Wrapping his hand around Marwah's holding the sword, the newlyweds cut the four-layered cake as the crowd of guests clapped to joy.

"Here," Mohammad whispered near her ear as he brought a small bite to her lips.

The bride's eyes were on him as she opened her mouth for the piece of cake, her lips curved in a smile as she swallowed.

Cutting a small piece for him, she brought it to his lips as he too tasted the sweetness of the red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting.

Meanwhile, Assaf and his best friend were sitting on one of the tables nearby, eyeing the desserts they had on their plate.

"How do you eat this?" he questioned, looking at Majid. "Do I use a spoon or just my hands?"

Majid looked up, dropping the spoon he used to scoop his Kunafah before looking at his best friend pointing at the Gulab jamun in his plate.

"Like this," he grabbed the ball of sweetness between his thumb and forefinger, bringing it to his mouth and taking a bite in half before placing it back in his plate and licking off his syrup-covered fingers.

Assaf did as he saw, taking a small bite as a taste test. "Woah," he said in pleasant surprise, nodding as he eyed the rest of the sweet he had to devour. "This is good."

Majid grinned at his best friend, taking an entire Gulab jamun in his mouth before moving to the Basbousa he had in his plate as well.

Assaf knew he had to throw his diet away for the day. Getting up, he went to the serving tables to grab more Gulab jamuns and Baklava.

Devouring the sweets, he was done when his mind went back to what happened earlier, remembering his realisation.

Lamia was his stepsister.

There was no doubt that it was true. She looked frightened when he told her the truth, and he knew that was fairly how he felt too when his father dropped the bomb on him. He had controlled whatever he wanted to say as he had reached Majid's house.

But he couldn't help one thought from consuming his mind.

I saw her leave all alone. Is she safe? Is she okay?

Before he could wonder further, the crowd had dispersed and quietened down a little, making room on the aisle for the bride and groom to leave.

Mohammad took Marwah's hand in his, eyes twinkling with love as they walked down the aisle towards the gate, the guests all surrounding them till they reached the car embellished with flowers and a just married pasted below a golden ribbon.

It was until they reached their vehicle that Marwah voiced the question Assaf was dreading to hear all along.

"Where's Lamia?"

The bride and groom looked around confusedly, asking the guests nearby about a young girl who had a rose-gold desi attire for the day.

Assaf pushed through the packed crowd to reach to his father and step-mother, lips pressed together after he said the words in a shaky voice.

"She's not here," he said in a low voice, looking guilty for a reason he did not know. "She left awhile ago."

Marwah -who held her phone in her hand and was about to give her daughter a dial- stopped at the mention of his words.

"Kya?" she let out in disbelief, head heating up like the usual. "She left?"

Assaf nodded meekly, stealing a glance at his father who had worry lines creased on his forehead.

"Umm... she said she wasn't feeling well. That's why she left," the boy said with a hand scratching the back of his neck.

Before anything could be said further, Marwah rang her daughter and held the phone to her ear, waiting for Lamia to pick up.

In the mean time, Mohammad was eyeing his son weirdly. How does he know that Lamia left?

"Hello?" the bride's words cut him off his thoughts as the man turned to her. "Lamia?"

"Mama," a soft voice was heard from the other end. "Is everything okay?"

Marwah hissed, noticing the entire crowd in a pindrop silence, listening to the entire conversation she was having with her daughter.

Turning around, she walked a few steps away from her husband and answered. "Lamia where are you?"

"I-I-I'm home," the girl said in a shaky voice to her mother. "I have a headache and I'm not feeling well... so I came back to rest."

The bride pressed her lips together tightly, fingers going to the bridge of her nose to pinch it as her eyes closed.

Opening her eyes, she saw her husband stand in front of her, hands in his pockets as he raised his brow at her in question for what the issue was.

"Okay," Marwah voiced in a low tone, bending down. "You rest. We'll pick you up tomorrow."

Cutting the call, she pulled her phone away from her ear when Mohammad questioned. "What happened? Is she okay?"

Marwah only sighed tiredly, looking up too meet his eyes. "She just woke up and isn't feeling well," the woman said with a shake of her head. "She needs rest. We'll have to pick her up tomorrow."

Before he could open his mouth to say anything further, Marwah beat him to the chase. "Let's get in. We can't keep everyone waiting."

Sharing a few hugs with her best friends and waving everyone a goodbye, Marwah got in the passenger's seat with her husband in the driver's seat, Assaf sitting behind and twiddling his thumbs.

Placing a hand on the steering wheel, Mohammad turned to his wife as uneasiness clawed at his skin.

"You sure she'll be okay?" he pushed his head back on the headrest. "We can drop off some soup for her."

Marwah wanted to scoff at his words. Isn't this what I was supposed to expect? Lamia embarrassing me in front of everyone in the crowd, and now instead of going straight to my new home, we'll first drop off soup for her?

The woman shook her head with an awkward smile. "There's no need," she turned to face her husband. "She needs rest and most probably slept again. It's all because she's tired. It's best if we don't disturb her."

Mohammad still seemed perturbed about the entire situation. For the past few months, he had imagined their family of four going home for the first time after the wedding to welcome his wife and step-daughter to their new home.

"Are you sure?" he asked again. Maybe it was because Mohammad would get all distraught whenever his son wasn't feeling well, even when most of the times a paracetamol pill and some rest would get him all better.

Marwah nodded again with a little laugh. "Yes, yes," she shook her head at his concern. "She'll be fine by tomorrow. Trust me."

Mohammad gulped, focusing back on the road as a breath escaped his lips, knowing that maybe she was right after all.

"Okay."

★ ★ ★

Everything was all over the place.

Most of their furniture was sold, leaving behind a few which were packed to take to their new home.

Dusty cartons stacked, the rooms held an eeriness she couldn't deny before.

Lamia was a little glad there was at least a mattress on the ground where she could sleep on.

Going to the bathroom, she felt a familiar wetness and pain between her legs, realising it was her time of the month.

Hissing with every movement, she grabbed a pad from the cupboard and opened the packet, wearing it and coming out of the bathroom after cleaning up.

Lamia grabbed a hot-water bottle on her way to the kitchen, boiling some water and pouring it in before securing the seal tightly.

Making her way back to her room, she laid down on her mattress and placed the hot-water bottle on her lower tummy until the pain had lessened.

A memory broke through her thoughts and consumed her, torturing her to bits until Lamia felt her heart race up and her entire body sweat, even though she was shivering tremendously.

Grey eyes looked around her room, an unfamiliar pain between her legs that had been throbbing for the past few hours.

The door clicked open, Marwah coming in and placing the papers before going to her room, pulling her coat off in the process.

She didn't even go to her daughter's room to acknowledge her presence or to check what and how she was doing.

"Mama," the ten-year-old girl came and stood by the door of her mother's room, hiding most of her body behind the wall and door frame, peeking her head out. "Hi."

Marwah turned her head to the side, her back still facing her daughter as she undid her bun and loosened the pull on her hair.

"Hi," she said curtly before sitting in the edge of the bed and kicking off her kitten heels.

The girl took cautious steps in her room, standing a good two meters away from her mother.

"Did you win?" Lamia said with a tilt of her head, hopeful eyes gleaming.

She didn't know why she always looked up to her mother, when most of the marks on her body were because of her and the torture she had inflicted upon her all along. She would cry and ignore Marwah after that, but the woman would threaten her to fix her attitude or else much worse would happen.

Maybe it was all because in the end, Lamia knew in a sick and twisted way that Marwah was the only family she had.

Pressing her lips in a thin line, she answered. "No."

Lamia gulped. "So we don't have any money?" she asked with a crack to her voice, the pain in her lower tummy increasing.

Marwah ignored her, gritting her teeth. No, darling. You already have your own money under your name from your father. If anything, you should be worrying the least.

The court fees was a hefty sum of money that she never got when she lost. The money arranged by her clients was enough for them to survive if they lived on the minimal.

"Mama," she now stood in front of the woman with a frown. "Will we die?"

"Lamia," Marwah said with a tone of finality. "We won't. I don't want to talk about this."

"Okay, mama," she said uneasily, quiet for a few moments before speaking up again, concerned.

"Mama," she said meekly, twiddling her thumbs. "Are you okay? You seem sad."

This was the last switch.

In the next moment, the girl was up against the wall as Marwah's hand wrapped around her neck, palm and fingers choking her as she coughed.

"Ma-ma-"

"No, Lamia," she seethed as all she saw was red, glaring at her own flesh and blood menacingly. "I'm not okay," she kicked her leg as a sharp pain winced through the little girl's body. "I have the responsibility of the burden of you!"

Lamia felt her cheeks dampen as tears trailed down, her sobs getting louder as she hiccuped. The little girl shook at what was to come.

"S-Sorry," she wiped her cheeks with one hand, the other in attempts to loosen the hold her mother had on her neck. "You c-can s-s-send me aw-ay," she whined as Marwah removed the death-grip from her neck, finally getting a chance to breathe "You w-w-won't have t-to wo-rry ab-out me. It's o-okay."

Marwah wanted to laugh bitterly at her words. My darling, you are the reason I still get a lot of money when I don't have cases or lose the ones I had.

Lamia didn't know what was worse: the pain in her body where she struck her, the pain between her legs for a reason she did not know, or the pain in her heart which had to bear it all along?

Marwah's eyes held the heat of a fire. "Send you away?" she questioned, her tone scornful. "And what about me, huh? You despise me so much that you want to leave?"

"N-No mama I-I-"

It was the final kick to her groin when Lamia screamed and had to use the table next to her to balance herself, for she would have fallen over.

Marwah took a step behind, shook. Did she break a bone in her daughter's body?

Lamia had curled herself into a ball on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably as her face contorted in pain, her right hand cupping her groin as her left wrapped around her to shield her from any more beatings.

"Ma-ma," she closed her eyes tightly, the remaining tears escaping as she breathed harder. "Not h-here, please," she whispered before sniffing. "T-There's... blood..."

Marwah's eyes widened, alarmed.

"M-Maybe it's b-b-because you h-hit me b-b-before-"

"No," Marwah said with a hint of relief. "It's not because of that," she bent down and grabbed her daughter's arm forcefully despite her protests. "Get up."

Lamia shook her head, wincing. "I-It hurts."

The woman rolled her eyes, walking towards her cupboard and fetching a pack of pads, throwing it on the bed.

"Chalo, utho," she said with a clap of her hands to urge her to hurry up. "Nothing happened. You're fine," she huffed. "Get up, Lamia, before I make you."

With another hiccup, the little girl wrapped her hand around the table's leg, forcing herself to bear the aches everywhere as she slowly sat up, wincing with every movement of her body.

"Wear this on your underwear," her mother told her with a tone that showed she couldn't care less. "It'll happen for a few days every month."

With a shrug, she walked out of the room, leaving the little girl on the floor in a pool of her own tears.

Lamia had covered her mouth, her sobs muffled as the memory replayed in her mind again and again.

Her heart lurched. How could mama be so heartless? To beat me beyond repair, making sure I had surpassed the limit to think I wasn't worth anything more than the dirt under her shoe?

To beat me when I was on my period, and to not even check if I was okay after she found out the truth?

Lamia knew she didn't deserve any form of happiness. What even was happiness? Was it real? Was it only meant for some people?

Wiping her cheeks, she bit her lip to stop it from wobbling. Lamia tightened the hold she had on her hot-water bottle, pressing it to her lower tummy.

Closing her eyes, she wished the world would maybe close down, to give her a break just once, to maybe give her a glimpse of how other people lived their lives with a smile.

Lamia wished she would smile from the heart.

★ ★ ★

Luminous rays of sunlight caressed their faces as the windows let the beams illuminate the room.

"Shhh, so jao," Marwah whispered in Mohammad's ear when he turned and groaned, patting his back to get him back to deep sleep. The melatonin pill was doing wonders on him.

An urge grew in her to kiss his cheek, and that's what she exactly did, pulling back with a small smile to see one erupt on his tired face as well, eyes still closed.

Slipping off, she drew the curtains in and walked to the mirror in their bathroom, examining her reflection with hands on both sides of the sink.

Sometimes, she saw her father looking back at her whenever she would have a good look at herself in the mirror. At times, he was her reflection.

It felt like ice cold water had been splashed on her face. Marwah would feel tremors spread through her body like wildfire whenever she would zone out in the mirror, but it was slowly fading away.

Brushing her teeth and freshening up, she gave her sleeping husband a brief glance, lips in a slight curve upwards as soon as she realised this really is the start of something new; a new chapter for her where she wouldn't have to look back.

Oh shit, realisation dawned on her. Lamia is still back home.

Ploddingly taking steps towards their bedroom door, Marwah turned the handle and stepped out before closing it behind her. She walked to the other side of the corridor to see her step-son awake and heating something on the stove.

"Assalamu Alaiykum," she greeted him with a small smile, going up to him and ruffling his hair as he stood by the stove with his head bent down.

"Walaikum Assalam," he replied with a brief hum, hiding his face further. Assaf couldn't deny that he felt a little reserved around her, but pushed his thoughts away when he remembered his father's words.

"I understand it will be hard. It will take time for you to settle," Mohammad voiced softly. "I just don't want you to hurt her by making her feel like she doesn't belong here."

Marwah pretended to not notice his shyness- as how she perceived it. Looking down, she saw him heating a naan on a frying pan and some korma in another.

The woman frowned at his wrong use of utensils. "You want me to make you something else? Why are you eating shaadi food for breakfast?"

Assaf turned to her with a shake of his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "I just felt like it. It's fine," he turned of the stove and placed his breakfast at the kitchen table, taking a seat. "It smelt really good and I really wanted to eat it."

Not thinking much about it, she grabbed an egg from the fridge and cracked it, adding flour, sugar, butter, and the rest of the ingredients to make waffles.

Assaf was done with his breakfast in no time, getting up and washing his plate in the sink. It was only when he turned around to leave when Marwah called for him, the gears turning in her head.

"Assaf?"

The young boy turned around in question. "Yes?"

Marwah placed the bowl on the counter and took a step in his direction with a small smile, one that indicated she wanted something from him.

"Can I ask you for a favour?"

Assaf nodded, gulping down any saliva he had left in his mouth.

"Can you... please pick Lamia up?"

The boy's sea-green eyes widened a notch, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to process what his step-mother said.

"I don't want to disturb your dad's sleep, and I don't have a driving license myself," she added. "You do have a license, right?"

Assaf could only nod slowly, a shaky smile appearing on his lips as he felt heat takeover his body. He was going to meet her again.

"That's good," Marwah said with a sigh of relief. "So can you please bring her home?"

Marwah had another reason to send Assaf away to pick her daughter up. She wanted to spend some time alone with the man she married last night.

Assaf nodded again, gesturing to his father's room where the car keys were. Marwah entered and came out the next minute, handing him the keys and saving her daughter's phone number in his phone.

"I'll text her to get ready," she said as she tapped away on her phone. "You should get going."

Assaf tried to calm his nerves, humming in response before leaving the house and walking down the porch steps to reach the car.

Getting in and closing the door, he roared the engine to life, reversing out of the driveway as his palms sweat from the slight twitch in his heart.

He hoped to not scare her away like he did last night.

★ ★ ★

After a good twenty-five minutes, Assaf had parked his car in front of the apartment complex, smoothing down his shirt before grabbing his phone and calling Lamia.

After a few rings, she picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey umm... yes- Lamia?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm here to pick you up," he said as he checked his hair in the mirror he rolled down. "Can you please come down?"

"Oh," he heard her voice as a jolt of realisation dawned on her, probably recognising who was on the other end of the line by his voice. "Yeah- okay," she said slowly.

Cutting the call, he tried his best to relieve some tension from his veins, taking deep breaths as his hand curled around the steering wheel, the back of the other in front of his mouth as he looked outside the window.

In his vision, he saw the door to the apartment open and Lamia emerge in view. She was in a basic white T-shirt and pink pyjamas, her hair in a messy bun as her bangs shielded one side of her cheek. A thermocol cup was in one hand, the other holding a bag which held her belongings.

Assaf rolled down his window and waved, indicating that he was right there. Lamia noticed and immediately took the steps down till his car, nodding in acknowledgement before going to the backseat and opening its door.

"Hey umm," Assaf said uneasily, scratching the side of his head as he turned back to face her. "There isn't much space here. I think you're gonna have to sit at the front."

The backseat was already filled with cartons they were taking to their new home but didn't take out earlier. Not even an inch was left for her to sit there.

Lamia sighed before humming awkwardly, keep her gaze lowered. She closed the door and slid into the passenger seat, placing her bag in front of her legs.

Turning the other way and looking outside the window, Lamia made sure to not make any eye contact with her stepbrother throughout the entire car ride.

Assaf placed his hand on the gear in attempts to reverse the car, but instead spent his next moments looking at Lamia who had her body inclined the other way as she watched the cat nearby hide behind the bush.

Even with all her mysteriousness, he seemed determined to unravel her deepest secrets, even if they would have a catastrophic impact on him.

"Aren't we going to leave?" she turned to him, only to catch his gaze on her.

Clearing his throat, he turned back to look ahead, cheeks a light shade of pink. "Yeah, we will," was all he said as she buckled up her seatbelt.

Reversing out, he pushed his hair back with one hand as the other held the steering wheel to rotate it with every turn. Stopping at a red light, he decided to break the awkward silence with a nervous chuckle.

"I didn't know you were my stepsister abi was talking about," he turned to her to gauge her reaction.

"I didn't know I was going to be a stepsister," she said with a hint of bitterness, a sad smile etched on her face.

Assaf suddenly felt guilty for bringing the topic up. He wanted to start off a conversation so he could apologise for being so blunt last night. He knew he had been oblivious to her obliviousness of the situation, but he didn't want to start off their relationship on the wrong foot.

Focusing on the road for a few turns, he noticed in his peripheral vision that she was slowly scooting herself away from him, almost until she was stuck to the door of the passenger seat.

"Hey- Lamia?" he turned to her for a moment before focusing ahead again. "I don't think that's safe..."

"I'm not safe either way," she blurted out before realising her mistake, covering her mouth with her hand as her eyes widened in horror.

Here it comes. What would it be now? A slap, a punch, or a kick?

What she didn't expect was a loud laugh to escape his lips. Lamia turned to him in question until he spoke after deep breaths. "Don't worry, Lamia. You're safe with me, insha'Allah."

The grey-eyed girl still had her eyebrows furrowed, lips parted as she stared at him, baffled. He noticed that and gained back his cool composure.

"You're thinking I'm going to speed through the road or take a swift turn, right?" he grinned at her as he stopped at another red light. "You don't have to worry. That won't happen," he leant back on his seat and tapped his fingers on his thigh. "Abi has kept me under check. I don't drive like those reckless teenagers out there."

Lamia looked at him as realisation dawned on her, a little glad he misinterpreted her previous words.

There were still a couple of seconds before the red light would turn green, so Assaf turned his head to face her completely.

"And Lamia?"

"Hmm?"

He curved his lips up lazily from one side, eyes holding a twinkle that she had seen for the very first time. A twinkle like that of the brightest star in the midnight sky.

"As long as you're with me, you're safe, insha'Allah."

He looked at her for a good few moments before focusing back on the road, as if the words he had said didn't have a deeper effect on her.

Assaf knew he had to protect her from now on. Even though they weren't siblings by blood, he knew he would try his best to keep her safe as if they were brother and sister from the very beginning.

Lamia bent ahead and sipped the tea from the cup she brought along with her, tears forming in her eyes at the slightest inconvenience. Oh God, she hated being on her period.

"Fifteen minutes and we're home," he said, glancing at her for a moment before noticing something unusual.

Lamia was bent ahead, shielding the side of her face from him by her bangs. He could see her arm flexing again and again, indicating she was wiping tears from her face.

He stopped the car in a corner immediately, bending ahead as concern etched on his face. "Lamia?"

She shook her head before sniffling, turning away even more.

"Hey, is it because of something I said?" he voiced with worry, frowning. "Did I hurt you?" he said slowly, cautiously. "If it's about me keeping you safe then I didn't mean it that way. I think you're really strong and really nice, but I was just saying that because now that-"

She shook her head again, interrupting him babbling. She finally turned to face him as she wiped another tear which trailed down her cheek which had turned pink.

"Then what's wrong?" he asked again, eyes holding sadness. He didn't want to see her in the state she was in, and he was confused as for why she had started crying so suddenly.

Lamia thought twice before telling him, voicing out the words which made him even more perplexed.

"There's n-no sugar in my t-t-tea."

Assaf didn't know if he heard right. She was crying because there was no sugar in her tea?

He let out a 'huh' to which she nodded again, leaning back at an angle which made her closer to the door.

"Oh umm- okay," he voiced slowly, narrowing his eyes at the road.

Lamia could feel the gears turning in his head. He must be wondering what psycho sister he had been stuck with for the rest of his life.

Shouldn't he give me the slap I deserve?

Without uttering another word, he drove through a different route and stopped at a nearby store, turning to her after parking the car.

"White or brown?"

Twiddling her thumbs, she stared at her cup as she spoke meekly. "White."

"Alright," he said before unbuckling his seatbelt. "I'm rolling down the windows a little bit in case there's an emergency, even though I'm right here," he said, gesturing to the store which was only a few footsteps away. "And you keep your seatbelt unbuckled, okay? I'm locking the doors as well."

Lamia nodded, still not meeting his eyes as she lowered her gaze. Assaf hummed before leaving and jogging to the store in attempts to buy her some sugar to lighten her mood.

He came back after a good five minutes, unlocking the car door and sliding in on his seat. "Here," he said as he wiped his forehead, handing her the sachet of sugar.

Lamia mumbled a soft 'thank you' before tearing the packet open and tapping its contents into her cup, closing the lid and giving it a shake. She took a sip as he watched her intently.

"It's good now," she said with a small smile, looking down again as her eyelashes cast a shadow on her cheeks. "I'm sorry for bothering you."

She leant back and sipped her tea, holding the cup with both hands as Assaf sighed tiredly, shaking his head.

She was smiling, and maybe that was his favourite thing in the entire world.

★ ★ ★

hey there y'all!

it's been so long! i was really busy with admissions and everything. alhamdulillah i got accepted. it wasn't my dream uni, but i will still be getting my dream degree :) a little compromise doesn't matter. i'm happy either way alhamdulillah.

as for the chapter, how was it? did you enjoy it? what do you think of lamia and assaf's car ride? :')

there's one thing i want to address: please please please wear your mask. i've seen the youngest, healthiest people pass away due to this virus. a little caution may be of a lot of help in the long way. please take care of yourself and others.

may Allah bless you all!

again, take care.

- sana