TAWAKKUL

17. The Reception

*Click* *click* *click*

I was sitting like an idol amidst flashlights, noise of camera shutters and chatty people.

Azlan was shifting quietly beside me. To our dismay, the sofa which we were sitting on was a two seater specially designed for our reception.

After our sweet session on top of the stairs a few minutes ago, there was a change in Azlan's demeanour.

After he smiled warmly at me, I reached such a relief zone that I almost forgot how strained our relationship was. It was when he closed his eyes in supposed frustration and looked away, I was pulled back to reality.

Why did he even compliment me?

Was it to make a fool out of me or did he really mean it. It did look like he genuinely meant what he said. But his changed behaviour made me think otherwise.

He tried to keep as much distance as he could while sitting beside me.  

He was basically trying to avoid me .

After my outburst on him the other day, he'd probably made a resolve to ignore me.

He broke his resolve mistakenly on the stairs while complimenting me. And thus he closed his eyes in frustration.

What I couldn't understand was, what made him break his resolve?

My subconscious mind said, "Because you looked pretty to him", but I didn't really want to keep hopes, so I just decided to go with the fact that he had a tendency to compliment girls and flirt with them in the past, so his habit came back at that particular moment.

We'd been meeting guests for a while when two people made an appearance, in the presence of whom Azlan's face lit up.

His siblings, Issam and Azra.

All three resembled each other so much.

His sister seemed like a person with lots of poise gained after so much experience. His brother on the other hand was young and cheerful.

It was a delight seeing the siblings meet each other. I couldn't help but miss my own family.

How I wish I had someone beside me.

After meeting Azlan, Issam and Azra came towards me and embraced me in a hug one after another.

"You look so beautiful bhabhi," chirped Issam.

"Undoubtedly, both of you complement each other so well ," added Azra with a smile.

I glanced at Azlan and saw him looking at me.

I turned my attention to the siblings and uttered the first thing that came to my mind.

"I couldn't meet you both properly. We didn't have much of an interaction during the marriage and after that you both disappeared. How I wish you people could be here. I would be less bored."

Issam's face fell, while that of her sister's turned stoic.

" Issam had his exams soon after your marriage, hence he had to return to his hostel. Whereas I had lots to manage at home, " replied Azra.

Issam just nodded his head at that.

I had an intuition that these two were hiding something. But I didn't probe into it further. Azlan's whole family seemed weird and secretive.

Lots and lots of people kept coming.

Since our marriage was a private affair in Dubai, all these people couldn't attend it. Hence Mr Rishaad made sure to make the reception a memorable one.