Faith

Chapter 7

NASIHAH'S POV:

I leaned on my elbows on the counter. Work was so slow today. And Julie had just clocked out; my other two colleagues were on break. Julie's "flu-plague" went away and it seemed like no one in the universe needed any medicine. 

Today was my first day at work after my wedding day. Honestly, I couldn't be more happy. Last night after Zaidan and mine's encounter, I was relieved to get away from him, even though he was at work now too. I practically cried myself to sleep in that exact position. However, I woke up in Zaidan's bed. He was already gone and I was about to be late for work so I didn't stick around to ask questions. Just thinking about him made my arms ache. 

After what he did to me I've been dying to tell someone, but I couldn't. I considered telling Julie, but she left as soon as I made my decision. I was scared. What if he stays like that for the entirety of our marriage? I've had enough abuse in my like; I don't want any more of it. Then again, he could just be like this because of his drinking...

"Nasihah!" I jerked my head around to see a middle-aged man with blond hair and brown eyes staring at me in surprise. 

"Yeah?" I looked at Michael. 

"It's almost 7! You're supposed to be out by 6:30!" he exclaimed. I looked up at the clock above him and realized it was 6:58. 

"Oh, I completely forgot. Thanks, Michael," I said before pulling off my lab coat and grabbing my coat. I waved goodbye to Michael and left. 

At home a delightful smell of spices wafted in the air. I peeked into the kitchen to see Mom swirling a wooded spoon through a metal pot. 

"Asaalamualiekum, Mom," I said, walking to her side. 

She looked at me and smiled. "Waliekumasaalam, dear. How was your day?"

"Good. What are you making?" I looked into the pot. 

"Biryani. It's Zaidan's favorite," she said brightly. 

"Oh. Well it looks delicious." I smiled at her. 

"I'm glad you think so. Now why don't you go get changed? By the time you're done, Zaidan should be home and we can all have dinner together!" 

Oh, perfect.

I tried not to look so upset when I nodded and walked out of the kitchen. Husband or not, he was the last person I wanted to see. Nevertheless, I obeyed Mom and changed into a maroon, long-sleeved, shirt and black sweatpants. When I returned to the kitchen, I saw Zaidan there, tenderly kissing his mother's cheek before pulling away. My body stiffened as his gaze landed on me. Once again, his jaw hardened.

"Zaidan, sweetie, go change. I made biryani for dinner," Mom said. 

"Okay. I'm going," Zaidan replied. He looked down at the floor as he walked and I moved to the side to let him pass. 

Heat flooding through my body, I went to the small dining area and sat down. My fingers began playing with the strings of my pants in anxiety. In a few minutes, Zaidan returned in a gray t-shirt and basketball shorts and sat at the head of the table. He crossed his arms on the table and looked at them. 

Well this isn't awkward, I thought to myself. 

We sat in silence until Mom came with a large white bowl full of steaming biryani and three plates. She placed them on the glass surface of the table and sat across from me. After pushing plates towards Zaidan and me, she looked back and forth between us. 

"What's wrong with the two of you?" she asked. 

"Nothing," Zaidan and I said simultaneously. Mom chuckled lightly. 

"You know, you're father and I were just as silent and awkward the day after we consummated our marriage." 

"Mom," Zaidan said harshly. I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from laughing even though she was nowhere close to the reason why Zaidan and I weren't talking. 

"Okay, okay," Mom laughed. "Two shy little people you are." 

ZAIDAN'S POV:

I'm not one to disrespect my mother, especially after all of the love she's shown to me, but at this point, I felt like I could scream at her. I dug my nails into my arms to prevent myself from doing so as I moved biryani around my plate. For a split second I looked at Nasihah, who seemed to be enjoying her food. Just looking at her made me nauseous. 

All of today, I kept thinking about what I did to her last night. I had never done anything like that to anyone before. Guilt was eating me alive and distracting me from my work. I had even gotten yelled at by my cousin, Tariq. I felt like strangling the guy, but I couldn't make one move without remembering Nasihah. She didn't do anything wrong. She was just being curious like any other person would. Then why did I become so defensive suddenly? 

That's it. I can't do it anymore. I pushed my chair back and stood up. Mom looked at me.

"Zaidan, what's wrong? Aren't you going to finish your food?"

"I'm not hungry," I said curtly. I turned around and walked to my bedroom, swinging the door shut behind me. I leaned against the wall on my elbows and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths. I head the sound of the door opening. 

"Mom--" I began, turning around. 

"Relax," Nasihah said, gently closing the door behind her. "It's just me." 

Great. I left the table because of her. Why is she in here now?

Nasihah walked to the bed where she sat down with one leg under her and the other dangling off the edge of the bed. I had never taken a good look at my wife. In fact, I barely even cared about her. And now I saw her long raven-black hair that fell over her shoulders in a straight river. It framed her chubby face paired with hard brown eyes and soft pink lips. She wasn't fat nor skinny but looked perfectly fit in her maroon shirt and black sweats. Something glittered on her face. She has a nose piercing? 

"Why are you in here?" I asked her. 

"Trust me," she scoffed rather bitterly, "I'm not in here for you. I'm doing it for your mom. She'll get suspicious soon and I don't want her to know about... what happened." She looked down at her lap. 

Another swirling in my stomach. I clamped my jaw tightly, something I did  whenever I felt emotional. 

"Nasihah--"

"Please don't." Nasihah's voice cracked. She raised her hand on her face. "Please don't make this harder than it already is." 

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. I walked to my closet and pulled out several blankets and bedsheets and a pillow. I was sleeping on the floor tonight. 

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I'm so proud of myself. Did this all in under an hour. I'll try to update this more since I have sooooooo many ideas and stuff. I hope you guys liked it!

xxM