The flushed look on my face was hard to hide but when Anisa huffed and looked away, I was relieved. The tough look I had on wasn't hard to crack but only Allah and I knew what was going on inside.

My heart was in a frenzy. I had never felt so vulnerable. No matter how much I tried to return to my normal self with Anisa, it always took another turn. It would leave me feeling even more conscious of her and the fact that she was bound in a relationship with me.

I knew she was feeling it too. Those strange feelings. But I tried to push those thoughts away and a few minutes later, I went back to normal. My heart wasn't beating fast and suddenly I forgot there was even someone else in the car.

I distracted myself with the road, watching as cars passed by. We reached our destination minutes later. Parking the car in the parking area, both of us got out still ignoring each other. Or rather, trying to.

"I think we should hold up a banner like those people. Maybe then he'll notice us." Anisa suggested, pointing at a family standing a few meters away from us. I shook my head. "First of all, that's embarrassing and secondly, we won't be needing it. Let's go inside the crowd. I'm sure we'll spot him." I explained.

She nodded in agreement though she didn't look too happy with the idea. We decided to split up and she was the one to leave.

I kept looking for Usman. The fact that dad left so suddenly kinda troubled me. Maybe he wasn't telling me the whole story. But if it was something regarding, I was sure he would inform me. Another thought that bugged me was the sudden visit of Usman.

But who was I to object? The house I lived in was my dad's. He could bring in anyone he liked. I had just to abide by his rules.

My eyes fell to the left side where I saw Anisa standing on her toes trying to look over the crowd. I didn't notice when a smile slowly spread on my face. My thoughts wandered off to what had happened in the car. Standing from afar, I realized that she was so much like my mother.

Her hijab, the way she talked and the way she moved. Her dressing style and her likes and dislikes. Not to forget, the way she glared at me with her beautiful, green orbs that literally pulled me towards her. Her round face and her full cheeks. The tint of pink on her cheeks that stretched to her small buttoned nose. And her hands. Her small, soft hands that looked so tiny compared to mine. I couldn't help but notice her full, pink lips— what the hell was I doing?!

I blinked and quickly looked away. I wasn't going anywhere with that. I groaned at myself when I noticed a familiar face coming from inside the airport building, holding a bag and looking around as if in search for someone. I sighed in relief and quickly rushed over to the brown haired boy.

He was my age, with slightly longer hair and deep hazel eyes. He was thin but tall.

When our eyes met, it was like he noticed me too. With a confused look, he kept walking towards me. "Hey, buddy. Is your name Usman?" I asked him. He looked up at me, nodding. "Ali Hassan?" He asked and I replied with a nod. His voice was gentle and he spoke eloquently with a Pakistani accent.

He gave me a smile. "Well, thanks for picking me up." He said. I gave him a half smile. "Don't worry about it. Come on, let's head over to Anisa. She doesn't know I've found you." I told him. He just nodded and started walking behind me.

"I've seen you before." He started.

I nodded. "Yeah, me too but I don't remember where." We continued walking. "Hard to believe you're my cousin. You don't resemble anyone in our family." He let out an amused chuckle. I went along.

"Really? Dad always tells me I look a lot like our aunt." I confessed. He narrowed his eyes at me and then spoke. "Well, maybe. But only a little."

Then none of us spoke for a few minutes.

"So, I heard from uncle Khaleel about your wedding. Congratulations?" He said it like it was more of a question. I rolled my eyes "Thanks I guess. But it's not something I'm really happy about." I admitted. He just nodded knowingly.

"So where IS Bhabhi (sister-in-law)?" He asked, smiling. I pointed at Anisa. Her back was facing us. "There she is. Busy on her phone." I told him.

We both walked towards her. I tapped on her shoulder and she jumped with fright, facing us.

"Hey, I got him," I told her. She gave a scowl and then turned to Usman. A frown formed on her face. "Umm... I think I've seen you before." She said. I looked at her. "Really?" Turning to Usman, I saw that he had a shocked expression on his face.

"Of course! Anisa, right?" He exclaimed in realization. My eyes moved between them. "Yes. But how do you know me?" She asked. "Oh it was a long time ago. We met at your mother's funeral—" his voice lowered and he looked at her, embarrassed. "Uhh… I'm sorry about mentioning her like that." I saw a pained look flash on her face but she covered it up quickly.

"Oh no, it's alright. You didn't realize." Then she turned to me. "Let's go?"

I nodded in response to her question.

Sitting in the car, Usman insisted that Anisa sit in the passenger seat. Both of them literally had an argument over who had the right to sit there. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

How sweet.

"Come on, Usman. You're the guest, you should sit here." Anisa argued. I decided to butt in because I was sure if I didnt, they would never stop. "I agree with Anisa. You're the guest." I said. He looked at me for a minute and then finally, nodded.

He sat down beside me and Anisa jumped in at the back.

"I can't believe that you got married to my cousin." Usman commented. Both Anisa and I turned to him. "Same here." Both of us blurted out in union. At that, my eyes met with Anisa and Usman let out a laugh. "I think there's a really interesting story here." He said.

We shook our head, again, at the same time.

"There is no story!" Anisa quickly defended and Usman just nodded with an unconvinced look on his face. "You still remember her from the funeral?" I asked him. "Yeah. We actually became good friends. Also because my mother was urging me to console her again and again." He explained briefly with a smile on his face.

"Oh, I remember now. You're the same boy who brought me chocolates. That was really nice of you." Anisa said.

Honestly, I was feeling annoyed. I felt like a third wheel when in fact, it was Usman who was the third wheel. Anisa was my wife but there it was like I was their driver. It was annoying.

"By the way, I completely forgot to ask you; how is your father feeling now? Dad told me that he was sick." Anisa inquired. I nodded my head in agreement. "Yeah, I was wondering too."

A sad look appeared on his face and he sighed. "Not good. Please pray for him."

We shared a few comforting words with him and that was how the rest of the ride went by. We made small talk asking about his sudden visit. He said it was because he had to take care of something regarding his father. Something about ending the business he had established here.

I thought about how he was managing his father's work at such a young age. I felt a little grateful that I didn't need to face the problems he was dealing with.

Well, God has His own way of things. He gives some people a lot and some very less. I wondered why it was like that but at that point in my life, it didn't affect me anymore. I didn't have time to think about God or about His way of running the world.