• n o o r •
"Assalam o Alaikum," I said as soon as I stepped out of my room into the hallway, keeping my eyes strictly on Uncle and Aunty.
Aunty enveloped me in a hug enthusiastically and kissed my forehead. "Wa alaikum assalam, how is my beautiful daughter?" She asked, pinching my cheeks.
"I am fine." I passed her a smile and tucked my hair behind my ears. Uncle then stepped forwards to pat my head gently and then they both stepped forwards.
I could feel eyes on me and I knew to whom they belonged to, but I refused to look at him. Because I knew the minute I would do that, I would turn flustered. I instead looked at Faaris bhai and passed him a smile, which he returned with a brief nod and walked into the lounge.
"Come Noor, sit with me." Aunty Afshan took a seat of the couch after she had hugged Dado. I made my way to her and did as she said, settling beside her.
My eyes inadvertently went to Usama who was sitting beside Papa and when I found his eyes already set on me, I immediately averted my gaze. Boy, did he look good. He was wearing a white kurta that accentuated his toned build and his hair looked like a perfect mess, that probably took him hours to style. I couldn't believe I was getting married to such a handsome man.
All my friends that had arranged marriages didn't like their husbands at all when they met for the first time. Thankfully, I have known Usama my while life and I already admired him so luck seemed to be on my side.
"You look beautiful in this dress, dear. Blue looks good on you." Aunty said to me.
"Thank you." I said and someone cleared his throat. Warmth crept up my cheeks as I recognized the sound.
"How is work going?" Papa asked Faaris, who seemed to be focused on something on his mobile.
"Good." He replied briefly.
Rude much?
"That's an understatement, Uncle. Faaris is keeping everybody on their toes. I'm surprised we haven't been featured in Forbes yet." Usama added to keep the conversation light. I subtly took a long glance at him from my peripheral vision and when I looked to the other side, I caught Maheen wiggling her eyebrows at me.
"I'll go check if the kebabs are done." I said to Mama.
Giving Aunty a brief smile, I made my way to the kitchen, internally wishing I don't end up messing anything. What will everybody say if I mess up something as simple as a kebab? I was fully engrossed in doing my task when I suddenly felt a presence behind me.
"Salaam, Noor." The familiar male voice said and I can swear my heart jumped inside my chest.
With my eyes widened like saucers, I turned around in my spot, only to find Usama leaned against the doorframe.
"Uh...." I gulped. "Did you need anything?"
"Yes." He replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest, an action that caused his biceps to bulge out. "I needed to see my fiancé, who seems to be ignoring me."
"I am not ignoring you." I said softly and turned around to flip the kebabs.
"Is that so?" He asked as he walked to my side and hopped on the counter. I could feel his eyes on me, observing me carefully, turning me into a blushing mess.
"Hmm." I said as I tried to walk pass him but he caught my wrist. My stomach flipped inside my body as I felt him tugging me back towards him. "Usama, someone will see us." I said, hyperventilating.
"So?" He asked mischievously, positioning me in front of him.
"Usama! Leave my hand. You will land me in trouble." I said nervously, looking around to see if anybody was coming.
"Fine." He said as he freed me. "Don't ignore me then."
"I am not ignoring you." I said, playing with my fingers that were just recently released.
"Then look at me." He whispered.
Not knowing what to do, I lifted my head and stared at him, all of him. I watched his messy hair once again, his light brown eyes surrounded by long lashes, his slightly crooked nose, his soft red lips and then the light stubble covering his jaw. It wasn't my first time looking at him but everything felt too intimate because of this new dynamic between us.
"Did you wear blue because of me?" He asked.
"No." I shook my head.
"Liar. You are getting good at lying, Noor. I'll have to control you once we get married." He said and hopped off the counter, once again towering over me.
"How? Are you going to manhandle me?" I asked in surprise. I suddenly felt anxious because the Usama I knew wasn't like that.
"Maybe." He smiled.
"Usama, I swear if you turn out to be one of those husbands, I'll file for a divorce the very next day." I said in a panicked voice.
He chuckled at that and I felt angry because there was nothing funny about it. He was threatening to manhandle me and he had the nerve to laugh. "My dear Noor, I am pretty sure you will enjoy the manhandling." He whispered back and I shivered at his tone.
"You are not making any sense, Usama Humayun Shah." I groaned and that's when I smelled the slight charred smell coming from the stove. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Mama is going to kill me." I said as I tried to salvage the kebabs, who looked somewhat burnt from one side.
Beside me, I heard him laugh at my miserable self.
°°°°°°°°°°°
After the lunch, everybody had gathered into the lounge once again for tea. Usama had taken the seat right in front of me and every now and then, he was passing me his signature swoon worthy smiles. Being the stubborn person that I was, I made sure not to give him the satisfaction of meeting my eyes.
"Doctor sahiba, when should we start looking a groom for you?" He teased Maheen.
"Don't you dare give my parents any ideas, Usama Bhai. I am not getting married until I am at least 40." She replied.
"What will you do till then?" He asked.
"I'll become a physician, buy an apartment, earn money, explore the world and enjoy life to its fullest. Marriage isn't my cup of tea." She replied.
"We will see." Mama said under her breath and the rest of us erupted in laughter.
"Can you show me my room? I have a Zoom meeting." Faaris Bhai asked as soon as his tea finished.
"Noor, go show Faaris his room." Papa said to me.
"Sure. Come." I said and led the way while he silently followed me. Faaris and I had very little interaction in the last few years. I remember when we were kids, even then he was always reserved and distant, lost in his books. Despite only three-year age difference between us, he always acted as if he was a mature and responsible adult, and Usama and I were nothing but troublemakers.
After climbing the stairs, I turned to the first door to the left and pushed it open. "Here, this is your room, bhai." I said.
"What did you say?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
I suddenly became nervous because I didn't expect him to actually talk to me. "I... I said, this is your room." I stammered.
"After that." He said.
"Bhai?" I asked.
"I am not your brother and I don't remember my parents adopting you." He said and my mouth fell open in surprise. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was joking but he genuinely looked confused, with his eyebrows drawn together.
"You are Usama's brother. In Pakistan, we give the same respect to our brother-in-law that we give to our brother." I said, feeling a little embarrassed that he didn't know that already and I had to explain it to him.
"Just when I thought this place couldn't get any weirder." He mumbled and walked past me into the room.
Wait, what?
Clenching my jaw hard, I stood near the doorframe and watched him as he looked around the room, with the same emotionless face.
"Do you need anything?" I asked. Being a good hostess, I had to be polite even though at this point, I didn't want to.
"No thanks," he said and walked over to me, observing me with his calculated businessman-y eyes. "Now, if you don't mind?" He said and then before I could say something, he closed the door on my face, literally. I was inches away from getting my face flattened against the wooden door.
Ya Allah, my brother-in-law hates me.
With absent mind and heavy heart, I walked back to the lounge where everybody was busy in some deep discussion. They stopped talking as soon as they noticed me and everyone eyed me curiously.
"Did something happen?" I asked.
"Beta, come sit here." Uncle and Aunty slid aside to make space for me in the middle of them.
"Listen Noor, we want you to come to us as soon as possible." Aunty said once I sat and I smiled. "So we have decided something. You don't have to agree if you don't want to."
"What is it?" I asked curiously.
"We all want the Nikaah ceremony to happen as soon as possible." She said.
"How soon?" I asked, staring at Mama instead.
"This Friday." She said and I choked on the air.
A mini heart attack followed her words. I wasn't mentally ready to get married this soon. My outfit for the big day wasn't ready, I still had some extra weight that I was planning to loose before my wedding and I didn't even have those facial sessions that my dermatologist had recommended. I would be the ugliest bride ever.
"Don't worry, the rukhsati won't happen for few months. It will take time for the visa process and other things." Papa added and some of the anxiety calmed, knowing I won't be moving out of this house for the next few months.
My eyes went to Usama who was staring at me with a keen expression. He assured me with a gentle nod and just like that, all the fear transpired. I knew that nothing bad could happen as long as he was beside me.
"Okay." I said.
"Yay." Maheen jumped in excitement and walked over to hug me. Everybody else looked just as excited but nobody could compete with the way my heart was pounding right now. Within the next few days, Usama and I will be tied in an unbreakable bond and nothing could separate us then.
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Do you like Usama?
And what do you think about Faaris?
Vocabulary:
• Nikaah: To be brief, it's the wedding ceremony in Muslims. You can Google it for details
• Rukhsati: The ceremony of sending off the bride with the groom.
• Bhai: Brother
• Beta: Son/To address someone younger lovingly
• Sahiba: Madam
• Kurta: a kind of long shirt