"Wait, what?" I asked, my eyes widening as I stared at my brother in utter shock. I can't believe the words that just came out of his mouth. "I want to go to Ms. Mitchel and ask for Sam's hand in marriage." He repeated. "But before I do that I need you to talk to Sam and ask her how she feels about me. I don't want to put myself on the line if she doesn't feel the same way."

I nodded my head in response as I took in everything he just said. "Yeah, don't worry I'll ask." I said with a smile making its way to my face. I knew he liked Samiyah the moment he came back. I mean aren't they perfect for each other? "Thanks sis. Now I have to hit the gym. See you later In Shaa Allah." He said as he got up off of the couch and walked towards the front door. Before he left I called out his name.

"Yeah?" He said as he turned around.

"You better make Samiyah happy."

He grinned as he nodded his head. "Don't worry, with me she'll always be on cloud 9. Now I got to go." He then left and closed the door behind him. Today was Saturday so I just wanted to stay home and catch up on my Hindi movies. Right until the point Isa came I was binge watching Shah Rukh Khan movies on the T.V. But I guess I have to get off of my lazy butt and call Samiyah so we could meet up. When I dialed her phone number she immediately picked up. "Hey girl, what's up?" She asked in her usual sing song voice.

"Nothing much what're you up to?" I replied, hoping she wasn't doing anything. "Nothing, class got canceled today so I'm just chilling at home watching horror movies. Want to come over?" I could tell she was watching scream because I could hear the background noises in the back. "Sure I'm gonna stop by StarBucks first, you want anything?" I said as I grabbed my car keys and wallet from the table and wrapped a hijab around my head.

"Sure just get me what you're getting."

"Cool I'll be there soon."

* * *

I knocked on the door and waited for Samiyah to hurry up and open it. When she did I handed her a Vinti Ultra Caramel Frappe which made her squeal. "You're the best!" She gave me a hug then let me through the door. "I know, I'm amazing." I said cheekily as I took off my hijab.

We both laid down on the sofa while watching the end part of Scream. "Aliyah is coming in like an hour." She stated un pausing the TV. "This feels like old times." I found myself saying with a gentle smile on my face. I miss those days when we would watch movies together and just hang out.

"Tell me about it."

Suddenly my phone started ringing and I noticed it was Alex calling me. "Yeah what's up dude?" I said as I leaned in the back of my chair. "S-Sorry ah d-didn't mean to to to call you man." He sounded drunk and it was only 5pm. What's wrong with him? "Where're you at?" I got up out of my office and motioned to my assistant that I would be out for a little.

"The b-bar down t-town." He said very slowly. "Well you know that I don't drink anymore so I wouldn't know where that is. Be as descriptive as you can be." I got into my car and drove out of the parking lot heading on to the main road. I'm really starting to get worried. I thought he stopped drinking after what happened last time he did. Something must be seriously wrong with him.

After a couple of seconds he managed to tell me the address of the bar he was at. After a while I parked the car outside of the place and walked inside. He was nearly passed out at the bar, yelling for another shot of tequila. Before he could get a hold of the shot I gave it back to the bartender. "Come on we're leaving." I grabbed his arm but he quickly yanked it back.

"What are you? My father? Huh!?"

"Dude you're drunk so let's go." I tried one more time but he wasn't having it. "You don't know what I am going through so don't come in here all high and mighty. Did you know that I got suspended from work? Yeah, they decided that I wasn't fit on the field and that I need a break from police business. So they put me on desk duty." He fumed, looking as if he wanted to punch someone.

Instead of fighting him I decided to sit down. "What happened?" I sighed as I waited for him to explain. He stared at the bottle of tequila in front of us, where the bartenders were. "When I was on the field... I uh heard a gunshot and freaked. I thought about what happened with Avon and your father... so I lost it. I just don't get it, I've been a police officer for a couple of years now... I've heard gunshots before... But this time it was different." He said with a broken look on his face.

"This time...I-I thought I saw Avon standing in front of me...about to pull the trigger once again." A look of fear flashed in his eyes. "What's wrong with me?" He questioned as he looked at everywhere but me.

I patted him on his back as I racked my brain for something to say. "I get how you're feeling but sitting here drinking your sorrows away won't do anything for you. Instead it'll make things worse. No one knows that better than me. This is just a rough patch, okay? You'll be back at work in no time. Also, have you thought of going to therapy? I'll do it with you if you'd like." I said reassuringly or as reassuring as I could be at this point.

"Maybe you have a point but I'm staying. Being here helps me get out of my head. As for the therapy, no thanks." He stubbornly snatched a shot of tequila and chugged it down. "Fine." I got up and walked away from him. He may not listen to me but I know who he might listen to. I can't believe I'm about to call Kathie of all people. After a couple of rings she answered her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey it's Adam. Alex is here at a bar passed out and he won't listen to me no matter how much I try to get him to leave. Can you come and try to convince him?" She was quiet for a moment, probably surprised that I still remembered her number. "Uh yeah...of course, text me the address."

I hung up and quickly sent the address of the bar to her. I waited until I saw her pull up into the parking lot then left. I hope she manages to get him to leave. Seeing him like this actually pains me too. I mean he's my best friend and I still care about him, I don't want him to be like this anymore.

"You're so adorable!" I cooed as I kissed baby Deenah on her head. Mashallah she keeps on getting bigger and bigger every time I see her. I can't wait until I have a cute baby like her one day In Shaa Allah. "I have to go put her to sleep right about now." Aliyah said as she got up and took her to Samiyah's room.

"So," I plopped down beside her. "How do you feel about Isa?" I blurted out getting straight to the point. Sam looked flustered for a second before a blush made its way on her face. "You like him, don't you?" That made her blush even more. "Don't worry," I winked. "He likes you too."

"What? Seriously?" She asked with shock evident in her tone. "But why would he?"

"Why wouldn't he?" I asked back. Does Sam not see the kind of catch she is? I mean any guy would be lucky to have her. "I'm completely ordinary and he is a big boxer now. I'm boring and not pretty at all so why would he like me of all people?" She ranted.

"Are you serious? Do you not know how awesome you are? Honestly I'm shocked that it took Isa these many years to confess how he feels about you." I responded with a slight chuckle at the end. "It's just so hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that he likes me." She stated, a smile made its way to her face. "Aw some one is in love doves!!" I teased poking her.

"Stop." She gushed.

"So what did I miss?" Aliyah asked as she plopped herself on the couch beside us. So for the rest of the time we caught her up on what we were talking about then went back to watching horror movies.

* * *

When I came home Adam was sitting down looking exhausted as ever. "Salam!" I said with a bright smile on my face as I walked in and closed the door behind me. When he saw me he smiled slightly, or at least tried to. "Salam, how was your day?" He responded as he got up and placing a kiss on my cheek. "It was okay, how was yours?" I asked, concerned.

"It's been better but I'm fine. I just want to get it out of my head right now and enjoy spending time my beautiful wife. Let's watch a movie together." He suggested playfully. "Right now?" I raised an eyebrow at him. It's like 10pm what movie theater is open at this time?

"Why not? We could watch it here and I already bought some popcorn and chocolate." He gestured to the bags on the counter. Wow he really planned this through. Suddenly he wrapped his arms around my waist while grinning at me. "Come on how could you say no to watching a movie to the most important man in your world?"

"Sorry to burst your bubble babe but my dad's the most important man in my world. I'm down for the movie though." I couldn't help but laugh when he pouted. "Okay fine you and Baba are both the most important men in my life."

"Okay good, now what do you want to watch? Romance? Comedy? Romance and comedy? It's all up to you babe." He lead me towards the couch and showed me all the movies he got from RedBox. My eyes widened when I saw the Kite Runner in the stack of movies he got. "Lets watch The Kite Runner! But first let me get changed." I got up and walked to our room.

"Okay don't take too long though!" He shouted from the living room. "Did you forget I'm not you? I'll be back in five!" I couldn't help but roll my eyes. After I changed into my regular pajama pants and tank top I went back to the living room and laid down comfortably on the couch."Uhm," Adam pointed to my feet that were on his lap.

"Get used to it buddy." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You're so childish."

"Yeah, yeah, start the movie already!"

"Now what's the magic word?" He raised his eyebrows teasingly.

"Pwease." I batted my eyelashes adorably. Or at least tried to, then again I'm not a cutesy person.

"Alright, only because you're too cute for me to refuse." He leaned in for what looked like was going to be a kiss but when I closed my eyes it never came. "I was grabbing the remote but it seems like you were expecting something else." He winked. I aimed a throw pillow at his head which he quickly dodged. Jerk! Once the movie started we both got quiet and stared at the screen in comfortable silence. It was at the moment that I realized how truly blessed I was. I mean I have a wonderful family, friends and surely, a wonderful husband. And that's something not a lot of people can say they have. So everyday for the rest of my life I'll always be grateful towards Allah, In Shaa Allah.

A little while after the movie ended, I found myself falling asleep on Adam's shoulder. As he turned to look at me, I couldn't help but notice the small smile that was across his features. "I love you so much." He said as he leaned down and planted a longing kiss on my lips. I began to smile a little as we continued to kiss. "I love you too." I responded in a small whisper in between his lips. It felt like my body was in sync with his immediately and never want to stop kissing him.

I then lightly traced my hand over his face. Everything about this man is so perfect, Mashallah. From his beautiful eyes, long eyelashes, his nose, and perfectly shaped lips. He stared back at me with adoration in his eyes. "How did I get so lucky?" Adam asked as he continued to kiss me everywhere.

"Thank you." I said after a couple of seconds, even surprising myself. He stopped for a second and looked back at me.

"For what?"

"For coming back and fighting for me. I don't think I've said that before." I responded sincerely.

"Oh baby, I will always fight for you." His lips then met mine once again and it felt like magic.

"Hold on, are you sure you don't want to wait? We're not going too fast, are we?" He asked me with concern. I couldn't help but smile at how considerate he was. "I'm sure." I responded and leaned back into him. This is the reason why Allah tells us to wait so that after we do, it'll be all the more rewarding.

😘