ishq lost & found

22; Intuition

There was something about the way she said friend, the way she looked at Saad compared to how she looked at Ranya that rubbed Ranya the wrong way. Upon introducing herself, Sana stuck her hand out, a flicker of something in her eyes that Ranya couldn't exactly decipher, but she knew it wasn't good.

"Nice to meet you, Sana." Ranya replied, forcing a smile to creep up on her lips, only partially successful.

"Saad, you didn't tell me you're married! You didn't even invite me!" She quickly turned back to Saad, pushing his shoulder lightly in a joking manner, clearly seething.

Saad, somehow unbothered, completed brushed off her strange behaviour, "It just happened so fast." he excused, Ranya's head whipping in his direction with wide eyes as his answer didn't fit their narrative.

Nudging him gently, she interjected, "We just wanted to make it official before I started working again, so the guest list was small. Just close friends and family." She smiled, a sense of satisfaction in the reaction it incited from Sana, who continued looking at Saad even as Ranya spoke.

It might seem trivial, since it was Ranya that was married to Saad, and not this brazenly rude 'friend', but seeing her burn in jealousy made Ranya beam. The way she had been treating Saad before she knew of Ranya was clearly with interest, she was into him and it was clear to everyone. What bothered her more than her behaviour was the fact that, since her intentions were so obvious to everyone, it must have been obvious to Saad, yet he seemed fine with it.

Thankfully the conversation was cut short as the bride began making her way to the stage, the audience falling silent as the hum of music echoed through the hall. Putting aside her disdain towards the woman seated beside her, she smiled as she listened to the imam begin the nikkah.

It had been a very busy past few days for both Ranya and Saad, Saad looked perfectly healthy and well rested whereas Ranya found herself yawning, and praying that her makeup concealed her dark circles. Glancing at Saad every now and then, she reminisced over their own nikkah, hoping it had been as convincing as this one.

From his periphery, Saad noticed Ranya had been glancing at him periodically, and way more than she had ever before. She seemed tired, yawning here and there but concealing it with her hands.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, in a whispered as he leaned down to her ear.

Ranyas head whipped to the side, his proximity and his breath having tickled her. Either their faces only centimetres apart, Ranua let out a small gasp as their closeness, quickly turning away before nodding, a small "Mhmm." followed.

"Just a bit tired." she added, yawning once again. It had been a long couple of days, but she felt far more comfortable with Saad than before, and she knew she had a show to sell, so, after some contemplating, she rested her head on his shoulder, still watching the couple before them.

Saad completely froze at the touch, having had moved back to his original posture when Ranya nodded. He didn't really know what to tell her when she had given her explanation, but her resting her head on his shoulder was the last of his expectations. Sinking into his chair, he lowered himself somewhat so she could properly rest her head on his shoulder, rather than part of her head. The small gesture warmed Ranyas heart, but it burned someone else.

The ceremony hadn't been very long, but people had their expectations. It had become a tradition for most couples to provide a good amount of food after the nikkah, just some treats for those in attendance. Following Saad around like a duckling, Ranya figured they must have been headed towards the table of sweets, but before they could get there, a couple of aunties stopped the couple in their tracks.