On a new morning, Rahaf walked into the company as usual. It seemed like just another day, but the atmosphere inside was different charged, as if something was about to happen.
She greeted each employee with a warm smile, but something at the reception caught her attention. One of the new employees was standing there, watching her in a strange way. As time passed, he began approaching her in an odd manner and suddenly, he started harassing her.
Rahaf tried to move away, but she was tense and found herself trapped in the situation. She felt deeply uncomfortable, searching for a way to escape, but in that moment, it wasn't easy. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yazan walking toward them from a distance. His eyes locked onto the scene, silent for only a second before his rage erupted.
Like an arrow, Yazan lunged at the man who was harassing Rahaf. He couldn't stand to see her in that position, and he started beating him as if a wolf had sunk its fangs into prey. His punches came without mercy, blood splattering in all directions. Yazan wasn't thinking about consequences only about protecting her. The employees' screams echoed through the space as Rayan and others rushed in, trying desperately to separate them.
They used all their strength to hold Yazan back, but it was as if he had lost all sense of restraint. Finally, they managed to tear the two apart. The man lay on the floor, weak and battered, while Yazan stood, chest heaving violently, eyes burning with fury. He didn't care about the chaos around him his focus was only on Rahaf, who stood frozen, watching him with uncertainty.
Rayan stepped closer, speaking quietly but firmly: "You need to get out of here. I'll handle it."
Rahaf tried to calm down, but her emotions were tangled. She was grateful to Yazan, yet at the same time she felt guilty for not being able to defend herself.
As the employees dragged the attacker out, Yazan stood at a distance, still breathing hard, the anger in his eyes refusing to fade. Rahaf approached him slowly, then whispered: "Thank you, but… you didn't have to do that."
Yazan looked at her with tired eyes and said: "I won't let anyone hurt you, Rahaf. Not ever."
She gave him a shy smile: "And why, Yazan? Am I that important to you?"
Yazan froze, unable to answer. Her question had opened a door to feelings and doubts he wasn't ready to face not even with himself.
Rayan rescued him from the moment, stepping in with a sharp tone: "What have you done, Yazan? You've put yourself in danger. You could've handled this with more reason. Come with me we need to talk."
Yazan followed him quickly into the office, his chest still rising and falling from the adrenaline. Rayan shut the door quietly, then turned with a piercing look.
Rayan: "Do you realize what you've just done? You're the vice manager every eye is on you. A scene like that could destroy your reputation and the company's."
Yazan didn't reply at first. He just stared at the floor, trying to steady his breath.
Rayan: "I get that you wanted to protect Rahaf, but there are limits and other ways to act."
Yazan snapped his head up, voice tense: "Rayan, I couldn't stand it… I couldn't watch someone put their hands on her… I almost killed him."
Rayan studied him silently for a few moments, then sighed: "As far as I'm concerned, it's over. But you need to understand one more mistake like this, and the price will be steep. You're a smart man. Don't let anger control you."
Yazan sank into a chair, running a hand over his face as if trying to wipe away the thoughts crowding his mind.
Rayan: "I'll deal with that employee you won't see him here again. But you… think hard about the real reason you lost control like that."
When Yazan left the office, his steps were slower. Rayan's words echoed in his head, and deep down, he knew the truth his rage wasn't just anger. It was something deeper, something tied only to Rahaf.
Elsewhere, the glow of phone notifications lit up Marwan's face. His fingers flew over the screen, sending short messages laced with worry and regret:
"Reema… we need to talk."
"I'm sorry, Reema. I promise that was the last time."
He sent them one after the other, as if trying to break through the wall of silence she had built.
Across town, Reema sat in a quiet room, her phone buzzing on the table with every new message. She glanced at the screen, read the words, then closed the notifications with a cold hand as if they belonged to someone else's life entirely. No reply. No flicker of emotion. Just a frozen calm masking whatever was inside.
In another part of the city, Rahaf sat curled on a small couch in her living room, sipping tea while her mother's voice flowed warmly through the phone:
Mother Narjes: "I miss you, my daughter. Don't you want to come back?"
Rahaf: "Honestly, Mom… I'm working here at a big company, and everything supports me. And… I'm close to Yazan."
The call went on, filling Rahaf's heart with a quiet warmth. Meanwhile, in his office, Yazan spoke with his father over the phone:
Father Tarek: "I see you're enjoying yourself there you don't want to come back at all."
Yazan: "That's true, Father. Everything here is perfect. I'm working in my field, in the job I love."
His father sighed, powerless against a son who had chosen his own path far away.
In Essam's house, in Tala's room, she sat clutching her phone, her heart pounding like it was trying to escape her chest. For days, she had been chatting with Sami, laughing over light messages. But this time, she didn't want just another casual exchange she wanted to say what had been pressing inside her for so long.
She opened the chat window, typing slowly, deleting, retyping, trying to strip fear from her fingers:
"Sami…"
She paused, then exhaled deeply and continued:
"I… love you."
She hit send. The chat window stayed open before her, blue check marks appearing. The typing dots blinked, disappeared, blinked again a promise of an answer that felt like fate itself. She waited. Minutes dragged like hours. Every second was heavy.
Then, finally, three little dots appeared under her message, showing he was typing. Tala's lips trembled into a shaky smile, as if she'd seen a spark of hope. But the minutes stretched… and the dots stopped, No reply.
The room dimmed slowly, and the message remained there on the screen words sent into the silence, unanswered.
To be continued…