Are We Okay??

Are we clear?(14)

Aminat

The table is dead silent as everyone eats their breakfast. No one speaks a word. Daneen, however, doesn't miss a moment to glare at Abdullah, who stops glancing her way after a while.

"Aminat, Abdullah, we should talk about what happened," baba says, looking at both of us.

"In all fairness, this isn't bhai's fault," Sahil says.

"Yeah because we all knew about his and Aliyah's relationship." Rahul nods.

"You knew?" Daneen gasps loudly.

"Daneen, beta, please let us explain before you get angry." Mama sighs.

"Aliyah was never the ideal daughter-in-law we wanted. She was spoilt, had no manners and to top it off she always went partying and drinking. I didn't want that for my son. So, when I heard him talking to her on the phone about how he was going to talk to us about marrying her, I decided to get him a marriage proposal instantly."

"I talked to your ummi and baba about marrying you to him... in hope that one day he'd get over Aliyah and move on with his future, but..." Mama sighed.

"I'm sorry, beta. Sahil's right, it's not Abdullah's fault, it's ours. To save our son from having a bad future we completely ruined yours," mama says as a few tears slid down her face.

"Please forgive me, beta. I never meant to hurt you." She holds her hands together.

"What are you doing, mama? You are a mother who wants what's best for her son. I could never be angry with you for that."

"It is what it is. If Allah didn't want it to happen, he would've found a way to break the marriage, but He didn't. Mama, don't cry, please. I was never angry with you." I wipe her tears and smile briefly. She hugs me and rubs my head slowly.

"But, didi." Daneen stands up.

"Daneen." I shake my head.

She frowns then sighs. "I gu--" Her phone rings, cutting her off for which I was thankful. I know she's defending me, but she's only seeing the bad in things not the good.

She picks up her phone and her face instantly brightens. "Asalam Alaykum, ummi, how are you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not disturbing her. Aw, jazakallah khair, ummi. Does baba know? Really? No way! Tell him eat only two sweets, otherwise didi will have me killed." She laughs.

"Alright, ummi, I love you too. Didi is fine too--" she stops and looks at me as I shake my head.

"She's fine too, ummi. Everything's okay." She smiles a little. She hangs up, then raises an eyebrow at me.

"Don't trouble them with this, you know baba is still sick," I tell her, but all she does is hum. She glares at Abdullah, who rubs his face.

"Will you stop glaring at him?" Sahil asks.

"Will you stop acting like what he did wasn't wrong?" Daneen yells.

"It is wrong, but what's done is done he can't take it back now, can he? No matter how much you glare at him," Sahil spats back.

"Oh, just shut up!" Daneen yells.

Sahil raises an eyebrow at her as everyone else gasps. "Just like you are defending your sister, I'm with bhai, so don't you dare tell me to shut up!"

They're both now in each other's faces.

"Daneen!" I pull her hand, but she just pushes me away from her.

"Who do you even think you are? Just because I'm married to you now does not mean that I will listen to everything you say. I'll tell you to shut up if I wanna tell you to shut up. I would love to see what you would do about that." She glares at Sahil.

That's all it took for me.

"Daneen, enough!" I turn her around and slap her.

"Aminat!" They all gasp and stand up in shock. Daneen stumbles back with her hand on her cheek, then she looks at me with tears in her eyes.

"Didi you just you just--"

"I know and I will do it again if you don't keep quiet," I say sternly. Her eyes widen and hand drops.

"What happens between me and my husband doesn't concern you. You are my younger sister, not my older sister. If I tell you to keep out of it, then I expect you to listen to me and do what I say," I snap.

"And you are not JUST my sister, you are my sister-in-law and the daughter in law of this house. You need to realize that you are not a kid anymore. You are married and about to be a mother too."

"You are disrespecting mama, baba, Abdullah, and most importantly your own husband. You very well know that's the biggest sin you can make. Just because I have been silent all this time doesn't mean you have the right to disrespect them like that."

I take a deep breath. "This is my life, Daneen. If I want to stay with him even after all this, then I will and if I want to leave, then I will but I don't need you making decisions for me. Start acting like you are the daughter-in-law of this house," I yell.

My chest heaves up and down, while she just stares back at me.

"Are we clear, Daneen?" I say sternly while staring back at her.

Tears slide down her cheeks, then she looks away from me.

"Are we clear, Daneen?" I yell, making her jump.

"Yes," she whispers. She rushes past me and runs up the stairs.

"Dane--"

"Let her be. She needs to realize what she's doing," I tell Sahil, holding him back. He gulps, then nods. I shut my eyes and breath out slowly.

"Aminat," mama whispers.

"I'm so sorry, mama she's just always so overprotective and she doesn't care who gets hurt in the way. She's still a kid. Please don't be angry with her, please," I beg her.

"Oh, beta." She cups my cheek and smiles.

"And, mama you know she's now your daughter-in-law. If she makes a mistake, you can correct her no matter what she does," I tell her with a smile as she hugs me.

"May Allah bless you, beta." She smiles with her hand on my head, which makes me smile.

I turn around and my eyes land on Abdullah, who stares at me with so much intensity and a glint of guilt.

"We can talk about it now," I whisper. "I know you love her." I gulp hard as the words leave my mouth.

Everyone sits down, so do Abdullah and I. "I don't want a divorce and there's no place for a divorcee in this society. If you want to marry her, then I accept. I'll be your wife in view, but you can devote yourself to her. I have no problem with that," I tell him.

They all look at me in shock, especially Abdullah.

"Aminat, what are you saying?" mama whispers.

"I can't ruin two lovers, I know this isn't what I imagined my marriage to be like, but it happened and I can't change anything. I separated them before unknowingly but I can't keep doing that now that I know. I'd hate it if he's unhappy in this marriage when he can be happy with her. If that means getting along with her, then that's no problem. Plus Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had married twelve wives and they worked out fine," I add with a small smile, then turn to Abdullah.

"You don't have to make your decision now. You have all the time you want and I forgive you." I stand up then smile. I turn around and walk up to our room.