Naira sat behind a counter in their family kitchen, sipping on her green tea as her father paced around in front of her. His blonde hair was unkempt from running his fingers through it, stress lines evident on his forehead, and his qualms were dragging the whole family for a loop.

Daris sat beside her, occasionally glancing up from his laptop. Their mother leaned against the counter, sharing a cup of tea with Naira as she rolled her eyes at her husband's antics. The only one who was very obviously freaking out was her father.

Maybe I should have been more gentle with my announcement.

"You must be out of your mind to think I'm happy about this," grumbled her father.

"Nemo-"

"She's too young!" he exclaimed to his wife. "She's barely out of college, running a boy band, and now she wants to get married? There's still so much she can do with her life."

"Dad, didn't you get married at the same age?" asked a clueless Daris.

Their father's icy eyes snapped at his oldest. "Not the point."

Daris scratched his head, laughing nervously. He definitely didn't want to be the middle of a family argument. "I'm just saying, if age was the real issue, you got married at Naira's age, and you're fairly happy, right?"

"Of course I am," he scoffed, crossing his arms. "But I was also well aware of what marriage means and what it stands for. You don't get married just for a silly crush."

Naira's temper brewed below the surface, a pot of hot water ready to burn right through her father. She understood his worries and his fears, but he didn't have to assume that she was too immature to know what marriage was. That was a low blow.

She placed her tea cup down, the glass clinking against the counter and grabbing all their attention. "Really, Dad?" she asked him, keeping her tone leveled. "You think I told you I wanted to get married because I couldn't control my hormones?"

"I didn't say that-" he tried to amend.

"No, but you were implying it," she pointed out. Naira peered at her father through her thick frames, losing her anger when she saw his concerned blue eyes, the same eyes that lit up whenever he saw her. "You fell in love too, Dad. Don't you remember what that was like?"

The softness of her tone must have broken something inside him because his gaze wavered for a moment, an ocean of blue sweeping into waves as the storm resumed its torture. As stern and strict as her father was, he was never the type to abandon his family, not when he sacrificed so much to feel love.

There was a silence in the room as they stared at her father, observed the ambivalence he felt as he weighed his duty as a father and as her guardian. She didn't want marriage to cause a strife in her family. She didn't want history to repeat itself.

Her paternal grandparents didn't accept her parents' marriage. Not at first, but they slowly learned to love them and to love their children. It wasn't a path she wanted for herself, nor was it one without its own struggles.

Naira's mother stepped forward, interlocking her arm with her husband's, which broke him out of his daze. In the swaying light of their kitchen, glimpses of her mother's beauty began to show in radiant colors like a ray of sunshine in all their lives. The warmth that came from her was one that erased the wintry frost with just a smile, just her soothing voice.

It was no surprise that her father fell so desperately in love with a woman as strong and caring as her mother. Ya Allah, let Rayan and I have what they do. Let me be as beautiful as my mother. Ameen.

"Nick," her mother's lilting voice called out to him, dark eyes staring up at him. Her gaze brought out the shyness in her husband even after being married for decades. "She came to us first. She trusted us enough to tell us that she fell in love and is ready to get married. Shouldn't we trust her too?"

Her father's eyes were desperate, pleading for his wife to understand. "He's a boy band member. Even if he is a Muslim, he's an international popstar that sings and dances for his fans. How can I let my daughter marry someone that panders to the will of others and not to Allah?"

Naira's mother laughed, the sound causing her father's snowy skin to tint in a rosy ember, expression flushed by the presence of his wife and the way she snuggled against his arm. "Don't you think my parents had those same fears about you?" she teased him.

"D-Dina," he stuttered, alarmed by the memory.

"I'm just saying," she smiled. "We're parents. It's natural for us to worry, but we also raised some pretty great kids."

"I second that," added Daris with a cheeky grin. "But I'm very grossed out by this display of affection right now. Please have mercy on us."

"Hush you," scolded their mother, shaking her head in amusement. She turned back to her husband with a sparkling gaze that reminded Naira of a midnight sky. "Let's give him a chance first, Nick. My parents gave you a chance, remember?"

His resolve was breaking, so Naira took the chance to add a little more fuel to her mother's power. "Please, Dad," she said softly. "At least meet him first before making a judgment on him."

Her father adjusted his glasses, grumbling under his breath. "Fine," he sighed, unable to stand up against the women in his family. "But I won't like it."

Naira stifled her laugh behind her hand, knowing how annoyed her father was. His worries were justified and his fears were valid. Her father used to be in a position where he chased after her mother's affections in their youth. He knew the consequences of falling in love, especially as a Muslim.

If anything, he could relate more to Rayan than she could. A sanguine part of her glistened the memory of his past. And all over again, her heart began to hurt.

It cried for him just as she sought after him in the mist of darkness. Judging from the shadows that crossed her father's expression, Naira had a feeling it was a darkness he was all too familiar with.

Being abandoned and alone, trapped by the world and all its ruins as one awaited a sentencing far worse than death. It was a life of emptiness, a hallow heart that shattered under pressure.

And Naira began to wonder if anyone could truly heal from that darkness. When she glanced at her parents again, saw the way her father's eyes lit up at her mother's smile, she knew that Allah made anything possible.

Allah brought them light, and that light surrounded Naira even when she didn't realize it.

----

I deeply apologize for the late update. It wasn't super late, but I like keeping my promises with you all. Truth is, I was trying to make a lot of parallels with this chapter because we learn a lot from our parents even when we don't realize it. 

The way our parents are reflects in our own character. This isn't always true since nothing is perfect, but in Naira's case she grew up with her parents' loving embrace, something Rayan did not grow up with. 

Not trying to give too many spoilers :P Isn't Nick just the cutest? Man's is still blushing over his wife. 

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