Chapter Thirty Two
Haya
I know a lot of people think I've lost my mind. How could you forgive him so easily? He lied to you. Are you thinking straight? Girl, you need to wake up and smell the dirty junk your husband hid from you? If I were you I'd walk away. I don't need a man in my life. I feel so bad for you, I don't want to get married, ever! I can go on but I'll leave it there. People are beyond inquisitive about the beef between me and Rayyan. Its been an entire week of newspaper clippings, Facebook posts, memes and magazine titles that should be illegal.
My answer to every opinionated woman judging other people's relationships' is- you don't know what its like until you've gone through it. Sure my husband did something horrendous and thatmakes him imperfect but over all he's a good man. He has good manners and he treats me well. What more could you ask for? I'm not a dense youngster desparate to have companionship. I'm a young woman thinking about my future. Rayyan is learning from his mistakes and aside from him everyone is dealing with the consequences in some way. In particular aunt Humaira and uncle Ibrahim.
They were by far the most guilty people thus far. They felt as though they had let me down and in a way they did. They hid details about my husband. Uncle Ibrahim was also in the dark about Rayyan or Aamir or tomato (as he said I could call him) and the Ambassador- Uthman- had convinced him to let Aamir fight his own battles. We drove to my uncle's place this morning to drop Musa off as we're flying off to Egypt tonight. My excitement level is out of this world.
Having said that, I'm currently raising an eyebrow at my aunt who offers a sheepish smile. The screams of my brother and our cousins filter through the living room. Aunt Humaira pretends to be distracted and I roll my eyes. She's horrible at confrontation. She puts Superwoman to shame.
'Humi...'
'Allahu Musta'an, habibti I only found out a day before your wedding and I didn't want to interfere or cause any trouble even though I did in some way but I yelled at Ibrahim Wallah that man should be kicked by a horse.' She lets out a deep breath. I sigh and lean into her with a small smile.
'You have no idea how shocked I was.'
'I can't begin to imagine. I mean the son of an Ambassador and not just anyone but a Qatari?' I laugh at her expression.
'I can safely say I never wanted him for his money or power.'
'Oh but his good looks are certainly a bonus, yes?' We both giģgle at this. Humi stares at me and pats my arm lovingly. 'You're very strong Haya. Even though you have every right to be mad at your own husband.'
'No Humi its Allah who made me strong.' I feel my heart ache at her words. Sure what Rayyan did hurt me and frustrated me to no end but AlhamdhuliAllah I still have him. 'Losing mama and baba was so much harder than dealing with this.' My brother is an orphan to this day and he will be for a few years. Being patient as thoughts of his future flood my mind is strength. Not complaining about my life is strength. Being content with the Decree of Allah is strength.
'May He always keep you this way.' She pulls me into a hug.
'Bab- oh. Am I interrupting?' I cringe and look up at my husband who's standing awkwardly to a side.
I feel like laughing, he was about to say 'babe,' but stopped himself the moment he saw Humi.
'No we're just saying goodbye.'
'Alright.' Rayyan rubs his neck with a slight frown. 'Well I packed everything in the car.' I smile at him and take ahold of his hand.
'Let's make a move then.'
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I absorb my surrounding as best I can. The sky is a pretty mixture of pink and orange, the roads are winding, clear and tainted with a drizzle of rain from earlier in the evening. Two months ago if anyone had asked me if I'd be catching a flight to North Africa, I would've rolled my eyes dramatically amd said no but right now its happening. I can't believe it's happening. I keep thanking Allah in my mind for this awesome- for lack of a better word- oppurtunity.
Travelling has always been an absolute must but with Musa as a top priority and my studies, I couldn't afford to dream that much. I was proven wrong. Sure, we dream the pursuit of a passion but have we ever Dua'd it? I did after my life was literally turned upside down before my very eyes. My experience with my husband scared me but it also showed me that I am nothing who has control over nothing. Where else Allah is The King who has complete control over everything.
'Is there a reason your eyes are slightly red?' Rayyan glances at me.
'Yes but don't worry about it.' Ladies the truth is always better than a polished lie. Be honest with your man and he'll leave you alone. At least if he's anything like Rayyan.
'Tell me.' Or not. I sigh and raise an eyebrow at him. I don't want to bring up the past considering we're heading to the airport with the intention of flying to one of the most eccentric and cultural places of all time. I take ahold of my husband's fisted hand and kiss it lovingly. Cleary he's bothered by what happened eariler.
'Rayyan,' I lower my voice because the Taxi driver looks overly interested in what we have to say. 'Lets not bring the past up. I just want to enjoy my time with you.' My bearded knight stares at me for a good minute before nodding.
'Alright. How exactly do you want to spend your time with me?' He's suddenly flirtacious. I giggle and pretend to think of an answer.
'I don't know really, what do married couples do for fun?'
'They argue over who loves each other the most.' I laugh.
'That's so corny.'
'And they travel with a bag of junk as hand luggage.' I laugh harder as Rayyan suppresses a smile.
'Hey I packed light!' My phone vibrates but I ignore it.
'And they compare each others Instagram and they eat like they're going into hibernation.'
'Wow, I'm really impressed.'
'You should be, I just made everything up.' I lean into him and run a finger across his trim beard. Wallah this man is the definition of manliness.
'You're amazing you know that.'
'I know but I love the reminder.' I tug his beard hard and he winces.
'Stop being cocky.'
'Yes Ma'am.' We grin at each other like teenagers. 'You know one thing young married couples really tend to do?'
'What?' Rayyan slowly pulls out of my grasp and lifts both our phones in my line of view. I see 106 messages on my group chat with Layla and Tasneem and 12 missed calls from Layla in particular. Rayyan has 30 messages from Fahad, Mark and a few others from his basketball team mates. 'Oh no...'
'Yes, you guessed it. They ditch their friends in a heartbeat.' I giggle and shake my head. Dear God, what will I do with this man?
I can easily refuse to be part of this marriage over one mistake but what good would that bring about in the long run. A marriage is a sanctified relationship between two mature people who will at some point in their life have a little family of their own and eventually raise their children to be responsible members of their community. If the family unit is safe and secure then In Sha Allah, the society at large will be safe and secure because we won't have a layer of broken families surrounding a city. Nor will we have a mass of children born out of wedlock and confused about who's there mother or father. Islam revolutionized the world. I dare anyone to disagree.
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AlhamdhuliAllah, Book 2 is complete. I hope you enjoyed this final chapter. I wanted to write it out as simply and enjoyably as possible. Ultimately Haya and Rayyan worked through their massive hurdle and learned to love each other despite it. I will be focussing on my other book The Translator and then writing a new one I already have planned. Keep an eye out for all of that. Until then share these books and pass on the Khayr :)
