Architect and Mrs Dantata

10: ZAYD

There's a bouquet of recently made origami flowers on my nightstand and it has an attached card which holds a simple message for the woman the bouquet is for. It is smaller than I would have liked but the last thing I want is her not being allowed on the plane because of it. She'll be hurt and that expression would break my heart.

I unlock my phone and go to the messages of hers that I have starred. I've read it more than a thousand times since she sent it on Thursday night. I have a feeling I'm going to read it a thousand times more.

Amal: My blueprint for my dream man and relationship is quite simple, Architect Dantata. I just want someone I can trust, love, respect and rely on. Someone I can learn from too! I want the same from him; to be trusted, respected, loved, and also to be relied on. I'm not sure there's much to learn from me but if there is, he's free to do so.

Amal: For a relationship, I want it to be a safe space. Where I know both of us understand each other well and are doing everything with each other's best interests at heart. I know I'm always going to make him a priority and so I want him to also make me a priority. The last thing I want in a friendship or a relationship is to feel like I'm too much of a burden or feel as though I'm an afterthought. That's all I want in a nutshell. I hope this is enough for your foundation.

Amal: I'll trust that my blueprint is in good hands with you. You're a skilled architect so I know you'll do just fine. I trust you, Zayd. I'll be doing that for a long time.

Her trust in me feels like an egg I'm so scared of even scratching. It's terrifying but it's also nice. I trust her and I know I'm going to do so for a long time, as long as she doesn't find any reason to get me out of her life. Respecting her is not going to be a problem. Loving her isn't also going to be a problem. What's going to be a little problem is finding out exactly how she likes to be loved. So far, I know she likes quality time and acts of service. I'm going to have to learn everything else. Maybe I'll even ask Halima.

Making her a priority is not even impossible at this point. The fact that I was making flowers during my meetings yesterday – while telling everyone who asked that I was trying to clear my head – is enough proof that she's pushing my company and my clients to second place. I'll have to go back to the drawing board to re-learn how to separate my personal and work lives because she has blurred the line with graceful ease.

I want her to rely on me. I badly want that. I want to be one of the first people she thinks of calling when something comes up. She's already one of mine but she doesn't know that yet. I'll tell her in due time. I don't want to scare her off.

A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts and I raise my head.

"Ya Zayd." It's Aliyah. She's finally up. She clears away the rasp in her throat. "Ya Zayd, can I come in?"

I put my phone away. "Yeah, you can."

She pushes the door open and steps in, shooting me a small smile. Her hair is a mess and her face is still swollen. In her hand is a bouquet that's slightly bigger than that on my nightstand. She trudges towards me, barefoot. I sigh at the sight. This is a woman that's about to get married.

She sits beside me and rests her head on my shoulder with a blissful sigh. "I woke up to this. Thank you."

I can't stop my small smile. "What if it was Mas'ood who made it for you?"

She snorts. "Dan Allah don't make me laugh. When did Mas'ood start making flowers? The only flowers he knows how to make are with sugar or dough. This is yours, ya Zayd. Thank you."

She's really trying to make me biased by making her my favourite. She's been doing so since she was born. "You're welcome, Aliyah...Did you sleep well?"