TWENTY FOUR

❝I'm the real life version of the word handsome❞

The sun had set and the stars had enveloped the whole sky. Aayan hung up the sign on a tree before going to Ifrah who was standing with her water bottle in hand. She extended it to him and he took with a small smile before twisting the cap and gulping the liquid down.

“You wanna find a place for the night?” he asked after he had drank the water and gave the bottle back to her.

Ifrah's eyebrow creased together as she pondered over the idea before shaking her head. Her husband cocked a brow.

“Let's pull an all-nighter tonight.” she suggested, making him grin.

“You wanna stay awake?” he asked with a double meaning but she didn't catch it and bobbed her head. An uncontrollable chuckle left his lips and Ifrah frowned.

“What?” she prodded.

Aayan rolled his bottom lip in his mouth and slightly shook his head with twinkling eyes. “It's nothing. Let's go.”

She quickly grabbed his hand and narrowed her eyes. “No, why were you laughing? I didn't make a joke.”

He looked at her face and she could clearly see the laughter in his eyes which he was holding back, and it made her more curious. Aayan raised the hand she was holding and pressed a kiss on her knuckles before tugging on it.

“Yeah, you didn't. I just felt like laughing.” he said casually while starting to walk and Ifrah was forced to follow.

“I know there's a reason. Tell me why are you making fun of me?” irritation was emerging in her tone and he clicked his tongue.

“How can I, a mere piece of useless plastic, make fun of you, babe?” he replied teasingly while kicking a random stone in the way. They were walking slowly because it was difficult to see in the dark as their phones were close to dying down.

Ifrah blushed at his reminder of her stupid insult but the curiosity was still there. “Stop dodging the question, it just confirms that you were making fun of me.”

The raven haired guy stopped abruptly with a loud sigh before facing his wife.

“Mein ne bta dia na tou tum mujhy maro gi.” (If I'll tell you, you'd hit me.) he said with so much innocence that for a second, Ifrah thought that she was actually talking to a child

Oh please! He's far from it.

“Nahi marti.” (I won't.) she tried to coax him in a promising tone but Aayan knew what actually went in that brain of hers.

He'd be a dead man if he tells her. But he did it anyway.

For the sake of that adorable blush.

“I was laughing because you didn't get the meaning behind my question from earlier.”

When she gave him a confused look, he grinned rakishly and leaned all the way to her right ear before whispering what was he actually trying to say. Ifrah froze when he told her about his disgusting thoughts and her face flamed a deep red. Aayan moved back to see the blush and gave her a satisfied smirk when she threw daggers at him through her eyes.

“You can't hit me because you said you won't. Be a woman of your words.” he said with a smug expression and Ifrah snatched her hand away from his grasp.

His expression immediately morphed into one of a wounded puppy.

“No hand holding until you start behaving.” she stated before walking away. Aayan ran after her.

“But that won't happen, like, ever. Are you going to deprive me of your hand all my life, then?”

Why was he so—!

She didn't reply and picked up pace. Aayan still walked by her side.

“Babe.” he tried to grab her hand but she quickly folded her arms in front of her chest, making his face fall in disappointment.

“Come on.”

No acknowledgement.

“Baby.”

“Sweetheart.”

“Darling.” he said the endearment in a suggestive tone and watched as her cheeks turned pink. But she covered the side of her face with her hair.

“Honey.”

“Jaan.”

Ifrah's heart stuttered but she kept her cool and ignored him.

“Love?”

“Stop!” she finally said out loud while Aayan let out a wolf whistle.

“Aye! So, you like this one, huh?” he had a mischievous smile on his face as he came closer to her and watched her hold back a smile.

His heart skipped a million beats in that second and he couldn't stop himself from pulling her flush against him before pressing his lips at the familiar spot under her ear. Ifrah looked at him wide eyed as he pulled back.

“Couldn't stop myself when you smiled like that.” he told her. She rolled her eyes but her heart was in an overdrive.

“Ho gya?” (You done?)

Aayan pouted. “Let me hold your hand na. I was only thinking like a husband. Is it illegal of me to tell you that— ”

He was cut off when she smacked her hand over his mouth and his eyes sparked with mischief. Ifrah yelped when he bit the palm of her hand and she threw him a look full of bafflement.

“What's gotten into you?!” she exclaimed. Aayan chuckled.

“I think I'm high.”

She opened her mouth to retort but he beat her.

“On you.”

An involuntary laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head. “Stop being so corny.”

“Would you prefer if I boast about myself?” he tilted his head to the side.

Ifrah gave him a straight look.

“Alright then,” he clasped his hands. “I'm the real life version of the word handsome.”

She couldn't help the giggle at his stupid sentence. He ignored her and said;

“I'm so hot that even the sun is jealous of me.”

“Oh gosh!” she smacked a hand to her face.

“I can make the girls faint by only a single flex of my arm.”

“Astagfirullah!” she yelled at the sky. “Stop it! My ears will start bleeding.”

Aayan's laugh resonated across the silent forest and she joined too because his laugh was insanely contagious. At least to her, it was.

He took her hand in his and with a serious voice, said; “Let's go, love.”

And just like that, she forgot about her previous annoyance.

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“Can I have a kiss?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

A beat of silence passed as they slowly trecked on the path before;

“Can I get one now?”

“No, Aayan.”

“Chota sa bhi nahi?” (Not even a little one?)

“No.”

“Chunna sa.”

Ifrah sighed exasperated and he thought that she'd give in but his shoulders slumped when she went back to her composed self. They'd walked a very long distance in the last two hours and Aayan wanted to sit down somewhere but when he saw how content she looked while staring at the scenery around them, he didn't feel like ruining it for her.

Maybe she was thinking of it as a casual stroll in the park to get her mind off the reality; where they were just two lovers who could enjoy each other's company in silence without exchanging much words.

A soft smile adorned his face at the idea and he started imagining how it would feel like when they'd actually do that instead of making it up in their heads while being stranded on an island.

But a sudden thought made the smile vanish from his lips and he remembered that he still have to tell her an important thing.

Ifrah was lightly swinging their hands as she tried to focus on the ground to be aware of the rocks in the dark to keep herself from tripping.

God knows how clumsy she was sometimes.

Her attention went to her husband when he cleared his throat and his words made her stop in her tracks.

“You wanna know why I had the pack of cigarettes?”

Ifrah could feel her heart thumping against her chest and she gulped. Yes. She wanted to know. She'd wanted to know all along. But now when he had pulled the topic out himself, she suddenly felt scared.

What if the reason is actually pretty serious and he was going through some horrible condition? What if all his laughs and smiles were fake? What if—

“I wanna tell you, to be honest. It's time that I got it off my chest.” he said without meeting her eyes and Ifrah's heart clenched.

Something was definitely wrong.

But she had to be strong for him.

“I'm listening.” she whispered.

Aayan inhaled a deep breath and let go of her hand before rubbing his face. He cleared his throat a few times before starting in a low voice.

“I wanted to smoke.” he was staring at his boots. “To get my mind off of... ”

Ya Allah, this was hard!

She waited a few seconds before;

“Mom has breast cancer, Ifrah.”

The world came to a pause as Ifrah tried to process his words. Had she heard right? Her ears were ringing as her head felt like needles were piercing through her skull before she managed out a “W-what?”

He nodded slowly, blinking rapidly as the memory of the first time he came to know about his mother's illness started playing in his mind.

“We got to know about this last year— before the talk about our marriage started.” his voice was thick with emotion while Ifrah stood there completely numb. “It was her wish actually, to see us married if she... if she.. ”

Aayan covered his eyes with his arm as the tears escaped from them and Ifrah immediately pulled him in a hug.

He was crying when he said next; “It's nothing serious— the doctors said. They said it was only stage one and she has ninety percent chances of being cured but mom still worried, you know? She kept asking 'what if?' and I lashed out one day, when I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted her to be optimistic but she was so— ”

He couldn't complete his words as a sob racked through him and Ifrah clutched him more tightly.

“It fücking hurt. It still does. So, I brought cigarettes with me. We were not on good terms and I thought I'd need them if I couldn't handle our arguments along with the worries about my mother.”

“I'm so sorry,” Ifrah burst out in tears. “I'm sorry for not being there for you.”

And it was a truth. She was feeling like she'd failed everyone and herself. Aayan shouldn't have to resort to cigarettes if they'd been best friends like before.

“Why didn't anyone tell me?” she asked in a betrayed tone because she had an idea that her own parents were aware of it.

All the pestering from her mother and Aayan's made sense now. And she was acting like it was only her life which was falling apart.

How ignorant of her.

“Mom said that you'd not be able to handle it. We all know how sensitive you are.” he sniffled, his tears had stopped now.

Ifrah clenched her jaw. He was right. But she still had the right to know.

“I'm handling it now too, aren't I?” she asked.

“But you're also blaming yourself while crying a river.” he pointed out and she felt like slapping him for knowing her too well.

“I'm not.”

“I don't have the energy to prove you wrong. We both know you are.”

She snapped her mouth shut and pressed her lips to his jaw ever so softly, because she could only reach there. Aayan's heart clenched as he pulled her immensely close to himself, trying to remove even a fraction of distance between them.

“Are you alright?” she asked. “Tell me honestly.”

He closed his eyes before answering; “I wasn't. Before all of this happened. But I am now. When I went away for the whole day,” he cringed but she didn't say anything. “I thought a lot over it and came to a realization that worrying was actually pointless. I have to be strong for her when she can't be for herself. One thing which I've learned from being stranded here is that, Allah never leaves us alone. Look at us. We've been here for almost two weeks but we still found food to eat, a roof over our heads and water. I'm not that much religious but I do know that He's always there. And He keeps helping us despite our sins.

That was when I felt disgusted for even thinking about smoking. It wouldn't solve my problems. He will. And I threw the box away and came back. Your own company can make you realize a lot of things sometimes.”

Ifrah's heart felt like it could burst any moment. She was a very lucky woman to have a man like Aayan Abdullah because people like him were very rare.

It's not everyday you find men who try their absolute best to be strong for you but are also not ashamed of letting their own emotions out if their hearts feel heavy.

“I love you, Aayan Abdullah. Words are not enough to describe the intensity of my emotions right now. But you're a very strong human, and I'll always be there if you feel like you can't be anymore.”

Aayan didn't say anything, he just kissed the side of her head and buried his face in her neck. He felt a lot lighter now; a huge weight had lifted off his shoulders and he was internally grateful that he had his wife, his best friend there for him at this time.

They didn't speak; they didn't need to, and just held each other for a very long time.

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Just as Ifrah had wanted, they pulled an all-nighter. But it was mostly spent in each other's arms after the heavy information. Aayan was feeling a lot better now as they walked hand in hand across the forest.

He'd tied her hair in a ponytail a while back because she asked him to. Otherwise he was okay with seeing her in that gorgeous form; black shirt and hair which made him think wild.

His words, not Ifrah's.

She was looking around to find some banana trees when Aayan's voice brought her out of her thoughts as he stopped abruptly.

“You hear that?” he asked, his expression alert.

“What?”

He didn't answer and focused on listening. Aayan's eyes widened as they snapped to hers, making panic rise in her chest but it soon dissolved after hearing his words.

“It's the sound of the ocean waves!”

Her own eyes rounded as he started dragging her to the left.

“We've found a way out, babe! Oh God!” he exclaimed in half surprise, half happiness and Ifrah's lips pulled into a huge grin.

“Hurry up, then! Stop laughing!”

She said out loud while keeping her pace with his.

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N O T E

Author's feelings atm

Sorry for the late update guys, I was busy 😩 but I still have half an hour before the next day starts soooo 👀

Only one chapter left and we'll be saying goodbye to these two 😭

I'm very tired rn lol so just gonna sleep. Hope you enjoyed :)

Stay blessed ❤