Falling For Haneef

24.

Tayibah surprisingly makes my father the happiest, even though their age gap is extremely wide, it's just a number and what they have is proving to be ready to overcome a lot.
I'm ready to help their love grow, but for the meantime, I'm watching and enjoying everyone's happy smiles. Even Juwairiyah and Reedo are enjoying their time together, to think Haneef tried to ruin it. Well Alhamdulillah that everything's back to normal now.

Today's our last day in New York and Reedo agreed to take us for a tour. Even though Saleem's by my side and everyone is happy for the meantime, it's hard to get over the idea that a person close to us actually tried to ruin all of our lives. I was literally about to break the news to him that I was accepting his marriage proposal, I even got a cat for him, well we sadly have no idea where that cat is right now.
All the efforts I made to make me and him happy, they were all for show in his eyes. He deserves hell.

Well, the first thing we saw today was the statue of liberty on a short boat trip at liberty Island. We couldn't get to enter that statue though, because one needs to pre purchase tickets before getting an opportunity to get in there. But at least we saw it on the outside and took tons of pictures.
From there we went ice skating, since it's winter and it was more than fun. It was my first time experiencing snow and I loved it, I was beside the people I loved the most so of course, it was bound to be fun. We made those snowmen we normally watch in cartoons and snow angels and boy, it was literally a day to remember.
We all sat down to dine in the hotels restaurant that evening and as I took a pause to slowly take in the moment of happiness around me, I was more than grateful. Everyone had found solace in their missing ribs, their soul mates. What everybody here shares is something genuine that can be felt all around, something everlasting.

In large, comfy coats, I and Saleem walk side by side amidst the snow fall with our fingers intertwined to stay warm. This is how he would always be my side after my chemotherapy was a success and I needed to walk around the hospital for a short while to regain my strength. " You'll be seeing your family again by tomorrow" I say and watch him smile widely. " I really am eager you know. The video calls I've had with them can't compare to seeing them in person" I'm glad he's happy. " Of course. I wonder if Haneef is going to try to hurt us again, to cover the whole truth"

" It would be a dumb move on his part. Besides he has already achieved his goal, fleeing is his only option right now"

" That's if his family doesn't help him cover the truth"

" His father that I know won't. He watched his business go down the drain before because he chose to ignore what his ex wife was doing, he let her flee away from the consequences and he faced it head on on his own, along with my father. He's not going to let Haneef's doing ruin his businesses again, as soon as word goes out about all what Haneef has done, His father's going to stay clear from his son and denounce his involvement in his activities which will save his business. His stocks will not decline" he stops and takes in a deep breath, facing me fully and staring at me intently. " Haneef is going to pay for his crimes, for hurting you, I promise you"
" In Sha Allah" I respond my small hands around his waist. " I missed you so much" he says.
" I missed you even more"

" I was thinking, why don't we get married when this is all over?" He says and my eyes widen in shock instantly.
Haneef insisted the same. " There's no reason for us to stay dating until you're done with school when we can be married. It's not as if I'm not financially stable, I very much am and it's going to be best if we make our relationship halal. An early marriage is bound to give us more time together, more years to spend together. Don't you want that?"

"Of course I do"

" so, is that a yes?"

" I don't know..."

" I'm not going to stop you from pursuing your dreams, who am I to do that?. And don't worry I'm going to help you in all your motherly affairs, there's something called family planning in this world. I really just want to be closest to you as we continue to take on life together. I want to protect you for as long as I live" my goodness. " I know" I respond with a giggle. " So?"

" I'm more than ready to grow with you Saleem" I respond and he instantly starts to jump like a toddler. " oh my goodness, stop that" I say amidst laughs. " You  really don't know how happy you've made me" he says again and squeezes my hands. " I love you so much"

" Me too, I love you so very much too"

***************

It's sad that we didn't get to spend more time in NYC, but if you think about it we spent almost 2 months here but I was bed ridden most of time, even during the New Year celebration. My illness halted my friends school plans and mine as well, but our families agreed on a better alternative of sending us abroad to study. It took a lot of convincing by Juwairiyah's mother again for him to finally agree, but he agreed. They gave us several options and with enough research we applied for top business schools in the US. Sweet right?
And our grades are the work of our brains, me and my bestfriends are blessed. I just hope we get in, filling the necessary documents and taking different tests while recuperating wasn't the best idea but I was strong enough to handle them.

Our main aim now is making sure Haneef suffers for all his crimes. It's going to be a great war between Saleem's and Haneef's family and even though we're afraid of the outcome, as long as the goal is achieved, we would definitely be contented. That's why Saleem needs all the backup he can get, and yes, we're here for him.

We spent hours on the plane talking and Saleem was more than excited to introduce our new goal to my daddy. He certainly wasn't against it, infact, he was thrilled, everyone was. Haneef had done too much that he really needed to be shown that if two people were meant to be together, Allah would move mountains to make it possible.

Saleem's family was waiting for us at the airport, he was excited to finally see them again after all what went down. It was nice to see their happy faces again, a typical beautiful reunion. The first thing that came to my mind on setting eyes on Saleem's mother was when she said " I'm glad you're finally moving on after my son Zakiyah, Saleem would be contented seeing you with his bestfriend" she handed me over to the person who consciously tried to kill her son. Haneef played his cards perfectly with everyone one of us, no wonder he wasn't shaken when the news of Saleem's death reached everyone's ears.

I can imagine how disappointed they all are, expecially Saleem's parents. They literally raised Haneef, they're probably asking themselves where they went wrong. Was it too much pampering?. Well they're not to blame.

To think I actually thought I and Haneef were meant to be, starting from the smoothie shop, to that event where he wanted to hit me. The rage in his eyes were clear that day so Zakiyah, how could you have possibly looked over that and fallen for him?.
The bright red flag was there but I chose to ignore it because he was there for me when I needed him, he put up a show at Kajuru Castle in memory of my mother for crying out loud. He went through extreme lengths just to get Ameerah. What kind of crazy obsession is that?

We all parted ways at the airport and everyone's driver took them home, Kaduna still looked the same but it was very cold, it's the season. Daddy was busy with work on his phone and I was busy staring out the window. I'd like to imagine how beautiful this state will be in the next two years, but then let's watch and see.

If I said I didn't miss my home, I'd be lying. No wonder they say you never know the value of what you have until you lose it. Technically I didn't lose my home, I was only away from it for months.  Funny how we haven't heard a single word from Habeebah, well I'm glad it's like that, we need lunatics away from this home.

Spreading open my windows, I let the sun's rays take over my room. The last time I was here, I was thinking twice about me coming back here after my treatment but Tay Tay was here to boost my moral. This was where I got ready to meet my doom that day. But Alhamdulillah, everything is back to how they're meant to be.
I'm more than glad to be back.