him.
They had expected to find Sulaimon flirting shamelessly with Balkis again.
They hadn't expected this.
The moment they saw Balkis's reaction to Khalid when she saw him, they knew something was terribly wrong.
She wasn't simply angry.
She was frightened. Terrified of being around him.
They exchanged uneasy glances.
What happened between these two?
Then Balkis voice rose.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"
The sudden explosion startled everyone.
It was as though someone had pressed a trigger.
Balkis's fear momentarily disappeared beneath a wave of fury.
She stepped toward him with unrestrained anger.
Her fingers trembled as she pointed directly at him.
"You are an animal, Khalid..."
Her voice shook.
"You're not even human to me anymore." She taunts.
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"How could I ever marry someone like you?"
Khalid's expression faltered.
Balkis laughed bitterly.
"Am I still a woman worthy of you?"
A tear gathered in the corner of her eye, but she refused to let it fall.
"Or has your brain finally misplaced itself?"
She shook her head.
"You told me not to think too highly of myself."
Her voice cracked.
"You told me I wasn't worthy of you. That I should be grateful just to serve you as a maid."
Khalid swallowed.
"And now you come here telling me that I cannot have another man in my life?"
Her laugh was bitter.
"As if you paid my bride price years ago!"
She stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you crazy? Or is something seriously wrong upstairs?"
Behind the wall, khalid's three friends stared at one another.
They could hardly believe what they were hearing.
But Khalid...
His eyes widened.
He had heard enough.
He could see the raw anger and pain in Balkis's eyes.
She looked as though she could kill Khalid if given the opportunity.
Did she really hate him this much?
Khalid's heart tightened.
He had been waiting patiently, hoping to win her heart.
But now he was seeing just how deep her pain ran.
And for the first time, he regretted not finding her sooner.
Khalid's lips parted.
"Balkis, I'm—"
"Don't call my name!"
She shouted.
Khalid froze.
"Don't call my name."
Her voice was now trembling with tears and rage.
"I am not your Balkis."
She shook her head.
"And I never will be."
Her eyes burned into his.
"So don't ask me foolish questions, and don't come near me again."
She took two steps backward.
"I don't want to see you."
She turned to leave.
But then—
Everything happened at once.
Khalid lunged forward and grabbed her.
His hand closed tightly around her wrist before pulling her back against him.
Balkis screamed.
"Let me go!"
She struggled desperately, trying to free herself.
Khalid's other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her against her will.
His breathing was harsh and uneven.
"Please..."
His voice shook.
"Please don't leave me."
Balkis fought harder.
"Let me go!"
But Khalid seemed lost in his own desperation.
For a moment, her struggling slowed—not because she had accepted his hold, but because shock had momentarily frozen her.
Then she fought again, harder than before.
"LET ME GO!"
Her voice echoed across the building.
Khalid's grip remained firm.
"I'm sorry..."
His voice cracked.
"I'm sorry, babe."
Then something warm landed on Balkis's hand.
She froze.
A tear.
His tear.
Her eyes widened.
Why is he crying?
For the briefest moment, an ache touched her heart.
But it disappeared almost immediately.
No.
I cannot soften.
Not for him.
"Let me go!"
Her voice broke.
"Khalid, let me go!"
Her cries finally reached the people searching for her.
Rihannat, Rayyan, Folakemi, Faridat, and Farhan had been looking for Balkis after Sulaimon left.
When they realized she still hadn't returned, they decided to search for her.
As they approached the building, they noticed three unfamiliar men standing nearby, arguing among themselves about whether they should intervene.
They were apparently about to leave when—
"LET ME GO!"
Balkis's voice rang out.
Everyone froze.
Then they ran.
Rihannat reached the scene first.
Her expression immediately hardened.
"Let her go!"
Rayyan followed.
"Let her go, Khalid!"
Folakemi didn't even wait for another warning.
She marched straight toward him and slapped him hard across the face.
"Are you crazy?"
Khalid barely reacted.
The girls were horrified.
There were stains on his clothing.
He was bleeding. Likely from Balkis bite mark.
Yet Khalid's eyes seemed vacant.
He wasn't truly seeing them.
He was looking through them.
His friends arrived moments later.
"Khalid!"
"Bro!"
"Let her go!"
He didn't respond.
He simply kept repeating the same words.
"Please don't leave me..."
His voice sounded distant.
Broken.
Almost as though he were trapped inside a nightmare.
His friends grabbed him and tried to pull him away.
He resisted.
"Let me go!"
One of them tightened his grip.
"Khalid, enough!"
But Khalid fought them again.
Anyone who came too close was unsettled by the look in his eyes.
He didn't look like himself anymore.
It was as though his rational mind had disappeared beneath the weight of his desperation.
His friends were embarrassed by the scene, but more than that, they were deeply pained.
This wasn't the Khalid they had seen slowly rebuilding himself over the past two years.
Something had broken inside him.
Finally, they managed to pull him away from Balkis.
Balkis stood frozen for a moment.
Her eyes were swollen with tears.
Her entire body looked drained.
Then her knees weakened.
Rihannat immediately caught her.
Balkis collapsed into her friend's arms, finally allowing herself to be held.
Behind them, Khalid continued struggling as his friends dragged him away.
"Don't leave me, please!"
His voice echoed down the corridor.
"I'm sorry, babe!"
But Balkis didn't look back.
She couldn't.
Her friends surrounded her protectively while Khalid's friends hurriedly led him away from the university grounds.
They needed to get him somewhere quiet.
Somewhere he could calm down.
Somewhere they could bring him back to his senses.
Because whatever had just happened...
Had gone far beyond a simple confrontation between former lovers.