Accepting Aayan's Marriage Proposal.

Hayat's Pov.

It has been a few days since that night happened and every day Azaan would call me to talk to me. I miss that little boy.

I already finished making breakfast, as usual, I don't get to eat it but Alhamdullilah I get to eat at the school cafeteria for the teachers.

I quickly got dressed because I had been avoiding the two witches as Sameera calls them whenever she came home.

They were usually extra nice to her, more like faking their niceness because they thought that Sameera would look their way.

But Sameera wasn't the kind of person to do that. She has values and morals that her family instilled in her.

I walked out of the house without even saying bye to Papa as I didn't want him to ask if I had had breakfast.

I hate lying to him because he wants what's best for me and I can't complain about anything.

All I have to say is Alhamdullilah.

Allah knows best.

I arrived at the school only to find the principal was waiting for me in my class.

Bismillahi, I hope I am not in any trouble.

"Asalam Aleikum, Ms Ali. How are you doing?", the principal Mr Abdulrahim asks me.

"Waleikum Salaam, am good alhamdullilah and you sir?", I answered him.

He nodded and then cleared his throat.

"There's a new benefactor and today he is coming to see the school. I want you to show him around and don't worry about your students I have a substitute for them just for today. He will be here in half an hour", Mr Abdulrahman explains to him. "You are the best candidate to show him around", he added.

I knew what he meant by that. It meant that the benefactor was either married or didn't want women who asked about his status.

"Okay sir. I will do that. Is there anything else that you need?", I ask him.

"No, that's all. I will leave you now and I will send the substitute to you, " he says, leaving me wondering who the benefactor is.

After a few minutes, the substitute walked into the classroom while I was planning my class's lessons to give to her.

"Hey, I am Sandra the sub for this class. You must be Hayat", she introduced herself putting her hand out for me to shake.

"Hey yeah I am. Welcome. Sorry I was planning the lessons for you because it would be easier if I did that for you", I shook her hand and smiled at her.

After explaining to her how the lessons were supposed to be and which students needed extra time the principal came to the classroom and told me that he was there.

The benefactor.

Mr. Abdulrahman took me to his office where the benefactor was waiting for me.

When he opened his office door I couldn't believe who I saw.

Aayan.

Aayan's Pov.

Today was the day I would go and see how my contribution to the school was being managed by the principal.

It's not about trust, it's about believing that people can do good with the contribution they get from the school or even a masjid.

Some people might think it's better to steal from donations that were given by a benefactor than to make the school or even the masjid a better place for everyone.

My father always said that when you have the knowledge you have everything you need to move forward in life.

"Asalam Aleikum, Mr Abdulrahman. How are you doing?", I knocked on the principal's door and walked in.

"Waleikum Salaam, Mr. Muhsin. Am good alhamdulillah", he answered shaking my hand. "Let me go and get the teacher who will show you the entire school. She is the best teacher that we have had ever since she started here", he added leaving the office.

In a few minutes he walked in with her but I couldn't see her face as she was standing behind him.

"Here she is. Her name is Hayat Ali....."

I didn't even listen to what he was saying to me all I did was look at her.

Hayat.

I still have her picture where her smile looked sad even though it was taken on her best friend's engagement day.

"So yeah, she will take you all around the school and then if you have any questions you can ask her", he added.

"Okay, should we start now?", she asks him. Mr. Abdulrhman nodded and asked me to follow Hayat.

"Asalam Aleikum, How is Azaan doing?", she asked me when we were out of the office.

"Waleikum salaam, he is okay just wanting to talk to you. But I keep telling him you are busy," I try and explain to her. She nodded.

Hayat began explaining how many classrooms there were and how many scholarships the school has every year. She took me to each classroom but we couldn't go in as students and teachers were learning.

I was mesmerized by the way she talked while explaining how the scholarships help a lot of kids who don't even have money to buy uniforms or even food.

"This is my classroom. If you want you could come in. They have a fifteen minutes break because some of the kids are a bit slow when it comes to reading or even writing", she tells me pointing at the door on my left.

"Sure after you".

When she opened the door all the students started calling her name.

"Miss Hayat, I thought you weren't coming today. Miss Sandra told us and that made us sad", One of the young boys came toward her.

"Yes, I did explain to Miss Sandra about that. Didn't she explain it to you?", she asks them.

They all nodded and yelled yes.

"Miss who is that man?", a little girl with ponytails asked her.

"This is Mr. Aayan Muhsin. He is the benefactor of the school. He came to see how the school is and....."

"Hayat, I can talk you know that, right?", I tell her making her cheeks turn pink. She nodded making the students laugh.

"Hey, kids. I am Aayan Muhsin. As Miss Hayat said I am also the school benefactor and I am here to see how the school is and how it might need improvement. So who can tell me what you need in school or even in the school cafeteria?", I say while one by one start raising their hands wanting to talk.

"How about we form a line and the come forward to answer Mr. Muhsin, alright?", Hayat suggested.

The students immediately agreed with her and started forming a line. And then she took a seat and set it down for me to sit.

"Thank you", I whispered to her.

"Afwan".

Hayat and the other teacher stood beside me while I talked to the kids. They had very interesting things to say about their school.

One kid wanted a slide on the school playground. Another one wanted to have a day where they wouldn't have to study but only a place.

Then it came down to the last kid a little girl who had ponytails.

"Are you a real life prince?", she asks me making me smile.

"No, I am not a prince....."

"Do you know that Miss. Hayat is a princess and that sometimes she is sad whenever she sits alone? I think she needs a prince to make her smile. Would you be her prince mister?", she asks me smiling and showing me her missing front tooth.

"Zainab, you can't say something like that to him...."

"Its okay, Hayat. She doesn't need a prince to make her smile because she is an independent woman and teacher. She can have a prince one day", I answered her.

"Okay, could you change the timings of the school? We get here very early in the morning when some of us didn't even finish sleeping", she tells me while pouting.

"Habibty, I can't do that because education is important. And an early bird catches the best worms, right?".

She nods and walks away to take a sit.

It was time for us to leave so that the class could continue with their studies.

"Okay, kids. I will see you later In shaa Allah ", Hayat tells them smiling.

We walk out of the door to get to another place that I haven't yet seen.

The teachers' lounge and cafeteria.

What did the student mean by Hayat being unhappy? My heart tells me that I need to know more about it.

"This is the teachers' lounge and also the cafeteria. If you want to sit down you can do so. No teacher is here because they are all in their classes...."

She didn't even finish what she was saying when her stomach grumbled.

"I am sorry...."

"No need to apologize. I understand as I rarely eat breakfast myself. How about we order some food and then talk about what is left to see and to know more about the school?", I tell her.

I knew that she was embarrassed by that. I looked at her face while she was looking at the floor. I could see minor bruises on her face which were somehow fading.

Was she abused?

"Okay".

We ordered some food and took a seat on the chairs. I watched how she carried herself.

She doesn't even have an ounce of makeup on her face, unlike the girls I met well Mum introduced me to.

I reached to touch her bruise making her flinch. I quickly withdraw my hand.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean that".

"It's okay. What are the questions you wanted to ask regarding the school?", she asked as we both started eating.

"Will you accept my proposal?", I ask her without thinking. "I know that it's a bit haste but...."

"Can I at least think about it?", she interrupts me. "I have to do a few things before giving you my answer. I do have an answer which is yes but I need to do something first", she added.

That's an answer too, right?

The first step has been establishing getting to know her. The main question is who is hurting her and why is she not saying anything about it?

If she is about to become my wife then I need to know who has been abusing her because what they are doing is bad and it needs to stop.