Amidst The Wedding Chaos

Nine

I'd never been in a situation more awkward than the one I was currently stuck in. My mother, because she was the sweetest, had dragged me to sit down on a table full of aunties as they talked, each of them asking me random questions.

And I was sure that the aunty on my right had ulterior motives behind her compliments and questions. She'd basically asked me for my autobiography.

"Excuse me." I politely said and got up, ignoring my mother's glare as I fled from there... only to be hogged my other woman.

"You're so pretty, Masha Allah!" She said, her hand on my arm, the bright pink of her dress burning into my eyes.

Ya Allah, madad.

"Thank you." I replied and folded my arms in front of me around my grey-silver clutch that matched my dress.

"So, what's your name?"

"Aliya. I'm the bride's sister." I told her, already looking for a way to run from here.

I knew what her next question was going to be before she even asked.

"Are you married?"

What's with Pakistani weddings and matchmaking and making the lives of single girls hell? It's either talking about your marriage if you're single or asking you about 'good news' if you're married and don't have a baby yet.

Why are they all so nosey?

"Oh... uh..." I was seriously considering lying. I couldn't have three aunties coming to my home with their sons to get me married to them. I'd already been asked this twice already.

"There you are, jaan. I've been looking for you."

What?

With wide eyes, I turned to find Aayan coming toward us, hands in the pockets of his black dress pants as he smiled wide. He stopped beside me, hand going behind me but never coming to rest on my back.

Though, to anyone looking from the front, it would look like he was holding me.

"What?" I couldn't help but ask, so confused.

The aunty's eyes flickered back and forth between him and I. "You are...?"

"Her husband."

I almost choked.

"You're married?" The woman asked me, looking extremely disappointed.

And, apparently, I was married.

I didn't know it myself until two seconds ago, aunty. "Y-Yeah."

Aayan looked at me with a playful frown. "You didn't tell her? That hurts, sweetheart."

I'm sure the aunty's face turned as red as mine in that moment when Aayan called me sweetheart.

"I—"

"I'm going to go." The woman jerked her thumb behind her and turned swiftly on her heels, and ran away.

I waited until she was far and made sure she wasn't going to turn and catch me as I moved away from him and crossed my arms.

"What was that?" I glared at him. It was hard to stay angry at him, especially when he looked like he'd leapt out of the cover of a magazine in that black suit of his.

He shrugged casually, hand going back in his pocket. The same hand that had been hovering so close to my back before. "I was helping you out. You looked tired of being asked if you were married or not."

"That's none of your business though."

He squinted at me. "Banda 'thank you' hi boldeta hai."