"We all have our plans, but Allah is the best of planners" 

~unknown

+++++++++++++

Ruqayyah 

Zaik seemed pretty calmed down after he talked to Iqraam, which i was glad for coz an angry Zaik is sorta hard to control 

"So i heard Iqraam Ibrahim is in Tahiti" said Farisha aunty eyeing me 

"Oh yes, his family vacation, he needed it though" replied Shumayll smirking 

"And who may you be? some news reporter? or let me guess, another of the homeless people Ruqayyah tends to feed?" asked Musawwir and i opened my mouth to speak but Shumayll shook his head 

we were currently seated after lunch when my ex in laws decided they wanted to stay for dinner since Shumayll's family was coming over as well 

now they are throwing questions at us and cant seem to understand the fact that a word "Silence" also exists!

Huma didi gave me a smirk and i smiled in return 

this was gonna be interesting 

"I am not a news reporter nor am i a poor person-" replied Shumayll grinning 

this guy has humor i swear!

"So? who are you? ahh... one of Iqraam Ibrahim's employers?" asked Farisha aunty and Shumayll shook his head 

"Well you certainly are not some rich dude coz you dont look like one- nor behave like one- so you are some middle class guy with no dreams?" said Farisha aunty 

i looked at Shumayll with an apologetic look and he shrugged 

"Lets watch tv, shall we?" i asked and they gladly agreed 

i switched on the tv and changed to a news channel 

"BBC news live, welcome to your hourly update-" said the blonde lady in the mike 

"Business news is trending atm, leading the business world, the two best friends, also known as "Ibrahim and Edris". Mr. Ibrahim is currently out of country in Tahiti but we manged to get snaphots of his visits-" said the lady and photos of Iqraam began coming up 

one was him shopping with his sisters, his hands full of bags

i smiled at it 

the other one was him with his mom 

the third one was him putting his shade on 

how can someone be so perfect? 

I felt Huma nudge my sides and i set still, a small smile on my lips 

"Hweyy thats Iqraam uncle!!" yelled Zahi as she ran into the room 

taking a seat infront of the tv, she stared at the screen rolling Iqraams pictures 

the last picture caught my eye 

it was him, in the pool, his hair all wet and he was splashing water all over his sisters 

masha allah 

"see thats a family! whoever gets married to Iqraam, is very lucky!" cooed Farisha aunty 

Shumayll coughed loudly and aunty shot him a glare 

"Don't do that about him, can't be successful yourself- what do you do for a living?" asked aunty 

she did not even bother to keep the annoyance out of her voice 

"I uh..... sell technology" he replied smiling 

"Oh salesman- " laughed Uncle and i felt the air tense 

but Shumayll being him began laughing 

"You could say that" he replied turning back to the tv

"Now moving onto the Edris Empire, Businessman and owner of Edris mobiles, Shumayll Edris has given a brief feedback on his empire analysis and new improvement- Mr. Shumayll Edris" said the lady and the video of Shumayll appeared 

he did not seem the Shumayll i usually saw 

he was dressed in black and white suit and had shades in his hand and smile on his lips, his eyes twinkling 

"Ah.. yes, Edris empire's stakes is going sky high and with the new investments in the Environment project, i think we are gonna do great, you see the thing about business with green techs is that its environmentally friendly and also increases our stakes. more production and more profit- so yes, the empire is doing good, so is my family and so am i-" he said grinning 

"And that was Mr. Edris with his report on his empire- he was also reported to be at the park with Mr. Ibrahim and two kids- playing about- and also went to visit the orphanage- snapshots of him with his good and adoring deeds" said the reporter and soon snapshots of Shumayll began 

I turned to Shumayll and everyone in the room had their eyes on him 

Aunty's mouth hung open, Musawwir could not findany words to speak at all and uncle seemed shocked outta his mind 

Zahi screamed and we turned to her 

she stared at the tv with a goofish smile 

a video of Zaik, Zahi and Iqraam played where Iqraam was the dragon and Zaik was saving Zahi 

another video played with them eating ice- cream with Shumayll and playing around 

i smiled at them 

he was always good with them 

but that does not mean he will accept them as his own 

even if he wants to marry me!

"Is that my grandchildren playing with them?" asked Aunty and Zahi replied with a no 

"Zahii-" i warned and she smiled goofishly 

My phone rang and Zahi ran to pick it up 

"As swalaam" said Zahi and then after a little while, screamed on top of her voice 

I ran to her and took the phone 

"What happened?" i asked her as she hugged me tight 

"Iqraam uncle is coming back!!!!" she squealed and i felt my heart warm at the gesture of my kids towards him 

I looked at my phone and saw his name 

i sighed before i held it up to my ear 

"As salaam" i said inhaling a deep breath 

"Was salaam" he sounded... giddy

"Why are you all giddy?" i blurted out 

"Becausee you will know tomorrow-" he replied 

"Wait- you are returning tomorrow night right?" i asked him 

"Nope- as a matter of fact, i am on the plane now, heading to cape town" he replied 

what? 

"Why? this vacation is important to you and your family" i said and he chuckled 

"Lets just say everything turned out fine and ammi wanted to return and so did abba and well.... i- umm... sorta told them about you-" he said and i knew where this was going 

with Farisha aunty in the house, i cant talk to him about that 

she finds out, the entire world does 

"Uh Iqraam Sir, is it okay if i call you later with the details? i have visitors" i said hoping he was smart enough to take the damned hint 

he was silent for a while 

"Ohhh okay but he better not make any move or hes good as dead!" he growled and it made me smile at how possessive he was about me when i am not even his to begin with 

i sighed As he disconnected the call

i wish Musawwir was somewhat like this 

but he wasn't 

he was worse 

i remember that day clearly when i met him- 

the day he came to ask for my hand 

Flashback

I was all nervous and shy from the morning 

he was coming to see me!!!

my brother, smaller sister and parents were all busy making things look best for his family while i, on the other hand, could not stay still 

my mother often scolded me for being so hyper and would always tell me "A girls place is in the kitchen only" 

i had just finished high school when she started matchmaking 

i was just 19 and i was not even sure if i wanted to be married or not 

but it was, after all, my mothers decision 

no one goes against it 

"Ruqayyah, get ready!!" she called out and i took out my blue dress, floor length and wore it 

i was just a hijabi so wearing matching scarf and my favorite part was make up 

i love doing makeup and beautifying things 

it was somewhat a hobby 

I had done my eyes in a pretty shade of obre of blue and black 

my thick lashes stood out with my hazel/ brown eyes 

my lips were coated with pink lip gloss and cheeks covered faint blushes 

all my make up was light and seemed natural but it sure did look pretty 

i had done all that for his proposal only 

i was specially told by mother that he was a special one and i had to look my best 

several minutes later, i was called downstairs and my little sister, who was 3 years younger than me, took me outside 

my house was a single flat and had 3 bedrooms, so me and my sister shared one 

"Didi, this is gonna be great! hes handsome!" Uzma, my sister, winked 

i let out a nervous laugh 

hopefully 

i set infront of them

my eyes trained to the floor 

"Please look up, dear" said Farisha aunty and i did so 

"Masha allah, perfect!" she exclaimed

"Yes, indeed" said uncle and soon everyone was talking about me 

"Her age?" asked Musawwir 

i looked up to him and was instantly captivated by his chocolate brown orbs 

"n- nine- nineteen" i muttered and he smiled 

"I am 24" he replied 

i sighed 

i always imagined getting married to someone one or two years older than me

"Can they talk alone?" Asked Farisha aunty and my parents nodded

My mother was.... the queen of the house and daddy was..... normal

Daddy was a construction worker and my mom was a domestic worker

My elder brother worked as an accountant for some big company and I was not even allowed to enter college

I knew that if I was allowed to go to college, I would be an interior designer

I loved refurbishing homes and rooms to give it a perfect look

But unfortunately it was not true

"As salaam!" He said and I muttered a reply rather shyly

"So why marry me?" He asked me

Umm coz mom said so?

Instead I kept shut

Mom said if you have no good answer, DON'T answer at all

He asked me a few more questions and soon they left after having lunch, of course

Lunch that I had prepared

A day later, mom got a call saying they had accepted me

End of my single life

End of flashback

"Quit thinking so much!" Said Aunty rather rudely and I sighed

They are incorrigible

"Who we're you talking to?" She asked me nosily

"My boss" I replied curtly

"So why is Shumayll Edits at your place?" She asked me suspiciously

I wanted to laugh

The guy Iqraam considers as his own brother would never be anything more to me than just a brother or friend

Wait... why am I connecting things with Iqraam, again?

Ya Allah I need to control my thoughts
"He is a friend slash business associate of Iq- Mr. Ibrahim- thus we are friends and his bhabhi is a good friend of mine" I replied and she nodded

"So whats for dinner?" she asked me 

Just then Shumayll entered the room 

"Hey- uh... Ms. Ruqayyah, i am sorry but we have to leave-" he said apologetically 

"But why? i thought you were staying for dinner and your family was also coming- what happened?" i asked him 

"You see... uh... my penthouse- it sorta needs my attention ASAP" he replied 

"Everything okay?" I asked him and he nodded 

"Just some glitch that i need to fix before anything else goes hay wire" he replied 

"Its a glitch- computer- so how would anything else go bad?" i asked him 

i mean its just a computer- not his house 

"Its a smart house- all technology-" he replied 

my mouth hung open 

we had such things? 

wow, ignorant of the society much Ruqayyah? 

"Ohhh which is?" i asked him 

he chuckled 

he took out his phone and swiped it open 

soon the phone was on my face 

"See this-" he said pointing to the square pin code machine 

I nodded

"it works by my hand print. in order to get into this house- you need to either be registered or be with someone who is registered-" he said and i nodded 

"The whole house is voice and heat activated. Everything in the house can be activated by your body temperature or just by your voice-" he replied and i nodded

wow cool much? 

"I thought Iqraam told you this- i mean he also has this at his place-" he said 

say what now? 

"Yeah- his house works on technology too- ever wandered why your internet seems to connect any place in the house with full speed?" he asked me and i shook my head 

"You went to Iqraam Ibrahim's house!?!" shrieked Farisha aunty and hearing her voice, Musawwr, Mahfood uncle and Huma didi entered the room 

I stared at her as if she was mentally retarded 

i won't be sure if she is not- she sure looks like one!

"yes, thats part of being a PA" i replied and her eyes went wide 

"You have disgraced us!" said Mahfood uncle 

i stared at him 

was he serious? 

wow 

"I have disgraced you? How so? working like every woman should be?" i asked him 

He seemed flustered

"N-No- you disgraced your parents when you signed the divorce papers- now you disgrace us! Insolent girl, have you no shame?" he asked me 

shame? 

did he have no shame when his family did such things to me? 

did he have no shame when i was at the verge of death in his very own house? 

 "I think we should leave-" said Shumayll and i nodded 

Huma didi hugged me and whispered "call me if anything happens" and i nodded again 

"Allah Hafiz" they both said before they walked out 

Before i could speak, Shumayll's head popped back into the room 

"Can i take the two kids out to play with Sohayl? he gets pretty alone" he said giving me a puppy dog face 

i nodded 

soon my kids were out with them and i was left alone with my in laws 

i turned back to them 

"You have no right to keep my grandkids- i will talk to the court and take their custody!" said Farisha aunt 

oh really? 

"And why would you want to do that?" i asked them politely 

either they hurt me or even had almost killed me, i would not disrespect them. I believe Allah has done it for my betterment so i was polite and nice to them 

"Because you can't look after them, you are working half your time, you just let them go with some strangers and you don't care about them!" said Musawwir 

I stared at him incredulously 

was he being serious? 

"Oh and how much did you care about them for the past 3 years? You have no idea what i went through to make sure my kids get a good future!" i said and he laughed humorlessly 

"Yeah, like what? Seducing a billionaire to let you work for him? Are you serious Ruqayyah? you are not making their future, you are ruining them!" he replied 

"I did no such thing- if i got the job, it was because of my capabilities and as for leaving my kids while at work, they are usually with their baby sitter! my next door neighbor!' i said and that shut them up 

"Now please kindly leave my house- i do not want any drama here nor do i want any problems, we were doing just fine before you all and will continue doing just fine without you all!" i said and their faces held recognition of shock and rage 

the old Ruqayyah would have never been so courageous and done such a thing but this Ruqayyah is strong headed and will definitely not let these Stereotypes get to her! 

they took their things and walked out of the house

once i closed the door, tears spilled down my eyes 

oh Allah what did i do to get such a horrible past? 

then i remembered that it was all part of Allah's plan 

i sighed and curled up on the sofa 

there was a guy like Musawwir and there was one like Iqraam. 

Iqraam 

Iqraam Ibrahim, a billionaire who does not seem like one 

Oh Iqraam if only you knew my horrible past and how messed up and broken i am, you would not even want to come near me.... 

___________

yo salaam, i updated 

wrote majority at 1am in the morning but completed it now 

i  love u all alotttt 

Thank u for getting my book on #20 in spiritual 

muahhh 

i am happpyyy 

oh n my crush is Nick jonas and when i say i am going to talk to my crush, i mean. i am just gonna stare at his photo while listening to his songs! :D 

anywayyss 

Ship name for Ruqayyah and Iqraam? 

and who else do you ship in this book? 

more on Iqraam's, now huge, family and Ruqayyah's past 

so yah 

i love u all 

comment, vote, share, anything! 

i am out- 

till later- 

♥Queen 

(Coz someone told me that queen was better than scopian_16- you know who you are ;) }