Better Late Than Never

20

The rest of February, for Ayra, was a blur of promotional events, launch preparations, and wedding planning. It was an entire lot and she got immersed in it all. She did not have any other option and she didn't mind it one bit.

The promotional shoot's photos and videos came out beautifully and she saw just why Aneesa had chosen to work with that particular studio. The focuses, as planned, were on the outfits but each model was made to shine as well.

Ayra found it hard to believe she was the same person in the photos and the videos. She also found it hard to wrap her head around Ayman's photos and videos too because, to her, he outshone every model. Although he hated the glitz and the glam with passion – something he never failed to mention – no one could argue with the fact that it looked really good on him.

The photos and videos were welcomed with open arms by the public; pulling in new customers to the brand and calling back the old ones. When Ayra felt the urge to do even more promotion that she'd done with the shoot, she took an entire day to decide that she wanted to take her social media accounts off private mode. The decision meant a lot of her posts had to be deleted or archived, and although it left her feeling bittersweet, it was something she didn't regret doing.

The simple boomerang video she posted on her Instagram story from the shoot caused a traffic she hadn't experienced in months and no one had to tell her to turn off her post notifications. No one also had to tell her to block the media houses that reached out to her as they still hadn't given up on getting an exclusive scoop into what had really gone down between her and Ibrahim Fahad which caused them to go their separate ways.

While Aneesa stated that Ayra's video had increased the visits on their sites and that she would encourage the others to do the same as long as they wanted to, Ayman worried about Ayra's mental health. To him, promoting the brand was pushing her to open up when she wasn't ready and the last thing he wanted was for anything detrimental to happen to the progress she'd made in the time they'd known each other.

When he indirectly inquired about how she felt with her accounts no longer in private mode, it took Ayra about fifteen minutes to convince Ayman that she was fine and that it was something she wanted to do. When it was drilled into his head, Ayman let himself breathe easier, more than glad that she was okay.

The launch pre-orders numbers were off the charts and a lot of collections – especially the Leilani and Hakeem collections – got sold out before they even had the chance to properly hit the stores. Restocks were promised and those who couldn't get what they wanted ahead of the launch browsed through what was available so they could pick something else while waiting for the restock of what they wanted.

The showroom of Ayneese got fuller every single day until everything was in place. Ayra always found a reason to stop by just so she could admire it, proud of all they'd achieved as a team and how far they'd come with her included.

Outside launch arrangements, order settlements, and promotions, she and Ayman worked better than ever. Although it was slow, their conversations became less formal. They became friendlier with them both getting little things for each other and randomly asking how the other was or what they were up to. They began texting outside work hours too; something that started when they had to talk as chief bridesmaid and best man before it moved on to something else that was entirely nice. Ayra loved it, all of it, and she had no idea that Ayman loved it too; even more than she did.

When it came to the wedding, Ibtihaj turned out to be the perfectionist she always said she'd never be. The plans had to be without errors, the meals had to be carefully selected and curated, and the vendors were picked herself after getting advice from as many people possible. When it came to colour shades, she was insanely picky, and when it came to arrangements and even logistics, she wanted every detail accounted for especially when it involved her "husband" being as comfortable as possible.