Against The Tide (Formerly Two Tribes)

10: An Extra Mile.

Najah

Jameel was sitting in the living room when Najah walked in. Immediately, he stood and advanced towards her.

"Assalamualaikum."

"Wa Alaikum salaam," he responded and showed her his phone. "I was just about to call you."

"Oh!"

"You took longer than I expected. How did it go?"

Najah didn't fail to notice how worried Jameel sounded. She put on a straight face. "Phew! Afrah is really a pain in the neck. You didn't tell me she has a sharp tongue. You should have given me a heads-up."

"What did she say to you?" Jameel inquired.

"Nothing didn't know or haven't heard before. She actually spoke facts, but it's really not pleasant to hear," she smiled. "Anyways," she brightened. "Get ready to be a groom again!"

Flummoxed, Jameel furrowed his brows. "She agreed? How?"

"Just trust me on this. Afrah is going to come to you and ask you to marry her. I have planted the seed, we just have to wait a little for it to germinate."

Without a doubt, Najah knew her plan would not flop. She had seen the flames in Afrah's eyes when she taunted her, and Afrah didn't look like the one to accept defeat. Initially, she wanted to speak to her reasonably and plead with her to give in to Jameel, but on second thought, she realized she would only be wasting her time as Jameel had already tried that approach and it didn't work. That was when she decided to go about it differently.

"Thank you, Najah," Jameel smiled. "I don't know what you said to Afrah today, but I completely trust that you didn't mess anything up. I'm sorry for whatever Afrah may have said to you. She, indeed, has a sharp tongue. I should have given you a heads-up."

"It's fine," Najah gave a closed-lip smile. "I pretty much had an answer for every single thing she hurled at me."

Jameel gazed at her, skeptically; "Really? I can't even picture you exchanging words with anyone. You're too peaceful for that."

Najah chuckled. "Don't be deceived," Najah cupped her face. "by this innocent-looking face. There are a few things you still don't know about me."

"Being vexatious is definitely not a part of it."

Najah sat on the couch and heaved a sigh. "I'm still surprised at how things turned out."

Jameel sat on the armrest of the same couch and asked; "Positively or negatively?"

"The answer will depend on how she takes it. You should wait for two days. Don't call or text her."

"You really shouldn't have gotten involved in this. I'd have handled it myself. Afrah may seem like a hard nut to crack but she's just a marshmallow." Jameel puffed out his cheeks. "By the way, Asim and his wife are back. He's bringing his wife to meet you tonight."

"Okay, but-" before Najah could complete her sentence, Jameel had already started walking away.

Najah knew he was uncomfortable with the fact that she talked to Afrah, but he did mention that he trusted her, so she held on to that.

"Afrah..." Najah's name effortlessly and subconsciously emerged from her lips. "She's feisty." After the altercation Najah had with her, she inferred that it wouldn't be easy to live with Afrah. Although Najah went intending to provoke her and ended up doing just that, Najah didn't expect Afrah's comebacks. She felt a tad betrayed by the fact that Jameel told Afrah about their relationship. She hadn't expected that of him.