Zain's choice ✔️

27: Budding ties

Mira's POV.

WHEN I SAW Marmie's call, I know something is wrong.

Marmie only ever calls me when something is wayward!

"Assalamu alaikum Marmie!" I greet in a chirpy voice.

"Dallah yi min shiru!" She snaps angrily.

I blink. It's worse than I thought. What did I do now?

"Marmie...!" I breathed out the name in confusion and curiosity.

"Wato Mira all you want is for your marriage to fail ko? All the things you have been doing to Zain, ai he has told me everything!" Her voice is so loud and annoyed that I began to panic.

What did he tell my mother?

"Marmie I am sorry..." I began to apologize.

"Don't tell me sorry! Go and tell your husband before he decides he has had enough of your childishness and stupidity! You think he will keep you when you can't even grow up?!" She demands.

Innalillahi what did he tell her toh!

"Marmie I'll apologize to him but don Allah tell me what is wrong" I plead with her. My heart is beating buggum buggum and I can't seem to hear anything aside from my rising fear.

"Oh you don't even know what you did?" She asks incredulously.

I feel a rush of tears and I quickly decide that my hormones are playing tricks in me.

"Mira, you are married to Zain of all people! Are you going to let the world know you don't appreciate this gift from Allah? I know it doesn't feel fair since you think you are still in love with Aman. But hardly anything in life is fair!" Her voice lowers.

Oh God! Did he speak to her about Aman?

"Marmie wallahi I am trying" I complain.

"Try harder please. One day, you will appreciate the effort" she advised.

And long after we have had that call, I stare at my lunch and wonder why he told Marmie whatever he told her.

So I decide to confront him. Surely, it's about about me wanting to abort a baby he had previously rejected!

But the moment I entered his living room, I see him looking at his phone with a deep frown on his face.

It's like something is really wrong.

I remember how the morning went. Despite his anger, his silence was his only punishment.

And I thought he would bail on making cake. But my heart had melted into a pile of smelted steel when he hadn't.

"I wanna see what is so great about making cakes" he had declared. As if he wasn't doing it for me but he is doing it for his curiosity.

It had meant more than he would know. Even though he was so silent, yana wani shashshareni, I was severely pleased. I felt bad about how much anger I had caused him. It felt very natural to be so close to him, showing him all my tricks and the way I had integrated art into making my very special orders.

As a result, i made a cake that looks like a 3D heart.

"Isn't it amazing just how many things are linked to such a simple organ?" I had asked, hoping to get more than monosyllables from him.

His answer is a pleased nod. It told me he was very impressed.

My thoughts come back to the present as I compare how contrasting his mood is from this morning.