Assalamu Aalaikum! Hope you guys love the story so far.
Heads up for mistakes, English is not my first language.

Character board
Aaliya - Leading character (female)
Hafsa - Aaliya's mother
Abdullah - Aaliya's father
Sufiyan - Aaliya's brother
Adil - the odd stranger

Edited by zie2799
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Recap:
I opened the door to find a man I have never seen before looking at me curiously.

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Aaliya's POV

He seemed tall and fit and that black suit paired with the perfect shades left him looking strikingly handsome and he knew that.

"Hello, is Mr. Abdullah at home?" he asked.

"Hello, uh nope dad is not at home right now. If it's something urgent, do let me know. I could always pass the message," I replied, eyeing this strange man.

"Nothing important, just let your father know that I dropped by, my name is Adil," he said not breaking eye contact even for second and with that he left, leaving me in my thoughts.

Who he was and why did he seem so odd?

"Who was at the door beta?" called out mama.

"Someone came in search of dad, I did ask him if it was urgent, he just told me to let dad know that he had dropped by." I replied.

"Oh, okay. Do we know him? Did he leave his name?" She questioned.

"Ah yes! He mentioned his name is Adil, quite a weird person if you ask me mama."
That's when I noticed it, the paling of my mom's face as those words left my mouth. She knew him and by the looks of it, he isn't good news. "Do you know him mama?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"No beta, I don't know him, but did he mention anything else apart from this?" she asked nervously.

"No mama, that's about it."
"Mama is everything alright?" I asked after about a second or two. "Is this related what dad was so stressed out about all morning?"

"Yes, beta everything is fine," She replied with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

The sound of the doorbell stopped me from questioning her further, I knew that now was not the time to press for answers. Especially with my dad and older brother present here.

"Assalamu Aalaikum dad! Assalamu Aalaikum bhai! How was your day?" I asked.

"Walaikumsalam". They replied as they entered the living room. " It was a really good day beta, quite productive actually," replied my dad. He is in a mood that seemed better than what he was in the morning.

"Oh before I forget dad, just a while back a man named Adil came over in search of you." And for the second time that day I saw the draining of color from the face of my family member. My dad's and brother's reaction proved that they were indeed hiding something from me. That's when my dad asked "What did he tell you?" with a hint of fear.

Wait. Fear? What is happening right now?

"Nothing dad, he just wanted me to let you know that he stopped by. Is everything alright Dad? Who was he? Why is everyone acting so weird whenever I mention his name? What is going on and why do I feel like only I don't know anything here?" I continued to question them.

"Everything is fine Aaliya. Nothing to worry about, you just go to your room," replied my dad. Oh no, that's not all he can tell me! Especially when it seems to be stressing them out so very much. "No dad, please tell me, what are you hiding from me? Who is this Adil?" I asked persistently.

That's when it happened. Something that has never happened before. "Aaliya! GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!" boomed my mom's voice.

Mama has never scolded me. Not once has she ever raised her voice or lost her temper. Adil must be stressing them out so much that she is actually lashing it out on me.
Hurt by the turn of events. I ran to my room in tears.

I felt variation of emotions at that moment. Was it hurt because my mom scolded me for the first time in my life? Was it the feeling of deception because my family seems to be hiding something big from me? Was it concern because whatever they were hiding was affecting them? Was it anger because they don't consider my opinions vital? Or was its confusion because I did not know what to do right now?

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Abdullah's POV

"Hafsa, calm down. There was no reason for you to have scolded her. If look at it, she did nothing wrong except care for us. She's just concerned." I spoke up when I was sure Aaliya was in her room.

"I know that, it's just I had no choice. We have kept this from her for so long and her being persistent is not exactly helping," my wife retorted with concern.

As I was about to defend Aaliya once again, Sufiyan spoke up, "I think mama is right here dad. Think about it, if mama had not lashed out, Aaliya would not have let the topic go. I think it's for the greater good.

That's when it occurred to me, that's when I finally broke down. "We can't keep this a secret forever!" I exclaimed, "one way or another she will find out and the day that happens. She.Will.Hate.Me," I sobbed.
How can I, her father, ruin her life? How can I be the reason for her life to be in danger? The same thoughts ran in my head, the same thoughts that have been going on for four years now.

"Dad," Sufiyan's voice brought me back to reality, "don't worry," he said, "everything will be fine, trust me. Let us try talking to uncle Ismail as planned. Let's hope he returns with a positive response. Have faith."

Using that as a ray of hope, I retired to bed that night praying to Allah SWT that everything goes as planned for if it didn't my last resort would be death over my daughter's happiness.

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Aaliya's POV

I woke up to the ringing of my phone. After flapping my hands quite a few times in search of the device I was finally successful. On seeing Saniya's name flash across the screen, my first instinct was to immediately answer and tell her the tales of today. However, decided against it as she would be so worried and I can't do that to her with the wedding coming up. So keeping that in mind, I answered,

Aaliyah l Saniya

"Assalamu Aalaikum Saniya! Any updates on the wedding dates?"

"Walikumsalam Aali. So, I talked to my mom about the wedding shopping and she asked if you're free tomorrow evening?"

"I guess, I don't currently have any plans that I know of. I'll double check with mama and get back to you okay?"

" Yeah, that should be fine.
Oh and Aali ,one more thing. My haldi cermony is this Thursday, yes that's three days later and the mehendi function will be on Sunday. Keep your dates free because you and aunty have no choice but to come. Anyway I really got to go, Allah Hafiz."

"Allah hafiz"

As I hung up, I realized the time was 9. Oh, dinner time I thought. However, being in no mood to face my family members just yet, going to bed on an empty stomach seemed more appealing.

Not even ten minutes later however, there was knock on my door. I knew it was mama but chose to ignore it.

"Aaliya beta," she called out. After she realized that all she was going to receive from me is my silence, she continued, "Please beta, I am sorry. I know I lashed out on you even though it was not your fault." she said in the soft voice she always spoke in.

This almost broke my guard but I was quick to build it up.

"Mama I am not hungry, you can go ahead. I will not be coming down," I said. To this all I heard was, "If you aren't ready to eat then so am I. We can both stay in hunger together." Damn it. I thought, this is my soft spot and she knows it.

In the end, she did win because I did end up having dinner with my family. Before we headed down though, I tried pushing my luck once more. "Mama, I am not angry with you. I am just hurt that you all don't consider me as a member of this family because if you'll did, I would know what's happening right now. So please mama tell me what's happening?"

"Aali beta," she said, "You are the princess of this family and we love you dearly but right now let's have dinner."

My question conveniently ignored, I let it slip this time. For I knew, no matter the number of tantrums I threw or the number of times I pleaded, I was not going to be told anything.

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Allah Hafiz