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Chapter 10: Love finds another tale

21st November 2019

"And if Allah should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him; and if He intends for you good, then there is no repeller of His bounty. He causes it to reach whom He wills of His servants. And He is the Forgiving, the Merciful"

[Surah Yunus]

Chapter 10:

Love finds another tale

"Mamma?"

"Come in, Raiyyan," Zainab motioned for his eldest son to enter, and Raiyyan stepped in the bedroom, walking up to his mother.

"Tammara and Afreen are back?" She enquired.

"Jee," he nodded, and remorsefully, he added, "You should have accompanied them for Afreen's final wedding dress trial, Mamma. Tam was saying that Afreen was upset all the time."

"When I am not happy with the wedding itself, why must I take part in its preparations? If Afreen can be this stubborn and go against all our wishes to choose the guy she wants to marry, she shouldn't have a problem in choosing the wedding dress all by herself. Besides, Tammara was with her and she has pretty good taste," she justified.

Sighing, Raiyyan consoled, "Her exams got done today, we're just a week away from the wedding. I know it's against our wishes, but if it's meant to be, we might as well accept it and pray for the best."

"Your mum has called you for another reason, Raiyyan," Ibrahim interjected, and Raiyyan turned around to look at his dad who seemed to have wrapped up with the files he was initially skimming through as he joined in the conversation.

"Yeah," Zainab nodded, pausing to eat her tablets, before she continued, "I spoke to Tammara today and she told me the two of you were planning to gift Afreen a car as a wedding gift. Is that right?" She asked calmly and with the way she delivered her statement, Raiyyan just knew what was coming next.

"Mamma, please don't," he warned.

"Raiyyan, you please don't," Zainab repeated his statement.

"You know it, Raiyyan," Ibrahim exhaled, "Your mum is not going to listen to any of us."

"But this is not right, Abbu," Raiyyan objected and turning to look at his mum, he said, "Mamma, dad has a few properties in Afreen's name, and I know for a fact that you two were going to gift it to her during her wedding but since she's getting married to Zubair and you aren't happy with it, you've asked Abbu to gift nothing of it to her. And now, you don't want me to give her a car too. She needs it Mamma, she's used to travelling in a car all her life and they don't have one. I know it's wrong of her to go against your wishes but that does not mean we shouldn't make things easier for her."

"We are neither gifting property nor any luxuries to her at her wedding. I think we must all be happy that at least I haven't refused to give her the jewelry I've bought for her since the time she was young. Its worth runs into lakhs, and that I think must suffice."

"Mamma," Raiyyan started, suppressing his frustration. "Tam and I are going tomorrow to register a car in Afreen's name. If this helps, we'll purchase an ordinary one over a luxury brand, but please, as her elder brother, this is the least I can do."

"Raiyyan, I understand where you're coming from, but you need to understand that Zainab is her mother, and while she's angry now, her love for her daughter is unmatched, and she's doing all this for a reason," Ibrahim explained.