Jameel.
"How do I look?" Jameel asked, sliding his hand in his pant's pocket. He was donned in simple clothes; a denim t-shirt and grey trousers.
In approval, Najah showed him three of her fingers and moved closer to him, dusting imaginary dirt off his shirt. "Perfect, as always. I hope everything goes well today."
Jameel smiled. He was filled with so much gratitude that he didn't know how to express it. Najah had been so supportive to him. He wished there was something he could do to repay her kindness.
"Good luck!"
Impulsively, Jameel planted a kiss on Najah's forehead. It was so brief that Najah would probably think it was an illusion—that it never happened and she had only imagined it.
"I...1—" Jameel stuttered. "See you later." With that said, he sprinted out of the house.
Driving, Jameel couldn't help but think about the kiss on Najah's forehead. Although it was an innocent act to express his gratitude, he felt he shouldn't have done it. Not because he felt some type of way about it, but because he didn't want to mess with her emotions. The fact that Najah was in love with him wasn't unknown to him, and because he hadn't been able to reciprocate the feelings, and had no idea if he would ever be able to do it, he didn't want to get her hopes up.
Undoubtedly, Jameel wouldn't intentionally do anything to hurt Najah because he genuinely liked her. If Afrah wasn't in the picture, he probably would be living his life happily with an uncomplicated Najah, but with Afrah in the picture, he couldn't even imagine himself with any other woman. From the day he met Afrah, she had captured his heart and hadn't let go ever since. The whole of his heart was still in her captivity to do whatever she deemed fit with it. The intensity of the love he had back then for her hadn't lessened. If anything, he wanted her even more now.
Albeit the excitement of meeting up with Afrah and finally set things right, Jameel hadn't stopped wondering what Najah had said to Afrah to make her change her mind. He had a hunch they argued, and his instincts were predominantly on point—nine times out of ten. Whatever it was though, he was grateful for the outcome.
Jameel finally arrived at his destination. He pulled over and removed the key from the ignition. He opened the car door and was about to alight when his phone started ringing.
He sighed at the name displayed on his screen, but answered. "Assalamualaikum, Hajiya."
"Wa Alaikum Salam, Jameel. How are you doing?"
"I'm alright," he responded. "How about you?"
"I'm not fine. I'm disturbed."
Jameel reclined forward in his seat; his brows wrinkled. "Why? What's wrong? Is it your health again?"
"Earlier on, I spoke to Najah on the phone and she blurted out to me that Afrah is still alive. Is that true?"
Jameel sighed again. "Yes, mum, it's true. Afrah never died. Her father made me believe so because he wanted me to stay away from his daughter."
Hajiya Hauwa hummed. "That was really low of him—separating two lovers by deceits."
Jameel wasn't surprised that his mother was on his side because she had witnessed how miserable and isolated he had been without his one true love by his side.
"Well, if he doesn't want his daughter to ever get married to anyone, he can marry her."
"Hajiya!" Jameel scrunched up his face. "Why would you even say something like that? That's disgusting to even think about."
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Against The Tide (Formerly Two Tribes)
रोमांसIn a world where tribal prejudice runs deep, Afrah Abdulmalik and Jameel Saif Albani find themselves bound by a forbidden love. Despite sharing the same country and religion, their different ethnicities ignite a firestorm of disapproval from Afrah'...
