Chapter 85: The Man From Her Past
After enduring a day of strenuous lectures, everyone looked ready to collapse.
The approaching examinations had turned the university into a battlefield. Students moved around with dark circles beneath their eyes, clutching notes like lifelines and muttering formulas under their breaths.
Even Rihannat looked exhausted.
"Let's hang out, Doctor," Basit had said earlier that morning.
Ridwan glanced up from the assignment he had been working on.
"Why didn't you tell me over the phone before telling me to come over? I have an assign—"
"No, Ridwan. It can wait."
Ridwan narrowed his eyes.
"How many people? Who's going?"
"Ridwan, stop nagging," Basit replied dryly. "You'll see later."
"Fine."
He had agreed.
He regretted it almost immediately.
When Basit drove into the parking lot and the girls appeared one after another, Ridwan's expression froze.
Oh no.
His gaze instinctively searched for one person.
Faridat.
Of course she was there.
What exactly had he expected?
Since Faridat had practically adopted Rihannat as the sister she never had, avoiding her had become nearly impossible.
As though sensing his thoughts, Faridat looked up.
Their eyes met.
She had been staring.
Ridwan immediately looked away.
Basit, watching from the driver's seat, nearly burst into laughter.
For how long do you intend to keep doing this?
He shook his head in amusement.
Hopeless.
The girls occupied the back seats.
Rihannat sat between Folakemi and Balkis, while Rayyan and Faridat squeezed beside them.
Ridwan settled into the passenger seat, wearing his usual frown.
Basit drove them toward one of the famous eateries near the university.
If they were going to survive exams in one month and three weeks, they deserved one afternoon of breathing freely.
The atmosphere gradually became lighter.
Laughter erupted around the table.
Jokes flew back and forth.
Even the stress of examinations seemed distant.
Yet beneath all the laughter...
An undercurrent of tension remained.
Ridwan kept avoiding Faridat's gaze.
Faridat kept catching him looking.
Even Rihannat and the others had noticed.
It had become painfully obvious.
Then Seifullah called.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"Out with friends," Rihannat answered.
"What friends?"
"Why? Are you conducting an investigation?"
"Just answer me."
She rolled her eyes.
After hearing their location, Seifullah ended the call.
Ever since seeing Rayyan...
Peace had abandoned him.
The woman occupied his thoughts with alarming consistency.
Daydreaming had become normal.
Something that had never happened before.
Not until Rayyan.
Everyone knew.
Rihannat's handsome older brother—the city's most eligible bachelor—was interested in Rayyan.
The girls teased her endlessly.
Rayyan nearly died of embarrassment every single time.
Balkis too wasn't spared. She would be teased endlessly about Sulaimon Whitney.
The both are always fried and roasted at every chance. But today their object of teasing for Rayyan has appeared- Seifullah.
And today was no different.
Not long after, Seifullah arrived.
The moment he stepped into the eatery, his eyes found Rayyan.
Immediately.
Without effort.
Without hesitation.
Rihannat rolled her eyes.
Could he be any more obvious?
If gazes could bore holes into people, Rayyan would have collapsed from the intensity of his stare.
Rayyan avoided looking at him.
But whenever curiosity won and she glanced up...
She found him watching.
Again.
And again.
Could he not make it less obvious?
Besides...
She didn't want any man in her life.
Not anymore.
Across the table, Ridwan was losing another battle entirely.
Don't look at her.
He repeated the warning to himself.
Then Faridat smiled.
His eyes drifted toward her.
Her playful expressions.
The way she laughed.
The way she adjusted her hijab. Hand stretching it gently. She loves doing that.
The innocent teasing hidden in her gaze as she discuss with her friends.
His annoyance became visible.
Yet inside...
He was ridiculously happy. His heart hitching.
Hypocrite.
He scowled at himself.
After nearly an hour of eating, joking, and forgetting the burdens waiting outside that table—
A voice interrupted.
"Rayyan."
The unfamiliar voice caused everyone to turn.
Everyone...
Except Rayyan.
Because she recognized it instantly.
Her expression darkened.
The softness vanished.
Her entire body stiffened.
No.
What was he doing in Nigeria?
Then came rage.
Hot.
Violent.
Volcanic.
How dare he call her name?
How dare he stand before her as though they shared familiarity?
To her...
He was nothing.
A stranger.
Bilal Whitney stood several feet away.
His assistant remained behind him.
The woman who had accompanied him from England had been left at the hotel.
Bilal walked toward them.
Calm.
Confident.
Like he owned the space around him.
Without waiting for permission, he pulled out an empty chair opposite Balkis and sat down.
"As-salamu Alaikum, everyone."
He smiled.
"My name is Bilal Whitney. Cousin to Sulaimon Whitney and husband of Rayy—"
"Hold it right there."
The entire eatery fell silent.
Rayyan stood.
"You dare finish that sentence and you'll leave this place in an ambulance."
Her voice wasn't loud.
But it echoed.
Sharp.
Deadly.
Filled with restrained fury.
"I don't know you."
"I have never met you in my life."
"You don't exist to me."
"So don't you dare mention my name again."
The aura around her shifted.
Aggressive.
Regal.
Demanding respect.
Her calm tone somehow terrified more than shouting ever could.
Everyone stared.
Then understanding dawned.
The girls looked at Bilal as though they wanted to devour him alive.
Seifullah frowned.
Confusion flooded him.
Married?
Divorced? Or is she...
Engaged?
What exactly was happening?
His gaze shifted toward Rihannat.
She discreetly signalled for him to check his phone.
He pulled it out.
Three messages awaited him.
Arrange marriage to a two-faced hypocrite. The one you're seeing.
Maltreated.
Divorce with a smeared reputation.
Help her out, old man.
His eyes widened.
Old man?
Rihannat had called him old man?
He would settle that score later.
His focus returned to Rayyan.
A two-faced man.
Divorce.
Smeared reputation.
His gaze rested on Rayyan. A lady who is..
Gentle.
Reserved.
Religious.
Kind-hearted.
Everything a decent man sought in a wife.
Why would anyone willingly lose a woman like her?
His eyes moved toward Bilal.
Strange.
Calculating.
Judging.
The table settled into an uneasy standoff.
Then Bilal chuckled.
"Honey," he said softly.
"You're still angry with me?"
Something snapped.
Rayyan moved.
Fast as lightning.
She reached Bilal's side in seconds.
Her palm lifted—
Only for a hand to grip her wrist.
Her furious gaze swung toward the offender.
Ready to lash out.
Then she froze.
Seifullah.
He stepped forward.
Positioning himself between them.
"It's okay, sweetheart."
His voice was gentle.
"Let me handle this."
Silence.
Complete silence.
The entire table stared.
"What?" Balkis whispered.
Even Basit looked stunned.
Bilal rose slowly.
"And who are you?" he asked coldly.
"Please don't interfere in the issue between my—"
"I wouldn't finish that sentence," Seifullah interrupted calmly.
"Unless you wish to embarrass yourself."
His expression remained composed.
"You heard her clearly."
"She doesn't know you."
"Which means she's erased you from her life."
"You no longer exist in her world."
Then, with deliberate ease, he stepped closer to Rayyan.
Placing himself protectively before her.
"And for your information..."
His voice remained steady.
"I'm her man now."
The world stopped.
"Her fiancé."
"We're simply waiting for her graduation before getting married."
"So please..."
He smiled politely.
"Don't appear before her again."
"Don't spread unfound rumors like 'being her husband' again because l won't tolerate it."
"Don't disturb us, she's no more alone, you respect that."
The girls looked as though they were watching the climax of a blockbuster movie.
If the situation weren't so serious...
They would have applauded.
Rayyan's entire face turned scarlet.
Her ears burned red.
Her eyes grew glassy.
Warmth spread through her chest.
After everything she'd endured since her divorce...
After being judged.
Humiliated.
Left to rebuild herself alone...
Someone had chosen to stand in front of her.
To protect her.
To claim her dignity without hesitation.
Joy tangled with embarrassment.
She couldn't even begin to describe what she felt.
Even Rihannat was left astounded. " I only asked you to help, I didn't tell you to go to this length bro."
Behind Seifullah, Bilal stood frozen.
Shaking.
Was it anger?
The effort it took not to punch the man standing before him?
Fear of losing the inheritance hanging over his head?
Or...
For the first time since arriving in Nigeria...
Was it the terrifying realization that Rayyan was slipping beyond his reach?
That the woman he had once discarded...
The woman he had assumed would always return...
Had found someone willing to fight for her?
And perhaps...
Someone she might one day choose to fight for too.
The laughter of the eatery had long faded into the background.
At that table, an invisible war had begun.
And none of them knew that from this moment onward...
Nothing between Rayyan, Seifullah and Bilal would ever remain the same.
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