Bewitched

31

MUMTAZ

Standing beside Muntassir, I tried to steady my breath. Our parents sat across from us in the private dining room of the restaurant, staring at us like we'd just announced we were moving to Mars. The confusion on their faces was almost comical—except that I was the one who had to explain why they'd been dragged here under false pretenses.

I shifted nervously, glancing at Muntassir, who looked surprisingly calm. Maybe I should've asked him how he convinced his parents to come. It had taken every bit of charm I had to get my own parents out of the house with a vague promise of "quality time."

"Okay," Muntassir started, addressing the elephant in the room. "We know you're confused, but we have something to tell you."

Here we go.

I took a deep breath and blurted out before I lost my nerve, "We want to get married."

The silence that followed could've filled a grave. My heart pounded in my chest, and I couldn't help but glance at Muntassir again, wondering if we'd just made the biggest mistake of our lives.

He cleared his throat, trying to ease the tension. "We know it's a little unconventional for us to announce it like this, but after everything that happened last time, we figured it was best to just... come right out with it."

For a second, no one said anything. And then, out of nowhere, my dad burst into laughter. I blinked, turning to him in shock.

"Baba?" I asked, genuinely confused. "What's so funny?"

He wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling, and shook his head at me. "You two... I should've known. I really should've."

Before I could respond, Muntassir's mom suddenly cheered, clapping her hands together like she'd just won the lottery. "Yes! Pay up!" she said, turning to my mom with a triumphant grin.

Muntassir and I exchanged confused glances. "Wait—what?" I asked, completely lost.

My father sighed, still laughing, and waved his hand as if dismissing our confusion. "We had a bet going," he explained casually.

"A bet?" Muntassir and I said in unison, both of us completely flabbergasted.

I could feel the bewildered laughter bubbling up in my chest as I turned to Muntassir. "They bet on us?"

"Of course we did," my mom said, rolling her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We all had different ideas on how long it would take for you two to come to your senses."

I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter, but it was no use. "Oh my God," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "You guys actually bet on us?"

Muntassir's dad, who had been quietly amused up until this point, nodded with a smile. "Everyone was in on it. We knew you two would find your way back to each other eventually."

My cheeks flushed, but I couldn't stop laughing. I glanced at Muntassir, who looked equally stunned but was grinning now.

"Well," my mom said, sitting back in her chair, "we're happy for you. This is a good thing."

Muntassir's mom leaned forward, beaming at me. "We always knew you two were meant to be. It was just a matter of time."

I smiled, finally feeling the weight lift off my shoulders. This wasn't at all how I expected this dinner to go, but somehow it was perfect. We sat down, and the rest of the evening passed in laughter and easy conversation. It was as though everything had fallen into place exactly where it needed to be.