Layla felt unsure of her decision.
She felt as if she was being to hasty in this situation. But she couldn't help it, the hope on her parents faces were to hard to just ignore. Her parents had done so much for her, they treated her like a princess and she wanted, no needed to return the favor.
And although Layla was innocent she wasn't exactly blind. She had seen how people in her culture had treated women back in the day. Heck, even today so many people, not just in the Desi culture, but in other cultures were also treated bad. She was so thankful that she had loving caring parents who let her go to school, let her go to collage, let her get a degree. She was thankful her parents didn't support one gender over the other. Often times when she told her fellow peers that her brothers cooked or helped around the house, they would be shocked.
All of a sudden it all hit her. The Nikah, the marriage, her soon-to-be husband. It was overwhelming. She couldn't help but think all the possibilities "what if- what if he's a rapist or even worse, a daal lover-," now it sounded bad but Layla absolutely despised daal. It was childish really but that didn't stop her from disliking it. "Omg, what if he's an old 54 year old with pimples and wrinkles all over his face! Wait no, Mama and baba would never do that to me, right? What if he's a Mafia leader and is into human traf-," a knock one her door broke her from her 'what if's'.
"Come in," She said, after taking a deep breath. Her back had been facing the door and she was gazing out her window.
"You know, I was expecting a warmer welcome. Where you would be jumping from joy to greet me." His deep voice rang out.
"No way," she thought.
She immediately jumped up from the bed and turned around to similar light brown eyes gazing back at her. She couldn't contain her excitement. She looked like a kid in a candy store. "Abdullah Bhai!" She shrieked and ran into his welcoming arms.
He let out a little 'oomph' at the impact, but still hugged his baby sister back. "Now that's how you greet your worlds best brother," he said, chuckling at his little sisters antics.
"I missed you so much! Wait a minute-," she pulled back, "-What are you doing here?" She questioned.
Abdullah slowly let go of her "Well, Mama and Baba told me about the marriage and I couldn't just stay in the states while all of this happened," she couldn't help but notice how her Bhai spat out the word marriage. "Don't worry, I'll try to find a way to get you out of this marriage. Especially if it's that bastard your marrying," Layla gasped at the language her brother had used.
"Abdullah Bhai, don't talk like that! It's not nice and plus mama and baba were so happy with this decision, I-I can't back out now, they've already started the preparations," Layla replied.
"But-,"
"No buts Abdullah Bhai,"
"Fine, but if he mistreats you in any way, he's as good as dead,"
"Deal," Layla said, grinning at her brother.
â¢â¢â¢â¢ â¢â¢â¢ â¢â¢â¢â¢
Today was the day.
The Nikah
Layla couldn't help but get jitters. She was really nervous. She looked at herself in the mirror, examining. She was wearing a light jade colored kurti and Lehnga. Both were embroidered with gold and light pink threads. To top it off, she had a light pink colored dupatta with beautiful golden embroidery. She had absolutely fell in love with the dress.
(Omg I absolutely love this outfit so much!!)
She didn't want to go all out for the Nikah but since a lot of her family and her in-laws family would be present as well, her parents went all out. She told her mother she didn't want anything grand but her mother replied with "Why would my only daughters wedding be simple?"
"It's time, Beta," her mom said, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her a warm smile. Layla felt a little calmer after seeing her mothers smile. Key word: little. She tried to return her mother's smile, but it came out more as a grimace. Her mother, Bhabi, cousins and best friends helped her up and out to the living room, where the ceremony was to be held. She didn't know what the decor looked like for it was a surprise, but Layla didn't mind a bit.
When she looked up, the first thing to catch her eyes were the beautiful flowers adorning the room. They had made a beautiful archway with peach and white colored flowers. All in all, it was breathtakingly gorgeous.
(Let's just pretend there's a couch there instead of the pillows)
As she was admiring the beautiful decorations, her light eyes met dark, cold eyes staring right at her. Her breath couldn't help but hitch.
He was gorgeous. He had dark eyes that complimented his almost tan skin. His dark hair that was jelled but a few pieces still came out. He had a light stubble and a muscular body with broad shoulders and muscles as arms. His eyes so cold and dark, yet so gorgeous. She knew if she went up close then his eyes would look even more gorgeous.
And as if he could feel her checking him out, he arched one of his perfect eyebrows at her. Cue the blush. She was thankful she already had blush-on on so it wasn't that obvious but he still noticed it and his lip twitched.
All the girls helped her sit down on the couch, making sure she looked perfect for the pictures and her husband. She couldn't help but tense up a bit, sitting so close to him. The jitters even got worse.
She looked around the room and caught her Abdullah Bhai's eyes and he smiled at her, calming her down like her mothers smile had done earlier. Come to think of it, her Bhai and mother had the same smile.
The Moulvi had arrived to read the Nikah.
"Omg, this-this is actually happening," she thought in disbelief.
Her mother came and sat down beside her, grabbing her hand, and gently squeezing it. And the Moulvi began to read the vows.
"Qabool hai," Zayn replied, his tone cold and empty.
The Moulvi then looked at Layla. "Apko yeh Nikah qabool hai?"
There was a moment of hesitance from Layla. Her heartbeat picked up, beating as fast as drums.
Finally she had the courage to muster the words. "Qabool hai,"
A week after was the Mehndi. Her family opted to have a outdoor rasm. All her female friends and family members were invited. The backyard was beautifully decorated with a heavily decorated Jhoola.
Layla was seated on the jhoola with her Bhabi beside her.
She was wearing a light pink kameez that reached about mid thigh and blue pants with a yellow dupatta along with a gorgeous maang tikka.
Her aunts were playing the Dholk and everyone around were singing along to the melody. Everything looked beautiful.
â¢â¢â¢â¢ â¢â¢â¢ â¢â¢â¢â¢
Zayn couldn't get that hazel eyes beauty out of his mind. She looked so beautiful on the day of their Nikah. He had never seen someone so innocent yet so beautiful. She didn't need make up to look pretty. Her hazel eyes made his insides feel warm. Her soft brown hair complimented her adorable cheeks. The blush that had been permanently stuck to her face made his heart beat faster.
F*ck.
This girl had completely taken over his thoughts.
Today was the Barat. Apparently, in his family, it was a tradition to have the ruksati in less then a month after the Nikah and his parents didn't want to break that tradition.
"I can't wait to see her," he thought. Wait, what? Where'd that thought come from.
"Zayn, chalo," his older sister, Zara said. Zara was married to Ahad and she had a beautiful four year old daughter who loved Zayn with all her heart. Anaya came rushing in right after her mother came in.
(Let's go)
"Mamoo!" The little girl exclaimed, "Look at my dress!" She was wearing a red with golden embroidered peplum with golden pants. All in all, she looked adorable. She moved closer and placed herself on his lap.
(Maternal uncle)
"Wow, Anaya, you look like princess," he said, smiling softly at his niece. He loved his niece a lot. The little girl had managed to melt his heart just a bit. He had a soft spot for her that would forever be there.
"Zayn! Let's go!" His older sister once again exclaimed. Zayn rolled his eyes and got up, with Anaya still in his hands.
"Let's go," he said.
â¢â¢â¢â¢ â¢â¢â¢ â¢â¢â¢â¢
Shab-e-barat Mubarak everyone. I hope all your prayers are answered and all your sins are forgiven.
This book has a better progress then my other ones ð
The next chapter will have the barat in it.
Love y'all
Also thank you for all the votes!! Love you guys.