Accepting You

Chapter Fifty Four

"Are you sure?" Yusuf turned his head so he was facing Asiya.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Yusuf asked again, his eyes roaming over her face, searching for a twitch of discomfort, unease, apprehension, for anything he could pull on or use as an excuse to not step through his aunt's front door.

Asiya rolled her eyes. "Yusuf, you've asked me this question like a hundred times now!"

"I just want to make sure that you're sur–"

"Yes!" Asiya snapped. "I'm sure, and we're already here, anyway!"

But we can still turn back, Yusuf whimpered inwardly.

Unlike that day when he confronted his aunt, he could stall and reverse his planned actions. He could undo whatever was written and rewrite his future by restarting the car engine, pulling out of the street, and returning to their hotel, but only if Asiya agreed. Her agreement was necessary because, without it, all that would be left was suspicion.

Yusuf glanced at the front door. Because of the wedding, it had received a new coat of paint, and bundles of flowers were on either side and bordering the walkway leading up to it. The door was covered with dainty fairy lights that blinked out welcomes and invitations every few seconds. But to Yusuf, it looked no different to the entrance of a haunted house.

He didn't want to go in there because of Asiya, because of the people in there, and because of himself, too.

"Yusuf, I'll be fine," Asiya reassured. "Your mum wants us here."

"But...I'm ashamed to say it, but she's just one person," Yusuf said.

"Wars have been won with less," Asiya smiled before exhaling loudly. "We're not in a war, though. We're at your cousin's nikkah, and we have every right to be here, even if someone tries to say otherwise. They're your famil–"

"Our family," Yusuf corrected before grimacing, embarrassed.

They hadn't treated Asiya as such. How could he even claim they were a family? His family had treated her like an ugly duckling, as though she was an imposter who had no place in a world that had also been created for her.

Yusuf hadn't helped her treatment either. He had waited too long to say something and had failed to gallantly defend Asiya, and Yusuf still wasn't helping her. He hadn't told her what had happened, and he wasn't warning her about the position they were entering the house from.

His words were still secrets, meaning he was why Asiya's heart was unguarded.

He was the one currently puncturing holes and creating leaks in Asiya's fortress. The same fortress she had allowed Yusuf to seek shelter in.

Urgency and determination suddenly gripped Yusuf by the neck. He had to tell Asiya everything before his aunt, and Sarah drew their weapons and told her themselves.

"Asiya," Yusuf said shakily. "The reason why I don't want us to go inside is because–"

"Yusuf, you don't have to tell me. I already know," Asiya said calmly.

Yusuf wanted his seat to eject him out of the car. It felt like an army of ants had crawled under his skin, and their small legs were tearing through him, cutting off his oxygen and blood supply as they aimed for his heart. "Wha-Wha-What, you know?"

"You're just looking out for me. You don't want me to be insulted, upset, or hurt, and I appreciate that and you so much, but I'll be okay. You don't need to worry." Asiya unbuckled her seatbelt. "Sticks and stones, Yusuf. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can't hurt me," she sang before kissing Yusuf's cheek.