Chapter 40: Eidi.

*

"'Being in love with someone 

You cannot have. 

Because,

Being in love with someone taken

Is the same as

Being in love with someone

You cannot Have'

Was his Reply"

-2am-

*

Aanabia did not sleep the entire night. She was just so excited about Eid. What she was not excited about, however, was the fierce looks Yazdan gave Nahal. She knew Yazdan had found out about what happened and she also knew Yazdan would choose his best friend, practically his family over anything or anyone else. That anyone else included her. Nahal was no better. Ever since she saw Yahyah, she has been silently panicking. She desperately wanted to talk to him but she was too scared to hurt him again.

The following morning, Aanabia stood in front of the mirror doing her makeup. She was not a fan of make up but on occasions like these, she loved make-up! She applied her lipstick just as Nahal entered her room, all dolled up. She grinned at her in the mirror before turning to face her.

"Look who looks amazing" she said and Nahal smiled brightly. They were wearing identical blue outfits. It was a cotton dress that had beautiful golden embroidery. The dress fell to their ankles. Aanabia wore her jean leggings underneath it while Nahal wore literal jeans underneath it. But since no one would know exactly, it matched the outfit anyway.

"You done? Mom is waiting downstairs" Nahal told her and Aanabia nodded, turning to look at herself one last time in the mirror. She was wearing a blue Hijab that complimented her dress. Her makeup was natural and nude, just how she liked it. Nahal wore her Hijab the same way as Aanabia, but her makeup was bold, complimenting her doe like eyes and fair skin.

The two sisters walked out of Aanabia's room and down the steps when they heard laughter. Of course!

"Count on Middleton people to start coming over at like 7am" muttered Nahal and Aanabia chuckled.

"That is the tradition. Now let's go!" she pulled her sister down the steps, careful not to trip on their Dupatta's.

"As salaam alaikum!" she said, excitedly. Zaiha and Qaidah looked up to them while Hifzah simply smiled brightly.

"Wa alaikum mus salaam! Eid Mubarak, Habibti" said Zaiha, walking over to the girls. Qaidah followed her. Zaiha hugged Aanabia first, kissing both her cheeks while Qaidah hugged Nahal first, kissing both her cheeks.

"You look amazing, Masha Allah" Aanabia complimented Zaiha who laughed at her.

"Thank you! You look better though" she winked and Aanabia let out a small laugh.

"Jazak Allah khair" muttered Aanabia, blushing slightly. Zaiha smiled at her before turning to Nahal. Aanabia watched Nahal stiffen until Zaiha had pulled her in a tight hug.

"Eid Mubarak, Beautiful" she turned to see Qaidah smiling at her. She smiled back before Qaidah had hugged her. Safe. His mother's arms are so soft and safe. She hugged her back with a grin. Qaidah let her go before kissing her forehead.

"Eidi" she whispered, handing her a small present. Aanabia frowned at the small box in her hands before looking up to Qaidah.

"You don't have to, Aunty. It is honestly fine" she told her, trying to give the box back. Qaidah shook her head, smiling at her.

"It is a tradition in our family to give something on Eid to the daughters." She said and something about the sentence made Aanabia soften up. She could feel her waterworks building up and she knew it would not be long before it opened. So she inhaled a deep breath and hugged Qaidah.

"Thank you so much" she whispered. Qaidah let out a small laugh before letting her go.

"Come with me next door. My daughters want to meet you and Nahal. They told us to call you two now" said Qaidah and Aanabia looked over to her mother who nodded.

"Go. Be back before your colleagues begin arriving" she told the two of them. Aanabia nodded before turning to Qaidah.

"Then......... we will leave now" said Aanabia and Qaidah nodded.

"Ah the girls are in Yazdan's old room upstairs. The boys are still at the mosque for prayers so the house is empty" Zaiha told them and the girls nodded before walking towards the door. Hifzah watched them leave with a smile.

"You have beautiful daughters Hifzah" Qaidah told her and Hifzah nodded.

"Have you thought about their marriage?" Zaiha asked her and Hifzah shook her head.

"Not really. It is up to them about it anyway" she replied, taking a seat on the sofa. She passed the sweet trays to Zaiha and Qaidah who picked up some.

"Are either of them seeing someone right now? For marriage prospects?" questioned Qaidah and Hifzah shook her head no. She was confused as to why they were suddenly questioning about her daughters.

"Not really. I did get a few proposals but Aanabia downright burned their photos, while Nahal simply rejected them" she told them, eliciting a laugh from the ladies.

"I have a proposal"

-

Aanabia entered the house and walked upstairs to where she remembered Yazdan's room was. She has never been upstairs in this house so this was new to her.

"Kulthum!" she called out to the only sister of Yazdan. She met her yesterday and immediately had taken a liking of her. She was an amazing girl.

"This room!" The girls entered the room with wooden doors. The room was bright with the curtains withdrawn and light streaming inside. She walked inside the room and found Kulthum in front of the mirror, tying her Hijab.

"EID MUBARAK!!" she yelled, pulling Aanabia into a hug before leaving her and pulling Nahal into a hug. "You both look amazing!" Aanabia grinned at her.

"You look better" she replied with a wink and Kulthum let out a small laugh, her gray eyes twinkling in mirth. Gray eyes must run in the family.

"Eid Mubarak my girls!" Amyrah walked into the bedroom and hugged them. She placed a kiss on each of their cheeks.

"All dolled up. So beautiful" Amyrah wiped away an imaginary tear as she said that. Kulthum shrugged before turning to tie her Hijab. She was finally done in a minute.

"We need Eid selfies!" said Amyrah and Kulthum nodded. Nahal stared at them for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"You two are so cute" she said in between her laughs. Amyrah grinned before turning to them.

"Pose!" she pulled out her iPhone and stood in front, as the girls posed behind her. They took multiple photos before sitting on the couch.

"We need to collect Eidi" said Amyrah and Kulthum nodded. Aanabia remembered the small gift that Qaidah gave her. She had placed it at the top shelf in the living room before walking out of the house.

"Ah where do you guys want to go today?" questioned Aanabia and the girls shrugged.

"I go anywhere with food" same sister, same.

"Zaeef's go anywhere with food" Amyrah added to Kulthum's statement with a small laugh.

"Where do you guys go?" Kulthum asked Nahal and Aanabia. The two sisters shrugged.

"We don't go. We have visitors throughout the day so we usually stay at home. Plus our backyard is literally a natural photo shoot set" replied Nahal and the girls perked up.

"Really? Can we go?"

"Sure. I guess."

"Oh come on, let us have sweets downstairs" said Amyrah, getting up. Aanabia noticed Amyrah and Kulthum wore the same navy blue dress. They were twinning like the sisters did. Cute.

"You both are twinning like us!" said Aanabia with a smile and the girls nodded.

"We do this a lot" laughed Kulthum.

"Where is Kashaf?" asked Nahal, looking around the place as they walked out of the room.

"The two of them are sleeping. I cannot wake them up now else they would throw a fit." Replied Amyrah and the girls nodded. Kulthum walked outside to the backyard where the things were set up. Beautiful.

They walked around the buffet table, picking up things to eat.

"I did not realize I was so hungry" muttered Amyrah, biting into chocolate coconut balls. Kulthum nodded, eating another savory.

"So how is school, Aanabia?" asked Amyrah and Aanabia shrugged.

"I actually did not go this week. Too much preparation"

"Ah I feel this. My work is piling up!" whined Kulthum and Nahal let out a small laugh.

"How is yours?" Amyrah asked Nahal with a grin.

"Good I guess" there was a hint of sadness in her voice and Amyrah smiled at her.

"It is Eid! Cheer up!" she told Nahal who chuckled in return.

"Ah. Do you write Aanabia?" questioned Kulthum, putting down her drink. Aanabia nodded at her, chewing her food.

"You do? That is hands down, one good flex" replied Amyrah and Aanabia let out a small smile before muttering thanks.

"And you draw then" she said to Nahal who nodded.

"Oh oh, before I forget. You guys watch Korean Dramas?" questioned Kulthum and Aanabia shook her head, no. Nahal looked confused.

"Oh my god! How can you guys not know about KDrama? Oppa?" Amyrah asked them and the girls shook their head no, slowly. Amyrah looked shocked and Kulthum looked amused.

"Okay. This is it. You both need Kdrama lessons, women!" said Amyrah and Aanabia let out a small laugh, to which Nahal followed.

"Okay"

"No seriously guys. You should try watching Korean Drama's. They are really nice" said Kulthum and the girls nodded.

"What are the story-line like?" questioned Nahal, who was very much interested in movies.

"Oh. Tell her about What's wrong with Secretary Kim!" said Kulthum and Amyrah nodded, turning to the girls.

"So this drama, What's wrong with Secretary Kim was released last year but I cannot get over it. It is simply amazing. It is about this CEO and his PA" said Amyrah and Kulthum frowned.

"Tell them the story!"

"No! We will spoil it for them!"

"But the story-lines are always good. I love KDrama's."

The girls continued to talk, laugh and eat until the men were home. Of course they did not realize it since they were busy laughing their heads off at some joke that Nahal told them.

"Ah............ are we missing something?" Kayan took a seat beside his wife, kissing the side of her head. Amyrah grinned at him before turning to the boys who were walking into the backyard.

"Eid Mubarak!" she called out. Aanabia watched as Yazdan walked out of the doors. She felt her breath hitch at his beautiful self. Masha Allah. She unconsciously smiled at him before her eyes narrowed down to his hair. Kulthum must have braided it like yesterday. He has such beautiful hair, it makes me jealous. She looked at him from head to toe. He wore a denim colored thobe that fell just above his ankles. She looked over to his bright face, only to catch his beautiful gray eyes. Beautiful. Absolute- stop it Aanabia! She blushed, looking away.

The boys lined up in front of Amyrah, from the oldest to youngest. Aanabia realized their thobes were the same, just a shade lighter from the older one. Yazdan was denim blue, the twins were some blue that was darker than denim but lighter than navy. The last brother, she did not know. He was new, she realized.

"Ah. How did I forget" Amyrah laughed, looking up to the brothers who stood in front of her with their hands stretched. Amyrah leaned over to her husband and held out her hand. Kayan shook his head with an amused smile before handing her his wallet.

"Just so you know, they already took money from me" Kayan told her and she nodded. She handed out a 50 to each of them with a grin.

"Now where is mine?" she asked them and they laughed.

"Ask bhai" said Yazdan, throwing a grin at his brother. Aanabia watched with awe. Safwah turned to Aanabia with an amused look.

"Eidi?" he asked her and Aanabia was taken back. She looked over to Yazdan who shrugged at her with a smile. She then returned her gaze to the boys who were waiting for her.

"Uh..... I got nothing" she told them with a sad look. Safwah sighed dramatically.

"Ah well. We have the up-coming eid to make up for" he said before walking out, only to be pulled back by Kulthum.

"Pay up!" she told them and the brothers rolled their eyes before pulling out money. They are so sweet. Just then Yahyah entered the scene followed by Zul.

"YES!" Zul yelled running towards them. Aanabia looked at him amusedly. He was also wearing a shade of blue thobe. Yahyah shook his head at him, walking towards them. He held his hands out to Amyrah who gave him a 50.

"Thank you!" he grinned at her. Kayan laughed before turning to the girls.

"Did you get your Eidi?" he asked Aanabia and Nahal. The two sister's exchanged looks before shaking their heads, no. Amyrah smiled at them before standing up.

"This year, you have two more to give Eidi too. So pay up!" she told the boys who whined. Kayan laughed and turned to them.

"Here" he handed each of them a 100. Aanabia shook her head.

"It is fine. You don't need-" Kulthum cut her off.

"It is tradition! Plus no one says no to Eidi"

Yazdan walked over to Nahal and handed her a 50 with a grin. Nahal smirked at him before turning to Yahyah. Yahyah did not give her anything, he simply stared at her. Yazdan let out a small laugh before he turned to Aanabia. Ah. Beautiful. Beauuuttiifffull. K, that is it. My mind is brok-oh my god! He is even more beautiful up close. Her thoughts were haywire as Yazdan stood in front of her with a small smile. She was blushing bright and the siblings noticed it. She looked up to his gray eyes and realized, Oh Allah. I love this man.

"GOOD NEWS!"

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As salaam alaikum! I know guys, Long time. My laptop was giving me trouble, I have school and I get busy. I have sooooo many things going on in my life at once, sometimes I am so lost too. 

Oh and Yazdan's hairstyle is actually called Cornrow hairstyle. :) 

Anyway, I updated! In sha Allah the next one would be soon. 

Till then, 

I love you guys. 

Thank you for waiting on me. :) 

| R - C - V |

xoxo,

-aalihha