Pov Author
Struggling to free himself from Adi's fierce and brutal grip, Sajid finally ran like the coward he was out of the classroom, plunged into almost total darkness.
Adi pursued him for a moment, enraged, through the corridors of the school where he was a student, but stopped with a furious growl.
Gasping, he stumbled back to his feet, looking for her with his eyes, catching his breath, but the darkness didn't help his vision. Finally, it was the sound of her sobs that told him where Ajwa was hiding.
He approached the table carefully, so as not to frighten her, and crouched down to face Ajwa, hidden beneath it, her head buried between her knees, folded against herself, her elbows wrapped around her for protection. She shivered with fear and sobbed softly.
Adi felt bad for her for the first time, since the moment they had both met at the back-to-school ceremony, it had been EXPLOSIVE !
Ajwa had clumsily poured her bottle of water over his favourite clothes that he had worn that day, and they had been at loggerheads. He because his clothes had been soaked for nothing, and she because of His arrogance in not accepting her sincere apology.
He thought she was too much of a perfect girl with old-fashioned values, whereas Ajwa thought he thought too highly of himself, a arrogant person.
However, when he accidentally appeared in the classroom and saw Ajwa trapped in Sajid's arms, struggling to escape and save herself, he couldn't help but rush to her aid. His own sister had been in a similar situation in the past and he couldn't bear to see any girl go through the same thing, it made him so angry.
He'd always known that Sajid was a horrible person, but he'd never have thought him so bad as to so deviously trap a young girl in order to take away her dignity, and not even Ajwa would have thought it, although Sajid was a heavyweight when he tried to seduce her despite all the rejections she gave him.
"How am I supposed to comfort someone ?" muttered Adi to himself.
Despite his popular reputation, and his huge family, Adi wasn't the most expressive when it came to sentiment, and as a result, he had very little experience in terms of comforting people. Usually, he would buy a gift or use his sense of humour, but there was little chance of that working with Ajwa, especially in this state.
He sighed, annoyed by his own inability.
"Yo brawler, don't cry, you're a big girl, not a crybaby, are you ? "he tried a first attempt at comfort.
He tried several more times, and on the fifth time he stopped and really wondered, "Was he that bad ? "
He was about to make his last attempt when Ajwa suddenly raised his head and gave him a painful slap that he had never received from his parents.
Stunned, he fell silent, watching this girl with whom he had never got on, being fierce with him even in difficult moments, as if it were natural for her to be in his presence.
"THIS IS YOUR WAY OF COMFORTING ME EVEN THE PARROTS ARE BETTER" she shouted at him at the top of her voice.
Adi tried to hold back as hard as he could but ended up laughing uncontrollably. Ajwa stopped for a moment, staring at him in amazement, normal people would get angry or cry after a slap, but the boy standing in front of her was definitely different.
"He's a strange specimen" she thought loudly.
Adi calmed down very quickly, and Ajwa blushed slightly, forgetting her previous state. It was the first time that Adi had looked at her with such kindness that she didn't know how to take it.
"Had his eyes always been this color ?" she wondered, lost in thought.
"Listen, I don't know how to comfort people but it's over, this Sajid by tonight or tomorrow morning, I'll have killed him for trying to take advantage of you, don't worry, so don't be afraid, if you're afraid of anything from him, or any other boy then come and tell me directly" he told her sincerely.
He wanted to be kind, because he really cared about Ajwa at the moment, but he wasn't aware of the extent to which his words touched Ajwa's heart, making her palpitations flare up even faster.
"Why are you... You're helping me so... Kindly ?" Ajwa couldn't say half-heartedly.
Adi just shook his shoulders, he didn't really understand how he felt about her, she'd always got on his nerves but every time he got into a fight with her, another feeling came over him, and he'd always wanted to ignore it but the more time passed, the more she grew up, and all they knew now was that he wanted to take her in his arms like when his father took his mother in his arms and that this one cuddle made them forget all the worries outside, he wanted Ajwa to feel safe just by being near her.
So he ended up sitting down on the ground, Ajwa still waiting for his answer, "I... Think that... I like you" He whispered very softly, hoping that Ajwa wouldn't hear him, but she had heard him just as clearly as she could see him scratching the back of his neck, embarrassed.
"I... I think I like you too" she murmured very softly.
They were both looking at the ground, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world right now, yet they both couldn't deny what they had just admitted to each other or the way their hearts were beating in unison.
In fact, very quickly their daily bickering had become a habit for them, without realising it, the other had taken an important place in the other's life, and whether they wanted to or not, they both dreaded the day when one would leave the other, it was strange, they hated each other but at the same time they liked each other, just as two feelings can live side by side.
"Ajwa, you know I'm going to study for 2 years in Switzerland, but will you wait for me ?" he asked seriously.
She felt her heart clench, where she had heard that he was planning to go abroad to finish his studies but she had really thought it was a rumour.
"But who am I going to argue with every day ?" she asks herself sadly.
"I don't know if I'll be able to wait for you for 2 years, Adi, but come back soon", she whispered to him.
Adi smiled at her honesty "Thank you, if you find someone in those 2 years, be happy with him, but if you wait for me again, I'll be the one to fulfil your every expectation" he pronounced heavily.
"I hope it will be you" replied Ajwa shyly.
And on a half-promise, the two of them said goodbye.
***********************************************
"ADIIIIIIII" shouted a very early morning voice energetically.
Adi stirred in his sleep, hiding under his pillow, "Five minutes Ajwa, just five minutes" he murmured enormously.
Ajwa couldn't believe her eyes, she shook her head in disbelief, sliding close to her husband, her body resting on his chest and her wet hair causing a few drops of water to fall on Adi's face, she was looking at him with love, Adi opened his eyes and marvelled at the beauty of his wife which had never faded since their marriage.
They had had many ups and downs, but when Adi left to study abroad, they were no longer in contact, they had each gone on with their lives with their promise in a corner of their lives.
Ajwa was about to accept another proposal of marriage when, at the last minute, she said no, and what a surprise it was when the next proposal of arranged marriage came from Adi's parents.
Both surprised by their reunion, their buried feelings surfaced, and they had both been under each other's spell since their nikkah took place 1 year ago.
Adi slipped his hand over his wife's bare waist, far too ravishing in the morning in this turquoise blue saree.
Holding her tightly against him, he loved to feel his heart beating just for her at high speed.
Ajwa arched an eyebrow as her husband gently drew her into their bed, wrapping the blanket around them.
"ADIII I KNOW THAT TECHNIQUE FROM YOU, GET UP, YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE"
Adi grunted in displeasure and finally released his wife, who was struggling in his arms. "Much too energetic for a pregnant woman" he muttered to himself.
Ajwa glared at him, having heard his comment, putting her hand on her five-month-old belly.
"I'm not that energetic, you're just too lazy, it's been 1 year and you still need me to be your morning alarm, what will your employees think if you always arrive after them when you're supposed to be setting an example ? "she says in a scolding tone.
Adi pouted and nonchalantly stood up, he knew she was right, "It's OK, I'll get ready" he said sulkily.
And with that he grabbed his bath towel that Ajwa had taken care to put down with the rest of his things, while Ajwa repressed a slight smile, she liked to see Adi act like a child, it always reminded her of the Adi who had annoyed her at university but she also liked to see the charismatic Adi in her office.
He came out twenty minutes later, with his tie undone, "Ajwa" he called softly.
Immediately, with an air of resignation, Ajwa approached him to fix his tie, while her husband's hands naturally came to rest on her waist, gripping her tightly and staring at her intently.
"You still haven't figured out how to tie a tie ?" she teased
Aid smiled, it was a joke between them, they both knew that Adi knew how to do it very well like a grown-up but since the first day, he had lied about not knowing how to do it and Ajwa had helped him, and since then it had become their ritual, a moment they both loved.
"No, I give up, why learn to do it when I have my super talented wife to help me ! " he said proudly.
Ajwa rolled her eyes; by marrying Adi, she had discovered a side of him that he never showed to anyone but her, his silly, romantic side.
"out with it" she shook it off like old dust.
Seeing her husband's falsely outraged expression, she giggled, before planting a furtive kiss on both his cheeks.
Finally prepared, they both went down to the living room, where the food was already laid out.
"Where are Ammi and Abu ?" asked Adi, seeing no one at the table.
"You haven't been listening, they left this morning to see some old friends, and Mira is still asleep" warned Ajwa.
Adi nodded slowly, he vaguely remembered this information, he was so tired last night that after praying the isha prayer, he had fallen asleep on the bed, finally it was Ajwa who had come to wake him up, forcing him to eat. Ajwa was sad to see how tired her husband was sometimes, especially since she was on maternity leave from her own job as a nurse. She had never noticed that Adi was so tired, it has to be said that before his wife arrived, he was hurrying to get by, and hiding his immense tiredness so as not to worry her, but now he couldn't hide it.
They ate together in each other's pleasant presence, at the end Adi was getting up ready to leave when Ajwa stopped him. " Adi, please try don't come home too late tonight," she told him.
He smiled, Ajwa was emotionally sensitive but even more so since she was pregnant. Yesterday, he had seen her crying because he was tired and he had struggled to calm her down, and he didn't want her to feel guilty, he was happy to work hard, even if sometimes he came home tired and also Adi had become accustomed to this sensitive side of his wife, and although he had always found it difficult to know how to comfort, thanks to her, he was now an expert in this field.
"Ajwaaa, don't feel guilty, I'm doing very well, it's just that this month the company is handling a big deal but as soon as things settle down a bit, I'll be more energetic than you, pregnant" he tried to tease her.
It worked, a small smile broke out on his wife's lips, "I'M NOT ENERGETIC" she retorted in her most energetic voice.
Caressing her cheek, he reached up to kiss her, "Of course !" he retorted sarcastically, pulling away from his wife.
"Come home early," she said hopefully.
He nodded, grabbed his car keys and approached her one last time. "Don't worry, take care of yourself and him," he said tenderly, placing a hand on her stomach.
He quickly placed a kiss on her forehead, "Allah Hafiz", and disappeared a few seconds later.
Ajwa, already feeling her husband's absence, looked down at her belly. "Your abu is mean to leave us, but at least you're here to keep me company," she said sulkily before smiling at her own stupidity.
She went about her daily business, but she suddenly thought of her first meeting with Adi, she would never have thought that this arrogant boy would in fact have become her husband so attentive towards her today, the one who was also the father of her child, and who had now become her best friend.
When everyone told her not to take the job as a nurse because they thought she couldn't handle the workload, well, only Adi stood by her, telling her to listen only to what her heart told her, and thankfully she did
Strangely enough, they had never really said "I love you" to each other, only "I like you" once, yet all their daily actions spoke for them.
Which is why perhaps their promise of reunion wasn't a full promise, but only « a half-hearted promise »