"Mistakes.... Learning from it is much better than abandoning it, my darling...."
............
The disappointment on Aria's face was a mirror image of Aaminah's face just five seconds before and Tanya could easily feel it as she looked towards Amisha silently begging her to do something to diffuse the tension.
Everything seemed too colourful just a minute ago when Aria, with a wide smile and flushed cheeks announced her marriage decision to her girl friends.
"Hey! Give us some more deets, we don't really know how it happened.", Amisha made the move and Tanya joined in.
"Well I might have had a small crush on Rizz but now he's off limits, girl code.", Tanya made her small confession and if it would've been a normal situation, Aria would've said something sarcastic and would've pondered over it but right now her mind was on her best friend who looked as if a demon just tapped her on the shoulder. But yes, Aria did manage to narrow her eyes at Tanya for a mere second before turning to Aaminah and sighing in defeat.
"What is it?"
Aaminah looked bewildered at Aria's question and the other girls took that as their cue to leave Aria and Aaminah alone.
"You really have the audacity to ask me what's wrong? Aria there is a guy in love with you! Can't you see?"
Aria furrowed her brows in confusion her mind not able to reach her friend's level of thinking when it finally dawned upon her.
"Ziyadh?", she croaked out and Aaminah gave a stiff nod.
"Wow. Okay. Everyone either cares about themselves or about another person but me. Why does everyone in my life think they have the authority to tell me how I should lead my life?", Aria questioned, her tone stone cold.
"Well the last time you made your own decisions and listened to your heart you got it and yourself, both broken."
At this, the rage in Aria's eyes burned down as she felt a small, snarky smile made its way to her lips.
"That time I was listening to my heart, this time the mind won.", her tone was now soft yet stern a stark contrast to her words that pierced Aaminah's soul.
"This marriage... its not what I imagined to be. This one is like a mere contract. We don't love each other. We don't.", Aria finally reitrated as if convincing herself more than her friend and Aaminah didn't even wait for the shock she received to settle in.
"Don't do this then. Be with Ziyadh. He loves you. Be with him. Have a marriage you always dreamt of.", Aaminah's voice was so soft and convincing that even Aria for a moment wanted to agree.
But her mind, unlike her heart wasn't a traitor.
"I can't. Ziyadh indeed has love for me in his heart, I don't. This decision Rizz and I have taken will prevent Awez Uncle, Fariha Aunty, Ziyadh's, my cousin's and people attached to us from breaking. It will prevent the chain of heartbreak."
She then proceeded to explain the whole situation to Aaminah who was now in a battle but didn't know who was at the opposite side.
"What about you? Don't do this... please", she pleaded, her mind not able to process all of this new information so quickly.
"This is the first time I actually have something for me in it. People will get their loved ones, Rizz will get his father's lost smile back, Ziyadh will be free from this misery of unsolicited love and I... I will be away from a life that isn't meant to be mine."
And this is where Aaminah knew nothing could be ever enough to change what Aria had planned and that nothing is found before its lost.
She sure wanted to talk Aria down but she noticed someone and the thing that their eyes held.
The love and longing in his eyes made Aaminah mutter a dua for him because she knew what she is witnessing was love but along with it was something more.
She knew it was all the Almighty's plan and maybe it was for the best.
And so with tight hug and a small prayer she let Aria go.
"Hey Ari... Rizz is waiting for you at the gate."
........................
You know why some people hate the brown culture? Well its because you can't take one decision without upsetting atleast one person in your family and extended family and right now, there were three people who were upset with his decision.
The first was obviously Zainab, the second was her mother and third was unexpectedly Zainab's sister in law.
Yeah, the ladies didn't take it well.
Also the two most excited ones were Yahya and Naila. The teasing has been constant since the day Aria and Rizz got official.
"No but seriously, if it wasn't for that aunty who proposed Rizz for her daughter then Rizz would've never mustered up the courage to propose Aria, right?", Yahya mocked and Rizz rolled his eyes.
Rizz could've ignored but today he felt a little too cocky and confident to let it all slide.
"I would've waited for the right moment y'know, a good, cozy setup rather than proposing her infront of the whole town."
This earned him a lot of 'oooohhs' and 'woah's and Rizz smirked.
"The moment I saw them bickering over the phone and then chicken cutlets that exact moment I knew something is or will cook between them in the future. Old eyes don't lie.", Tahrina gushed and her husband clicked his tongue.
"Old? Old who? You're forever young, my jaan!", he cheekily said and the crowd again erupted in cheers as Tahrina slapped his arm.
As Rizz noticed the small, cute exchange, a small distant smile crossed his lips as he imagined himself with Aria in this setting somewhere down the line.
But the smile soon enough lost its charm as it got filled with sadness when he realized there is actually no 'somewhere down the line' for them. It was an 'understanding', a compromise that they both did and no matter how much it pained him, he knew he cannot do anything about it than to just.... pray.
This was the first time since his mother's death that Rizz felt the urge to ask the Almighty for something.
And so he rushed to his room and did what he wanted.
He prayed.
With his whole soul, mind and heart into it.
And it was a bliss.
It was like reconciling with an old friend.
Though the wish for that one person still existed, it was now accompanied with an unknown peace.
With wet eyes, a small smile and his head on the ground in prostration, Rizz found his Lord as he kept on seeking his love.
....................................
YOU ARE READING
Tangled Up
Romance"I was holding onto him thinking the pain was worth it, my hands and heart ached trying to keep something which killed me not so softly. But as I started to let go of him, my soul felt lighter. And my heart? It'll take it's own time.", she gave a so...
