Destined for One Another

Destined for One Another (23)

Mahinoor's P.O.V.

"Rehan, just one more aisle," I say trying to keep him up with me, as he lagged behind protesting about why we needed so much food. When in reality, all I was trying to do was make his kitchen actually feel like a kitchen, it was so bare, we couldnt survive off of fast food and restaurants like he has been doing for the past ten years. I needed homemade food, that was final.

"Mahi, we have two buggies filled to the top, what more do you need?" He said stopping in the middle of the aisle. 

"Look, my classes start tommorow." I say firmly, "And before they do, I just want to make some food so we have something in the fridge for me to eat when I come back from school. I know Amma isnt going to be here waiting for me, so I need to prep before I begin missing her homemade food."

Rehan sighed, "One more aisle," He gave in pushing his buggies ahead of mine.  Smiling I rush after him and grab some more ingredients from the international aisle. "Mahi," He said, "This. should last us at least four months."

His estimation was so wrong, with the amount of supplies I had gathered, wet, dry, refrigerated, non-refrigerated,  we would be good for a while. Biting my lip I grab one more packet of rice and say, "Chale?" (Shall we go?)

He rolled. his eyes, and made his way to the till with me right behind him. The cashier's eyes widened as we pulled up, but nevertheless did his job, as I helped pack the groceries in the bags, Rehan paid for them. "The total will be 400 hundred dollars,"

I look over. at Rehan with. wide eyes, as he casually paid the immense amount urging me to hurry out of the store, "Rehan," I call his name, "I-"

"This is the normal amount when buying stuff in bulk, Mahi. Don't worry about it."  He reassured me, "When I had moved here to New York for the first time, Baba had done the same for me, and the food, well that lasted longer than expected, and most of it went to the garbage."

I won't let that happen, tonight, is going to consist of me standing in the kitchen preparing meals, for both of us. Rehan and I put the grocery bags in his car, and we began heading home when he got a call... from Alizeh.

Rehan looked over at me uncomfortably as I looked out the window, trying to hide how awkward her phone call made me, nevertheless, Rehan answered it. "Hello?" He said clearing his throat, 

"Babe, you will not beleive what I just got for the two of us," Alizeh said excitedly, 

"What?" Rehan asked, 

Even I was curious now, as I looked directly at his dashboard where her name was written in bold, "Drake tickets!" She said almost shouting into the phone, "I know you have been wanting to go to his concert for so long, so I waited all night last night, scoring us amazing seats."

Drake? I have always wanted to go to a Drake concert as well, they are so lucky! Rehan's face filled with excitement  as well, "Oh My God Babe that is amazing news!" He replied, "When is it?"

"This weekend," Alizeh said, "You and I, and Drake!" Rehan looked over at me and his smile kind of faded.  Since he fell quiet Alizeh called his name, "Rehan?"

"How many tickets did you get?" He asked, 

"Two, why?" 

I shook my head no, as I realized he wanted me to come along even though I wanted to see Drake too, being in a room with Alizeh giving me the death stare was too much. "Well Mahi-"

"Rehan." Alizeh cut him off before he could even finish saying my name, "We are not taking her."

Ouch. As a woman, I can see where her dislike for me stems from, but the amount of hatred that she puts in each sentence she speaks to me scares me at times. Breathing out I say, "Don't worry I won't be there."

Rehan looks at me with wide eyes, obviously not wanting her to know that I was with him, but as soon as I spoke up, her loud ass voice fell silent. "Mahi," She said softly, "What are you two doing?"

"None of your business," I stated, "But know that I won't be there with Rehan, and you two can. have your weekend to yourselves."

"Mahi," Rehan said firmly, "Alizeh I will call you back,"

"No wait-" But before she could finish her sentence Rehan hung up the phone. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out the window avoiding his gaze. 

"What was that?" He asked me, 

"Ask your girlfriend," I said just as firm as him. "She was the one who started it."

"Mahi, you cannot expect me to take you everywhere I go." Rehan reasoned with me, "Alizeh and I need our time too."

"Yeah well, I didn't ask you to take me everywhere you go, Rehan, in fact I do not care where you go with her, or what you do with her. What I care about is when she talks about me, like I am son fucking side chick." When in reality she was the side chick, and I am his legally married wife. 

"She does not-"

"Every time you mention my name she glares at me, everytime I try to greet her she ignores me, anything I do is a nuisance to her, so yes Rehan she treats me as if I am." 

Rehan had nothing to say, he looked at me briefly and shook his head, "One, do not jump into my phone calls like that again, and two, this is exactly what I was afraid of."

I cross my arms across my chest as I turn to face him, "Afraid of what?"

He parked the car and turned to face me too, "That you two would not get along, making this agreement that we have come up with ten times harder than it needs too." He was talking to me as if I was the one who was making it hard. "If Alizeh is giving you the cold shoulder, then maybe you can tone down the attitude Mahi. For her, you are the other woman who has stepped into our world, for the past two years it has just been her and I, and now I have dropped. this bombshell on her." Did he just. . call me the other woman in his relationship?  "She was not expecting a girl ten years younger than me to randomly appear into my life and-"

"Be the other women?" I say venomously, 

Rehan took a second to process what I had said, and immediately began to shake his head no, "That is not what I meant and you know that Mahi." Glaring at him, I try to hide how hurt I felt after hearing those words, I turn to get out of the car, no longer wanting to speak to him. "Mahi," I knock on the back of his car, so he could open the trunk. I wanted to get my belongings and go home. Rehan came out of the car, I tried to hide my tears but his. words were so harsh. I clenched my jaw, I knew if I spoke I would begin to cry and I did not want him to think that I was doing this for his sympathy. "Mahi, if you are going to keep twisting my words around to your pleasure, I do not understand how we can have a mature conversation." He added, "I am not apologizing, because I know I did not mean it that way, so when you. are ready, you can come talk to me." Rehan popped open the trunk and grabbed half of the bags leaving me alone in the parking lot, as he made his way upstairs to his apartment. 

I was not upset at the way he had said it, because, at the end of the day, it didnt matter what way he said it because it was the truth. I, Mahinoor Ali was the other woman in his relationship because he loved Alizeh. 

I do not know what I was thinking about marrying him, I do not know what I was thinking coming all the way out here with him, agreeing to that stupid. deal. . .and most importantly, I do not know why the mention of Alizeh bothered me so much. . .I do not want to like him, and maybe my nitpicking at his language is a way of me trying to keep my heart. safe. 

Rehan was not a bad guy at all, he had told me everything, explained everything to me before marriage, before I agreed. . but why was it suddenly becoming so hard to share him?

Allah Miyaji, kahaan phasa diya aapne mujhe? (O'Allah, where have you gotten me stuck?)