One Way or Another (Al-Ameen Family #2)

Surprises

Her henna dress and song attached somewhere here :)

By the time the end of March rolled around, I was a nervous mess. Yusuf and I hadn't seen each other since he dropped me off four months ago. We spoke on the phone but he still didn't know I was coming to Dubai and miraculously, no one had told him.

The night of our flight, I was picked up by my travelling squad. Ali was a saving grace, my personal angel. He had brought bars of hazelnut and almond chocolates- that he said Yusuf had mentioned were my favourite, another observation he made quite spot on- and an exciting rendition of awful Hindi rap songs about eyes and short dresses.

My cheeks were hurting by the time we got to the airport. As soon as we got onto the plane, a goddamn private plan courtesy of my in-laws, the boys fell asleep. Kismat and I talked for a bit. I'd become such good friends with all the girls in the family, I couldn't be more grateful to God.

For someone who grew up with a handful of people I could call family, this was a gift.

"Are you excited?" she asked me, eating her chocolate now.

"I guess..." I muttered meekly. Because they were married, it was so easy for them to talk about boys. I still got all awkward and nervous and embarrassed. She chuckled and then pushed herself up off the seat beside mine.

"Get some sleep honey. Yusuf's going to be so happy," she grinned excitedly before taking the seat beside her husband.

The way everyone talked about Yusuf was so cute. He was apparently a bit of a nerd, quiet, but mischievous- something I was well aware off. Aisha bhabhi always said he was the simplest of all the boys in the family. They all laughed that his tag line was 'don't worry, be happy.'

I had my ring on and in the dark, it let out a little sparkle that kept me up for a bit longer than I'd liked. I woke up when the wheels of the plane touched the ground. I went straight to the bathroom and fixed myself up before we exited the plane.

Dubai was.... different to say the least. It was way, way hotter than snowy old England. There was light and heat and people and tall, talk buildings everywhere. I instantly fell in love with the majesty and simultaneous pretentiousness of the city.

We had a car pick us up. It was nearing evening time so the streets were full of people heading home from work. I silently admired the grandeur of Dubai while the other three causally chatted the way home.

We pulled into a big ass mansion. There was no other way to describe it. It was bloody incredible. When we got to the doors, staff took our suitcases inside and I got to meet Yusuf's grandfather.

He was a tall man, with quite a deep voice. He spoke with us very briefly but it left a resounding effect on me. He asked me about my education and about my work. He was a very intelligent and wise man and I grew a liking to him, albeit a slightly fearful one.

"His room is that one there. I think he's sleeping though but pop your head in," Aisha bhabhi pointed to the room down the hall from hers. I would be staying in their grandfather's brother's house with a lot of Ayaan's family and he'd be here in the neighbouring palace.

I quietly walked down to the room she pointed out with no other choice in mind. I contemplated knocking on the door but then thinking it would ruin the surprise, I just opened it slowly.

He was on his phone with headphones in his ear, standing with his back to me. He had a smile on his face and was humming really quietly to himself that I barely caught. From the mirror on the wall in front of him, I could see he was wearing his ring too.

I stepped into the room and narrowed the door behind me, not closing it but just enough to hide us from the hallway. I cleared my throat, to which he looked up. His eyes met mine in the mirror but not even a second later he looked back at his phone.