Chapter 7 The Dropped Folder

• The next morning, Lia was already waiting at the campus gate with an impatient look, even rising slightly on her toes every time another female student passed in the distance, hoping one of them was Rania. The moment the person she was waiting for finally appeared at the end of the road, Lia waved her hand high, then jogged over to meet her, her bag swinging wildly on her shoulder.
• "Finally!" she exclaimed, grabbing Rania's arm the moment they met. "I've been standing here for fifteen minutes already. So? How did it go? Has that man picked you up yet?"
• Rania shook her head slowly, trying to hold back a smile at her friend's overflowing enthusiasm so early in the morning. "Not yet," she answered shortly.
• "Not yet?" Lia furrowed her brow, clearly disappointed. "And here I spent all night coming up with a thousand and one scenarios."
• Rania let out a breath, then pulled her phone from her bag pocket. She hesitated for a moment before finally handing the screen to Lia, letting her friend read for herself the message that had kept her from sleeping soundly the night before.
• Keep this phone with you from now on. Don't contact anyone until I call. Don't tell anyone about us. I'll come to pick you up tomorrow evening. Don't go anywhere.
• Lia read the message twice, three times, her eyes moving quickly over every word, and for the first time since Rania had known her, her friend truly fell silent. No spontaneous comment, no cheerful exclamation as usual. Just a strange stillness, filled with thoughts spinning behind her narrowed eyes.
• "Rania," she said finally, her voice turning serious, "you have to go along with this."
• "What?" Rania nearly choked hearing it. "Lia, listen to how he talks. This isn't a request, it's an order. Who has the right to command me like this after just one night?"
• "That's exactly why," Lia shot back quickly, her eyes now gleaming with something resembling calculation. "A man like this, with a car that luxurious, with the nerve to send a message like a military command—he's no ordinary person, Rania. And if he's going through this much trouble to pursue you, that means you have something he wants, or needs."
• "I don't want to be anyone's plaything again," Rania answered firmly, remembering the engagement night that had destroyed everything. "I've had enough of that already."
• Lia grabbed both of Rania's shoulders, forcing her to stop walking in the middle of the increasingly crowded hallway. "Listen to me first before you refuse. Who is this man really? You haven't told me his name yet."
• Rania looked at her friend for a long moment, weighing whether she was ready to speak the truth she had kept to herself for two days, too heavy to share, too shameful to admit. But Lia's gaze, so sincere, so full of concern beneath her curiosity, finally broke down her last defense.
• "His name is Aleksander," she whispered softly, making sure no one else could hear. "Aleksander William."
• Lia blinked once, twice, as though the name needed time to truly sink in. "Aleksander William... wait." Her eyes widened slowly, pieces falling into place in her head. "William. Like Isabel's family name? Isabel who's engaged to Arkan?"
• Rania nodded slowly, her throat feeling dry. "He's her father, Lia. I slept with Isabel's father. On the night of Arkan's engagement to his own daughter."
• For a few seconds, Lia stood frozen in the middle of the crowded campus hallway, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide open completely, a reaction so rarely shown by her friend who was usually never at a loss for words. A few passing students glanced over at Lia's dramatic expression, but she paid them no mind at all.
• "Rania," she finally whispered, her voice nearly choked, "you slept with the father of the woman who stole Arkan from you?"
• "I didn't know who he was at the time," Rania defended herself, her face heating up with shame creeping back in. "I was just... I was broken, I was drunk, and he—"
• But before Rania could finish her sentence, the shocked expression on Lia's face slowly shifted, transforming into something far more alarming—a wide smile beginning to spread, her eyes gleaming with a mischievous light Rania knew all too well, a sign of danger as much as unstoppable delight.
• "This is perfect," Lia murmured, more to herself than to Rania.
• "Perfect how?" Rania nearly shrieked, unable to believe the reaction she had just witnessed. "Lia, this is a disaster. Not something perfect."
• "That's exactly why, Rania!" Lia gripped both of her friend's hands tightly, her face so close, full of blazing enthusiasm. "Get close to him. Think of it as payback for Arkan—payback you don't even need to plan, because the universe arranged it for you itself. Imagine Arkan's face, Isabel's face, if they knew her own father fell for you."
• "I'm not doing this for revenge," Rania protested, though inside her something dark and small began to stir hearing that suggestion.
• "I'm not saying you have to do it for that," Lia answered, her tone softening slightly though her eyes still blazed. "I'm saying, this could be your path to rise again. You lost everything that night, Rania—your pride, your love, you nearly lost your home too. But look, now a man like that, that powerful, is the one pursuing you. Why should you just reject him?"
• Rania fell silent, her friend's words cutting far deeper than she'd expected. There was a small truth hidden behind that crazy suggestion, something she was reluctant to admit yet couldn't fully deny either.
• "I'm scared, Lia," she finally admitted, her voice much smaller than usual. "I'm scared that if I get close to him, I'll only end up broken again, in an even worse way."
• Lia wrapped her arms around her friend tightly, her voice now gentle but full of conviction. "Trust me," she whispered. "I'll always be with you, whatever happens. If he contacts you, if he calls you again, we'll face it together. We'll act together, step by step. You won't be alone this time."
• Those words, somehow, managed to ease a little of the fear churning in Rania's chest, though doubt still shadowed every corner of her mind. She let out a long breath, gripping her friend's hand back.
• That day passed heavily for her, her mind kept drifting between Lia's advice and her own fear. After class, the same uneasy feeling from the night before crept over her again, pushing her to quicken her steps toward home. And sure enough—a black sedan, different from the one she'd seen the night before, was parked right in front of her house. Two stiff-suited men stood by the door, thick brown folders in their hands full of papers ready to be read aloud without a shred of pity.
• Rania ran toward them, her chest tightening at the sight of her mother standing trembling in the doorway.
• "We're just doing our job, ma'am," one of the men said flatly. "Seven days. After that, this property will officially be seized."
• "Please," Maria begged, her voice barely audible. "Give us a little more time—"
• "We're only delivering the message," the man cut her off firmly, then turned toward his car. But as he turned hastily, the brown folder in his hand slipped, several sheets of paper falling scattered onto the wet grass. The man hurriedly crouched to gather them up, his face showing a hint of panic—an odd reaction for someone simply carrying out routine duty.
• Rania, who reflexively helped pick up the papers near her feet, caught a brief glimpse of a small logo in the corner of one of the documents before the man snatched it back. That logo wasn't the logo of any bank she knew—a stacked circle with lettering that was almost unreadable.
• "That's none of your business," the man said sharply, seizing the last sheet before hurrying into his car. The car sped off faster than it should have.
• Rania stood frozen, watching the car disappear into the distance, her mind filled with a new question far sharper than the mere fear of losing her home. That night, she sent Lia a short message, telling her about the strange incident, and her friend's reply came quickly, full of the same conviction as that morning.
• See? Something big is happening, Rania. And that man seems to be the only one who knows the answer. If he contacts you again, don't hesitate. I'm here, with you.