Gelin (bride)
Kız (girl)
Abla (sister)
Ağabey (elder brother)
Bacım (sister)
Canım (my dear)
Nolur/ lütfen (please)
Kuzum (my little lamb or my dear)
Aşkım (my love)
Damat (groom)
Sağol (thanks)
Teşekkürler (thank you)
Güzel (beautiful)

🌸

Ibty and I got bored, so we decided to turn on the TV. Friends was playing, so even though we'd both seen the whole series already, we still ended up watching it for the hundredth time. We were halfway through an episode when the doorbell rang. It had to be Ni'imah—no one else would show up at this hour.

I stood up, ready to open the door, expecting to see my best friend's familiar face. But when I opened it, my mouth dropped open in shock. Mona!

"Monaaaaaa!" I screamed, before pulling her into a tight hug.

"Do you want to make me deaf?" Mona laughed, hugging me back.

Mona is my cousin on my mom's side. Her mom, Ayşe Teyze, is Mammy's first cousin, so Mona and I share the same Turkish heritage. Her dad, Uncle Khalifa, is from Yemen. It was always a little crazy how connected our families were. Mona has two sisters, Marwa and Ayla, and they all live in London.

"Mona, you didn't tell me you were coming!" I smacked her arm lightly.

"I even thought it was Ni'imah," Ibty said, smiling as she came out from the bathroom, surprised to see Mona.

Ibty and Mona are cousins too! Uncle Khalifa is also her uncle, since his sister, Aunty Hamida, is Ibty's mom. Isn't that crazy?

I turned to Mona, unable to hide my excitement. "Please tell me you're sleeping over!"

"Well, I don't know yet," Mona said, sitting down on the couch.

"You better stay," I said, "because Ni'imah's coming today too!"

Ibty, always adding to the drama, agreed. "Yeah, you can't leave now."

I went to the kitchen to make tea, but Mona followed me in, raising an eyebrow. "Sevgilin nasıl? (How's your Boo?)"

"Sevgilim? Hmm," I replied, rolling my eyes and feeling my cheeks warm.

"Why the hmm?" she asked, looking confused.

"They're still trying to get along, I guess," Ibty chimed in, joining us in the kitchen.

I waved my hand, signaling for us to stop. "Please, let's not talk about it," I said, leaving the kitchen before anyone could ask more questions.

Back in the living room, we started talking about everything and nothing, when we heard the doorbell ring again. This time, it was definitely Ni'imah. I couldn't wait to see her.

I stood up, eager to greet her. "Laylatu!" she squealed, hugging me tightly. Her grip was so tight I could barely breathe.

"Ke! Kin matse ni? Let go of me," I gasped, trying to get some air.

"Well, I missed you, that's why," she said, rolling her eyes at me playfully.

We walked back to the living room, where Ibty and Ni'imah did their usual weird greeting thing, claiming they missed each other. Mona just stood there, watching them with a confused expression on her face.

I introduced Mona to Ni'imah, who was immediately intrigued by her cousin.

Later, we all gathered around, snacking on popcorn as we relaxed. Ni'imah turned to me, curiosity in her eyes.

"So Layla, how do you feel now that you're going to get married?" she asked, casually munching on a handful of popcorn.

I looked up from my phone and shrugged. "Normal. Now, I guess."

Mona opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, my phone rang. I saw the name on the caller ID—Mr. Moh. My heart did a little flip. I hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Assalamu alaikum," he said when I picked up the call.

"Waalaikumsalam," I replied, standing up and walking toward my room, not wanting to be overheard.

"Awww! Habibi has called!" I heard Ni'imah tease from the living room.

I couldn't help but smile at that. "I'll be back," I muttered, heading to my room.

I sat down at the edge of my bed, feeling a bit nervous. "How are you?" he asked, his voice low and comforting.

"I'm fine, you?" I asked, my heart racing a little.

"I'm fine too, Alhamdulillah," he said. "How was your day?"

I sighed. "Well, my day is going well now that I have company," I replied, stretching the last word dramatically.

"That's good," he said with a soft chuckle. "How's school and everything?"

"Fine, Alhamdulillah. How's work?" I asked, eager to know how he was doing.

He sighed deeply. "Work is so stressful, wallah. I literally just got home."

"Ayya, you should go rest," I said sympathetically.

He groaned in response. "I will, in a minute."

We talked for a little while longer, and I finally told him to go rest since he sounded so tired. He complained a bit about work, but I could tell he was winding down.

After I hung up, I headed back to the living room, where the girls were all on their phones. I felt the silence in the room and decided to break it.

"Hey, guys, what should we do?" I asked, plopping down on the couch.

"Makeup!" Mona said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Mona is an amazing makeup artist. She does bridal makeup and even works with models for photo shoots. I smiled. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea."

Ni'imah and Ibty immediately agreed, so Mona went off to grab her makeup kit. She started with Ibty, and Ni'imah and I distracted ourselves with our phones as Mona worked her magic.

"Guys, how does she look?" Mona asked, stepping back to show us her progress.

I looked up at Ibty, and my eyes widened. She looked gorgeous.

Mona, Ni'imah, and I took tons of pictures and posted them to Snapchat.

"Layla, you're next!" Mona called out.

I pouted. "Why don't you start with Ni'imah?"

"Okay then, come on Ni'imah," Mona said, shrugging, and started with Ni'imah's makeup.

Ni'imah couldn't resist checking herself out in the mirror the whole time. She kept sneaking glances, even though Mona told her to stop. After a bit of back-and-forth, Mona finally finished her makeup, and Ni'imah looked stunning.

"Wow! My baby looks all too hot!" I teased, raising my brows.

"Omg! Ni'imah, your man will go gaga when he sees you," Ibty added.

"Sadly, there isn't a man," Ni'imah said, pouting dramatically.

I stood up to go to Mona before anyone could say anything more. "Please, Mona, I want light makeup. No lashes, no lipstick, just nude," I begged her.

"I'll try," she said, winking at me.

After what felt like forever, my makeup was done. Mona had worked her usual magic, and I had to admit, I looked amazing.

"Ya, Muhammad is so gonna see this," Ni'imah said, wiggling her brows.

"Definitely," Ibty and Mona agreed.

I didn't want to wear lashes, but Ibty and Ni'imah insisted, so I caved. And the makeup turned out gorgeous, just as Mona had promised.

We took more pictures and posted them, and then Ni'imah told me she was going to send one to Muhammad.

I told her not to, but she did it anyway.

Thankfully, he didn't reply, which probably meant he was either sleeping or just too tired to check his phone.

We spent the rest of the night cleaning up, eating, and chatting until it was well past 4 AM. We were all exhausted but had a blast. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had such a fun, carefree day.

Hey guys! How was this chapter? Good huh? Well please the usual so
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Deedah✨