Chapter 36

Saad's pov:

It was finally time. The moment, which was going to change my life forever. She already gave her answer. Although it looked like she got lost in her thoughts at one point, she answered in affirmative. And now it was my turn. I had to give my answer and it would be considered as the final decision. It would decide whether this nikkah happens or not. It would decide whether we would live together or not. Everything was based on my answer.

"Do you, Saad Ibrahim, son of Faisal Ibrahim, accept Atifa Ahmed, daughter of late Daniyal Ahmed, as your lawfully wedded wife, with the haq Mehr of Mehr-e-Fatimi?" Qazi sahab asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I glanced at bhai, only to watch him keenly observing me, waiting for my reply. He gave me a nod of encouragement, silently asking me to go ahead.

Glancing beside me, I found everyone looking at me. One particular person's gaze caught my attention once again. This time, with me, he was glaring at Qazi sahab too. And from the corner of my eye, I caught his gaze drifting at the women's side, making me annoyed. "Qubool hai." I replied loudly, my voice firm. I saw his gaze snapping towards us in shock and a satisfied smile tugged at my lips. Now he would know not to try anything like that again.

"Do you, Saad Ibrahim, son of Faisal Ibrahim, accept Atifa Ahmed, daughter of late Daniyal Ahmed, as your lawfully wedded wife, with the haq Mehr of Mehr-e-Fatimi?"

Qazi sahab asked me for the second time and I didn't waste much time replying. "Qubool hai."

"Do you, Saad Ibrahim, son of Faisal Ibrahim, accept Atifa Ahmed, daughter of late Daniyal Ahmed, as your lawfully wedded wife, with the haq Mehr of Mehr-e-Fatimi?"

"Qubool hai." I replied and although I was looking down, I could feel his heated glare on me, which strangely enough, was making me smile.

Bhai leaned from his place, giving me a side hug with a smile. Looking at him, I smiled back while hugging him. Zeeshan patted my back with a wide grin as he congratulated me. "Congratulations bro! May Allah bless you both and always keep you guys happy."

"Aameen." I mumbled with a smile.

._._._.

We were both sitting on the couch after signing the papers and receiving congrats from almost everyone. Thankfully, Emaan's father or brothers didn't come forward to congratulate us yet. Don't get me wrong, but I just didn't want that guy around her. Around my wife. It seemed strange to even think about it, the word wife I mean.

None of us had uttered a word yet. I hadn't even looked at her properly except for that glimpse I was able to have before nikkah. And at that time too, I wasn't able to look at her face. I glanced at her only to catch her stealing a glance at my suit from the corner of her eyes. Amusement flickered through me as a smile graced my lips.

She was dressed in a cream gown, the bodice covered in pearls and the dress flowing down from waist. No doubt it made her look like an angel. And no wonder people seemed to keep gazing at her. Not wanting my thoughts to drift towards a particular 'someone' present in the room, I turned my attention back at the angel sitting beside me. Her henna cladded hands were holding a clutch and a flower bouquet. "Assalamuaikum." I mumbled loud enough for her to hear after clearing my throat.

She stilled at her place, as if not expecting me to start a conversation. Finally, recovering from her shock, she replied in a hushed voice. "Walikumussalam." This was the first time I was noticing her voice, it was soft, sweet and in a way, it added to her angelic look today. She glanced around before playing with her fingers. My gaze seemed to follow her every move as I observed her.

"You can look up, you know?" I wasn't intending to tease her, annoy her or make her angry the first thing after our nikkah. But I just couldn't stop myself from teasing her and getting a reaction out of her.

And as expected, her face snapped up in my direction as she glared at me. Okay, so the first look which my wife gave me after our nikkah was a glare? How sweet! I should be recording this moment for future references, I had wondered.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, for the first time I actually gazed at her angelic face. Her chocolate brown eyes seemed to be burning fiercely. She had a straight nose, not pointy or anything, just enough to compliment her features. And her lips, they were pressed in a straight line. I was sure she would look even more beautiful with a smile. But I was also sure I would only be able to reel her up like this to see that fierce look on her face. It made her look like a fireball, ready to burn everything down.

Ah nice, I even knew what I would be doing in the future! I was beginning to think too much. Her cheeks were pink, a natural blush adorning them. Or maybe, it was because of natural anger and annoyance?

I didn't know and I would rather not like to know. And before I could admire her beauty anymore, she mumbled something before looking away. It took a moment for me to register her words. "I'm good." She had mumbled.

"As you say." Composing myself, I replied. But even after that, I couldn't stop my gaze from drifting in her direction every once in a while, which no doubt, ensured a chaos from her side, and in turn, made me amused.

._._._.

Emaan had whisked away her friend before she could virtually murder me on the first day of our marriage itself. I decided I should definitely thank her for her generous consideration.

As she wasn't beside me anymore, Zeeshan came to congratulate me once again with his father and brother. His brother's stiff posture confirmed my suspicion further. But what made me annoyed was the fact that he hadn't stopped looking her way even after our nikkah.

So after we met and they went back to their seats, I made my way to where they stood in the corner of the room arguing about something. She still had that fierce look on her face and as I neared them, I realised the reason for her annoyance.

I knew he was observing my every move since the time I stood up. I could feel his gaze on me. "Oh yeah? You sure about that Mrs. Saad Ibrahim?" I asked her loud enough for him to hear and hopefully avert his gaze from us. I still had an amused look on my face. I knew I caught her off guard the moment her eyes widened before darting towards me. Composing herself, she started glaring at me although she couldn't hide the light tint spreading on her cheeks.

"Yes, you started it. Now give me my cookies Emaan." She replied and turned her attention back to Emaan, ignoring my presence. Chuckling, I went to stand beside her. From the corner of my eyes I could feel his glare on me before he looked away. Better.

Chuckling and ignoring her, Emaan turned her attention to me with a smile. "Would you like some juice bhaijaan?"

"No thank you. I will be fine with the cookies though." I replied while glancing at the cookies in her hand. She stood there gaping at us, a murderous look on her face as Emaan offered me the cookies. I took one before savouring it. Emaan better watch out for herself if she didn't want to die so soon, I mused. Huffing, she stomped her feet before handing Emaan the glass and walking away from us, towards her mom. "Watch out for yourself." I whispered warningly.

"Your wife is crazy. No offence." Emaan replied as we laughed, watching her walk away angrily before following her. I wanted to retort that even she was crazy and almost everyone in this house seemed crazy but I knew better than to do that. I, for once, didn't have a death wish, that too on the day of my nikkah.

"Ammi, Emaan isn't giving me the cookies." She complained while sitting beside aunty on the couch, an annoyed frown adorning her face. We both came to a halt behind her. I was standing near the armrest while Emaan stood behind the couch.

"Oh! Is that it?" Aunty asked her curiously, and I suppressed my smile.

She frowned. "What do you mean by is that it?"

A chuckle escaped my lips at her words. She can be so childish at times. Who did I even marry? "Okay I'm sorry. Here you go." Sitting on the armrest, I took the plate from Emaan before extending it to her.

She glanced at me from under her lashes, making my heart skip a beat. Wait what? No, that wasn't true. Nothing like that happened. It was just my thinking. But I couldn't hide the smile on my face or the amusement in my eyes. A smile threatened to escape her lips as she grabbed the plate and kept it on her lap. My gaze never seemed to leave her as I watched her devour it.

A sound of a click made me snap out of my daze. I looked up and Emaan stood there, grinning like a cheshire cat as her mobile's camera faced us. I could even see her cousin's camera pointing towards us. It seemed like the whole attention was turned towards us. As soon as I realised that, flustered, I cleared my throat before excusing myself.

I made my way towards my brother. The look on his face clearly stated he had witnessed the whole ordeal, making me more flustered. Hopefully, I wasn't blushing.

._._._.