As-Salaam-Alaikum,

Plz pray before you read if it's time to pray and you haven't....

I'm really very sorry for the late update but you all know the reason from the last A/N that I was really busy in travelling and functions(which is always the reason we r busy when we visit our country lol) and I still am really busy with travelling. I'm actually in another city away from Islamabad(where I'm from) and I hate typing updates on phones but becuz I love ya'll soo much so I'm typing on the phone so that I can finally write the update for ya peeps.

YOU R THE MOST AMAZING READERS!!!!!
This chapter is dedicated to each and every one of you!
*******************************

The messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

There are no days during which the righteous action is so pleasing to Allah then these days (I.e the first ten days of dhul-hijjah) - [Al-bukhari]

***************************
NOT EDITED

Arina's POV

Idiot. Pagal. Kutta. Stupid
Arghhh Adam you r an idiot!

How can he say that?why did he even agree for the engagement?only to get the deal? That selfish haram creature😡

Last night I ran out the hotel and sat in the cab ignoring Alina's yells and pleas for me to stop because I didn't want to breakdown in front of anyone and needed some time alone. When I reached home the house was dark indicating everyone was asleep so I rushed towards my bedroom. As I looked at the time I realized its late and I didn't pray isha yet so I  proceeded towards the bathroom and intended to make wudhu and changed into my PJs  after coming out I wore my abaya and set my prayer mat. When I got done with my prayers I stayed seated on the mat and made a long dua.

I folded my prayer mat and crashed onto the bed but sleep was nowhere near and the flashbacks of today came which made me cry my heart out. Ya Allah why is this happening to me. First my bestfreind betrayed me in the worst way possible and now Adam is using me just to get his deal. I've lost my trust in the male species and the only reason I agreed to this proposal was because it was Mr. And Mrs Zeewad's and my parents wish and I can do anything for them.

I couldn't sleep a wink the entire night so after my fail attempts to sleep after fajr I decided to walk around the neighborhood. While crossing the few shops on the street my eye catches something unbelievable on one of the magazines on the rack in front of the shop so I stop to have a look at it. On the front page of the New York Times magazine is a picture of me and Adam with the headlines " The most eligible bachelor in town now engaged to a hijabi" and then on the next page is all the information about the deal with the Lockwood's and about last night's party.

OMA! How can he just let the paper agency publish this without my permission? That jerk!
Now I have to answer the billions questions that'll be coming my way from my dear parents.

I make my way towards the house and then suddenly it becomes windy and the light and white clouds starts sprinkling water in little droplets for a while and i keep walking not bothering to stand under a shade as I've always loved to enjoy the rain and get wet. After a while the before white clouds turn into dark grey exotic clouds and loom over the vast city capturing it in its control and the light droplets becomes heavy and the unprepared people run to hide under the shade of the shops or run to their houses and the prepared and ready people scurry away with their activities. I'm neither of them as I keep standing in the middle of the street getting wet and the thought of this weather defining my condition crosses my mind. I keep standing there until the the cold and harsh wind sweep past me and give me shivers and I come into my senses and hurry away to my house.

I HATE YOU MR. ADAM ZEEWAD! I hate you for reminding me of my dreadful past that I've always tried to forget. I wipe my tears with my now super wet sleeve.

I quicken my pace and head home. When I open the door of the house I'm met with the mouth watering aroma of pancakes which indicates that mum is up and in the kitchen. I go to ascend the stairs to my room to get changed but mum comes out of the kitchen and stand In front of me with arms folded over her chest.

"A- asalam allikum mama" I say nervously
" waalikum asalam" she replies
"Where were you?"
" I-I went for a walk around the neighborhood" I say stuttering because of the cold as my clothes are full wet. She notices it and tells me to go freshen up and come to have breakfast.

I climb up the stairs and go to my room, I run to my closet and choose a comfy pair of loose T-shirt and sweatpants. After taking a quick shower I get changed and blow dry my hair before draping my shawl to keep me warm as I don't need to cover my hair at home.

I look through the window to see the rain has stopped and the rainbow was visible in the sky making it look extra beautiful and all the plants and trees looked ever so green due to the dust being washed away by the rain, overall the entire view looked spectacular!

All I could say was subhanallah. Allah really made this world really very beautiful. Which lead me to think of jannah as the beauty of this world is nowhere near to that beauty. May Allah grant all Muslims jannah. Ameen.

A knock on the door brings me out of the trance. I go and open the door to be met with my bros fist.

"Hey!" I exclaim

" sorry sorry! You were just taking ages to open the door" he replies to which I respond with an eye roll

" OK what are you here for?"

" Mama's calling you down for breakfast, come fast dad's gonna come soon" he replies

" Isn't dad at home?"

"No silly! He was stuck in the mosque because of the heavy rain" he says to clear my confusion

Just as I'm about to ask he answers " and yes I went to pray fajr in the mosque but I came back early and dad wanted to spend sometime with his friends"

"Now stop dreaming about Adam bhai and come down fast " he says and runs

I shake my head at his behaviour totally ignoring the last comment and go down.

I sit on my chair next to Zaid  and start my breakfast while having a chit chat with mama and zaid tries to get into the conversation but is ignored by both me and mama😂😂

Between the breakfast dad also comes and start with his breakfast after replying to our salaams. I finish my breakfast and keep the dishes in the dishwasher and wait for the others to finish so that I can turn the dishwasher on.

After getting done with my chorus I come to the sitting room to watch TV but mama calls me to come to their room as they wanna talk to me about something important and that's when I remember today morning and I know its about the magazine. I prepare myself for what's coming and start taking small steps to their room. I knock on the door and enter when I get the permission.

" mama, dad you wanted to talk to me? "

" yes! Come have a seat." Mama replies

"Arina beta today I saw this on the magazine. Can you please explain when this happened? Where and why?" dad says calmly with his soft voice

"Dad yesterday in the evening I got a call from Alina telling me to pick my best dress and come out and that she's waiting for me to take me somewhere. She took me to a saloon and got me ready there...." And like this I tell them everything from start about the party and the engagement ring while showing them the ring and tell them all leaving last part where me and Adam had the argument and me leaving.

" oh OK beta! Thanks for telling..now we will talk to bhabi( Mrs. Zeewad) for a family engagement party and to set the wedding date" dad says

I then stand up to walk out when mama asks about today morning

"Oh that! Sorry mama but after fajr I wasn't sleepy and wanted to get some fresh air so thought of walking around the neighborhood. I didn't know the weather was gonna get that bad but then in the rain I tried to reach home early as soon as possible because I left my phone at home and I didn't want you to worry and that resulted in me getting drenched" I say in one breath making mama and dad laugh

I give them a sheepish smile and walk out. I hear my phone ringing and the caller is Alina. I sigh and then laugh as I know I have to tell her everything too.I receive the call and talk to her for an hour or so. I swear this girl talks a lot! But she's amazing and I love her and treat like my lil sister that I never had and I'm lucky to have this crazy girl as my future sister in law. She also wanted me to go with her for shopping and ice cream after zuhr as zuhr was an hour away so I thought of getting ready and praying.

I wear my white knee length shirt with blue jeans and colourful hijab to give it a good look and top it up with a long necklace and ring. I wear my white Nike high tops with it. And take my small brown shoulder bag. I take my car keys, inform mama and walk out the house not before hugging her good bye. I start the engine and proceed towards the destination which is a mall near Alina's house.

We shop for few hours and then go to a restaurant to get some food before going to our favourite ice cream parlor. We have a lot of fun the entire day and then after ice cream we say our goodbyes and part ways going to our respective cars.

I come home and change into my PJs and then wear my abaya and pray isha, recite Quran and retire to bed.

****************************

Heyyyyy lovelies!!!!!

So here's the update and I know I know I'm such a bad writer and take ages to update but I'm really busy and  I'm really sorry for making you wait that long.

I can't promise a quick update cuz I'm busy with eid prep and then after eid is my flight back home and a day after my flight is school..the first week of school is gonna be really busy but I'll still try my best to take time to update for y'all and I'm sorry if I can't. You guys are really amazing and I loveeeee your comments sooo much!

Plz don't forget to vote and comment!

Love y'all

-Iiman