Chapter 15

Atifa's pov :

I was heating the food and Emaan was setting up the table. Ammi came back a while ago. And as soon as she came in, she hugged me, surprising us. But nonetheless, we were glad. She even gave a hug to Emaan and that girl couldn't believe herself so she kept pinching herself until I smacked her head lightly to remind her it wasn't a dream.

A grin was settled on her face the whole while. Like she knew what was going on and what was about to happen. This girl always confused me. Shaking my head, I took the bowl to the table.

"Emaan can you call everyone for dinner?" I requested as I filled the jug. Nodding her head, she went to the guest room. Wait, she went in to call him first? She could have gone there at last, right? Oh, Amira and Alayna were also there with him. A sigh escaped my lips unknowingly.

Keeping the jug on the table, I went upstairs to call ammi down. Knocking on the door when I heard her reply, I went inside. She had just completed praying and was folding her mat.

"Ammi the lunch is ready." I informed her with a slight smile. Sitting on her bed, she asked me to sit by patting the place beside her. When I sat there, she passed me a warm smile.

"Have you thought about what I asked you yesterday?" She inquired while taking my hand in her hands and looking at me expectantly.

Yes I had thought about it. A lot. In fact that question didn't seem to leave me alone. And I wondered a lot about what you think and what you want. I wondered if you would be happy. I know you would be happy, I could see it in your eyes and I could feel the happiness radiating off of you. And I wanted to keep you happy. Always.

I had thought about him too. I wondered what he thought about it and if he would agree or not. I wondered if he was willing to do this of his own will or if you forced him. I didn't doubt you, but I also couldn't seem to get that conversation out of my head. The one where you were asking him for his response and wanting it to be positive. I wondered if he would be happy. I wondered if I would be able to keep him happy. I wondered what his family would say, if he had one. I hoped he had a family. I didn't want to imagine someone losing their family. I wondered if they would accept me. I wondered if they would accept his decision.

And I also thought about me. I wondered if I would be happy with him. I wondered if I would be able to live without you and Amira. I wondered if he would be able to keep me happy. Maybe he would. I wondered what if he didn't like me. I wondered... I wondered a lot. And I decided my answer.

But most of all, I decided the answer trusting Allah. Knowing He wouldn't leave me alone. Knowing He wouldn't leave us alone. Knowing He wouldn't let us make a wrong decision. Knowing He would be there with us through it all. Knowing He wouldn't let me down. I trusted Him and His plan. I trusted whatever He had decided for us.

I believed in the Qadr of Allah. I believed if He wouldn't have wanted this to happen then He wouldn't have bought him here. He wouldn't have let this happen. He wouldn't have made me realise what I wanted. I wouldn't have woke up with a smile and in a good mood, if He wouldn't have wanted the answer to be positive.

Taking a deep breath, I answered her. "Yes ammi, I have thought about it. And if you like him, then I agree."

She squeezed my hands lightly. The spark in her eyes and the smile on her face, which I wanted for so long was now returning. And I didn't want to lose it this time.

Grinning at me happily, her eyes watered, and suddenly, she pulled me into a hug. A tight warm hug, the one which I was craving for so long. I hugged her back tightly, my eyes brimming with tears too. Tears of happiness, of joy. A few tears managed to escape and I quickly wiped them away, not wanting her to see them.

"I'm so happy Atifa, you have no idea how happy you have made me." Pulling back, she told me, happiness radiating off of her.

"Now can we go for lunch? Everyone might be waiting for us." Smiling at her, I said while standing up.

"Yeah let's go. I have to ask him for his answer too. Although I might already know his answer." She replied while standing up.

I wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but at the same time I did not want to know. I already knew what she was talking about but I didn't want to interfere yet. Or maybe, accept the answer yet. So I continued to walk downstairs silently with ammi beside me.

._._._.

When we reached the dining table, everyone was already seated, waiting for us. Again, the seat in front of him was left for me and this time, Amira and Alayna were sitting together beside him. Emaan was sitting beside my seat with a smug look on her face. I could already guess that this was her idea. Rolling my eyes at her, I sat down. "Assalamualikum Saad." Ammi greeted him happily while taking her seat.

"Walikumussalam." He replied curtly, his gaze lowered.

"Api why didn't you tell me that Emaan api is here?" Amira asked me excitedly. Looking at her, I looked at Emaan, silently asking her to answer her question for me. Understanding me, she quickly turned to Amira with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Your api just wanted to surprise you. And also, you weren't upstairs so she couldn't tell you about it." Emaan told her and I passed her a grateful smile.

"Oh!... We were with bhai." She told us sheepishly with a grin. "And we had a lot of fun." She added while glancing at them.

"Oh by the way, Assalamualikum Saad. I'm Emaan, Atifa's best friend." Emaan suddenly introduced herself, catching my attention. Looking at her, I narrowed my eyes, silently asking her not to do anything crazy or embarrassing again. She just grinned in return.

"Walikumussalam. It's... uh... Nice to meet you." He replied while shifting in his seat. Glancing at him, I saw him looking everywhere but her.

"Alhamdulillah." I muttered under my breath. At least he wasn't looking at her or something. I shot Emaan a sweet smile knowing that she might want to catch his attention to do something crazy.

Rolling her eyes at me, she turned her attention back at him. "It's nice to meet you too. Although I'm sorry for whatever happened the first time we met. I was just trying to tell Atifa the truth. But she just doesn't get it, I guess." She replied with a smug look on her face, her gaze flickering between me and him.

"Oh, you have met him before?" Ammi asked while looking at her curiously.

"Umm... yeah kind of. I mean we first met in the kitchen when he came to refill the jug." Smirking, she added, "And we were making spaghetti when-" I pinched her before she could continue further and embarrass us.

"Owww, what?! What did I do? I was just telling what happened!" She whined while looking at me, making me glare at her as I dared her to continue.

"You know you are so violent. I pity your poor future husband." She added teasingly before standing up and going behind ammi, all the while a smug smile stayed on her lips. "Aunty please save me from your violent daughter. She will kill me." She pleaded while looking at me mischievously. Her gaze flickered to him, making me look at him too. I just realised everyone was looking at us, amused. Even the kids.

Ya Allah, not again! As soon as my eyes met his gaze, I felt embarrassment settling in. He looked away but I could swear I saw amusement in his eyes as his lips twitched.

Biting my lips, I looked away. I wanted to go from here. Like I said, vanish away. But not before killing my sweet friend. I turned to look at her and she gave me a cheeky smile.

"Aren't you going to eat your lunch with us Emaan?" I asked her sweetly with an innocent face.

She eyed at me skeptically. "Uh... no thanks. You guys can continue. I will eat later." She stuttered while taking a step back.

"Okay then, I don't have any problem. And anyways, you are going to live here till tomorrow. So no worries." Shrugging, I turned back to my place, a wicked smile playing on my lips.

From the corner of my eyes I could see her stomping her feet in defeat. "Aunty, this is cheating. She is threatening me. Again." She whined with a pout, her hands folded.

"Again? What do you mean by that?" Ammi asked her while smiling at us, amused. She must be enjoying this whole drama.

Oh wait, what did ammi just ask?! Ya Allah, no please! This girl! I looked at her, my eyes pleading her not to open her mouth. Watching my expression, she smirked before hiding her smirk and looking at ammi innocently.

"She threatened me today in the kitchen too. You know, when Saad came there and-" He started coughing, interrupting her sentence.

Everyone's attention was diverted to him. Filling a glass of water and handing it to him, I shot her a glare. Glancing back at him in concern, I wanted to ask him if he was okay but I stayed mum.

"Are you okay beta?" Ammi inquired, concern lacing her voice.

"Yeah aunty, I'm fine." He replied, looking up. Glancing at ammi, he passed her a forced smile. His gaze flickered to Emaan, who was smirking, and then to me. As soon as our gazes met, I looked away.

"Saad, are you really okay?" Emaan asked him in a fake concerned voice. That girl was crazy. Why would she even want to do this? I know teasing was fun but at least she shouldn't drag him into all this. And God! Not in front of him!

When he nodded, she continued. "So as I was saying, when -" I interrupted her again.

"Ammi! The food is getting cold! Emaan can narrate her story later, right?" I tried to divert their attention from her and save myself from the upcoming embarrassment.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Let's start eating now, we can talk later Emaan." Ammi agreed while opening the bowl and serving spaghetti to us.

Narrowing her eyes at me, Emaan came to sit beside me. "You shouldn't have said that. Now just wait for my revenge baby." I warned her in a dangerously low voice while giving her an innocent smile.

"Yeah yeah, we will see. But for now, it's my turn so don't scold me. Let me enjoy my days." She shot back smugly.

"Not scold you? When did I even scold you?" I asked her incredulously.

"If you are not scolding me now, then what are you doing?" She questioned me back while narrowing her eyes.

"I'm not scolding you, I'm just... Trying not to get myself embarrassed anymore." I answered, frowning.

"Oh yeah, I can see that." She smirked at me, her eyes gleaming mischievously.

It was my turn to narrow my eyes at her. "Then stop embarrassing me."

"I will think about it." She made a thinking face before winking at me. Glancing around the table, she turned to look at me, trying to suppress her smirk. I looked at her in confusion.

"What happened now?" I could feel someone's gaze on me and looking up, I saw him watching us with an amused smile on his face.

Oh, now I know what happened! I turned back to Emaan, trying my hardest not to let my cheeks heat up. "Shut up and eat." Muttering, I turned back to eat my food. We were eating silently, for a while. Until Emaan poked me lightly.

"Yeah?" I mumbled without looking at her.

"I was wondering if he liked the food made by you." I glared at her.

"Why have you suddenly started thinking about him and his likes?" I inquired sweetly.

"Naah, I haven't. That thought just crossed my mind and I asked you. You know, after all you are going to get married to him and then he will have to deal with you and your cooking." She mumbled back before stuffing a spoonful of spaghetti in my mouth sheepishly.

"Don't reply to me now. I don't mind if you stay quiet and continue to eat your food." She fluttered her eyelashes with a smile.

Looking at her furiously, I tried to finish the food in my mouth to reply to her when ammi interrupted us. "What happened Emaan, why aren't you eating?"

"Oh nothing aunty, I was just telling Atifa something." She replied with a smile.

'Yeah telling me something. Right!' Scoffing at her in my mind, I decided to reply to her after lunch. Thankfully, the lunch went peacefully after that, Alhamdulillah.

Once the lunch was done, I started cleaning up the table with Emaan while the kids went to take a nap. Ammi took him to the drawing room. Emaan was standing beside me, helping me as I busied myself in cleaning the table and then doing the dishes, all the while doing dhikr. Not wanting to think about what they were discussing, or what his answer would be.

._._._.