After Midnight

10

The lamps cast a soft eerie glow all around me, while people start hooting as they notice me descending the stair case in a baby blue long dress, and a garland of flowers atop my head. Beside me, Harry groans. I nudge his shoulder with mine, simultaneously smiling at everyone.

“Remember the promise,” I whisper. As I take the last step down, Aaila engulfs me in a big, warm hug, and squeals loudly.

“I do, okay? Give me some credit,” Harry narrows his eyes.

I pull back, matching the goofy grin marring Aaila’s face. She looks between Harry and I. Raises a brow in question. “Credit for what?” she quivers.

Harry folds his arm, a twinkle in his eyes. “I promised my wife to be on my best behavior. Seriously doubting why I even considered making a promise which I can’t keep.”

A friend of Harry approaches us. Good thing, because his interruption was the only thing that could save Harry from the smack across his arm. Is there a thing where boys just can’t be happy with what they get? I get it that he’s happy, but inviting the whole school to a dinner was definitely a bit over the top. And now he is an unhappy soul because I didn’t allow him to invite the ENTIRE SCHOOL.

“You both really inspire me, to be honest,” the guy, who I know from my calculous class claps my husband on his shoulder, and they both exchange smiles. He gives me a nod, and I do the same. No smiles for other males.

Aaila stands next to me, frowning at the boy whose name is probably Pen or Ben. I can’t really remember. “How do they inspire you by getting married?”

The guy laughs. “No, what’s really inspiring is that they both didn’t bother about the rest of the world and chose to choose love over anything else.”

“Wait,” I interrupt. My brows knit in the middle. We chose love over anything else? “We didn’t choose love over anything else. How is just following your heart and not caring what others think really related to what you just said?”

“Woah, relax, I didn’t mean to offend you guys,” he nervously chuckles, scratching his ear. “By the way, you look beautiful. Not that you didn’t look gorgeous in school, but I guess Haaris’s love and affection has added to it. You’re going like Aaila does when she eats a whole box of donuts.”

My eyes widen in mock horror. Did he just. . .did he just compliment me in front of my HUSBAND? Does he not have any sense, and is he not aware how very protective Harry can be sometimes? And the fact that he also indirectly hit on Aaila has my blood beginning to warm up in anger.

I open my mouth to bark some mean things, but Harry is faster than me.

“I don’t know where you get the courage, man, but don’t ever talk like that about my wife, and her best friend ever again. Have some respect.”

A decent reply, but it does the job. I, however, am still a bit mad when the guy leaves our company and joins some group of blonde girls sipping juices.

“These freaks nowadays,” Aaila rolls her eyes. “Think they can make us fools.”

“I dealt with him. Now lets not ruin the dinner, alright? We’ve got a whole evening waiting ahead of us.” Harry looks over me with a soft expression, but not as quite as his words, and offers me his arm.

I link our arms and we walk together towards the guests waiting to congratulate us for tying the knots.

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look? Despite vomiting every day from the past week, you still manage to slay your existence.”

A smile tugs on my lips. “Good thing you aren’t a witness to the morning sickness,” I tease.

He laughs a throaty laugh that vibrates through him. We walk over to the guys on the football team and before we join them, Harry whispers, “I am so glad that you came in my life, Aabi.”

I was glad too, I wanted to say. But I couldn’t, because the boys were already yelling and hooting and bumping fists with my husband. There was this fear growing inside me with every second that passed. Nobody in my family knew about my marriage, and this party was an ongoing bomb which could be exploded any time. If this news reached beyond this room before I told my father like I had planned, everything could be shattered to pieces. But at least now there were slightly less chances of everyone forcing me to divorce Harry, saying he was going to be a father of my child. I could only hope that father wouldn’t find an alternative and get me married to any one of his men after killing Harry.

A shudder coursed through me. Harry stops laughing and turns to me, raising a brow in worry. I shake my head and dismiss it with a silent shake of my head. On the outside, I am all smile through out the evening as it proceeds, but inside a thousand needles pierce my heart.

Dad and her wife were to return the days following the dinner party, but when I woke up the next day and strolled down to the kitchen, I saw them in the lounge with a man I had never before seen in my life. I had never been more glad in my life for wearing a scarf earlier—just in case, so I was saved from the man not seeing my hair.

“Oh, hey I didn’t know you were returning so soon,” I said as a greeting.

Father got up and gave me a brief hug, something he only does when we have company. He waves a hand at the man sitting across from me and says, “This is Mr. Aarif, CEO of the world’s largest cigarette selling company.”

My eyes shoot to the man, already finding him staring at me with something I can’t really put my finger on. He’s not more than twenty five, in that is no doubt, but his deep blue eyes tell a whole different story. Father didn’t really have to put emphasis on how rich he is; his three piece suit alone tells that. And are those diamond cuffs he’s wearing?

“Okay?” I avert my gaze to my father. “Why are you telling me this?” Hopefully he doesn’t want to give one of my sister’s to him. That man is obviously not a one woman man, and I would never want anyone to cheat on my sisters’.

Since my father’s back is to Mr. Aarif, a warning shines in his eyes as he utters the words, “He wants to marry you. That’s why your mother and I went to Seattle. To discuss this matter with him. He insisted upon getting married as soon as possible.”

The blood drains from my face.

“What?” I rasp, eyes widening in horror. Any further words die in my throat before making their way out.

“Yes,” Father hisses. He narrows his eyes in warning. “You are to marry him in a month. Meanwhile, spend some time with him today. Get to know him.”

Something inside me ignites like a spark. Fear. I am not surprised, though. This fear is no more foreign to me, settling in my very bones. I’ve felt it throughout my life. It’s more of me than I am of it.

I find myself nodding through the tears that blur my vision. This is it. This is the time when I would have to let the biggest secret out. This is the moment when everything would either go perfectly well, or blood would spill. My Harry’s blood would spill. Chills run down my spine.

“It’s okay if Miss Aabirah doesn’t want to speak to me alone. I understand,” Aarif speaks up, as he hoists himself up from the chair and joins my father alongside. His eyes meet mine and he tilts his head to the side, noticing my glazed eyes and frowns a bit. I quickly look away, blinking away the tears.

“She would love to talk to you. Won’t you, sweetie?”

I nod my head without acknowledging my father, and retreat outside in the open, knowing Aarif was trailing behind. When we were outside in the garden, the memory of jumping out of my window with Harry flashed through my eyes. A sad smile spread on my lips.

“You have a very beautiful smile, I must say.”

I jump a little, thrown off guard. Not meeting his eyes, I give him a curt nod.

“Thanks. I’m assuming you give quite a lot of compliments.”

He laughs, the sun shining down upon him. He cups his hand over his eyes and walks a few feet away from me. “I do. However, I haven’t found anyone as inquisitive as you. Tell me, how do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Manage to be the most beautiful woman ever?”

That’s when I halt to a stop. I have to tell him. If this proceeds any further, that would be a disaster. But what if Father hurts me? If he hasn’t done it before, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t do it now.

“Mr. Aarif, I cannot marry you,” I blurt.

A baffled expression pulls on his face. He squints against the harsh sun, and examines me with interest. I hate the way he looks at me. Only Harry gets to see me that way.

“I am sorry, but I just can’t. I am already married to someone.”

The confusion on his face deepens further. “I am afraid your father never told me anything like this. Surely you’re joking with me?”

“I am not.” I fidget with the edges of my scarf. “Nobody knows about this, and I want to be it that way until I tell my family myself. I am sorry to dash your hopes. Just know that there’s nothing wrong in you, and you’d find someone who would be best for you.”

“I surely will. Perhaps not as beautiful as you, but still. Don’t mind, but why did you marry secretly without telling your family?”

I debate whether to tell him the truth or not. What does it matter if I tell him? My marriage is still going to be unfolded anyway. Does it really matter if I utter the truth? Not really.

“Because apparently he is forbidden for me. This world can be so cruel sometimes, you know?” My heart speeds up as memories of my childhood flash in my eyes. “As a child they made me play with him, and now they want me to stay away from him when my heart is him that it wants so badly.”

“Why is he forbidden? Do you know?”

I shake my head, feeling defeated. “No. That’s one thing I was never able to unravel.”

He nods. Does he really understand this situation? How messed up it is? Probably not.

Aarif blows out a huge breath, and massages his temples. He looks right into my eyes. “Okay, then, I guess this is where this ends. Funny. Huh.”

And then he is gone.

I couldn’t move from the spot. I was rooted there. A nervous coil rolls through my stomach, so intense that I have to clutch my abdomen tightly. I press my lips together to contain the pain, but when a full churn follows in my belly, I fall to my knees and scream in pain.

There was nobody to help me, nobody to hear me withering in pain. After a few seconds, I automatically regained control of myself. It was probably due to no food inside my system for over seven hours. I could only imagine what Harry would say to this.

Are you insane to not eat anything? Go and eat! Aabi, why do you do this to yourself!

The pain in my chest worsened to a growing ache. It felt like a cold fist gripped my heart, refusing for fresh blood to flow to my body. Was it always going to be like this? This—this ache in my heart, would it always be there? The fear of losing him, would it always haunt me when I go to sleep?

I wipe away any trace of my tears, and walk towards my father’s office.

It’s time he knows.

It’s time the world knows.