Anisa's POV:
"Let's go on a date after school." Ali said out of the blue. "A real one this time." I stuck a pin inside my hijab to secure it and moved to the bed to wear my socks. His eyes followed me as I got ready for school. "Where will you take me?" I asked to which he fell in thought.
The idea sounded great to me and I didn't mind spending more time with him. But, I still felt so shy after what happened. I didn't know how he could act so casual about it.
"I didn't think about that yet." he admitted but then he perked up. "We'll have coffee at the shop right down the street. I've been there before with—" then he stopped.
I saw him think twice about completing his sentence. I raised an eyebrow at him. Before he could change the topic, which I was sure he would, I asked him; "With?"
"Oh it doesn't matter who I went there with. It's a nice shop, that's what I'm trying to say." it seemed as if he dodged my question which got me feeling curious. I turned myself towards him after I was done wearing my socks.
Even though I still felt so cautious and shy around him, I couldn't help but get a feeling that he didn't want to tell me who he had gone there with and I couldn't hold myself back.
"If it doesn't matter then you would have no problem telling me, right?" I said to him. He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I don't have a problem telling you about it. I really don't." he replied, hesitating.
I narrowed my eyes, leaning forward to look at him properly.
"Tell me, then." I said. I noticed the troubled look on his face before he turned away quickly. "It was Brianna. I went there with her." my eyes widened at that piece of information.
Slowly, I put my hands on my sides. "And why, may I ask?" My voice was calm. I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a bit jealous.
Especially because Brianna was one of the prettiest girls at school. She was also popular and I had heard many people saying that she would be a good match for Ali before he and I got married. Of course, at the time I didn't bother about it. I would say that it was the least important thing to me then. But now?
"It doesn't matter anymore, right? That was ages ago." he dodged the question again. I shook my head. "It does matter. And since you're resisting so much, it tells me that something is not right."
He sighed in defeat. "We went there for a date." he finally confessed. Even though I was half expecting that answer, it still made me mad. Seeing the look on my face, he quickly added. "She asked me out and I went with her to impress my friends. We made a stupid bet or something. I don't even remember it."
I nodded knowingly and pulled myself back, putting on my white sneakers. "I didn't know you guys made bets to go on dates." I said. No matter how much I tried to resist sulking, I couldn't hide it completely. He looked a little embarrassed when he said, "We like to joke around. You were part of a bet once too."
That caught my attention. Not sure whether to feel angry or surprised, I looked at him with curiosity. "Really? When?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Andrew said that he could convince you to have lunch with him. Of course he failed." he replied. I realized that he was talking about the time when Andrew approached me alone and was about to make a move on me.
I shuddered at the thought.
"I hate that friend of yours, Ali." I told him which made him start laughing. "I'm not joking! I really hate him. He's always trying to hit on me. And being with you always gave him an advantage!"
Hearing that, Ali got quiet.
"He does?" I sensed anger in his voice and I took the chance to turn him against Andrew. I nodded quickly. His expression got darker and he curled his hands into a fist. "That piece of trash. I'll kill him the next time I see him near you.".
Somehow, Ali's words made my heart skip a beat. It gave me butterflies to think that he was being overprotective about me. "No one can look at you except me let alone hit on you." he turned to look at me and I blushed.
"You're mine, Anisa. Only mine."
With a flushed face, I looked away. "And you're mine, Ali. I won't stand it if Brianna or anyone else tries to get close to you." I felt so embarrassed as I said that but it was true. And I wanted him to know that.
For a moment, he looked surprised at my sudden confession but then his expression returned to normal.
"Protective, are we?" he teased. I bristled playfully. "Why not? Your charms are only for me. I don't want those stupid girls to try to trap you. Besides, men can't be trusted."
My little speech made Ali laugh with amusement. "Well your man's different. I won't be impressed by the likes of Brianna or that girl—what was her name again?" he looked at me for an answer. "Arena,"
"Yeah, Arena. I won't be impressed by her either." he finished. I smiled at him, almost laughing. "It's more like I won't let you."
After that, we went to school. I tried to keep away from him because I didn't want the unwanted attention and the stares I was receiving from the everyone. But, Ali didn't seem to be bothered by it. I would say that he was actually pretty confident about the whole situation.
"Hey, Ali." The voice of a girl caught me out of my thoughts and my head snapped quickly towards the source. A pretty girl with freckles, short curly brown hair and fair skin stood before us. I glanced one last time at our surroundings and then moved my gaze back to the girl from the line of lockers and half filled corridor.
"Hey," Ali replied casually, his eyes not leaving me. The girl locked her arms behind her and her face leaned a bit closer to us, leaving four feet between us. She was smiling politely but for some reason I wasn't feeling positive vibes from her. "Hello, Anisa. I didn't see you there."
I was surprised she knew my name as she looked like she was not from our year.
"Hello," I replied despite wanting to leave already. She turned to Ali again. "You do remember me right, Ali?" she still had that sweet smile on her face. A frown appeared on his face for a second but it faded when he remembered.
"Oh yeah. You're… Uhh… Emily?" he asked.
She chuckled. "It's actually Amelia but that's okay. I remember you perfectly." I just stood there listening to them, feeling a bit out of place.
Although Amelia's words kind of troubled me and I started wondering how they knew each other, I kept quiet and waited to see how the conversation would turn out. "Oh, that's good to hear." Ali replied simply. He looked like he didn't want to talk to her either.
"We had a lot of fun at that hotel last month. The food was great. The rooms and everything was on point. It was the best night of my life." she winked at him and that was when I froze in my place.
As soon as her words reached my ears, my eyes widened and it took me a second to digest everything she said. I automatically looked towards Ali who was already looking at me with a regretful expression.
"Uh...yeah…"
I looked away from him quickly when he said that. Despite the tension in the air, Amelia spoke up again. "We should do it again sometime. I've heard that they're planning a trip there again next Friday." It was like she was doing it on purpose because the suggestive tone in her voice made it obvious that she was hitting on him.
My blood raged with fury. I clenched my fist in order to hold back my incoming burst of anger.
"Sorry, but I can't. We have our one month anniversary next Friday." Ali replied, making me look up at him again. His tone was straightforward and confident. He glanced at me and grinned at me before turning back to her. "Can't miss it for the world." he finished.
My widened eyes moved to Amelia who looked like she would turn to ashes out of Jealousy. She tried to keep the smile on her face but it just looked fake. By then, it was clear to me that she was doing that to somehow to disheart me or to demotivate me. Maybe even to make me step down from being Ali's girlfriend. But what she didn't know was that I wasn't just Ali's girlfriend, I was his wife. He couldn't divorce me over a stupid, insignificant witch like her.
What Ali said gave me courage and I smirked at her, showing who was boss and who had the upper hand in the situation. She glared at me but then spoke up again, her lips curling into a wicked grin.
"Oh, you're in a relationship? With whom?" She smiled sweetly at Ali, batting her eyelashes and bringing her hands upto her face.
That was a strong blow and it affected me very much. But I decided there and then that I couldn't let her do what she wanted to. I tried to ignore her and took out my biology book from the locker. "We'll get late, Ali. Let's go?"
Ali was about to answer her when he stopped. He closed his mouth again and gave a nod. "See you later, Amelia." I smiled at her and started walking. Ali was quick to follow me, leaving her alone still trying to process what had just happened.
We went to class and the teacher entered not much later. Ali sat down with one of his friends while I grabbed the first seat I could find.
It didn't bother me that Ali wasn't sitting next to me. I wasn't some timid, bullied and quiet girl who couldn't survive a class without her bodyguard. But something else was bothering me. I tried not to think too much about it but it didn't let me focus on anything else.
I could only imagine what Amelia meant to say when she said they were in a hotel together. Two people, a boy and a girl, don't just go to a hotel to eat. And especially when she said it was the best night of her life. She even mentioned some kind of rooms.
I groaned inwardly when I couldn't take it anymore. The thought burned me to the core and I wanted to grab Amelia by the collar and demand answers from her.
I could've let it go if it had happened before we got married but Amelia said it happened last month. Our wedding was last month! How could Ali cheat on me? Even if we weren't in good terms, how could he go around on dates or whatever?
I stood up from my seat with a noise that made everyone snap their head towards me. Even the teacher. I ignored the looks of the people there and spoke up after clearing my throat as it had become dry.
"I'm not feeling well. Can I please go to the nurse's office?" after receiving an approving nod from the teacher, I trudged out of class. I felt Ali look at me as I walked but I didn't look back.
I wasn't mad at him. I really wasn't. I was just mad at the situation.
I went to the nurse's office and plopped down on a bed there when I saw she wasn't there. I wasn't feeling unwell but I wasn't feeling good either. I knew it wasn't a good idea to bunk class again and again but I just could help it.
That Amelia was the reason behind my restlessness and it annoyed me that I was doing exactly what she wanted me to.
I stayed there until recess.
When the bell rung, I walked out of the nurse's office and headed towards the library to at least get some studying done. I passed the lockers that were filled with students rushing towards the cafeteria and of course Ali was there too, standing about 10 meters away from where I was. I spotted him out of the many faces there.
When our eyes locked, I saw a look of relief wash over him and he quickly started coming towards me but before he could get there, three girls reached me before he could.
"Anisa! How great to bump into you." the one in the middle said making me wonder how in the world she knew my name. "Uh, okay?" I didn't what to say so I just shrugged. Obviously, I had no clue who they were.
"Yeah! I wanted to meet you after I heard that you were and Ali were good friends now." she replied, twirling her blonde strands of hair between her fingers. I noticed the pair of jeans she was wearing and they looked hella expensive. Then I saw her short shirt that showed a lot of cleavage. That made me look back to her face.
"We're actually a couple not just good friends." I replied, bravely. Something told me that they were there for the same reason Amelia came upto us before. At my reply, all three of them nodded knowingly, their lips forming an 'o' with a look so surprised as if they had no clue at all. "Really? That's surprising!" the girl at the right spoke up.
She tried to sound nice but the fakeness just leaked from behind her kilos of makeup.
I nodded. "Yes, really."
Before I could be proud of what I had said, the middle one spoke up again. "We didn't know Ali would umm… Choose you to be his girlfriend, no offense of course." she flashed me an apologetic smile which just angered me. "And why is that?" I asked, more like demanded. The third one decided to butt in at that.
"Because both of you are soo different. Like you're so shy while he's nothing like that." I frowned at what she said as it hit me like an arrow. "Well I'm not shy. And it doesn't matter if we're different. You don't need to be the same to get along." I throwed back.
"Oh no, no. That's not what we meant." The middle one held up her hands in surrender. "It's just surprising that he would go for a practicing girl like you. He likes to party and hang out with friends but you're nothing like that. It just doesn't fit, right?" she turned to her friends for backup and they quickly nodded in agreement.
My scowl deepened and I tightened my fist. Oh how I wished I could punch them.
"Like I said, that doesn't matter. You don't need to have similar interests to be a couple. You can be different and enjoy each other at the same time." My voice was low but it was dangerous and stern but that didn't seem to affect them as they went on.
"That's true but when there are girls like us," the one on the right started, her tone becoming rude.
"Why would he choose such a plain girl like yourself?" she ended, a little wicked grin playing on her lips.
My knuckles turned white as I dug my nails further into my skin. I was sure that would leave marks. I knew, at that, I couldn't stay quiet and pretend to ignore their words because I had known the reason they came there since the start.
My blood boiled with anger and I was ready to pick a fight. I opened my mouth to say something when I was cut off.
"Because I love her." my eyes shot towards the source of the familiar, smooth voice. A smile automatically spread on my face when I saw him standing there with his eyes glinting under the ceiling lights. "And because she's better than all of you combined." he finished with a smile when his gaze met with mine.
The three girls looked at Ali with fearful expressions as if they had been caught red handed. Before anyone could say anything else, he walked closer to me until I had to lift my head to face him. He hovered over me, his hands sneaking to my waist and he pulled me closer right in the middle of the full hallway.
The girls were watching everything as he lowered his face to my height, his other hand reaching my face. I didn't even get the chance to look at him in the eyes completely when he leaned in, his lips connecting with mine.
I was taken aback for a second at his sudden gesture but it didn't take me long to close my eyes and return the kiss. It was like the whole world had stopped and I couldn't hear the loud chatter of the students anymore. In the background, I heard the girls gasp but it didn't really affect me. Before it could get out of hand, I quickly pulled away, blushing hard.
Ali pouted a little at me but I just looked at the ground because I knew what he meant by that look.
I turned back to look at the girls and so did he. He wrapped an arm around my neck and brought me closer, my face meeting his chest. "Sorry but I've got to take Anisa away now. We have some unfinished business." Even though Ali's words weren't rude or even mean, his tone was harsh. The girls looked at each other before the one on the right replied.
"That's no problem. We were going to leave anyway. We just wanted to say hello."
Ali nodded with a sarcastic smile. "Next time, try to keep your nose in your own business. You don't know Anisa. She's very protective of me." he looked at me and pinched my nose, making me blush even harder. "She'll kill you if you say things like that again."
The girls quickly nodded and rushed away. Ali started laughing as the other students watching the whole show also scattered away. Luckily, no one made a picture or a video because obviously I didn't want to be seen in such an intimate situation on the internet.
I turned to Ali with a scowl on my face. "You're such a womanizer. I hate you." and I set myself free from him, pushing him away.
Ali immediately stopped laughing and his expression became a worried one. "Anisa, I'm so sorry! I didn't want you to face this at all."