I reached my house and knocked at the door. Munif came hurriedly to open the door. Munif was home because it was Sunday.
"Assalamualaikum" I said as I entered the house.
"Walaekum assalam," Munif answered, locking the door behind us.
"What's up bro? Where's mom?" I said happily.
"Mom went to the market with dad to buy groceries because some guests are coming for dinner," he said sleepily. He always looks sleepy on his days off.
"Which guest?" I asked loudly as he entered the kitchen and I was sat on the couch.
"Do you want water or juice?" He yelled from the kitchen.
"Water" I yelled back.
After a while he came back with a glass of water and handed it to me. Then he sat beside me.
"How was your journey? Did you enjoy it?" He asked.
"It was fun, I enjoyed it so much there," I said.
"Peter and Bella must be happy," he said.
"Yes! I can't explain their happiness in word" I said.
"Yeah I called Peter one day before the wedding and he was so happy but angry with me," he said.
"Yeah I told them that you have an important meeting that's why you can't make it to the wedding" I said.
"I will meet them some other day and make it up to them," he said.
"So who is coming?" I asked as I took a sip of water.
"Aunt Reem and her family," he said.
"Ohh" I said nonchalantly.
"Did Mom tell you anything about why they're coming?" He said.
"No, why are they coming? Do you have any idea?" I asked.
"Well I do know but I think dad will talk to you when they come back" he said. 'I'm already getting bad feelings about that' I thought.
"It's not fair you can't hide anything from your lovely sister" I said with puppy eyes.
"It will not work on me, and don't do that, it doesn't suits you," he said.
"Fine, don't tell me I'm gonna find out on my own," I said.
"Well it's big news," he said. "Especially for you," he added with a mischievous smile.
"Yah! Don't make me curious if you are not going to tell me anything" I said "you know I have zero patience" I added.
That's when the doorbell rang and I went to open it.
"Assalamualaikum" I said happily and hugged my mom.
"Walaikum assalam" they said in unison.
"How was your journey" dad said as Munif took the bags they had in their hand and took them to the kitchen.
"It was amazing," I said.
"Mary, go and wash yourself," mom said.
"Okay" I said and went to my room with my suitcase.
As I entered the room I hurriedly went to my closet. I took fresh clothes as I unwrapped my hijab and threw it into the laundry basket. I went to the washroom and had a quick and warm shower. I went out of the washroom, dried my hair with a hair dryer and put some toner and moisturizer onto my face. I threw myself on my bed since I was so tired. I took a probably one hour nap. I woke up to the sound of knocking on the door.
"Mary get up," Munif said as I unlocked the door.
"Yes I am up" I said sleepily.
"Dad is calling you in his room," he said.
"Okay first let me wash my face" I replied and went to the washroom and splashed some water in my eyes.
I went to my parent's room where I saw dad sitting on the bed and mom on a chair near the bed. She was cutting vegetables. She always cuts vegetables in the bedroom because she says that it helps in saving electricity which saves money and environment. I knocked before entering the room.
"Dad, did you call me?" I asked.
"yeah come sit here" he said, gesturing to me to sit on the bed in front of him. I went there and sat. Munif also trailed behind me and sat next to me.
"You have already reached the age when the girls of our family get married but I've never forced you in this because we knew that you will not going to do anything else until you reach your goals" dad started "but now I am going to consider your marriage first, as a father I have some duty. As a father, I have certain responsibilities that I want to fulfill and I hope you are okay with it" he added. My dad had never told me to get married and never forced me to. He always got angry whenever my mom raised these topics in front of me. We did have a weak relationship in the past, but it's not the case now. Now my dad understands me more than my mom and he always supports me in every decision. When I completed my MD mom wanted me to marry first and then do whatever I want but my dad knew that I want to achieve my goals first which is becoming a surgeon and he knew that I will not think about anything else unless I fullfill my dreams. That's when I understood why my dad always wants me to get good grades because he knew that I would not be able to live without making my dreams into reality. He knew how passionate I am for my dreams and goals. He knew things that I've never thought.
"Dad I've already thought about it as you know mom has been annoying me with this topic ever since I've completed my MD" I said "As long as it makes you both happy I am okay with it" I added.
"So do you have anyone you like or want to get married with?" Mom asked.
"What? No mom, you know I've never liked the idea of haram relationships," I answered.
"No I'm not saying that you're in a haram relationship but I am saying that do you like someone whom you want your husband in future?" Mom said.
"No mom I've never liked anyone in that sense and I never had time to think about those things" I replied.
"Okay then that's a good thing" my dad said smiling widely.
"So finally you're going to get married?" Munif said.
"You must be happy because you're next," I said.
"There's a proposal for you, your Aunt Reem wants your hand in marriage for his son Zaid" dad said.
"What?" I said.
"Yes! They're coming for dinner today to talk to us about the proposal" mom said.
"As you know I only have one sister and I don't want to refuse her because she has never asked me for anything ever since she got married, So I want you to consider this proposal," dad said.
"But dad I don't know him, I haven't even seen him since our childhood" I said a little emotionally.
"I'm not telling you to marry him right away, I'm just telling you to consider this proposal and you will have time to get to know him after the engagement only if you agree with this proposal and if you don't like him or you don't feel like marrying him we can refuse them and I know she can understand, I can't force my precious daughter into anything" dad said.
"As for seeing each other, today Zaid is also coming with them. You can see him then" mom said. "And you both can get to know each other as much as you can," she added.
"Alright, I will try," I said.
"Wear this dress in the evening and I want you to look presentable" mom said handing me a boutique's packet. I peeked inside it and saw a beige coloured georgette material dress.
I went to my room and put the packet on my bed. I went downstairs to the kitchen to help mom because I don't want to hear her nagging that no one in this house helps her in cooking. There I saw my dad cooking something. Mom was washing all the vegetables, rice and all the different ingredients to make the food for the feast.
"What are you cooking dad?" I said as I stood beside him sneaking into the container that he was stirring.
"I am making firni your Aunt loves it, when we were children she always used to tell our mother to make it" my dad said with nostalgia.
"Ohhh, but don't forget that you're not allowed to eat it," I said in a bossy tone.
"Let me eat it only for today," he said, making a puppy eye. I can say it doesn't suit him. As he is getting older he is becoming more childish.
"Alright Mr. Sheikh, you are allowed to eat sweets today but keep in mind that you are diabetic and don't overeat sweets," I said "And you will have to do extra exercise tomorrow" I added.
"Is it a punishment?" He asked.
"Yeah" I said, chuckling on his scared face.
"You both are so dramatic" mom said from the sinc.
"And so are you," we both said in unison.
"Don't worry I will be there to keep you company" I said to dad " you know I also have to do extra exercise since I haven't done anything in the last four days plus I've been eating a lot of things there" I added.
"Do you guys need any help?" I asked.
"No, we can manage, you go to your room and take some rest and just prepare yourself and think about all the things" mom said.
"Yes we don't want you to make any decision in a hurry and without thinking, go to your room and clear your mind" dad said.
"Okay" I said and went to my room.
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• firni is a classic Indian sweet pudding that is a must on festive occasions or special celebrations.
A/N: Assalamualaikum everyone!
First of all sorry for late update I was supposed to publish the chapter yesterday but since I was caught up with some work I didn't update.
Guys this story has crossed 1k views, and I can't describe how happy I am. Thanks for reading this story. It was not possible without you all who are reading this.
I know you guys are upset with the plot twist. I already had this plot in my mind when I wrote about Zainab being interested in Maryam's relationship status and then talking about Zaid with her. This was important and you guys will know why I wrote this in future chapters.
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