Chương 14: 14. A Rejected Prince

Meanwhile, when Salim and Behram were thinking hard to find a way to make Arsia eased, Arsia didn't care at all. She was laid off on her bed. A blanket covered her body up to her chest with a phone in her hand. Her eyes focused on the screen without even thinking about those men who were still standing in front of her door.

Arsia had ignored Salim and Behram for a long time and she didn't feel guilty or bad about it. Oh, even she almost forgot about the existence of those men by acting like all of this was just a dream. Therefore, Arsia had to return to her true world. To the reality where there was only herself with college matters and her friends. And that was what she was doing now.

So Arsia decided to join their class' group conversation. The topic was so random. It was so noisy in the group that night that it became a suitable place for Arsia who was actually running away from reality. At least until her classmates began gossiping about someone else's relationship.

It made Arsia feel like she was thrown back into her tangled life. She was so drained. It wasn't fair that all of her friends could live a life like ordinary students without the risk of deportation. Oh, they too could fall in love with each other before they married. Unlike her who had to get married because of a raid. Arsia felt that her head was about to explode just by thinking about it.

"How can I tell mom and dad about this catastrophe? Argh!"

Arsia stomped her feet and hit the side of her phone on her forehead. It was hurt, undoubtedly. That was why she stroked her forehead with a face like a tomato that began to rot after.

Her phone whose screen had gone black turned on by notification. There were new messages again on her WhatsApp group. This time it was a voice message and it came from Ahmet Selim.

Reading his name, Arsia's heart started to pound. With a shaky feeling in her chest, she pressed the message to listen to Selim's voice.

"This is a class' group. Don't talk about romance here. Please kindly think about someone who is still single like me," Selim's voice sounded as friendly as ever.

Arsia sighed. She already met Selim on Friday. Today was still Saturday but why did it feel like it was thousands of lunar eclipses passed by? She didn't see Selim, a boy who wasn't merely a classmate for her. Her heart had always beat for him, tho.

Selim, was a bright brown-haired boy with honey-like brown eyes. That boy besides being smart was also very friendly and light-handed. Several times Arsia had difficulty in her tasks which made her almost have to repeat the class and Selim came to help her solve all of those.

"Uh, wait a minute... Why are their names similar? Selim... Salim..." Arsia told herself. After, she shook her head quickly in denial. All the hair on her body stood up.

"How can I compare Selim to Salim? I don't care even though Salim is a real prince. But for me, the prince is Selim! Why bother to keep a title if he can't solve people's problems? Worst, he makes it more complicated!"

Arsia's mouth was busy with grumbling until she didn't realize that Salim was no longer standing at her door and asked her to come out. After discussing with Behram, Salim couldn't find the right way to get Arsia out of her room. In the end, he had to go with the 'traditional' way.

"You ask for this, Arsia Sultan (1)!" Salim murmured annoyed as he came out of the house and went around the other side of his house.

Not long after, the scream in the house was heard again. Who else would do it? It was Arsia, of course. She rolled off her bed instantly and stood on the edge of the bed. Her hands held her blanket to cover her front body.

Arsia's breath was hunting. Her eyes widened. Her face was pale. Her sense was temporarily lost due to severe shock.

How could she wasn't shocked if the window was suddenly broken? A loud sound was heard when the window was broken. Who else could it except Salim?

"Arsia, it's me. Salim," he said when he saw Arsia staring at him in horror. That girl's full lips trembled with fear. Salim who had refused to do something that could scare Arsia was the most feared by Arsia now.

Slowly gaining her consciousness, Arsia blinked her eyes. Once in shock, Arsia became annoyed to death at Salim now. "Why did you come in from the window? Are you a thief?!" she snapped.

"Not just thieves. Assassins also entered from the window," Salim replied with an irony that Arsia certainly couldn't understand.

Salim's words made Arsia even scarier, instead of calming her down.

"Stop talking about weird things and act like an ordinary human being! Isn't it enough with all of our problems? You scared me!" Arsia shouted.

"Are you going to run away?"

"If I'm going to run away, I won't tell you. Do you think that I'm that stupid?" Arsia replied.

"Does that mean you won't run away?" Salim demanded the answer.

"In the middle of the night, where do you think I'm gonna go?" Arsia asked back curtly.

Salim's face changed in relief to hear it. It was very important to him to hear Arsia's answer as he wanted.

Salim walked around the bed then, approaching Arsia.

"Stop! What are you gonna do?" Arsia yelled.

Seeing Salim getting closer, Arsia became guarding. Her eyes followed Salim's movements. Arsia even moved her steps closer to the bed. She planned to jump on the bed and escaped from Salim if that man cut their distance off. But Salim stopped in front of the couch and sat there in a way that was too elegant.

'Well, I know he's a noble but does he need to remind me that I'm a commoner?', Arsia grumbled inwardly.

"I want to talk with you," Salim said as he patted the empty side of the couch next to him. He told Arsia to sit there.

Arsia snorted. Strongly refused Salim's request. "Do you think that I'm in the mood for that?!"

"Do I have to make an appointment just to talk to my future wife?" Salim asked while pinching one of his eyebrow. He looked really good with that gesture. Not only did he realize it but Arsia too. Hence Arsia threw away her face and laughed lamenting her fate.

'I must have gone crazy if I was nervous because of this', Arsia's heart was overwhelmed. An idea suddenly crossed her mind. She immediately turned her head to Salim.

"Salim, about the marriage... Why should I marry you?" she asked. Then quickly continued when she saw Salim look at her sharply, "I mean you're a noble. Shouldn't you be married to someone of your level? Not with a commoner like me."

"If it's not me, then who will you marry?" Salim's voice was so flat.

Arsia bit her lower lip. Cautiously said, "Isn't there someone else other than you?"

She was blubbering. It was clear that Arsia already had a name in her mind. It was just she couldn't say it right away otherwise she would ruin her image.

Moment of silence. Salim said nothing. His pair of chartreuse green eyes explored Arsia.

"Isn't the most important thing is me staying here?" Arsia tried to convince Salim.

Salim clicked his tongue. He slightly tilted his head and made a gesture as if he was thinking.

"There is Behram. Of course, if you don't mind marrying an old man -- a real old man -- and a widower. If you mind it, there's Yıldıray who's the same age as you, I guess. But as you know, he disappeared like Avatar Aang. I'm afraid before he could be found, you'd already been deported. What do you think?"

Arsia winced. It seemed that her way to slide Ahmet Selim's name was so spinning or even she couldn't mention him at all.

"Do I really have to choose between the three of you? I mean if I married another Turkish guy it shouldn't be a problem, right? I can still be here," Arsia just trying her luck.

"Do you think that I prank you right now?" Salim asked calmly but his tone was so deep.

Quickly Arsia shook her head. Covered in blankets, her right toe scratched the heel of her left foot because of her nervousness.

"Good," Salim said. "You should bear in your mind that the case is not just getting married and staying here. Do you want to involve another man who is clueless into this chaos?"

"That's..." Arsia doubted. "No," then she replied softly.

Salim looked at Arsia. Seeing that girl started to be hesitant, in a calm but emphatic voice he warned, "The consequences can't be endured by anyone else, Arsia. Remember it."

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(1) Title for women of sultanate descent and sultan's women.