𝐙𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐀𝐌 ~ 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 ♡

40 - A Glimpse of Us

The question hung in the air between them, and for a moment, Adam looked taken aback. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly weighing his response. Maryam watched him closely, her heart racing. She needed to know. She needed to understand what had led them to this point.

Adam shifted on his feet, his expression unreadable for a moment. “It wasn’t really me,” he finally said, his voice quiet, almost apologetic. “It was... my mom. She thought it would be a good match. She thought it was the right thing to do.”

Maryam felt a rush of relief flood her chest, though it was mixed with a wave of guilt. She had expected that. She had expected the marriage to be more about family expectations than any real desire on Adam’s part. But hearing it from him, hearing him admit it, made everything feel even more real.

She swallowed hard, trying to steady her emotions. "I don’t want to do this, Adam. I don’t want to marry anyone right now. I’m not ready. I don’t even know what I want from my life yet." She paused, the weight of her words sinking in. "I need your help."

Adam looked at her, his brows furrowing with confusion. “Help with what?”

Maryam’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Can you talk to your parents? Can you tell them I’m not interested in this marriage? I don’t want to hurt anyone, but this isn’t what I want. I need you to help me make them understand.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but then hesitated, looking down at the floor. Maryam’s heart pounded in her chest as she waited, the silence stretching between them like a tightrope. Finally, Adam sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he looked back up at her.

“I don’t know, Maryam,” he said quietly. “It’s complicated. My family... they’ll be upset. They’ll be disappointed. I don’t know if I can change their minds.”

Maryam felt her chest tighten. The hope she had felt a moment ago began to slip away, replaced by a sinking feeling. She had hoped, foolishly perhaps, that Adam would understand, that he would be able to help her navigate the mess that had become her life. But now, it seemed like that hope was fading.

“Please,” she said softly, her voice breaking. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I can’t go through with this. I just... I need you to help me.”

Adam stood there for a long moment, his face conflicted, torn between his loyalty to his family and his feelings for her. She watched him, her heart aching as she waited for him to make a decision. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he nodded, slowly.

“Okay,” he said quietly. “I’ll talk to them. I’ll try to make them understand, try to explain that this isn’t something I want either. But... I can’t promise it will be easy."

Maryam’s eyes filled with tears at his words, and she blinked rapidly, trying to hold them back. She didn’t want to break down in front of him, but the relief she felt was overwhelming.

“Thank you, Adam,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “Thank you for helping me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

Adam gave her a small, unsure smile, though his eyes were full of a quiet understanding. “You don’t need to thank me yet,” he said. “We’ll figure it out.”

Maryam quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and rushed through the crowd. The noise of laughter, chatter, and congratulations faded into the background as she focused on finding him.

Zaid.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her thoughts were jumbled. She had to talk to him—she had to understand what was going on between them. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something important had been left unsaid.