His Runaway Bride

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Nakil

Sweat ran down my chest, fully soaking the white T-shirt I had on as I ran on the treadmill. If I couldn't swim because of my injured shoulder, then the least I could do was stay in shape till it healed. Cool, soothing music filtered into my ears from my headphones.

Headphones which were suddenly yanked away from my head from behind. I whirled back, surprised, because my apartment door was locked and no one knew the password except me.

"I've been talking to you for the past ten minutes," My twin brother stood by the gym doorway, my headphones dangling from his fingers. He sounded a tad miffed as he wrinkled his nose. "And you stink."

"As Salamualaykum, Ya Malik," I greeted as I stepped off the treadmill, grabbing a towel off a hangar to clean my face. I made to hug my brother who side-stepped my advances, while still wrinkling his nose. I let out a small laugh. "I don't stink that much brother. Don't be such a clean freak."

"Wa Alaykum Salam," He answered as his tall frame made the way to a sofa, the plush material sinking as he settled into it. "Go take a bath and then I might reconsider the hug."

I laughed once more. I had missed my twin brother dearly. My career as a swimmer caused me to travel a lot for competitions while his job gave him less free time than normal. It was therefore pleasant to see him in my apartment so early in the morning.

I observed him closely as I toweled off. He was identical to me in looks. Same grey eyes, same jet black hair and thin lips. Whereas as a swimmer, I was required to be lean, he had filled out a little in his shoulder muscles than I did. The fact that I'd dyed my hair brown made us a little less similar, also my brother had a dimple in his right cheek whereas I did not.

"So how did you get in?" I asked. I clearly did not remember telling anybody my security password since I has just moved in the other day.

"I'm your twin brother, I know you more than anyone else." Malik answered, flipping through a magazine. "Besides, both our birthdays are on the 18th of March. So I knew the password was 1803."

He did know me more than anyone else. And not only because he was my twin. Jamal was four years older than us and did everything way before we did. I and Malik went to school together, grew up together and understood each other more.

"You're a man after my own heart," I said as I took the other sofa across from my brother. The very action caused a sharp pain to shoot up from my arm and I winced slightly, gritting my teeth. "How's work going?"

"Alhamdulilah," Malik answered. "It's amazing how many people visit the therapist. How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine," I answered. The pain had subsided a bit, fading back into oblivion, probably to come back with a bigger strike. "Dr Abdullahi says it should heal in a few months."

"In Sha Allah," Malik muttered. "Mother says they've gone to see your future wife. She has agreed to marry you. Why couldn't you make it?"

The day that had been set to go visit the woman my parents had picked for me, my brother-in-law had called because he needed my help in his shop. So I had to cancel, but Jamal had gone along with them to represent me.

"Umar needed an extra hand in the coffee shop. Hasanah had to go deliver her baby and Fauzan turned up sick so he called," I said. My brother-in-law was like a good friend of mine who I really owed a lot to. I couldn't turn down his request. "How did the engagement go?"

Malik took a quick glance at his watch. That meant he had somewhere to go and knowing the kind of man my brother was, he'd want to get there early.