Chapter 32

Saad's pov:

It was past Jummah prayer and the house really seemed to be buzzing with excitement. The aroma of freshly made food mixed with the fragrance of floral decoration kept here and there really gave us the vibe of an upcoming wedding, something which was giving me jittery feeling as well as nervous strokes. I had never felt like this before in my entire life. I didn't know if I should have been scared or try to enjoy this moment. It might never come again in my life.

I changed into my suit after coming back and now we were standing at one corner of the room, contemplating on what to do next since we didn't really know anyone here.

Someone bumped into my shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts. Turning around to look at that person, I tried to help them, but before I could even ask or say something, that person was out of my sight. I frowned, was everything alright? Why was that person in so much hurry?

Shaking my head, I turned back, only to find my brother's gaze roaming around, trying to find something, or better yet, someone. "You won't find her here." I told him while standing beside him.

"Who?" Furrowing his eyebrows, he glanced at me.

"The one you are looking for. She is helping aunty in the kitchen." I replied with a smirk, looking around.

Bhai muttered something under his breath, making me chuckle. "You shouldn't be observing me this much." He muttered, looking away. "And even you won't be able to find her here, so there is no point in looking around." He added as an afterthought with a smirk.

I narrowed my eyes at him as a groan threatened to escape my lips. Not again! Instead of giving him the satisfaction of getting to me, I sighed before looking away. "I wasn't looking for anyone." Still, I gritted out.

"Awww, did I make my little brother angry?" He cooed, not even trying to hide the smug look on his face.

"No." I tried to reply to him in a monotonous voice, nonchalantly.

And thankfully, before bhai could annoy me anymore, her uncle came towards us. Smiling at him, I wondered what the matter might be for him to come here. "I won't beat around the bush or anything. If you dare to hurt her even a bit or make her cry, then just know that the consequences won't be good for you. I will personally hunt you down and make sure to have you killed and make it look like an accident." He threatened me seriously while pointing a finger at me. The serious look on his face made my smile slip off and a look of horror passed through my features.

Was he in the mafia or something? No wait, was this whole family crazy? Like one person more crazier than the other? Was there some kind of competition between them on who would be the craziest? Because if that was the case, I wouldn't doubt it even a bit.

Glancing over at bhai, I saw he had an amused look on his face as he watched my reaction. Was this looking funny to him? That person right in front of me was threatening me and he found it amusing? I looked back at him and gulped before nodding. "Okay." I replied meekly.

First of all, I didn't even want to marry her myself but 'someone' thought it was a good idea to get us married. And now, if I hurt her even by mistake, since it would be my fault, I would be killed? Wow! Okay. I get how it was.

Smiling, he patted my back. "I hope you understood. Now don't just stand there, come and enjoy. It is your nikkah after all. If you won't enjoy now then when will you enjoy?" Uncle teased me as he looked at bhai, silently asking him if he agreed.

"Yeah you are right! Enjoy your day chote, waise bhi this is your last day of freedom. Iske baad we don't know when will you be able to enjoy your life like how you used to." Bhai joined in the teasing, making me groan.

(Younger one, and anyways)

(After this)

I glared at him and they laughed before dragging me to sit among some other people. After that, everything was a blur of teasing, having fun and doing last minute preparations.

The only thing which I caught in between all of this were the glares sent my way every once in a while from one of Emaan's two brothers. I didn't know why he was glaring at me. We didn't even know each other. He seemed angry and kind of upset, making me wonder what the problem was. Did I do something wrong?

I didn't get to ponder upon these thoughts much as after a while, snacks were being served around and the room started filling in with everyone present there. Everyone except her and aunty.

It was when everyone was busy talking that I actually noticed the whole set up. All in all, it was pretty simple, but at the same time it gave off the vibe of a special occasion. The combination of pink and grey gave off a formal, as well as an informal look. And the matching colour of the dresses... Maybe that was the reason why aunty insisted on buying everyone's dresses yesterday.

Alayna and Amira were running around with their uncle's son as they held a balloon each in their hands. The sound of their giggles echoed in the room as they paused every once in a while to grab a cookie or sip their juices. The happiness glowing off their faces gave me a sense of peace and helped me to calm down. At least they were happy and enjoying this day. "Alhamdulillah." I muttered under my breath.

The Qazi sahab was already there, talking with the elders. Scrolling through my mobile, I grabbed a cookie and ate it before sipping my juice. As expected, it was delicious. I decided I would like to learn some things from here before leaving. I was starting to get bored and-

"Hey man! What are you doing?" Someone patted my back as they sat beside me with a friendly grin. I was puzzled as to who it could be. But my confusion was cleared soon enough when I saw that it was Emaan's brother. No, not the one who kept glaring at me but the other one. I glanced at the other brother and once again, found him glaring at me.

Looking back at the person sitting beside me, I smiled while pocketing my phone. "Nothing much, just getting bored." I replied while looking down, getting self conscious. Was I looking okay? Was there something on me? Or was something wrong with me?

"So, are you nervous?" He questioned, looking around.

I glanced at him before following his gaze. He was glaring at Emaan as she clicked away on her phone, not giving any attention to her brother. Puzzled, I nudged him. "Kind of. Why are you glaring at her though?"

He turned to look at me, amused. "You didn't notice that? She has been clicking pictures of you for the past ten minutes and won't stop taking them. I asked her to stop but she replied that she wants some of your 'before nikkah' shots to send them to Atifa." He explained while shaking his head at her antics, making me baffled.

"Oh!" I didn't know what else to say. How many of my pictures did she take? And what kind of embarrassing pictures does she have now? I had no idea. But when I glanced back at where she was standing, she was not there anymore. I didn't know if I should be thankful about it or scared about her next move.

My thoughts were broken when Amira and Alayna brought a long grey coloured net curtain and kept it in the room, making a partition in the middle. The net curtain was fixed on a wooden board, it was basically hanging from it. After adjusting it, they ran off towards the dining room with giggles escaping their lips. The small boy ran away with them.

"Come on man, let's get you settled." Emaan's brother teased me as he held my arm and stood up, making me stand up with him. A puzzled look crossed over my face as I looked at him. Before I could ask him anything, he chuckled and motioned with his face towards the couch in the back. "You have to sit there, Mr. Groom."

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GLOSSARY:

- Qazi sahab - A man who performs nikkah.

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