Mending You And I

Chapter Nineteen

--Maryam's POV --

For sure, the world had stopped. In a matter of nanoseconds, Zain had disappeared into the background and my eyes could only find Abdullah. My heart was beating nonstop and my face had turned beetroot red. More so because Abdullah stood in a similar situation.

His dark green eyes had softened, his hair glistening and his lips curled into what seemed to be a mixture of a nervous and flustered smile. At the back of my mind, I could feel Zain smirking as he watched us with amusement but hell if I cared.

"We should return to the ballroom." It was Abdullah who broke our intense moment, making me blink. Somewhere in my heart, I felt very disappointed that the moment was over and I had to face reality again.

The bitter truth that there was a stubborn snob named Noor separating the both of us.

"Yes, we should." I bobbed my head in agreement, not daring to let the disappointment show on my face. "Are you happy now, Zain? You got your answer." Abdullah said to acknowledge his presence.

"Yes, I did although getting so brutally rejected isn't something to be happy about, Abdullah." He grinned which indicated that he was joking. It automatically lifted up the atmosphere and I found myself smiling along with him.

"It's bound to happen, Mr. Zain. You should get married." I couldn't help but remark as I started walking, heading towards the ballroom I had left to escape. "Oh not you too, Maryam." He pouted like a child. "You're the third person to say that to me today."

Our footsteps, despite being loud, were muffled under the noise of our chatter. My heels were the noisiest as they made their presence hard to ignore.

"Who was the first to tell you that?" Abdullah asked. He was walking beside me. His arm had left my waist but his hand was tightly gripping mine as if I would run away the moment he left it. "My mother." Zain sighed heavily.

I giggled. "You should really consider it then."

"I am considering it! The only problem is-" just when I thought he was going to say something seriously he finished with, "You're already taken. And I can't find more girls like you." he flashed a cheeky smile making me roll my eyes.

Abdullah scowled and hit his arm to which he let out an "Ouch!"

"Stop flirting with any girl you come across, idiot." He snapped then turned to face the front. Zain huffed as he rubbed the area Abdullah had smacked. "I was just joking." He said. But, Abdullah just rolled his eyes and turned to look at the front, unconvinced. "There's a limit to jokes."

With a final look at Zain, I also turned to where Abdullah was looking at. His grip on my hand made my palms sweaty but I still felt safe and pleasantly warm. It was weird to have him clinging on to me like that. As if he was trying to hide me from something.

An answer flashed in my mind and I involuntarily glanced at Zain again. What if...

What if he was the reason Abdullah was being protective?

"By the way, Maryam." the familiar, cold voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I blinked. "Why did you sneak off like that? I didn't even notice you were gone." He sounded dead serious making me feel intimidated.