MARYAM SHEIKH
"Suprisee!! Happy Birthday Fatimaa!"
Blushing, giggling, hugging. That's how we expected Fatima to react to our spectacular meal. And my cake. The cake was spectacular.
But it was neither.
She smiled awkwardly as she entered the room. "Wow, you guys... you did all of this for me?"
We all sensed something was wrong but decided to not put much thought into it. Amr gladly showed her around and showed off his salad cutting skills. I caught the reflection of Zaid smirking at this in the hallway mirror.
"Are we eating now?" Fatima asked, as if she didn't want to. What the heck was wrong with her?
"We could open the presents first," I offered, glancing at Amr. I noticed that she kept checking her phone occasionally.
Just then, the front door clicked open.
Standing in the doorway was Daniel, dressed impeccably as always in a tailored suit, his polished shoes clicking against the floor as he stepped inside. His expression was a mixture of anger and disbelief as his gaze swept over the room.
"You're here?" Daniel started speaking, like he couldn't believe it. "After all the dinner reservations and plans I made for you, you're here?" He said it as if he was disgusted.
"Babe, a whole freaking party is waiting for you at the Plaza," Daniel continued.
The cheerful atmosphere evaporated in an instant.
“Daniel,” Fatima said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What is this?” he asked sharply, gesturing to the table. “Why aren’t you at the party?”
The room fell silent. Amr exchanged a worried glance with Zaid.
“What party?” he asked, breaking the tension.
“The one I planned for her,” Daniel said, his voice tight. “At the plaza. Everyone’s there waiting for her, and she’s here?” He turned to Fatima, his tone softening but still laced with frustration.
“Fatima, why didn’t you tell me you weren’t coming? I’ve spent weeks organizing this for you.”
Fatima’s shoulders tensed, and she took a step back. “I told you, Daniel,” she said quietly. “I didn’t want a big party. I just wanted to spend my birthday with my friends. I get bored at parties.”
Daniel blinked, as though the words didn’t compute. “With... them?” he said, gesturing toward us. His tone wasn’t insulting, but the confusion was clear.
“Come on, Dan. They are my best friends ” Fatima replied, her voice firmer now. “This is what I want.”
“But, Fatima,” he said, his voice dropping to a pleading tone, “you know how important appearances are. You're Baba's particular about these things. Everyone is expecting you. I invited all the right people—”
“It’s not about the people, Daniel!” Fatima interrupted, her voice shaking. “It’s my birthday. Why can’t it be about what I want for once?”
Daniel looked stunned, as though she’d struck him. For a moment, his gaze darted to Zaid, who was watching the exchange with a calm but unreadable expression.
“Zaid,” Daniel said, his tone softening, “maybe you can talk some sense into her. You understand how these things work, right?People like us—”
YOU ARE READING
𝐙𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐀𝐌 ~ 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 ♡
Romance"Do you care anything for me, Maryam?" He asked, his eyes were looking into mine so deeply and earnestly that I just can't bring myself to look away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When 𝐙𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐊𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐃, the youngest and heir of the prestigious...
