Loved You First

Chapter 21 - "Shame to our families."

[Authors note: I know that Zayn's mum is English but in this story I made her a 'traditional' Pakistani mum]

Evangeline POV 

We pulled into my parents front drive, my palms were sweaty and my heart was racing.

I looked over at Zayn he was staring straight ahead blinking fast as if he had seen a ghost.

I reached over and put my hand on his knee “It’s going to be fine babe” I said with nervousness in my voice “Remember we have each other” 

He looked over at me with his eyes full of worry and took a deep breath. Pakistani mums were not ones to be messed with, and we had messed with ours in one of the worst ways. We got out of the car and walked up to the door, I put my hand up to knock on the door when it flew open. 

“آپ سب کو لیا کیا اتنے لمبے وقت تک اب یہاں اندر جاؤ!” My mom shouted at me 

“It takes three hours to get here mum we got here in four stop complaining” I spat with attitude in my voice 

“Don’t take a tone with me Evangeline” she shouted at me grabbing me by the arm and yanking me in the door. She still treated me like a child… 

“Zayn Javaad Malik get your arae in here” Zayns mum yelled from the living room. 

Zayn rushed passed my mum and me and went to join his mum. We walked to the living room to join them and I sat on the couch next to Zayn while our mums sat across from us. 

We sat in silence while our mums spoke about us in Urdu I was whispering to Zayn translating what they were saying when my mum snapped at me. 

“You have bought shame to our families Evangeline!” my mum said

“How have I bought you shame mum? I am married to someone I am in love with! Isn’t that what marriage is about?” 

“Zayn what were you thinking?” Tricia (Zayns mum) said to him 

“I was thinking that this is the woman I love and this is who I want to be with” he said 

“You didn’t have to get married Zayn! You’re only 20 what do the two of you know about love?” said Tricia as she took a sip of black tea 

Zayn reached over and grabbed my hand, he looked me in the eyes and I nodded, I knew what he was asking permission for and I obliged. 

“Do the both of you want to know what I… what we, know about this love? I know that before Ang and I got together I would lie awake at night and wish that she was next to me and not the empty space or whatever random girl was in my bed” 

“Zayn don’t speak of those things” Tricia said 

“Quiet mum!” He shouted gripping my hand tighter “Benazir (Evangeline’s mum) were you aware that Roger use to choke her? He was mentally abusive to her? Did you know that I found him in my flat one afternoon after they broke up chocking her? He had her bent over a counter with her feet off the ground, she was lying there not fighting back she had given up!” 

My mom looked at me then back at Zayn she was angry and sad and mortified that this is how she was finding out about Roger. 

“This just proves Evangeline doesn’t know what love is she thought Roger was the one, she use to talk about how she was going to marry him. Zayn you are both too young for this.” My mum said trying to keep herself composed 

“Mum, I never loved Roger! Yes in high school I thought I did, but that’s because I wanted to. I was in love with Zayn; I have been in love with him since grade 9. I went through all of the motions with Roger because I didn’t want to think about Zayn I wanted to be over him. I was in pain everyday with Roger mum” tears started flowing down my cheeks and I moved in closer to Zayn “When I’m with Zayn I feel complete, I feel love, I feel like I am a better person. I love him mum, Tricia and nothing can undo this” 

“No” both of our mums said at the same time 

Zayn put his head down defeated and said “Mum, Benazir, if you don’t support this then that is fine, but we are married. This is what it is, you are going to have to accept it. Evangeline is a Malik now.” 

My mum frowned her eyebrows “You haven’t followed ANY of the Pakistani traditions!” she stood and walked to the couch where Zayn and I wear seated “You haven’t had a proposal party, you haven’t had the engagement ceremony, Evangeline you havn't had a Dholki, we didn’t do Mehndi or Barat. It breaks my heart we can’t have a Nikah or a wedding! Both of you took these things away from Tricia and I. These traditions mean a great deal to us and you just went out and pissed on them” 

My mum started to cry, I had never seen my mum so hurt before. I walked over to her and held her close and Zayn walked over to his mum. 

Zayn POV 

I wrapped my arms around my mom and kissed her cheek. “Mum I’m so sorry, we didn’t think about it. We... we just wanted to make our love official in the best way we knew how” I looked over at Ang and she smiled at me “Now, it is only a rumor that we’ve gotten married. We can admit to being engaged and we CAN go through all of the traditions and all of the parties and the Nikah and the wedding. We can do it all, we would do it all for ya” 

The looks on our mum’s faces softened. “Please mum, Benazir, don’t be mad anymore. We love you and we are sorry. But we don’t regret getting married, and I’m not going to let you make us feel bad about it” 

“Zayn we don’t wish to make you feel bad, we just want you to know that you hurt us, we are your mums and you let us find out on TV Zayn” she brushed my cheek “Our feelings are hurt baby” 

“Mum we will go through all of the traditions, but we’ve got to speed it up to get it done in 3 weeks before we leave to America.” Evangeline said 

Our mums stood and walked towards each other mumbling in Urdu. “Fine!” they yelled.

“Benazir and I will start planning! Go home leave we will call you when its all been planned” our mums pushed us out of the door so fast it was as if we were bugging them now. 

“Oh but one thing” Evangelines Mum said “You’ve got to tell your fathers, yourselves.” 

Just when I thought we were in the clear… we had forgotten about out dads. 

Ang and I looked at each other as we sat in my car. 

“Shit!”