Anisa's POV:
I had no idea why I was beginning to enjoy Ali's company. It was a little weird and I couldn't exactly put my finger on it. The date he was talking about was just a stroll in the school garden where the gardening club was. As per his promise, we were back before the next class started.
Honestly, I felt so giddy inside.
The whole time, he was teasing me and I just gave him my sassy comebacks in return. That was the first time I didn't get annoyed by him because it looked like he was really just joking around. I had to admit, I started to understand where the other girls of the school were coming from. Ali was the perfect boy.
He was handsome, charming, funny and romantic. He was only lacking in religion but I had been noticing that he was working on his prayers. I quickly shook myself out of my thoughts.
I wasn't gonna waste my time on this. Finals were up soon and I needed to study. But deep down, I didn't want to. I somehow wanted to just relax at home and go on more dates with Ali—
Oh for God's sake, Anisa! Shut up!
"Oh Allah, Where is he?" I crossed my arms over my chest, tapping my foot impatiently.
I was standing in front of the main gate, waiting for Ali. It was his stupid idea that we walk home that day. Even though I actually liked the sound of it, I was getting impatient as the minutes went by. As I waited my mind wandered off to Usman. He had left the house earlier than both of us saying that he had some work to do in his dad's company.
I thought about how sweet he was. He was almost like one of those prince charmings who would lay their lives for the princess. Then I suddenly remembered the nickname Ali started using for me. The word princess sounded so nice when he said it. And whenever he used it for me, I felt so special.
"You, terrorist!" I was shaken out of my thoughts as that high pitched, piercing voice filled my ears. I turned my head on instinct. I rolled my eyes as the distant figure storming towards me, stood in front of me and blocked my view.
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, Brianna?" I shot her a fake smile to which her scowl deepened and she narrowed her eyes at me. "You sneaky little slu*!" She cursed as she pointed a finger at me accusingly.
To be really honest, the intense hatred in her eyes actually got me feeling a little scared but of course, I wasn't one to back off if she wasn't. I kept up my cool. "I thought you would think twice about trapping him but no! You turned out to be sneakier than that. Just because he gives you the time of day to bully you doesn't mean he's interested in you. Don't get too cocky about yourself!" She yelled in my face, taking a step forward.
She glared at me and I couldn't help but think that if looks could kill, I'd be 15 meters in the ground already.
"Look, calm down will ya? I don't unders-"
''Don't play dumb with me! I know everything about all your schemes and conspiracies." She narrowed her eyes at me, cutting me off mid sentence. At this point, I was getting angry. I could feel my blood boiling and I rolled my hands into a fist to resist the urge to give her a hard slap on the face.
She opened her mouth to yell a few more accusations when she got interrupted.
"Brianna!" Both of us turned our heads upon hearing the order. "A-Ali?" Brianna quickly back away, her angry expression fading. Ali stood before us, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's going on over here?" He demanded, looking at her.
Brianne quickly looked away, avoiding eye contact. I decided to clear my part. "Well, Brianna stormed up to me in a rage, demanding answers. And I don't have a clue what she's talking about." I explained briefly, keeping my calm and knowing somehow that Ali would believe me.
Brianna shot me a glare before turning to Ali. "Look, just tell everyone the truth already!" She snapped. He cocked an eyebrow at her. "About what?" he looked at me for answers but I just shrugged. "No clue."
"Are you in a relationship with Anisa or not?!" Brianna replied, raising her voice. I looked at Ali. "Oh, so this is what this is all about." He said in realization. Brianna nodded. "Everybody's talking about it and I came to get answers!"
I looked at Ali as if telling him that it was all expected. He looked at me but then turned to the problem at hand.
I swear, if Ali hadn't motioned me to stop, I would've shown her her place. "So? Yes or no?" Brianna demaded impatiently. Now, everything was up to him. Ali said he didn't really care whether everyone found out or not. I wanted to see what his final decision was so I kept quiet. No matter what his final decision will be, I would support him as he promised to protect me either way.
I noticed that he was in a huge battle with himself. I looked at him sneakily from the corner of my eyes and he looked mentally torn. He gave me one final look before clearing his throat. Both of us looked at him, eagerly waiting for his answer.
"Yes. I'm in a relationship with Anisa."
Even though I was expecting that case scenario, it still surprised me at how confident he was. It kinda made me happy that he wasn't ashamed of it. I gave him a small smile and he just looked away, embarrassed with a pink blush on his cheeks. It made my heart skip a beat.
"What the hell?" Obviously, Brianna didn't take it well. "Prove it!" She demanded. Ali looked at her blankly. "He doesn't really need to prove anything. You believe what you want. It doesn't concern us." I finally spoke up, sharing an assured look with Ali.
Brianna, in a fit of rage held out her hand to slap me. I was ready to fight back when Ali stepped in.
"I think you have no more business with us. Stop being such a child. Anisa is my girl, deal with it." Ali's voice was dangerously stern and his intense glare was enough for her to curl up into a mouse.
My eyes widened at the sudden confession and I could feel my heart fastening it's pace. I looked at Ali's back and it suddenly gave me a sense of security. My eyes moved to the ground, as I was still trying to digest his words.
Anisa is my girl, Anisa is my girl
His words repeated over and over in my head. I was shaken out of my thoughts when Brianna stormed off with a huff.
He turned to me, his serious expression fixated on his face. I felt a bit awkward, not knowing what to say. "She's probably gonna tell the whole school." I finally said.
His gaze didn't leave me. "Let her.". I looked up at him and his expression had softened. "You don't care? Not even a little bit?"
He shook his head. "I'm happy she got to know that. She was annoying me anyway."
Those words hit me like an arrow and I had to say, I had never felt so hurt by someone's words. I didn't know what I was hoping for him to say but hearing that he just did that to get rid of a thorn in his back, made me weak in the knees.
Noticing the awfully quiet atmosphere, Ali's face lit up. "Let's go home. I'm so hungry." but his expression made my blood boil more than the time Brianna was being annoying. I didn't look at him and simply started walking. My eyes were shaped into a scowl and I was sulking. I tried to hide it but all in vain.
Ali's POV:
When we entered the house, Anisa just stormed up to the room and locked it. It gave me a message loud and clear that she didn't want me there. I told myself it was because of that stupid Brianna but something inside of me hoped that it was because of what I said after that.
I knew I couldn't raise my hopes up but I couldn't shake off the feeling. I sighed as I looked at the locked door and went back downstairs. I didn't want to say what I said but I was too much of a scaredy cat to let Anisa know what I was starting to feel for her inside. If I told her I said that because I really meant it, she would fall into suspicion and figure it out eventually.
I couldn't believe it but I was actually fearing her rejection, a feeling so strange to me.
I walked up to the living room and tossed my bag over on the couch and plopped down. I grabbed the remote and started watching a cricket match.
Suddenly, I had the main door open and someone came inside. Curiously, I walked out and saw Usman walking inside with a stressful expression.
He had just returned from his father's company and he looked tired as hell. "Salam, bro." I gave him a smile and he returned it. "Wa Salam. How are you, Ali?" he stepped closer to me. "Great."
"Hey, you look tired. I'll leave you so you can go rest." I told him and turned to leave. "Wait, can I have a word with you?" He was a little hesitant, and his usual smile wasn't there either.
I looked at him, a little unsure. "You look really tired. We can talk later." I said. He shook his head. "It won't take long. And besides, it's about Anisa." That got my attention. My brows furrowed into a deep frown and I motioned him to continue.
"You know why I came here?" He questioned, his expression getting a little dark. I shrugged. "To take care of some work in your dad's company?" I guessed, confused why he would ask me that. He let out a sigh, as if extremely disappointed.
"I'm sure you don't know this but," he made eye contact. "I was supposed to marry Anisa the day you got married to her." My eyes widened. I fell in a state of shock and actually thought I heard him wrong. "Wait. What?" I tried to confirm.
Usman nodded. "What in the world?! How come I know nothing about this?" I asked, getting angry. "Look, I don't know. I was informed about the whole situation after I had landed. No one even bothered to tell me that you had already gotten married." Usman's voice was rising too and I could see that he was pretty pissed about everything.
"But... How...? It's not possible. My dad told me he made a promise-"
"My dad told me on the phone that he had gotten in a fight with your father. To compensate for his mistakes, he offered to give my hand in marriage instead of yours. I had to give in because it was my dad's last wish. But, I got into an accident... " He trailed off and gave me a stern look.
"They got her married to you. They thought I wasn't going to recover from the injuries but I did just in time for the marriage. My parents encouraged me to come here and fulfil the promise made to your father, not knowing that everything had already been settled. They got you married to Anisa." Usman stopped talking.
I just looked at him, dumbstruck and speechless. "Anyway, it's a relief I can still marry the person of my choice. I'm just a little sad my father's wish couldn't be fulfilled." He said, smiling sadly.
I stood there in a state of utter shock and surprise. I had no idea what to say. It was actually pretty sad how Mr. Malik managed to affect two lives at once. Though I'm starting to accept my marriage, Usman had his own problems.
Thankfully, Usman was left with a better option and my father went to Pakistan anyway to visit his brother. Usman didn't have to sacrifice anything. And I got Anisa. Which wasn't a bad deal at all. Although, I started to think about why Mr. Malik wanted to marry off Anisa so early. It wasn't like he didn't have money or a mother for her. His wife was a good woman and I've never heard Anisa speak bad of her.
Whatever it was, I had more important things to do.
Like convince the angry princess upstairs who was mad for no reason.