"Okay," I said, as he hung up.
"Ma'am are we waiting for Ms Laila" Flora asked, "let's go back to the office" I said as we went back to our floor.I had no idea I was meeting Ibrahim today, I came out without a single line of makeup, I looked at my window which was made out of a mirror opaque glass. I was glad I took dressing up to make a first impression seriously I thought as I looked at myself.I picked up the powder in my bag, touching up my ever-so-oily face with it. I had no other make-up material in my bag, not even a lip gloss "Shame on your Fatima" I berated myself.I pulled out the card to read it before he came."My love for you is like a flower, it blooms every day. from the moment I set my eyes on you, until this day. I promise to nurture what we have and protect you with all I have" it read. it was handwritten making it more romantic, I held on to the letter smiling at the words.I thought he didn't like me. I had tried not to think about the marriage or my choice all day but thinking about it now, Ibrahim seemed deliberate and sincere."Ma'am Mr Mukhtar is here to see you" Flora said over the landline interrupting my train of thought."Thank you" I replied, putting the card back into my bag and adjusting my sitting position. Her words were followed by a knock on the door."Hello," Ibrahim's husky voice said."Hello" I replied as he walked into my office, he had on a dark grey suit, with a white shirt, it made him look so fine. I blushed at the sight of him. 'fine choice, Fatima' I told myself as he walked in."Are you ready to go?" he asked, with a beautiful warm smile, I nodded, getting up from my chair. we walked to the elevator together."I am sorry for the sudden call and appearance, I was hoping we could spend some more time together before..." he said pausing and changing the conversation."I know you don't want to go too far from the office, there is a nice spot just around the corner" he said as the elevator took us to the basement.A private parking lot. I followed him as he got to the spot where his car was parked. opening the door for me."thank you" I said inhaling the amazing scent of his Arabian perfume as he came closer to me."Thank you for accepting me" he said as soon as he got into the car, "I promise to be the best husband I can be" he assured me as he got driving.As he drove I couldn't help but stare, everything about him was perfect. His sideburns, his nose, his palms as he steered the wheel."Lower your gaze Fatima" I warned myself.He parked In Front of a beautiful garden, He was right about it being around the corner, as the distance was short. it was located in a very serene part of the city I wasn't sure a lot of people knew about it. "Cafe Deluna"."don't open the door please" he said as soon as I was about to open the door,"let me get used to doing these things for you," he said rushing towards my door to open it for me, I blushed at the gesture. I had gotten so used to doing these things myself, it wasn't a big deal to me.We walked into the cafe, it was even more beautiful inside."Welcome sir" the waiter said as Ibrahim pulled out a chair for me to sit. The place was empty, I figured because it was midday a lot of people would be working. I noticed the two waiters pulling in two buffet tables with rollers, one filled with different dishes and the other with snacks and drinks."Would that be all sir?" The waiter asked."yes, I would call you if we need anything more," he said as the waiter walked away."I thought it would be better to have the place to ourselves" Ibrahim explained to me as soon as the waiter left."This must have cost a lot" I spoke innocently forgetting I was speaking to a billionaire"what if I couldn't come out of the office" I wondered, wondering how long and how much he must have spent to book a whole restaurant"."It's just money, you should never worry about that, and I am glad you could though" he said with a beautiful warm smile."would like me to serve you?" He asked, looking at the buffet table, as he served a jug of what looked like orange juice into two glasses before sitting down opposite me."I am sorry if I seem too unromantic, I am not so good at these things," he said, 'was he kidding' I thought to myself looking at the beautiful setting of the place we were, he was better at it than all the people I had been in relationships with."I don't think anyone is good at having their marriage arranged" I replied, I wanted to get him to talk about it, to understand how he felt about it. Instead, he just smiled at taking a sip of juice.A silence filled the room for a few minutes as we both silently took sips of our drink,"Did you want an arranged marriage too?" I said breaking the silence."Yes," he replied. "Not at first, I don't regret it now" he said staring at me as I lowered my gaze, for someone who claimed to be terrible at being romantic he knew the right things to say."What would like to eat" he said again looking at the buffet table, I didn't want any of these things to waste but lunch wasn't a meal I took seriously."I am fine for now" I replied."What about you, I heard you also like an arranged marriage," he said, I smirked at his statement. Umar and Ruqayya must have told them everything about me."not really" I replied. I only said I wanted an arranged marriage because I was heartbroken, someone I had been in a relationship with got married. It was the heartbreak speaking."O!!" He exclaimed I could sense the disappointment in his voice. "But I am glad. thank you for the card and rose" I said, finding a way to lighten the mood."there was a rose" he blurted, I could see an instant regret in his eyes. "You didn't know there was a rose?" I was surprised."Well yes, um, actually, I told Ahmad to help me pick out a card before going to meet you at work" he confessed, the ease I had felt with my decision instantly disappearing. "It was handwritten, did you tell him what to write?" I asked disappointed by the lack of effort."No, I told him to write something, he knew I felt" Ibrahim confessed and that made it worse. I instantly felt angry. He was really unromantic."I think I should be going back to work now," I said, my anger evident as I spoke, I was not one to hide my feelings."I am sorry, I promise to do better," he said, his words flying through my ears."I just have to go back to work" I insisted. The one thing that made me think he liked wasn't even written by him.I didn't mind the arranged marriage because I wasn't even in love with anyone else but I could never marry someone who didn't love me. "Alright," he said as we both stood up, I hated that I didn't eat anything he set up, there were so many juicy-looking things. but I also needed to leave that space. "I am sure Ahmad told you to set up a romantic brunch" I blurted as soon as we got into the car. I was expressive I didn't like having words hooked in my throat. "No, I thought about it myself," he replied innocently. I didn't want to lie to you about the card, I want our relationship to be built on honesty" "I am sorry" he said opening the car door for me. I admired his honesty but I also wished he picked out the card himself or didn't even do it at all. "It's fine" I said I said glancing at him as soon as he entered the car, "I would make it up to you" he assured. 'you better' I thought to myself nodding. We arrived back at the office and he parked at the basement parking lot, I
"What!" I exclaimed, "This is my cousin Kabir's number" he said, "Ughh, I am not a fan of that guy, is he the one harassing you?" Ibrahim asked, "he wasn't really harassing me I guess, I am just not comfortable," I said defending him as soon I realized they were cousins. "It's Harassment dear," Ibrahim said, I could sense his anger increasing as soon as he realized it was his cousin. "I don't like to talk to him. but I would ask Ahmad to talk to him, Ahmad is the only person calm enough to talk to Kabir" Ibrahim explained. 'Ahamd, Calm, you mean bossy enough' I thought remembering how Ahmad was stopping Kareema from eating cake and had been bossy with everyone else. "He wouldn't bother you again" Ibrahim assured. and I nodded. "Can I ask? Is Ahamd getting married on the same day as us?" I asked. I wanted to know if Ahamd was in a relationship. I wanted a way to push the idea of him and Jidda. "No" Ibrahim replied, "but he is in a relationship, right? I further enquired. "Not that
"My Mr. Mukhtar?" I felt a surge of anger as I asked."no!!" "the CEO, Mr Ahmad!" Flora clarified. I could see she immediately regretted telling me. I felt embarrassed, 'why did I add "my' ' to Ibrahim's name, it's not like he was mine or anything' ' I thought to myself. So what if it's Ibrahim?' I thought again."why would that make her jealous of me? I have nothing to do with Ahmad " I said. "she bragged about being the first daughter-in-law of the family" Flora explained, I could tell Flora no longer wanted to talk about it. I respected that. We both silently got out of the elevator.I wondered why I felt jealous earlier, it wasn't like I loved him or anything, 'you are getting married to him, maybe that's why' I told myself.As I got into the office I received a text from Umar, it said he wouldn't be able to take me home because he had an assignment, I was not surprised, Ibrahim had already told me.I wished it was Ibrahim who was available to take me home, I was starting to
My heart skipped a beat, 'what was Ibrahim's mother doing at our house I thought as I felt tense. I looked at Ahmad who kept his stern look, How was I going to get Ahmad to take me home quickly? I texted Ruqayya back telling her I was with Ahmad on our way to a meeting. But she didn't reply making me feel even more tense."Are we going somewhere else again?" I asked, breaking the deafening silence and hoping Ahmad was talking me home. "yes, I would like to visit another client, if you don't mind," he said politely this time. I nodded. silently looking at the time. Ahmad pulled up to a beautiful mansion. Parking his car in front of it as a bulter stood by his side waiting for the keys."Let's go," he said to me as we both got out of the car, walking in to reveal a royally decorated mansion. The maids opening the doors were in elaborate uniforms. "Is your boss around?" Ahmad asked one of them politely as they led us to the visitor's living room, a massive space with golden royal cha
I spent the whole night thinking, Friday was exactly 7 days from that day, how did I agree to this?I thought Ruqayya was joking about the wedding being in 10 days. Could I really get married to someone in 10 days? I felt uneasy and overwhelmed as my alarm rang. My eyes were open throughout the night, I didn't even have a blink of sleep, I felt too tired and lazy to get up as my Alarm rang continuously. I reluctantly got up putting off the Alarm and getting ready for work. After I was done with my morning prayers, I saw a missed call from Ibrahim. I wasn't sure he was the person I wanted to talk to at the moment, regardless I decided to return the call."Good morning dear" Ibrahim said, as soon as he picked up the call, "good morning" I replied. "sorry I didn't call you last night, I had a meeting and didn't return home until late" Ibrahim' explained himself. "It's fine," I said, I didn't even expect him to call. this was the man I was getting married to and I didn't know anything
"Good morning" Jidda said to Ahmad as soon as we got out into his car. "good morning" replied with a warm smile. Ahmad. I gave Jidda room to sit in the front while I found space in the back seat. "Good morning" I said sliding into the backseat wanting to be unnoticed while the two bond. "Good morning Fatima" Ahmad said. He glanced at me for a second, "are you okay?" He asked. "I am fine, thank you" I replied, he probably noticed the eye bags around my eyes from lack of proper sleep. Without saying another word he ignited the car. I listened to Jidda and Ahmad talk about random things as he drove, his eyes weren't fixed on the road and he didn't have a stern look, instead, he occasionally glanced at her and laughed at the jokes she told. I couldn't help but feel jealous, my soon-to-be brother-in-law was friendly to everyone else except me, it was almost as though he forgot I was in the car, not even glancing at me or trying to include me in the conversation. My friend Jidda was wor
CHAPTER Fifteen: The real discussion The message from Ruqayya made me feel nervous, "are you okay?" Ibrahim asked, probably noticing my countenance change. "I am not". "We would talk about it after prayer," I said to him. I didn't want to talk about it, especially not with him. After Friday's prayer, I told Ibrahim I didn't want to go out with him again and I just wanted to go home. "Is everything okay?" He asked as I watched him change the direction he was driving towards. "No," I replied. "Talk to me""I don't know how I feel about getting married to you so soon, Friday is too soon" "But how do you feel about getting married to me in total?" Ibrahim asked, his question was unexpected. "I don't know," I said wondering what I was supposed to say."How do you feel about marrying me?" I asked him instead."I think you are an amazing person and I would love to spend the rest of my life with you" he recited like he was reading a memorized speech. "Do you even love me?" I asked, I
I looked at Ibrahim who sat quietly waiting for me to end the call. If I said no it meant my relationship with Ibrahim would be over. "Yes," I replied."you approve?" my uncle asked to clarify with me again."yes, I do" I said smiling at Ibrahim who smiled back. "Congratulations on your upcoming wedding," my uncle said. "Thank you" I replied as he ended the call "I better be going," I said. I wanted to go back inside to talk to Ruqayya about the call v"sorry about the lunch '' I apologized for cancelling the lunch date "It's fine" he replied with a warm smile, getting out of the car to open the door for me. I could get used to this I thought as I stepped out of the car like a princess. "Actually! Kareema asked me to invite you for a picnic tomorrow" he said with a mischievous smile."Kareema?" "your little sister?" "Uhum,” he said nodding. “she asked me to inform you” "and also escort the both of you" he said making