A Match Made In Jannah

Chapter 57

NABEEL'S POV

My eyes flickered between Maariah and Husna. Husna looked utterly devastated, and I resisted the urge to throw my arms around her waist and pull her into a tight hug . My throat constricted as I took a huge gulp of air. I repeated Maariah's words of love over and over again in my mind to convince myself that I had made the right choice. I reassured myself that I loved Maariah and had the universe before me. Maariah was beautiful. According to universal standards she was a diamond that had simply fallen into my lap, while Husna was pretty but not extraordinary. If I was a fifteen-year-old hormonal boy, then maybe this would have mattered to me, yet at that very moment, the superficial qualities of a woman simply did not matter. I yearned for Husna's Taqwa. I yearned for the fresh beginning she had promised me. I yearned for a tomorrow that would never come.

I chided myself and told myself to get a grip of the situation. My hand travelled across Maariah's swollen belly. Inside it was a piece of me. She contained a bundle joy to whom I was the father. In that moment, I knew that I would love Maariah with everything I had regardless of the circumstances that brought us together, simply because she was the mother to the brightest star I could see in my future. I smiled a watery smile at her and squeezed her hand.

I cleared my throat. "So, everyone here is aware of the situation at hand. I'm not going to deny any responsibility for what happened, or try to absolve myself of my duty. As a matter of fact, I think I should be taking my duty much more seriously from now on. Being an expecting father is something that would bring anyone great joy, but in my current circumstances it is difficult to feel that way. I think that my solution, even though it may not make the situation right, will bring a little peace to the family and closure to everyone here. Maariah and I need to shoulder this responsibility together, so I don't see the point in delaying us getting married. Can we make the Nikkah today?"

Maariah's mother gasped with shock.

"Absolutely not, Nabeel. Do you know what people will say? How can we not have a wedding for our only daughter? What the community will think? We can't act like something is wrong and we are hiding something!"

Maariah echoed her sentiments. "Nabeel, I want a fancy wedding. The decor will be all Arab themed, and we'll have a catwalk. We need to invite loads of people. We'll even have an Arab dress code for the nights before! I have it all planned in my head!"

A flicker of annoyance crossed my face, but I tried to maintain my composure. "Aunty, Maariah, you see, right now we're in a position where we have a child on the way and we have committed a huge sin. Why prolong the sin? I just feel that everyone will see your stomach on the wedding day which will take ages to plan, or even the baby, so why can't we just make Nikkah now? Besides, a wedding isn't even Sunnah."

Danyaal nodded his head in agreement, and with just a few words, managed to convince the family to allow us to get married that day. We agreed to make the Nikkah in a few hours, straight after Zuhr Salaah. My mind struggled to register what was about to occur. Within the next four hours, I would be a married man and was already an expecting father.

The joy of the future that lay ahead of me would have been a thousands times more beautiful if it had not been for Husna's golden orbs gazing at me with a look of pure betrayal and pain.