Accepting You

Chapter Forty Eight

When Yusuf and Asiya returned to London from their visit, Yusuf vowed to put Asiya and their relationship first. He agreed to see a counsellor, and they had skimmed through a directory of counsellors and therapists together before booking one.

When Asiya had asked what had happened at his aunt's house, Yusuf selectively summarised the ordeal and ignored the inner prompt that urged him to tell her that Sarah had been there.

Nothing happened.

Yet he had bruised his brain by replaying and scrutinising his movements from that day. He spent every spare mental minute entertaining false scenarios. Should've and could've bounced around the corners of his mind, giving him light headaches.

I should've waited in the car, his inner regret constantly repeated. Nothing had happened, but something could've. Not because of me...Eww no way! It wasn't my fault, was it? No. Nothing happened.

And because nothing had happened, Yusuf forced himself to believe there was nothing to tell. But he didn't trust his external family, and he didn't trust Sarah, who, according to Asiya's Instagram feed, was clinging to his aunt's hip.

So, Yusuf decided the best thing for his relationship was to avoid his family like they carried a plague.

When he received an invitation to his cousin's nikkah, he binned it. When his mum texted, reminding him to RSVP, he deleted it. When his mum called him to ask whether he was attending the event, Yusuf craftily changed the conversation.

"Yusuf, what's this?"

Yusuf closed the front door and raised his eyes to see what this was. This was a now barely pink-coloured invite between Asiya's fingers.

His soul jumped out of his chest, levitated in the air for a few seconds and then rushed back into him.

Yusuf used his hand to steady himself against the wall as he slipped off his shoes. That's not supposed to be here.

"Hellooo, Yusuf!" Asiya waved the invite and moved closer to him. "What is this?"

Yusuf scowled at the stained envelope.

The invite was supposed to be far, far, away from their flat. Barely decomposing in the depths of a landfill on the outskirts of town, not perched between his wife's slim fingers, taunting him about his lack of honesty.

He felt his skin shudder as he slipped a blank look over his face. He shrugged and picked up Biscuit, who allowed him to run his nose through her fur.

"You should be sleeping," Yusuf said as he walked closer to Asiya, ignoring her question.

He tried to kiss her forehead, but Biscuit launched her claws at Asiya's throat when he moved closer.

Yusuf scratched the top of Biscuit's head and placed her on the ground.

"I thought you would be sleeping. Why aren't you sleeping? I told you my meeting was running over." He curled Asiya's free hand into his as his eyes switched between her face and the envelope.

"It's late, and we have our date tomorrow," he said before tenderly kissing Asiya's forehead.

At the sound of the word date, Asiya clapped her hands together like a purse clasping shut, and her lips spread into a heart-racing smile. Yusuf would've smiled too, but the nikkah invite was still clutched between her fingers.

"I wanted to wait till you were back from work before falling asleep. You don't need to remind me. I am sooo excited for our date! I've been looking up patterns I can paint onto th–Hey!" Asiya stomped one leg into the ground. "Don't try and distract me!" she squeaked.