Him & His Muslimah

38

Zoya

Zoya adjusted her pearly, silk scarf that was elegantly styled to frame her face. Viewing herself in the mirror, she surveyed herself in the marvellously embroidered lilac maxi she was dressed in for their Walima, her engagement ring on her finger and a pearl pendant on her neck. She graced a peachy nude lipstick along with some darker eye make-up that enhanced her azure eyes.

"Zoya, are you ready?" She heard Zaib's soft knock on the door and hastily slipped her feet into her dainty silver heels. "Yes."

Zaib swayed the door open and stepped in, his eyes immediately finding Zoya who stood there looking down shyly. Even though they were married now, this was the first time that she was dressing up for him and he would see her. For a moment she didn't hear any response from Zaib and looked up curiously.

He stood there, sporting a white button-down shirt underneath a black blazer and pants with a matching lilac tie, motionless in his place, mouth ajar as he surveyed her. "Zaib?" Her gentle voice alerted him out of his daze. "You look breathtaking." He strode over to her, gazing at her stunning features.

Zoya felt her cheeks streak with warmth feeling thankful that her makeup concealed her natural blush. "You look pretty good yourself," she returned his compliment with a small smile. Seeing her husband groomed for her made her stomach ache with butterflies.

Slowly he leant in, planting a warm kiss on her forehead. "Can we just cancel and stay here all night because you look too gorgeous and others don't deserve to witness such beauty," he suggested. He didn't feel like socialising with other people, he wanted Zoya all to himself.

Zoya almost choked eyeing his evil smile. "Zaib," she responded with a dreading glare. "Yeah yeah, it's our Walima we have to be there." Zaib gave in and grabbed her warm hand within his.

"But after we're done with this, it'll just be me and you." His earnest look made her heartbeat escalate. She gave him a light punch on his arm, flustered at his words. "The guests are waiting."

Zaib playfully rolled his eyes and tugged her along with him and they exited the room. Along the staircase, fairy lights shone on them as they descended. Once they were down, Zaib's parents led them to the garden where their guests awaited them.

It had been two days since their Nikkah and they were now having their Walima in Zaib's spacious garden. They wanted a simple Walima like the Nikkah and had only invited a few of Zaib and Zoya's relatives and their best friends. Unfortunately, Zoya's cousin, Amira's family had to return to their home city after the Nikkah due to her father's work. At least, Naimat would be there.

It was to be a modest dinner with around ten wide tables set up in his garden. Since Zaib's side was arranging the dinner, they had called in the best caterers and decoration agency.

As they stepped foot outside, they were immediately swarmed with their guests. First, Zaib's relatives rushed to greet Zoya and question her about how well she was adjusting along with a flurry of compliments. Zaib chuckled at how taken aback she seemed but it wasn't long before he was pulled away to Zoya's relatives too, causing Zoya to throw a laugh.

Among the chaos, Zoya met eyes with Zain and she felt her heart drop. Ever since that uneasy encounter with Zain in the kitchen, she felt unnerved around him. His cruel words remained in her memory and replayed through her head from time to time.

Why was he so hateful towards her?

Later that day when she had dinner with Zaib's family, she felt a lot of sarcasm coming from Zain's side whenever he talked. It seemed like she was the only one who felt that tension as Zaib and his parents didn't notice it. That incident had bothered Zoya but she didn't want to start any drama on her first day in Zaib's house so she had kept silent about it.