- A'ISHAH'S POV -

"Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, habibti. Come inside." I greeted, watching sister Aleena walk through the door and take her shoes off.

"Wa alaykum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. How are you?"

"I'm well. Come take a seat."

She walked over to the couch and got comfortable after confirming that King was at work, leaning back on the couch and puffing out air. "I'm so drained, A'ishah. These children at the childcare suck up all my energy."

"Is it that bad?"

"It's worse than bad. It's terrible. I love them all. But they're horrible. But I do love them, but still, they're a nightmare." She laughed, making me laugh with her.

"It sounds like it's a love/hate relationship."

"Oh definitely." She chuckled.

"Are you good with kids?" She paused. "I mean, not that you really have a choice anymore." She glanced at my belly and I laughed, reflexively placing my hand over it.

"I have always wanted to be a mum, but I'm also very sensitive, so the pregnancy has been doing a number on me."

"Is King on the receiving end of your pregnancy wrath?" She laughed and I nodded whilst covering my face.

"Aleena, when I tell you that I cry sometimes because he doesn't say Goodnight to me."

"You're joking."

"No! I wish I was." I yelled comically. "I'm telling you, it's bad."

"Well you are a queen in Islam, habibti, so it is only right that he treat you as such." She winked.

"Alhamdulillah." I smiled, feeling my cheeks burn up. He really did treat me well and I liked to think that I reciprocated by treating him like a king.

"Let's hope your brother also lives up to my expectations." She joked.

"If he doesn't, you have me as support. But I'm sure he'll do fine." I smiled. "Speaking of my brother..."

"Yes, wedding preps. So I've bought my notebook and laptop..."

"No, Aleena. There's something else. He actually needs to talk to you about something if that's okay. I'll message him so he can come over."

Her face dropped instantly. It looked like a million thoughts were running through her head, and not a single one of them were positive. I didn't blame her. I would probably have the same reaction.

"Is he getting cold feet. Because if he is, A'ishah I really can't deal. I'm not going to go into marriage with someone who doesn't know what they want."

"No, no, no." I quickly stopped her from assuming any further. It was so interesting to see how different her and I were. If I was in her shoes I would have been on the verge of breaking down, but she was able to turn her emotions off and go completely cold in a split second as if she wasn't even the one being affected by the entire thing. It was odd to see, but I knew that her tribulations in life had led her to not settling for anybody. She was beyond that. She was done with heartbreak and she couldn't risk going through a breakdown of any sorts. "It's nothing like that. I promise he has no cold feet. I would tell you the topic but he wanted to say it himself."

"Okay, well where is he?"

"He's at the shops around the corner. I can text him and he'll be here in a couple of minutes."

"Okay, do that." She seemed very cold now. Like she didn't want to be here anymore.

I felt like Ayman had to tread very carefully with Aleena. She had been through a lot and her emotions were different to anyone else's I'd seen. He had to make sure he treated her right otherwise she would have no problems leaving. Alhamdulillah, I didn't think, not even in the slightest, that my brother would do anything to infringe on the rights she had over him as his wife. For that reason, I felt like they would be okay.

I texted Ayman and it was slightly awkward after that as we waited for Ayman to come. We couldn't really get into any wedding planning since Aleena was no on edge. Instead, we sat in silence and waited until finally the doorbell rang. Aleena sat up straighter as I went to open the door. "Assalamu alaykum." I greeted. He looked at my face and frowned. "Wa alaykum salam."  He then silently mouthed 'not good?' And I shrugged, patting his back slightly as he gave me a quick hug. "And hello to you too, baby." He bent over and rubbed my belly and I smiled.

"Assalamu alaykum." He greeted confidently as he walked into the living area and sat down on the single armchair in front of the window.

"Wa alaykum salam." Aleena said with just as much confidence. She gave him a smile, but it wasn't genuine.

"How are you?" Ayman asked.

"Alhamdulillah." She responded.

He paused, I assumed that he was waiting for her to ask him how he was, but it never came. He sighed and looked down before looking back at her. "I guess I'll get straight into it then."

"Please do." She spoke.

"Perhaps don't be so cold until you know the actual issue." Ayman spoke.

I almost choked. 

My eyes grew wide before I quickly realised and looked down at my belly. I sat back in my chair awkwardly, wanting to leave, but knowing that I couldn't. For some reason it felt like I was sitting here watching my brother argue with his wife and I felt out of place. Also, what the hell, Ayman!?

"I'm choosing to be cold until I know the actual issue."

He sat silently for a couple of moments before sighing. "You know Beth, right? King's sister." He began.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Well, yesterday she opened up to A'ishah that she has feelings for me."

I glanced up at Aleena and she still held the exact same facial expression. She was silent, waiting for Ayman to say more.

"A'ishah decided that it would be best for her to tell me about it and then for me to tell you about it so that nothing is left unknown. We didn't want to risk knowing about this, not telling you and then having it come to light at any point in the future." He explained.

"I think that was definitely the right choice." She glanced at me and I looked up to meet her gaze. "Thank you." I gave her a nod before she turned back to Ayman. "Where do these feelings stem from if you haven't acted in a way that would elicit them?" She asked.

"Firstly, I haven't done anything to elicit them. Secondly, I cannot expose much of sister Beth's life without her permission, but she has a dark past. I assume her simply witnessing the way I act with my sister or my parents have caused her to feel some form of desire towards me."

"What about you? Do you harbour any feelings towards her?"

"Absolutely not." Ayman was quick to answer.

"In the time period from when she told you until now, did you ever, for even a split second, consider what it would be like to be married to her?"

"No, Aleena." He said pointedly.

She breathed in and released a quick breath before looking away from him.

"Going forward, until I feel confident with you as your wife, I would prefer you not be in the same place as her. Is that reasonable?" She asked.

Yes, definitely.

"She's King's sister. She lives in this house. I come to visit my sister often. I can't promise you that."

Oh my god. I had to physically hold my hand down so that I didn't slap it across my forehead. Why was he being like this?

"Will you try?" She asked.

Yes, I definitely will.

"I guess."

Ya Allah. I was going to hit him. I was actually going to hit him.

"That's not enough. You're acting as though my request is unreasonable." She spoke and Ayman looked at her briefly, not saying anything.

Say something, Ayman! She was making a very reasonable request.

Aleena cleared her throat. "Here's the thing, if ever, a male approaches me and says that he has feelings for me..." She trailed off and immediately I saw Ayman sit up straighter. "And you try telling me not to be in the same atmosphere as him, do not think that I will find your request reasonable." I heard Ayman's finger joints crack as he squeezed his joiner hands together tighter.

Ooh, that's what I thought. This always works. Switch the scenario to them and they understand exactly where you are coming from.

"No. You're right. It's reasonable. I will do my best to not be in the same atmosphere. I will visit when she is at work."

Aleena smiled contentment. "Great. Seems like we are in agreement. Now you may leave. We have things to plan."

"So, we're good?" He asked.

"Yes, Alhamdulillah."

"Alhamdulillah." Ayman said before getting up off the arm chair and rounding it towards the front door. I started to follow him but he stopped and turned around again, taking a few steps back to where he was. "Just to confirm, there is no one like that, right?" He questioned.

I smiled, placing my hand over my lips.

Aleena acted clueless. "Someone like what?"

Ayman's jaw clenched visibly and he shut his eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them again. "Someone who has feelings for you?"

She turned to look at him. "No."

"You're sure?"

"Did I ask you to repeat any of the answers to the questions I asked you before?"

"No."

"Right. That's because I trust you. Do you trust me?" She asked.

He paused, looking at her and relaxing. "I trust you."

"Alhamdulillah. Fee amanillah, Ayman." She smiled briefly before turning around and grabbing her laptop.

I walked back to the door with Ayman and he put his shoes on. "You've got your work cut out for you with this one, brother." I grinned.

"Tell me about it." He shook his head, rubbing his fingers over his forehead. "I'll see you soon inshaaAllah, habibti. Take care." He gave me another quick hug before we exchanged salaams and he left, leaving me to close the door after him and walk back inside.

"You are going to keep him on his toes, aren't you?" I asked her with a smile.

She grinned. "How else would we have excitement in our marriage?" I laughed with her before she tapped the seat next to her. "Should we start?"

"Let's start." I chuckled, sitting down beside her as we finally began planning.

————— END —————

This was such a short chapter I know!
This chapter is dedicated to a certain group of sisters who wanted me to sacrifice my 6 hours of sleep to write a chapter because they missed A'ishah and King. As payback, for making me lose 1 hour of valuable sleeping time, I have given you all a chapter with No King 😇

Love you all x hehe.

Don't forget to vote and leave a comment on what you liked about this chapter 🥰

Assalamu alaykum! ❤️