"Ilang days mo pa ba akong babantayan? Don't you have some Qur'an to memorize or something?" Ayla scoffed habang nakahiga sa couch ng mansion nila, phone in one hand, strawberry in the other.
Sadiq didn't respond immediately. Tahimik lang siyang nakaupo sa kabilang dulo ng sala, reading a book — in Arabic. Of course.
He looked annoyingly peaceful. Calm. Composed. As if her words didn't sting. Or maybe they never did.
"You're not that hard to watch, Ayla," sagot niya, barely glancing up from his book. "I've dealt with more dangerous people."
"Tss. Dangerous daw ako. Baka boring lang ako sa'yo, kaya gusto mo akong paglaruan," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Boring?" He finally looked at her, this time with the tiniest smirk. "You? No. But I think you're too used to playing that you forgot what it feels like to lose."
Her heart skipped. Just a little. Barely. She rolled her eyes to hide it.
"You think I'll lose to you?"
"I don't need you to lose. I just need you to stop pretending you're not tired of winning."
Damn. That was annoyingly deep.
"Wow," Ayla clapped slowly, sarcastically. "Do all Ustadz-es flirt like philosophers, or ikaw lang talaga 'tong may audacity?"
"I'm not flirting," sagot ni Sadiq, closing his book finally. He stood, tall and calm as ever. He walked slowly toward her, but not too close. Just enough for her to feel the heat of his presence.
"I'm simply here... because your father wants peace between our families. Arranged marriage is the easiest route. But you?"
He leaned in slightly, eyes intense.
"You're the storm. And I'm not here to calm you down. I'm here to survive you."
Ayla froze.
For a second, she forgot how to be a bitch. She forgot how to smirk. How to fight back. She hated that.
So, in typical Ayla fashion, she fired back with sarcasm.
"Well, good luck, Ustadz Mafia. Don't catch feelings. I'm not the type you can save."
He straightened up and walked away. No rebuttal. No ego.
Just a soft smile and a final line before leaving the room:
"Good. I don't save women like you. I love watching them save themselves."
Tangina. That was not supposed to sound hot.