"If Allah SWT has ordained something to be yours, it definitely will be. You might not get it immediately, you might have to work hard and toil for it, you may have to continuously supplicate for it, you may pass a phase in your life, where you  fall down and lose hope.

It's okay to fall down , but you have to pick yourself up, and make yourself stronger than before. incrase your determination and highten your expectation, fight for what you want  and with the will of Allah, if it's meant to be yours it will always find a way towards you."

-Jauhary

* * *

The dazzling gold embroidery of the dress sparkled beneath the whimsical lights of the hall as Yusaira walked in elegantly. Her heavily embellished veil atop her scarf trailed behind her. The combination of pure white and the beautiful golden embroidery enhanced  her features. The lights of  the hall cast a radiant glow on her face and caused a halo of light to encircle her head. A thin layer of base coated her face. A rich cherry red lipstick painted her lips.
A slight sprinkle of blush ran along her cheekbones. A mixture of dark brown and a glittery gold eye shadow  decorated her eye lids, her eye liner winged to perfection. A slick of mascara as well as a line of kuhul caused her chocolate brown eyes to stand out.

She looked gorgeous as a bride and because she never really wore much make up usually, the make up enhanced her beauty on this special day.

The tumultuous voices of the children, as well as the mummering of the women reverberated throughout the hall as she walked towards the front table.

The hall hired for the walima was rather small in size, only close family and friends were invited. Both the families were not fond of huge functions and unnecessary expenses, rather they spent more on the flat that they had furnished for the newly wed couple, assuring they had all that they needed.

Taeeba, Asma, Leyya and Tasneem walked alongside her, all overjoyed that the big day had finally arrived.

The girls had decided to wear champagne coloured dresses, that hugged their waists and flared from the waist down.

As they helped Yusaira settle down on the couch assigned for her, Taeeba leaned down whispering in her ear.

"Ma Sha Allah you're looking exceptionally beautiful today. Suhaib will never be able to take his eyes off of you."

Yusaira blushed pretilly.

Suhaib had seen her for a few minutes after the Nikaah, but at that time she was just wearing a simple abaya and scarf along with light make up.

Those few moments had been the most awkward moments of her life and because there wasn't much time before the walima, he stood beside her bed awkwardly, he greeted her, asked how she was, she replied to him and asked him the same, to which he replied, then he ambled out of the room , looking more flustered and nervous than she felt.

A tender smile graced her lips, he was rather adorable in his flustered state.

"Oh myyy! She's already lost in the thoughts of her prince charming.
Look at her smiling to herself."

Yusaira lifted her gaze, settling it on a heavily pregnant Humairaa.

With her tea pink baby doll dress, a cute baby bump and that pregnancy glow that people always spoke about, her friend looked so different.

Humairaa had married her better half straight after she finished off her school and Amatullah had been wed six months after her.

Amatullah stood beside Humairaa, clad in a simple, yet elegant black gown with lace sleeves, a silver scarf  was pinned on the pretilly draped scarf. Matching silver heels peeped from beneath the dress. She was always the simple one, but simplicity suited her so well.

Yusaira beamed at her friends, overjoyed that they both had attended her walima. She knew Humairaa wouldn't miss it even though she looked like she would give birth any time now.

The friends enveloped her in a group hug, remisncising their childhood and teen years.

After the two were married, each of them were involved in their own reponsibitlties. They never had the same time on their hands as they did when they were single. It wasn't possible to always hang out or have a girls night once in a while, yet they never forgot one another. They were indded true friends, despite being far apart, they were always close at heart.

The night went by with pleasant chatter, light hearted conversations, hearty laugter, endless teasing and scrumptious delicacies that made the the guests mouths water and tantalized their taste buds.

Around ten o clock the guests wished the bride a happily married life.
After thanking the hosts and saying their goodbyes, they dispersed, only the family of the bride and groom remained.

Suhail walked into the ladies side, seeking permission for the men to enter.

The ladies ensured they were appropriately covered, before granting them permission to enter.

Luqmaan, Zain and Zaheer entered the hall, followed by Suhaib,Muaz and Laaiq.

As Yusaira watched her father and foster father approaching her, tears of joy filled her eyes.

She was so blessed and fortunate to have two fathers. Today on her big day, not only Zaheer would bid  her farewell and entrust her to her husband, but Zain would  as well.

After the three men had greeted her, Laaiq stepped forward, tears of pride shone in his eyes.

He wasn't generally an emotional person, but seeing his sister all decked up like a bride, looking so beautiful in her gown, happiness radiating from her face, caused those tears to surface. He was beyond ecstatic that she had chosen someone like Suhaib, they made a perfect match. No doubt, Allah SWT created us in pairs and Allah knows best who is fit for each one.

Finally the groom made his way towards the front, clad in a pure white kurta, that fitted him perfectly, a white topee sat atop his head, grey polished carvellas gleamed beneath the lights.

He settled beside his wife, unknown emotions of ecstasy bubbled in his chest. Since the Nikaah, the huge smile never left his face. Yusaira was finally his!

He held her dainty hand in his own large one, slipping on her ring as the girls giggled and gushed over how cute they looked together.

He then held her hand that was designed with the finest and  most intricate patterns of mendhi.

He grinned when he noticed the deep pink blush that rose up her cheeks, her lips tilted into a shy smile and her long lashes kissed the top of her cheekbones as she bashfully lowered her gaze to her lap.

After a few moments of chatting and being threatened by both sets of her parents, they finally decided it was time to depart.

Suhaib held Yusaira's hand, helping her walk towards the car.

She felt the tears prickling her eyes as each one of her family members embraced her into warm hugs, wishing her the best and giving her duas.

Once she sat in the car, the tears streamed down her face, but she was quick to wipe it away, before Suhaib could jump into the drivers seat.

They drove towards their apartment in a peaceful silence. The cool wind swirled in the car, refreshing her and calming her erratic heart beat.

It felt so strange to sit in a car alone with a man she wasn't accustomed to being in solitude with.

Once they had reached the apartment, he held the passenger door open, as she stepped out. He then locked the car. Holding her with one hand, he wheeled her bag with the other.

The rest of her belongings had already been brought here by her mother, Asma and Taeeba.

They walked hand in hand past the security guard, and into the elevator, waiting for it to reach the sixth floor.

Once the doors sprang open, she followed him towards the left of the floor.

Each floor only had two units, which was why each unit was spacious enough and had three bedrooms, according to what her mother said.

She hadn't seen the apartment as yet, this was her first time. Her mother informed her that Taeeba had done a great job with her creative interior designing skills.

When she walked in, her mouth fell open.

It was a modernly furnished apartment and the decor as well as the colour combination was breathtakingly beautiful.

After he gave her a tour of the entire house, he led her to the main bedroom.

She blushed when her eyes fell on the bed, sprinkled with rose petals, two towels in the shape of swans rested on the bed. The dim lighting, the aroma of roses and the crisp white bedding had a romantic look to it.

He scratched the back of his neck, nervously.

"I hope it's not too much!"

She shook her head bashfully.

"It's very pretty."

His lips tilted into a full blown smile.

"Are you tired?"

She shook her head.

"Great. So you can freshen up and change into soemthing casual. We're going out."

She looked at him, befuddled.

"At eleven p.m!"

He grinned.

"Yes my love, the night is still young!"

She blushed at the endearment, as she grabbed her belongings and made her way to the ensuite bathroom.

She washed off her make up, applying a coat of red lipgloss and a line of kuhul to each eye. She unzipped her dress, which thankfully had a zip on the side, then slipped on a white tights along with an ankle legnth cherry red, white and blush pink floral dress. She wrapped her red scarf around her head and slipped on her glossy red pumps. With a spritz of perfume and a twirl infront of the mirror, she was all ready for her first date with her husband.

She neatly folded the heavy dress along with the veil, placing it in the cupboard.

Suhaib was not in the room anymore.

She grabbed her phone, and walked out of the room.

She spotted him on the living room couch. He was scrolling through his phone, his legs stretched out infront of him. He ran his hand through his hair.

When she walked towards him, he pocketed his phone, smiling softly at her.

He stood up, placing his topee on his head, he walked towards the room, motioning for her to follow.

He laid out two prayer mats, on the floor.

"Let's first read our nafl Salaah together, then we can go."

She smiled at him.

Quickly grabbing her Salaah burka, she slipped it on, slipped off her shoes and stood behind him in prayer, her heart fluttering in joy.

How beautiful it was to start off a relationship with the worship of Allah SWT.

After they had completed their Salaah, he turned around, placing his right hand on her forehead, he whispered the sunnah dua, then pecked her forehead.

They were seated in the car once again. 

She watched the few cars that zoomed past them as they drove, the city lights twinkled like the stars.

He pulled over at a filling station and she followed him as he walked towards the little shop, beside the filling station.

They stopped at the fridges filled with ice cream and beverages.

"Choose your favourite ice cream.
Laeeq told me you love ice cream and chocolate, so I thought let's have an ice cream date. "

He winked at her.

She scanned the ice creams as her heart fluttered in her chest.

Why was he so sweet?

When she spotted her favourite king cone, she took the ice cream out of the fridge, noticing that he had already taken a magnum.

He paid for both thier ice creams, then walked towards the car.

Once they were home, both sat on the swing in their balcony, gazing at the stars as they licked their ice creams.

"Did you know that I like outdoor swings or did you just happen to buy it."

He grinned at her.

"Taeeba told me you liked it, so I had to buy one!"

She smiled shyly,  resting her head on his shoulder, as he wound his arm around her, hugging her closer, his chin resting on her head.

In that moment both couldn't have been any happier. They were finally bound together by the will of Allah SWT and they would forever be thankful. No doubt, Allah's delays are never His denials.

* * *

Our babies are all grown up 😭

Ship name for the new couple?

3 more chapters ... 🙁

Love you all ❤