Mrs Mahmud, Mrs Mas'ood

28

Asiyah loved the spicy beef and fried rice Mas'ood had encouraged her to try. She patted her stuffed stomach. "Remind me to go on IG and tell the world that you're my best person in the world."

Mas'ood chuckled. "You reacted to it better than I expected. You could barely talk."

"It was amazing! Nothing beats your cooking though but I'll be honest, they do come close."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They sipped their drinks for a short while before she set her glass down on the table with a sigh. "Work has been tasking." She told him. "I mean, being a PR practitioner is amazing but recently, I realized I don't like working there as much as I used to...I've been praying a lot about my whole life and a lot of things have recently been feeling wrong. I don't know how to explain it."

Mas'ood folded his arms on the table. "So if you quit, what do you want to do?"

She shrugged. "Take a break? I don't know. I just know I don't want to work in an office for a short while, until I get my groove back. Mama and Baba said they'll support my decision because I have been working hard. Adda Humee said she'll support me too." She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she just wants me to come and keep an eye on baby Jalal."

Mas'ood laughed when she hissed. "You say that as though you don't like being around Jalal. You have a whole highlight dedicated to him."

She gave him a small smile. "Have you been stalking me, Chef Dantata?"

His mind betrayed him by reminding him of Hauwa. He shook his head. "Of course not. I just find myself online each time you have a story up."

She nodded slowly. "That's believable...Anyways, I'll be resigning soon. I think I'll come and be disturbing you at the restaurant."

"I don't think I'll mind having you around. Besides, now that I'm getting a branch in AUN, you can help with the social media promotion."

Her face lit up. "I'll like that! I'll brainstorm tonight."

"Please don't stress yourself, Asiyah."

She waved it off and he knew the gears in her head were already in motion. He noticed that there was still something bugging her. He called out to her softly. "Asiyah."

Her eyes met his. "Hmm?"

"What's wrong?" When she didn't give him a reply, he spoke again. "There's something bugging you that you want to talk about and I know it isn't about your job...Are you and Abdul okay?"

Asiyah lowered her head before she shook it. "No, we're not."

Mas'ood's heart broke for her. "What happened? You two fought?"

She shook her head again. "No, we didn't. Nothing happened. I just –" She forced out a breath. "I just don't feel like we're so compatible anymore."

She raised her head to bring her line of sight back to his face. "He hasn't done anything extraordinary to make me think differently of him. It's just that these days, I'm no longer sure he's the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. He's trying to be discreet about it but I know he's planning to propose soon and I don't think I want to say yes."

Mas'ood let the words sink in before he spoke. "How long has been going on for?"

"About a month or so."

"Have you spoken to anyone about it?"

She shook her head once again. "No, not yet. I wanted to talk to Adda Humee but she's been busy with Jalal. Ya Farouq is busy too. Mama and Baba have free time that doesn't match with mine and I couldn't think of anyone else except you." She sighed. "You don't think it's Shaytan whispering in my ears, right?"