One Way or Another (Al-Ameen Family #2)

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***NOT EDITED. They're never edited, I am sorry :( ***

This story happens right after Safiyana and Ayaan make up and return home from Dubai, so between the last chapter and the epilogue of Through the Dark. Basically, Saf, Ayaan and Yusuf are all entering first year law school at Oxford where Inayah goes to school in this story. Oh and all this is before the prologue happened.

"Nahiiiiiii," Samara screeched and turned ever so dramatically to face me. I sighed and let her pummel threw the clothes till she found the dress. "Why? Kyun ya khuda, kyun?" she held the dress with the both dejected look on her face.

I rolled my eyes at her antics and walked out of the room to find the bride's mother. Samara and I knew each other since we were wee little lasses so her dramatics didn't alarm me unlike the reactions of strangers walking past the room. The house was jam packed with guests left and right and I longed for a hallway I could walk through without having to suck every inch of me in.

"Inayah," Nafeeza sighed in relief.

"Yeah apaa, I gave uncle the envelopes. No worries," I assured her. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before scurrying off to find whatever else she needed to put away. I went into the kitchen to find Tannu chachi and the bride's mom sitting at the counter, surrounded by henna cones. I wrinkled my nose in discomfort and worked on making this conversation quick and easy.

"Allah ka shukar," she muttered when I came into view. "Ayaan's in-laws should be here any second. Can I trust you to take them into the guest bedrooms next door? They've got the last two on the left," she told me. I nodded in surety and walked off before the smell could make my nauseated stomach worse.

Ayaan, and Nafeeza apaa for that matter were Tannu chachi's husband's cousin's kids. She told me how affluent and respectable they were, as were Ayaan's in-laws, so her concern to make sure they were well situated didn't go undetected by me. I saw Ayaan's wedding pictures from Chachi and boy did they make my life look hilarious, despite me thinking what Tannu chachi had was insane. Both families lived graciously, mashallah.

For clarification because if you're not brown you won't get this, Inayah is the niece of Tannu. Tannu is married to a man whose first cousin is Ayaan's mom. Inayah is not related to anyone except in Through the Dark but she is related to a family member that is Ayaan's uncle. Sorry I know, brown people have no chill.

I went outside to the driveway and sat down on the stonewall around the fountain. The weather was so beautiful today I found it hard to comprehend the joy in my heart from seeing the sun. Good weather made me just so damn happy.

I heard before I saw the car pull up. The glossy black Porsche Cayenne rolled to a stop through the open windows I say Ayaan and his wife in the front seat, her laughing softly at something he said. I couldn't look away as he said something to her and she gave him a little teasing slap to the face before stepping out of the car.

She was wearing a simple white anarkali with baby pink bordering around the collar and bottom. Despite the drive it is from there to down here, she looked well rested and happy. Ayaan came around the car and handed her his wallet, which she slipped into her purse. He looked away from his wife then and spotted me and a friendly smile broke across his face, just like all the other times we'd met over the years during family forced play dates as kids.

"Salam Inayah. Look at you," he grinned wider and brought his wife over to me. "Safiyana, this is Inayah. Tannu mami's niece. We used to play together as kids," he chuckled. Safiyana shook my hand sweetly.

She was about to say something when the back doors of the car opened and out popped Mannat. Big smiles broke over our faces as we greeted each other after years. Over her shoulder, I saw two boys step out. One looked to be about Mannat's age and the other one a bit older; a bit like a Calvin Klein model...