"They are your garment, and you are a garment for them," Rayyan repeated the words he'd heard so many times from his friends as they prepared for their weddings.
"Surat al Baqarah," Unique said softly.
Both of Rayyan's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"I'm not an ignorant person. With a name like Zainuddin..." Unique rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat, letting the rest of her thoughts remain unsaid. "Besides, there was this guy."
"Oh, I see. The good Muslim Arab boy tried to school you on his religion so you could get married, but his parents weren't trying to hear it." Rayyan chuckled.
"Not exactly. The spoiled Muslim Arab boy got schooled about his religion by a convert, but there was never any real future for them." Unique turned her sad eyes to the window and watched the passing city.
It was always like that for her. There was no point in getting her hopes up anymore. Separating herself from him had been the hardest thing she's ever done. For a while, he'd let her believe that all of the things that she read in books could be hers. Even after a lifetime of experience told her that there was no such thing as happily ever after, she'd dared to dream of her wedding day. ANd it all fell apart with just one phone call. That was it.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you." Rayyan reached out to touch Unique's hand but she retracted it.
"It's okay. I was pretty dumb back then. I did a lot of humiliating things. You live and you learn," she said with a shrug. Despite her stiff upper lip, Rayyan could see the sadness in her eyes.
"Did you really love him?"
"I loved the idea of him. I loved the idea of us together."
"Sometimes that's enough to break your heart. Is that when you stopped practicing?"
Unique looked at Rayyan and snorted. That wasn't the kind of question she was obliged to answer.
"You have your secrets and I have mine," she said, dismissing him.
Despite his lifetime of excesses, in his heart, Rayyan was still a man who believed in something bigger than himself. He didn't believe in coincidences. The more he knew about Unique the more he felt as though she was in his life for a reason.
"Do you still believe?"
"In what? Big white dresses? White picket fences and all of that?"
"That too."
"No."
"What about God?"
"Most of the time. What about you?"
Rayyan scooted closer to his bride and looked her in the eyes.
"Most of the time, no. But the more I look at you...the more I wonder."
Unique met his unwavering gaze with her own. Despite the coolness of the night air, they both could feel their temperatures rising. He was a good-looking man. She was a free woman. Technically they were already married. Why deny herself the perks of the position?
Rayyan reached for her, settling his warm hand on the back of her neck and pulling her closer to him.
"Stop," Unique pressed her palm to his chest. "This wasn't part of the agreement."
"This is a different kind of agreement. I was to kiss you and I'm waiting for you to agree," he said, not back ing off an inch.
"We shouldn't complicate things. If we get involved physically it will only make it harder to separate later."
YOU ARE READING
Unintended Consequences (Act One) Completed
Spiritual"It's simple; you help me convince everybody that we're a normal married couple and I help you hide from your homicidal gangster ex-boyfriend." "And the cuffs?" Unique held up their shackled wrists. "Don't look at me! I was as drunk as you were!" *...
