Him & His Muslimah

46

Zaib/Zoya

"Zoya, how much longer will it take?" Zaib hollered up the stairs, waiting for his wife to be finished with perfecting her headscarf so they could leave. It was Naimat and Ehsan's wedding day and Zoya had returned from Naimat's house a few hours back to get dolled up for the event.

Zaib was not a man of many complaints but he was always cautious of time. He hated arriving late to any event and his anxiety always piqued when big events arrived.

Zoya, on the other hand, took her sweet time. Not because she wanted to be late but because she always messed up in a hurry, thus he grew slightly impatient as they were late to leave the house by half an hour.

"Coming! You should start the car. I'll be down in a minute," Zoya's voice echoed from above.

Zaib sighed, his forbearance tested, but quickly went on to scold himself. This event was their best friends' wedding, after all, of course, she would want to look her best. Zaib was still struggling with his bow tie but he thought of just asking her to do it for him in the car.

Zaib gathered the car keys, wallet, envelope with their wedding money and searched around, hoping he wouldn't forget anything. Laying beside other miscellaneous items on the entrance table, was Zoya's phone. He knew his forgetful wife would leave it behind in a hustle, so he grabbed it.

Just as he picked up her phone, it vibrated and a text message flashed across the screen. It was an unknown number which arose Zaib's curiosity. Tilting his head, he swiped and unlocked the phone, opening the message. Zoya wouldn't mind him looking at a message right? He was her husband after all and it was an unknown number.

His heartbeat palpitated at the sight of the message.

Unknown Number

Hey Zoya, it's Evan.

I got your number from Kei~

Unknown Number

I was going to e-mail you but I figured texting would be quicker. Here are the details for the project. *attachment*

Unknown Number

Look forward to working with you~ we make a good pair!

Jaw clenched, Zaib set the phone down. The audacity of this guy was unbelievable. That day, outside the university, it took everything in him to not throw a jab at that arrogant brunette. Knowing Zoya would not like that, Zaib subtly pulled Zoya close and signalled for that jerk to back off with his flirtatious words and disturbingly adulated gaze.

Zaib wondered how Zoya would respond to his text and felt agitated. As he thought of her, her voice chimed behind him, "I'm ready. What are you still doing here?"

He whipped around to face a glammed up Zoya, her beige silk dress catching the light with her intricately set headscarf framing her beautifully groomed face. A smile graced her nude lips and her light eyes stood out beneath her dark mascara. He forgot about everything in the world, even the ignorant Evan guy and that stupid text and just looked at her.

She timidly peered at him. "Weren't you supposed to start the car?" Zaib regained his composure, "Uh, yeah I was about to when I saw you got a text message."

"Oh, maybe it's auntie, let me check." Zoya grabbed the phone, referring to Naimat's mother and clicked on the messages. Zaib inspected her expressions to see how she would react. To his utter disappointment, she just texted something back and turned off the phone nonchalantly.

With his eyebrows furrowed, he inquired, dismayed, "What did the message say Zoya?"

Zoya looked up as she slid the phone into her clutch. "Oh, it was just Evan sending me the details for our research." She explained, pulling her heels on. Zaib stared blankly and then sighed, anguished at her calm response.