Chapter 23

Saad's pov:

The grin from my face vanished as I looked at her, confused and horrified.

Amira blinked, as if not expecting that question. "Yeah, right." She laughed nervously before looking at Alayna in contemplation, as if deciding whether to ask her something or not. "But Alayna, secrets shouldn't be revealed, right?" She whispered to her slowly, curiously.

"Yeah right. But I was just kidding with him." Alayna whispered back, glancing at me. Understanding her plan, Amira looked at me with a smile. A smile threatened to take over my lips too, but I concealed it and raised my brow at them, pretending I didn't hear them. "So you will answer them, right bhai?"

"We will see." I replied, pretending to use my mobile.

"Bhai, you aren't going to have any ice-cream?" Amira asked me, confused.

"No, I'm good." I answered, glancing up from my mobile.

"But I don't like having ice-cream alone." She whined with a pout.

Raising my brow at her, I replied. "You aren't having it alone. Alayna is having it with you."

"Yes, but you aren't having it." She pointed out sadly, suddenly her eyes lit up and without any warning, she took a spoonful of her ice-cream and leaped up from her place, keeping the spoon in front of my lips. "Come on, have it bhai!" She said enthusiastically.

This surprised me and when I didn't open my mouth she added with a pout. "Please." It was so cute that I couldn't resist the smile and took the spoonful of ice-cream without any objection. I wasn't expecting Alayna to do the same but she played the same trick on me and it worked. Again.

But since I was not a fan of chocolate chip ice-cream, I gave them a look. "Okay, enough. Now I'm not having any more ice-cream. But Jazak Allahu Khairan." I added with a smile.

"Waiyyakum." They chorused happily before going back to having their delight. They were so innocent and cute. May Allah always keep them like this, innocent and pure, away from any sort of evil or evil eye. Aameen. I prayed in my head as a smile escaped my lips.

._._._.

I was supposed to select a few suits and her mom would finalise it. But what could I do if I only liked two suits? It was not my fault that I didn't like other suits. They were just too flashy or seemed arrogant. Yeah maybe that doesn't make any sense, but that was what they looked like.

"Ya Allah, are you sure you don't like anything else?" Aunty asked me, horrified. I didn't know why she was acting like that. They were just suits, right?

"Yeah? I mean yes, I only like these two. Others were too flashy or just not my type." I replied, furrowing my brows.

"I don't even know what will happen if we leave these two alone." She muttered in annoyance but I heard her anyway. What was the matter?

Before I could ask her anything, she smiled at me extra sweetly. "Okay, let's see which one is better."

She examined both the suits. One was midnight blue and the other was black, both with cream shirts and matching ties. They were both two piece suits with cuffs.

Asking the worker to pack the black suit, she asked me to select a boutonniere and wait at the counter while she checks up on her daughter.

._._._.

The question was directed at me but I stayed silent for a while, wondering whether I should simply answer her or mess around a bit. I could feel aunty's gaze on me and when I looked up, I caught her looking at me too. I looked away, a smile tugging at my lips.

Ya Allah, not again. Astagfirullah. Muttering in my head, I cleared it up.

I knew for a fact that she didn't want her friend to ask me that. It was visible by the way her friend asked me before looking at her with a smug look and mischievous smile on her face.

I decided to just answer the question. "I don't expect her to change for anyone because I believe real beauty lies in being yourself and accepting yourself as you are. Those who want to stay will stay, and those who don't want to, can walk away. I don't think anyone should change themselves for someone else."

"Oooo, Lucky you." Her friend made a teasing sound while looking at her mischievously with a smirk, but before she could reply or say something, the waiter brought our food.

There was chicken tikka, fried daal, fried rice and tortillas. And I didn't know until now that my future wife liked chicken so much. Well, at least now I knew something about her.

Halfway through the food her mother broke the peaceful silence. "I'm sorry if my behaviour hurted you Saad... I should have told you this before but I never got the chance to let you know. It is a tradition in our family that the dresses for the nikkah of the bride and groom is selected and bought by the bride's family while the dresses for the walima is bought by the groom's family. And I'm really happy that's why I wanted to buy Alayna's and everyone else's dresses too."

I understood her. I think even we had a similar tradition but I was not sure. Looking up, I gave her a smile before replying. "It's okay, I understand you." What else could I tell her?

As I was having the last bit of my food, I realised tomorrow would be the day when I wouldn't remain single anymore. And I didn't even have enough time to digest that fact. Ya Allah, help me!

._._._.

After tossing and turning around on my bed, when I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep like this, I started pacing around in the room, stressed out about tomorrow, about not knowing what to do and what to tell my family. This was really going to impact my whole life. And I couldn't hide it from my family forever. Exhaling loudly, I slumped down on the bed. Running my hand through my hair, I took out my phone, contemplating whether to call my parents or not.

I was lost deep in my thoughts when the phone started vibrating and ringing in my hand, startling me. Blinking, I looked down at the caller Id. It was bhai. A sigh of relief escaped my lips realising it was none of my parents.

Don't get me wrong, they were both nice and understanding. But I knew for a fact that they wouldn't have understood this situation right then. At least they wouldn't listen to me on call and I knew they were going to create a big fuss about it. And I was still in a dilemma as to tell them now or let them know about it later on.

Swiping the call to accept it, I poured a glass of water for me. Suddenly my throat had gone dry. "Assalamualikum bhai." I greeted him as I tried to lean back on the bed and relax my body.

"Walikumussalam Chote, where were you busy today? No calls or messages. Not even to mama and baba. Is everything alright? Are you both alright?" Bhai bombarded me with questions as soon as he heard my voice.

(Smaller one/younger one.)

I sighed. I totally forgot to call them today due to this mess. I should have at least messaged them. "Alhamdulillah we are fine bhai and everything is alright. We went out today and my battery died so I couldn't call you." I lied as I sat up straight and drank water. "How are you all? Are mama and baba fine?" I tried to change the topic.

"We are all fine alhamdulillah. Although mama and baba missed you and were worried about you. You should be more careful chote." He replied gently.

Guilt coursed through my body and mind as I thought about it. How could I forget such a crucial thing? "I'm sorry. I will be from now on bhai, In Sha Allah." I replied guiltily as I rubbed my fingers on my forehead. I could feel a headache coming up due all of this over thinking.

"It's okay chote. Now tell me what's the matter. You seem tired. Where did you both go today?" He asked me just when I thought he was going to drop that topic. It seemed like my subtle attempt at changing the topic didn't go unnoticed.

"We just went shopping and..." I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"And?" He inquired curiously.

An involuntary sigh escaped my lips as I thought what else to tell him. Maybe I should just let him know the whole matter. Even if I couldn't let my parents know now, I could at least tell him and ask his opinion on it. I knew for a fact that he wouldn't overreact or create a fuss. He had always been the calm thinker and a good advisor.

When I stayed silent for a while, contemplating my decision, I heard his gentle voice. "You do know that you can share anything with me, right? I will always be here for you and try to help you as much as I can, In Sha Allah."

That was it. That was the cue for me. I couldn't hide it from everyone. I needed to tell someone and I was going to let bhai know about it. The more I waited, the harder it was going to get for me. "Bhai... I don't know how to say this but I don't think there is any other way to tell you." I paused, trying to gather my thoughts and deciding how to put them into words. "I'm getting married tomorrow." I dropped the bomb at him as I ran my hand through my hairs.

"WHAT!? You are kidding, right?" I could hear the disbelief in his voice as he exclaimed in shock.

"No bhai, I'm not kidding." Replying in a tired voice, I stood up and started pacing around the room.

"Okay tell me the whole matter. Don't give me a heart attack like this leaving me on a cliffhanger." And before I knew it, he even composed himself and asked me humorously with a chuckle as he tried to lighten up the mood.

And I did. I told him the matter as I paced around the room, trying to keep myself calm and collected. Trying not to let him know how nervous I actually was. Trying, trying and trying but I didn't know if I succeeded in any of it.

._._._.

GLOSSARY :

- Chote - It literally means small. But here it is referred to as a smaller one/younger one.

- Walima - Reception.

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