The rapid drumming of Nicholas's fingers tapping against the keyboard resonated throughout their small apartment complex, the rhythm a constant beat to the words and business jargon that echoed in his mind like a bell, and a string of praise and prose weaved in between the paragraphs. There was a subtle peace in doing what he was good at. 

Writing was always his strong point, even during those, dark, foreboding days that thundered as if the sky would break under the crackling, his ability to write would be his escape along with the endless books that decorated his indoor library. 

Granted, business proposal writing wasn't an enjoyable task, but he sure as hell was good at writing them. It was one of those talents that came naturally. Nicholas was raised and groomed to be a CEO. Although he didn't like the idea of being a person in his father's shadow, he appreciated the opportunities he was given for being the child of a CEO. 

Nicholas glanced at his wristwatch. I still got an hour or two. 

The proposal had property value to it. If Nicholas could be persuasive enough to the board of directors, he would have landed his father a two hundred thousand dollar investment in their company's project. 

Dina's figure leaned over his frame, her shadow darkening his work space and breaking his concentration. She smiled innocently, black, ebony hair tied into a long braid, and eyes sparkling with the mischief he was too familiar with when it came to her. 

Nothing productive ever comes from those devious eyes. 

"What are you doing?" she said in a sing-song voice, melodious with jest and frivolous with curiosity. 

He arched a brow, peering at her suspiciously. "You seem different."

"Me? I could never," she smiled, too widely. "I'm just asking about your work."

"Fair enough," he shrugged as he turned back to his laptop screen. "I have a proposal to finish writing. I'll be done in a bit."

"But I need attention."

"Go study, Dina."

"If I wanted to study, I wouldn't be bothering you, now would I?" she countered.

Nicholas stayed silent, his mind purely tuned to his task. The gears in his brain turned, his wife's voice a humming sound beneath his ocean of thought, drowning among the hardened business murmurs that confronted his shields and barriers with their own army of dedication. 

His eyes were glued to the screen, and his wife couldn't be more displeased than she was at that moment. 

"Do you hate me?" she pouted, resting her chin on the edge of the table, gazing up at him with sad, puppy eyes.

"No."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes."

Dina frowned. "You're giving me one worded responses."

"My bad," he said, distractedly glancing from his notepad to his screen.

She sighed exaggeratedly. "Can I ever get attention?"

"I give you plenty, now be quiet," he hushed her. "I have to focus."

"You've been saying that for the past four days."

"Dina, not now."

Instead of another bubbly response filled with her sassy undertone, she narrowed her eyes, pursuing her lips. Without another word, she walked away from Nicholas, the coldness of her steps freezing his work space with tendrils of guilt. It crippled Nicholas, and his focus simmered towards his wife's retreating form. 

She didn't even look back. 

Ambivalence coursed through his veins, a feeling of abandonment entering his chest. Nicholas didn't realize how buried he was under his work. There was barely enough time to converse in playful banter when all he wanted was to escape his father. However, in the process he neglected the one person who gave him the encouragement to execute his plan. 

But I still have to write this.

"Dina, wait," he heard himself saying. 

She paused, turning to face him from across the room, her hand on the door handle. "Yes?"

"I'm not good at this sort of stuff," he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. 

She cocked her head. "What?"

"You know, romance. I lack most of those swoon-worthy skills," he admitted bashfully, slowly meeting her gaze. 

He was surprised to see a breathtaking smile grace her lips, not a frown or a scowl. The annoyance and judgment he expected to see in her eyes never appeared. Only love lined those dark eyes, only affection sparked within that maple chasm. He knew that wherever that girl went, he would blindly follow. 

As Nicholas fell deeper in love with the understanding she portrayed,  he didn't realize the sadness that touched her visage like a dewdrop among ripples, her reflection blurring from clarity. His chest clenched at her expression, arms itching to pull her into his embrace, but he didn't dare to move. 

"That's not true, Nick," she whispered. "I don't care if you'll whisk me away to a happily-ever-after or if you say the right words whenever I want. There's no development in that, no growth, no reality."

His shoulders slumped. "So what am I then? If I can't make my own wife happy, what am I?"

He knew he ignored her the past couple of days. He knew he allowed the tension to grow. He knew that in some form, he was filling his father's shadow. Nicholas was on the path that his father took, and he hated himself for it. That was why he wanted to leave. That was why he was ready to quit because if Nicholas stayed with his family's company, he would become his father.

Warm fingers grasped his chin, forcing him to look up at his beloved wife, her brown eyes warm with sympathy. He didn't realize how cold and empty he felt without her presence beside him, didn't realize that the fear of losing her caused him to isolate himself from the one person that could erase all those emotions away. 

Oh Allah, did I really push her away?

"Nick," she whispered softly. "What's really bothering you?"

Looking into her eyes, he felt compelled to tell her, felt the tug between them. She was pleading for answers, begging him to open his heart to her once more. The gates to his internal darkness were sewed shut, yet Dina managed to pry them open with one glance, one touch, one voice. 

"I'm afraid of becoming like my father in business and in life."

Her eyes softened. "Nick, you could never be like him."

"I ignored you to drown myself in work. It's like even when I try to escape him, I'm still in his shadow," he said, disappointed in himself and his inability to forget his past. "I hate this."

"Shh," she comforted, pulling him into her welcoming arms. Dina's fingers tangled among his loose, blonde strands, kneading the tension from his mind with her warm touch, a magical brush against the storm that brewed. "You won't be like him In Shaa Allah (if God wills it)."

He wrapped his arms around her hip, resting his head on her stomach. "How do you know?" Nicholas mumbled. 

"I know because if you do, I'll smack you back to reality," she lightly joked. "I'm partially kidding. You're my Nemo, and Nemo is never a selfish fish."

The faith in her voice erased any thought of his father. Dina wasn't just his wife. She meant more than that to him.

She was his soulmate, the other part that Allah created. Allah made humans in pairs, and Nicholas was lucky to find his early.

Marriage had ups and downs like all things in life. Sometimes reality pushed too hard, and love withered with the fallen petals left behind, yet Allah used those precise moments to strengthen their love.

No matter what, he promised himself. I will not let my family take this happiness away from me.

Dina pushed at his shoulders, laughing. "Now, go work. You won't be able to find a new job if you fail at this one."

He stared at her, confused. "Aren't you still upset at me?" he asked, dropping his arms.

Dina shrugged. "I'm not very good at keeping grudges."

"Thanks for that heart attack," he remarked, sarcastically as he returned to his laptop.

"You're very welcome."

Nicholas could only roll his eyes.

----

So sorry for the late update. Life really just slapped me last week (message board explains it all).

Do you think Nicholas will be like his dad one day?

It's 1 am, so I'll fix the errors after school. Right now, I can barely keep my eyes open.

Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!