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A day to the nikkah ceremony, Muntaseer called me ,telling me that he will be coming that day and I wish with the whole of my heart that he won't come ,let him just wish me luck from wherever he is because honestly I don't want to see him but I couldn't, a part of me wanted to see him for the last time as the man I love before it's finally over between us, who was I even kidding ? There was never us and there will never be us .

Ammy called me to her room after ishaa prayers ,I knew what she's going to do ,the pep talk ,obey your husband be a good wife and don't let us down as your parents blah blah blah but I listened not because I don't have a choice but because I want to listen to her voice even if she's scolding me .

I sat on the floor carpet fidgeting with my fingers while Ammy sat at the edge of her bed with too many emotions in her eyes I can't decipher one from the other .Let's just say she looks happy - sad , Anxious - excited .

" Manal I can't believe this day have come, it's so soon my dear, I've imagined this day ,thought of the things I will tell you but I think I'm out of words here. You've been the Apple of our eyes from the day you were born till date and I can't tell you how blessed we feel to have a daughter like you ,you're beautiful my dear ,I don't mean physical beauty but inner beauty ,you have a good heart and I am sure I've raised a good mother for my grandchildren, you are leaving home and going to build your real home .

A place where I urge you to build with love ,kindness and fear of Allah ,a place where you should be the queen and your husband the king . Obey your husband my dear ,treat him with kindness,be his best friend and someone he will be eager to come home to from work ,be his adviser and make him feel that he matters to you and he means a lot to you ,never make him angry but rather make him happy ,whenever you fight which I can assure you you will have a lot of ,never raise your voice above his ,and if you know you've wronged him apologize to him and take note of your fault so that you won't repeat the same mistake again.

Marriage life is not a bed of roses and it's not always summer,the winter will come but make sure you're well armed and ready for it ,never tell an outsider about any squabble you have with your husband except if it's beyond reconciliation between the two of you ,then you can bring it to us,the key to a successful marriage is always patience before love,because if the one you love hurts you ,you have to be patient to let them know you've been hurt . Create something special with your husband , a kind of bond that will last forever and never get tired of pampering him and he'd do so to you too.

Respect his parents and relatives if you expect him to respect yours , and always pray to Allah for a lasting peace in your home not when you're in trouble but even when everything is smooth and clear ,never let a friend guide you in your marital affairs be your best friend on that ,you can seek her counsel but you should know the limit to everything you do .

Guard his wealth and don't be extravagant with it no matter how rich he is ,guard your chastity for it's only a cheap woman who doesn't know her worth that let the non mahrams see her beauty. Be the best of everything to him and in shaa Allah you will have a kind of relationship your kids will admire and be proud of .

You've seen how your father and I are ,I hope you've taken a lot of lessons from us .Go forth my dearest daughter and be a virtuous woman to your husband and in shaa Allah you will never regret saying yes to our choice " By the time Ammy finished her lectures, we both were in tears ,I hugged her like something is going to take her away from me and sobbed my heart out

" Thank you so much Ammy ,you are the best mamma in the world and in shaa Allah I will take your words to heart and create a legacy with them ,you've raised me well and now you will reap the fruits of your labour ,this house will forever be my home ,how can it not be ?I was born here ,I learned how to sit and crawl ,my first steps were in the halls of this house ,my first words and first day at school .

I cannot be happier with any other parents apart from you and am thankful to be blessed with you , I will miss you so much Ammy but you'll always be in my heart and if I get the chance I will visit you every day .I love you so much Ammy to the square of infinity " I choked out while she chuckled

" who told you a married woman can visit her mother everyday ,don't you know it's a taboo to do so and people will start gossiping that she had bewitched her husband? " she joked winking at me .

After I went back to my room ,Simran and Jiddah kept asking me about the talk with Ammy

" Abeg let me be ,you will have the talk too when your time comes ,now let's continue from where we've stopped, we have a lot of preparation against tomorrow "

" I've never seen a bride that is so mean to her friends until you " Simran pouted .

" Then welcome to the club ,make sure you hold unto the lifetime lessons meanie's best friend" I stated with a poker face

" Meanie is that how you're going to treat your husband ? " Jiddah said winking at me with a smirk I wished I can wipe it out with a stone from her face

" Shut up you two let's finish this and go to bed it's late already and we don't wanna be grumpy tomorrow do we ?"

" What if the groom is an oaf ?" Simran teased while she's changing into her PJ's .

" Then he will divorce me and take you as a second wife because he will find your sense of humour far more appealing to him than mine will ever be, but he will send you out of his house in a couple of hours because you reek " I retorted making myself comfortable .

After over two hours of lying restlessly in bed ,I kept turning and thinking of the things Ammy told me ,I silently went out of bed and walked down to Ammy 's room who was past asleep ,I snuggled beside her ,draw the blanket over us and a deep slumber overtook me .

The D day is finally here and in a couple of hours my status will change forever, I've read a lot of books that I've lost count of and none of those books have done justice to how wedding jitters really feels like ,I felt like vomiting my intestines out, my heart is beating erratically ,my hands are shaking and my feet are cold and wobbly.

I couldn't sit and the make up artiste is annoying the life out of me ,I can do my make up just fine ,I don't need someone to make me sit for hours ordering me to turn ,open my eyes ,close them ,turn left and right ,don't move an inch and the list goes on and on all in the name of dolling me up. By Allah if it's in my power I will ban wedding ceremonies and all the things included in it ,especially this annoying make up .

Simran and Jiddah were busy Awwing and goshing about how beautiful I look and that the lucky man will be stupefied when he sets his eyes on me .Even after the make up artiste was done I refused to look at myself in the mirror ,only Allah knows how I feel that moment and the devil hasn't come yet,Abby and the rest of his entourage have already left for the nikkah which will hold at the juma'at mosque .

" Stop looking at me like I've grown horns Simmy or I swear to God I will strangle your ugly long neck " I snapped at simran who held her hands on her chin smiling at me creepily.

"Your husband is handsome " Jiddah chirped in and I scoffed .

" I am serious you'll love him for his looks if not for anything else "

" When have I ever told you that I will love a man for his looks alone " then comes the water works .

" Haba Manalie today is your big day and you're going to ruin your make up ,please stop crying maybe ma an daura auren by now ."Simran consoled me.

As If on cue some old women burst into my room yodeling saying that an daura aure mashaa Allah may we live long and have a lasting peace bagera bagera and it took Hajia a long time before she shooed them out of my room.

Ammy could not bring herself to come in because she don't wanna cry in the presence of all the guests. Hajia hugged me wiping away my tears

"Alhamdulillah Manal you are now a married woman my dear,Allah miki albarka ya baku zaman lafiya and zuri'a dayyiba,I will be the best mother in law in shaa Allah" woah what did she just say ? Did I hear her right ??? Mother in law how ?

" Hajia mother in law kuma ?" I asked not wanting to believe what I had heard .

" Ehen now " with that she left me smiling , with simran and Jiddah trailing behind her ,saying they are hungry and will grab some food for their poor stomachs .Just then my phone started ringing ,I was in a dream like haze so I didn't check the caller ID before I picked .

" Congratulations Mrs Taseer am now rightfully yours ,copyrighted and stamped " that was it and I fainted.

I don't know for how long I've been out but I found myself in Ammy's room with Hajia, Ammy, Simran and Jiddah beside me all asking me what happened ,I told them I don't know and they all went out when Abby came in with Muntaseer beside him looking somehow worried because I gave him a split second glance and decided to look at anywhere but him.

"Manal how are you feeling ?" Abby asked with concern

" Am okay Abby " I answered him faking a smile because I don't even know how I feel ,I am really a dumb girl for a girl with my educational background ,how can I not click the dots together ? Abby told Me the husband will travel ,the next day Taseer left home and never called me with his line except with Ammy's phone ,those words and promises ,the way Hajia is always ranting about how lucky her son is ,the creepy looks simran is giving me this morning and Jiddah's words ohh Allah ,it's official am the dumbest person ever to live on earth .

"Are you sure you're okay Manal or should I call the doctor? " Abby asked again and I shook my head indicating that I am okay there will be no need for a doctor ,with that he left leaving me alone with the guy who has been invading my dreams ,running through my mind and making me feel things I've never felt before right in front of me with a title of my husband a sacred bond legally binding us together till death do us part and I lost my voice ,I couldn't say anything .

" Hayatee ,how are you ?" The guy in question asked ever so gently as if he's afraid I will break if he speaks louder than that.

" Am okay Alhamdulillah " I answered

" I am sorry I scared you ,it was not my intention to do so will you please forgive me wifey ?" Yah Ilahi ! From Hayatee to wifey he's killing me but he must suffer for making me suffer , ' Hypocrite you're happy and can't do anything about it' the annoying little voice inside my head mocked me.

" It's okay you may now leave ,I want to sleep " I said turning my head to the other side of the room . But my heart is so full of joy am dancing all types of dance styles and if I were alone right that moment I will jump up and down on that bed and scream my guts out.

He came closer and held my hands in his making me to look into his eyes ". I am really sorry kinji ,I wanted to tell you badly but I am afraid that you will reject me because I don't know what to do without you please understand and it was our parents wish not to tell you and I can't disobey them can I ?" He gave me his best puppy face and I couldn't help but smile.

" so you're afraid of loosing me why ? I thought you ha.." He shushed me with his hands closing my mouth before I utter the word ' hate '

" don't you dare say that I hate you. I'll never hate you and I will tell you the reason why since we have so many days ,weeks and months to talk about that " he winked and I gaped so this guy can be this way too.

" Now go to sleep Hayatee ,I will come back later ,Ameer sends his congratulations he said something about being eager to eat lunch and dinner cooked by you and I can't blame him, my wifey can make taste buds explode with her exquisite cooking skills " with that he left leaving Me smiling like a Cheshire cat .

How can I sleep ?I got up and made wudu and prayed two units of nafl salah, thanking Allah for bestowing upon me his blessings and making the man I love with the whole of my heart mine .The man of my dreams ,my Noory my zawj my everything .

Your ethereal beauty is out of this world Hayatee, you look so beautiful I can't help but praise Allah for creating such a beauty and making her mine .Do rest well my woman .- M

I was smiling and laughing with tears of joy in my eyes when my friends came into the room and I didn't know what possessed me at that moment, I've forgotten that am a bride and there are guests in every nook and cranny of the house I squealed and engulfed my friends in a tight group hug .

" Tell me this is not a dream ,because if it is I never wanna wake up " I said breathlessly while simran was just looking at me as if am an alien from an unknown planet .

" I know right ? I couldn't believe it too when Ameer texted me that the groom is Muntaseer. I just don't wanna spoil the surprise for you and if I had known about it earlier I wouldn't have let my sweetest bunny suffer " she said dragging me out of Ammy's room to my room ,to pimp me more and change my clothes since the groom is the desired one he must be pleased and as Jiddah said make him like what he is soon to see .

We are a crazy bunch I know ,but if I were to live a thousand lives ,I will always choose them as my friends. They are the kind that are always there in your brightest and darkest days, the kind that will tell you they hate you for eating their share of pie not because they hate you but because they've grown tired of telling you how much they love you ,they are the type that make you feel the love not by written words but by actions ,they make me laugh hard till tears fill my eyes ,they annoy and frustrate me but they always have my back even before I ask .I am truly blessed Alhamdulillah and I just hope that I can repay them back for being loyal right from the beginning but I never can repay even an iota of what they've done to me .

The photographer came and we snapped almost a thousand pictures ,my jaw ache from smiling while every bone in my body ache , just when I was thanking heavens for making the torture come to an end ,Ammy had to drag me to Abby's living room , lo and behold his highness was sitting right there gawking at me .

" Like what you see ?" I teased and he went crimson. I have a shy husband you see so don't blame him .

" You look angelic Hayatee " he whispered into my ears the moment I sat beside him ,the closest we've ever been since the day I met him .

" You don't look bad yourself " I whispered back .

" Now if you will stop shamelessly flirting with him and let this poor guy do his job,you will save us all a lot of time " Comes the voice of the Queen of annoying women on earth breaking our little moment .

"They are obviously smitten with each other let them be and go get a life " Jiddah retorted and I would've given her a hug if not because of the man sitting beside me smiling at my friends ,don't he ever get tired of smiling ? I wondered.

We posed for few more pictures bride and groom ,bride and groom with his friends ,bride and groom with her friends then the elders came in and it goes on and on till I felt like dying on the spot.

Everyone left the living room with the exception of Ameer ,Simran who is unashamedly gawking at him from a distance as if he is a super model ,but I can't blame her ,in her eyes he is the most handsome man ever to walk the earth .Jiddah was on phone with her fiancé while I was sitting beside Muntaseer too tired to even raise a hand .

" You are tired " it wasn't a question but a statement and I just nodded in response.

" should I carry you to your room Hayatee? " he asked innocently as if he didn't know the implication of what he had just said and I choked on my spit .He looked at me and winked, wait ! What's up with everyone and winks these days?

" No thank you ,I can walk just fine " I said sounding offended while in reality I felt all warm and fuzzy inside .

" Tigress I was just kidding ,please don't make us have our first fight on day one " he said looking at me and for the first time I let my self look into his eyes and what I saw in those beautiful black orbs is nothing but love ,adoration, commitment and promise of a brighter future ,a future where its just the two of us. He held my hand and entwined it with his ,and right there I know that we a about to embark on a journey filled with zero regrets in shaa Allah.