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40

"What about this?" Zayn asked, showing me a Blue pillowcase set, I gave him a look shaking my head, and he put it away,

"Has anyone told you you're incredibly picky?" He asked, pushing the cart behind me as I headed to the next aisle,

Sunday had gone by like a breeze. We had slept through most of the day and at the end we had dinner at my parent's place. We were now at the mall, shopping for necessities that we hadn't thought of buying before. 

"What about this?" Rukaiya said, picking up a grey patterned pillow and bed sheet set. I nodded, and she threw it into the cart like a basketball player, yelling, "Kobe."

From behind I could hear Zayn mumble a little "Rest in Peace." 

"You need to get this!" Bhai said, running out of an aisle, bumping into some stranger's who gave him a dirty look, "Sorry," He apologized, an embarrassed grin on his face,

"You NEED this" Bhai said holding up an adorable Corgi figurine, 

"Aw!" I said examining it. It was painted pink and the smile of the dog made my heart melt.

"Why would we ever need that in our home?" Zayn asked, staring at the little glass dog disgusted,

"It's so cute!" I argued, passing it to him; he looked at it for a second and then placed it on a nearby shelf and shook his head, "If it was a cat, then it's a different story."

I gasped, "You don't like dogs?" 

"Cats all the way" He said pushing the car, I ran up to him, 

"Why are you so shocked aren't you the one who wants to adopt a cat?" He asked throwing candy into the cart. By the way he eats I'm shocked he doesn't have a huge belly, his diet is awful. 

"Yeah, but if it were Islamically allowed, I would adopt all the dogs in the world," I said with a sigh as I thought about all the Golden Retrievers I'd own if I could,

He gave me a look, "You're weird"

"Only for you" I mocked, walking away.

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"How's married life?" Bhabi asked as we examined the new Maybelline lipsticks,

The twins, Zara, Bhabi and I were in the makeup aisle while the boys went to go buy a new PS4,

"I've been married for barely three days. I don't know," I said; in honesty, it wasn't bad, but I knew once our little "HoneyMoon" stage wore off, I knew I'd be saying something different.

"Well I mean you guys are moving in today" Bhabi said wiggling her eyebrows,

"BHABI" I whispered-screamed praying the girls couldn't hear, but I'm sure they couldn't, too busy looking at nail polishes,

"What he's your husband" She shrugged,

"OF 3 DAYS" She laughed at my reaction, 

"Are you happy Ms, never getting married?" She teased,

"Yeah," I said, turning around so she couldn't see my blush; I could hear her "Aw" as I walked away, throwing some new lipsticks into the cart. As I stood by the car, I could see a very excited Zayn and Bhai as they walked back with video games in their hands,

"Where's the PS4" I asked, neatly organizing everything in the cart,

"We'll buy it online" Zayn said, "Are you guys ready?" He asked,

We all nodded and went to checkout our carts full of random junk I'm sure we would never use.

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"Salaam!" I yelled as we all walked into the apartment. Mama, Aunty, and Nani had stopped by when we were shopping to help organize everything; despite us insisting we could do it, they wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

I hadn't seen the apartment in person yet, so I walked in; I was pleasantly surprised. The windows were sky-high, emitting lots of natural sunlight. There were two very generously spaced bedrooms with two bathrooms. The kitchen was stunning, and the sitting area was nice and cozy. I couldn't wait to start decorating!

Mama and Aunty were currently stocking up the kitchen with their homemade foods while Nani played with Maryam.

"You guys are all back so soon" Mama yelled, as we brought everything, 

"Traffic wasn't too bad" Bhai yelled as went over to Maryam,

Hours went by as we set up and decorated my new home. Building annoying Ikea furniture, putting up paintings and creating a mess in the kitchen.

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"What do we do now" Zayn huffed as he plopped on the couch beside me. Everyone had left, and our apartment had come together; it was just us, and we were pretty bored - correction he was bored, I had so much work to do that I didn't even know where to start.

"We should sleep; we have work tomorrow," I said, trying to sound like a mature grown woman despite the fact I had no intention to sleep at 6 PM.

He turned on the TV scrolling through Netflix,

"There's nothing to watch" He whined,

"Put on SpongeBob," I said as I opened another email. I could tell he was giving me a funny look, "What?" I asked, my eyes still focused on the angry email sent to me by a client,

"Are you 5? Why Spongebob?" He complained as he scrolled through the episodes,

"You're the one who was nothing to watch take it or leave it" I sang,

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"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea" Zayn sang, his terrible singing piercing my ear drums.

"Who's the five-year-old now," I teased, closing my laptop. After two episodes of Spongebob, I had finally responded to all emails and caught up on work. Meanwhile, Zayn was having the time of his life watching Spongebob and eating all of my Cheetos.

"Last episode" I said with a yawn as I leaned back watching Spongebob's antics, 

He didn't say anything as he immersed himself into the show, fiddling with my hand which sat on his knee. 

"Zayn" I said, finally allowing myself to ask the one question, I've been dying to ask,

"Why were you at Robinson's that day" He froze, he paused the TV, 

"He was my Dad's lawyer and I needed to finalize some things regarding him" I nodded that made sense I guess,

"Why?" He asked, resting his head on my shoulder, his eyes looking up to me.

"Dunno, it just seemed so coincidental that you happened to be there just as I was about to die," I said, trying to ease the tension, but he just stared at me in even more confusion.

"His trial will be soon" He said leaning back, I didn't think about that it had been nearly a year since it all happened. 

"I know" 

"Will you be there to testify?" He asked,

"I probably have to" I said, I hadn't thought about it, I just hoped it'll all go away,

"Do you want to, are you ready to see him?" 

"No," I said without a second thought. I had done so well ever since he was sent to jail; I didn't want to think about being in the same room as him again. Just that thought made me feel sick.

"I'm going to bed," I said, getting up; I didn't feel like talking about this. He didn't say anything. I prayed, changed, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. Shortly after Zayn joined me,

"I'm sorry" He mumbled, I turned around to face him,

"What why are you sorry? You did nothing wrong" I said 

He turned to face me, "I would've been there sooner if I didn't need to get gas"

I slapped his arm, "Don't say that, it's the Qadr of Allah" I said,

He stared at me bewildered, "You nearly got r*ped and killed and you're saying it's Qadr?"

I nodded, "Everything happens for a reason, we may not understand it but there's a reason"

"You realize how awful that sounds right? People starving, dying, my mother and sister got beaten to death!" 

I didn't know how to explain this, it truly was awful and it made me sound insensitive when I said it, 

"Allah know's best. As for your mother and sister I'm sure the rewards they get in the hereafter are greater than anything"

He sighed, "Ameen"

Trying to ease the tension I asked, "Tell me more about them"

That put a smile on his face as he began telling me his childhood stories. How his mother would make him Gulab Jamun every Friday and how his sister would draw him the cutest pictures. Slowly we both fell asleep all cuddled up as the memories of the past lingered between us. The previous uncomfortable conversation long gone.

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compared to the recent chapters this one is short and more of a buffer, only because the next chapter is a lot to take in... 

get ready for a whirlwind of emotions i'm sorry in advance <3