Chapter 13

Atifa's pov :

I was in my room, trying to figure out which dress to wear when I heard the bell ring. It was about to be Zuhr and I still had to make lunch. I had already decided what I would be making.

Sighing, I went downstairs to open the door thinking who it might be. As soon as I opened the door, I was engulfed in a bear hug by my best friend, who, by the way, was practically choking me by her 'light' squeeze.

"Ca- Can't... bre- breath..." I choked out. Her grip on me loosened a bit. Looking at me, she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Smiling, I shook my head at her. "Assalamualikum."

"Walikumussalam, how are you? How was the surprise?" She asked me, excitement clear in her voice.

"Which surprise?" I raised a brow at her.

"Duh, me coming earlier surprise." She responded, her excitement fading away a bit as she rolled her eyes.

"I asked you to come early, remember?" Laughing, I replied. "But yes, I agree that you are earlier than I thought you would come." Closing the door, I led her upstairs.

I realised that it was silent upstairs, which was odd considering the fact that Amira and Alayna usually chattered in her room. Maybe they were with Alayna's brother. Shaking my thoughts away, I led her to my room. Also thankful that now, I wouldn't have to choose my dress myself. I grinned happily.

"You are here at the perfect time! Now choose a dress for me. I have to take a shower." Turning to look at her, I said smugly.

She looked at me suspiciously. "Just wear whatever you want to. It's not like someone else is here to see you." She replied while looking at my clothes.

'Yeah right! No one is here to see me. That is the problem! Someone is actually here, that's why I have to choose wisely,' I thought in irritation.

"You never know. Just please choose a nice and comfortable one for me. Pretty please." I requested, pouting a little.

"What do you mean by 'you never know.'" Turning to look at me, she quoted my words.

"I will tell you after coming back from my shower, for now let's choose something." Avoiding her gaze, I started looking for something presentable to wear.

"Finally!" Emaan exclaimed in relief once we were done choosing a navy blue long kurti after ten minutes of 'trying-to-find-something-simple-yet-not-too-simple!'

"You better tell me why this much fuss over your clothes or else I will kill you myself." She threatened while glaring daggers at me.

Smiling sheepishly, I rushed towards the washroom. "Yes I will." And as an afterthought, I added, "But just to let you know, don't go downstairs without your hijab. Someone is here." I closed the door, probably making her confused about my statement.

._._._.

When I returned from the shower, it was already Zuhr time. Quickly trying to dry my hair, I put it in a bun. I could comb it after prayer. Emaan was in the washroom making wudu, the reason why I wasn't bombarded with questions as soon as I stepped out. And one of the reasons why I quickly put my hair in a bun - while they were still wet - so that I could start praying before she comes back.

Another reason was that I had to go and make lunch and also, praying on time is always the best thing. On the day of Judgment the first thing we will be questioned about, will be our prayers. If they turned out to be right, then all of our other deeds will be right, and if our prayers are not right, then only Allah knows best. Maybe he will forgive us by his rehma or give us punishment. We don't know. So it's better to stay in the safe zone, isn't it?

I quickly laid out two prayer mats before wearing my hijab. She came back from the washroom looking at me suspiciously. Smiling at her innocently, I took out a scarf for her from my cupboard.

Once we were done praying, she wasted no time in questioning me. "So tell me everything now. No excuses." She demanded while holding my gaze, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Alright alright, I will tell you. Just wait a minute." I knew this was coming. Sighing, I opened my hair to let them dry. Sitting on my bed comfortably with me holding my comb, I turned to her.

"Spill." She demanded. Geez, she was so bossy. 'Just like how you used to be.' My brain reminded me. Shaking my head, I told her everything that happened yesterday. How ammi brought him home and how his sister was already at our home. How he left her irresponsibly and how ammi changed, most probably because of him. And how she wanted us to get married. I took a long breath when I was done, waiting anxiously for her reply.

"Woah! So much happened in just one day. That's... shocking?" Emaan replied, stunned.

"Yeah, I know right? Even I'm stunned." Nodding my head, I replied while combing my hair and making a braid. Checking the time, I realised it was around two. I had to hurry up to make lunch before ammi returned.

"Yeah, I can't believe it." She replied, lost in her thoughts, trying to process whatever I just said. Quickly wearing my hijab, I checked myself in the mirror. Once I was sure I looked okay, I turned to Emaan.

"Come, let's make lunch before ammi returns." I said while handing her a hijab.

"Yeah sure, but just to remind you, I don't know how to cook anything." She replied while wearing her hijab and looking at me with innocent eyes through the mirror.

"Yeah yeah, I know that. At least you can cut the vegetables." I smirked. She groaned, making me laugh.

Heading downstairs into the kitchen, I started searching for spaghetti. As Amira and Alayna wanted to eat that yesterday, I decided I would make it today. When I found them I asked Emaan to cut some vegetables. After keeping the spaghetti to boil, I joined Emaan in cutting the remaining vegetables. It was silent for a while, both of us lost in our own thoughts with just occasional questions.

How peaceful was that until Emaan decided to break it and ask me questions since the vegetables were done, which meant that she was free and the spaghetti boiled, which meant that I was getting to work.

"So tell me about him. How does he look?" She teased, excited and curious at the same time. She was perched on top of the kitchen counter in front of me, her legs dangling below. I rolled my eyes at her curiosity, of course she was curious, how could I forget that she was my best friend?!

"I don't know, I haven't really seen him. Remember we should lower our gaze." Suppressing my smile, I responded. 'Yeah right, and did you follow that rule yourself? I hadn't really seen him.' My brain moked, making me flushed. 'I didn't really see him, it was accidental!' I defended myself, unaware of the fact that Emaan was observing me keenly with a slight smile on her face.

"Oh I see, then why is there a blush on your face?" She smirked.

Ya Allah! This girl was distracting me from my work. "What? No, ya Allah, I don't have any blush on my face." I replied while keeping my hands on my cheeks. They really felt warm. Ignoring her smirk, I continued to work, knowing very well that she was going to tease me more.

"Accha ji, and I believe you." She teased smugly. "Accha at least tell me his name. You didn't even tell me about it." She whined like a kid.

(Oh yeah,)

(Okay)

Realisation dawn on me. I didn't even know his name yet! And here I was, possibly getting married to him. "Ya Allah! I just realised I don't even know his name yet!" I exclaimed with horror clear on my face while tossing the spaghetti. I couldn't believe it! No actually, I couldn't believe myself! How could I even-

"My name is Saad. Saad Ibrahim." I heard a voice from the entrance of the kitchen. I stood there rooted at my place. Ya Allah, this wasn't seriously happening, I thought while squeezing my eyes shut.

._._._.

GLOSSARY :

- Salah - Prayer.

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