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Hamza

"Where the f**k is it?" I rummaged through my desk drawer at the office, trying to find an important file. I slammed it shut, before I called out for the personal assistant, Michel.

"Yes, sir?" He rushed in, looking hassled.

"Where's the file with the documents that Papa mentioned on the phone? He said that you knew about it." I asked.

"His wife came to collect it." Michel answered, looking confused. "I was on the phone when you came in, so I couldn't tell you."

"His wife?! He divorced years ago!" I snapped. "How the hell did you give any random person such an important file?! You of all people should have know better, Michel!"

He looked worried.

"Just get out!" I pinched the bridge of my nose.

I heard him leave, but then immediately, I heard the sound of footsteps again. "I thought I told you to leave."

"Why are you being so harsh on the poor boy?" 

My blood stop flowing in my body as I heard that voice. I turned to face the woman who had given birth to me (and regretted it). "What is your problem?" I couldn't control my temper. "Why can't you just buzz off now? Why do you keep coming back? You've divorced him, so you have no right to repeatedly come back to his office!" 

"Divorce doesn't change the fact that I'm your mother!"

"Do not insult the entire motherhood by calling yourself a mother." I said, furiously.

"Hamza, stay within your limits." Mum sat down on the chair in front of my desk, uninvited. She tossed the file onto the table. "Your father's making deals worth millions now, I see."

"What's it to you?" 

"I came here to make a deal with you."

"I have better things to do in my life than to make deals with you." I turned my back towards her and stared out of the window.

"Snowflake is cute."

I frowned and turned back to see her lifting up the photo frame on the desk, in which I had a photo of Hania holding Hamia. "Ma Sha Allah. But don't even look at her photo. I don't want buri nazar affecting her."

*Buri nazar: evil eye.

She smirked. "You love her a lot, don't you?" 

"Leave, or I will call security." I spoke from between gritted teeth.

"Snowflake has a little sister, right?" She spoke casually. "How old is that kid? Twenty?"

"Why do you want to know?" This wasn't good at all. How does she even know all this?

"My sister in Lahore was looking for a girl for her son."

"Don't even think about it." I said, loudly. "Stay the hell away from Hania and her family!"

"I took photos of this document." She stood up, dropping the nice façade. "I know these things are meant to be confidential, and I sent photos to Richard. If the people you're making this deal with find out about this 'leak', imagine the loss and humiliation that your father will face."

"You evil, wicked woman."

"All you need to do is make an introduction between the girl and my nephew, and he will sort out the rest."

"He will sort out the rest? What the f**k is that supposed to mean?" I frowned. "And why are you so interested in my sister-in-law anyway? I don't know my cousin, but I'm sure Hania's sister deserves better."

"Well, as you mentioned, Snowflake comes from a wealthy family." She smirked. "And judging by how her mother was defending her, I can see that her family will be willing to provide anything for their daughters."

"Is this about dowry?!" 

"Make up your mind, Hamza. Your father, or your wife's little sister." She said. "My nephew, Shehryar, is in London these days." She grabbed a piece of paper from my desk, and copied down a number from her phone. "Here's his number. If he doesn't hear back from you by tonight, by the morning, your father will be ruined." She slid the piece of paper towards me. "And don't take this threat lightly, Hamza. You know I'm capable of it." She walked out of the room, looking pleased with herself. 

My mother was a living version of a nightmare.

****

Hania

Hamza told me that he got held up at work. He'd sounded worried, and I wondered if it was work related or something else. He'd only left to get a file for Uncle, so I wondered what could have come up.

Mama and Papa went out for dinner. Iman was playing Monopoly with Arhaan Mamu, while Dado went up to bed after dinner.

"You and Hamza Bhai can go out as well." Iman teased me as well.

"He's at work." I sat down beside her on the ground. "Can I play as well?"

"No. You're too boring, buying all the cheap properties." She rolled her eyes.

"But that's good for us, Mani!" Mamu pointed us. "We can have all the good ones."

"Good point." Iman grinned at me. "Fine, join us." 

"Actually, I'm going to turn in early as well." Mamu stood up with a yawn. "I'm jet lagged. Behave, both of you." He patted our heads and walked out.

"What do you want to order?" Iman immediately asked.

"We can't! Mama said to heat up something from the fridge." I said.

"What the actual hell, Appi?" Iman turned to look at me over her shoulder as she walked towards the kitchen. "You're married. And secondly, what Mama says is not the law."

"It is in this house." I giggled.

"Whatever. You eat that, and I'll order fish and chips." She scrolled through her phone. "I feel like classic British food tonight." 

 "Doesn't it always give you a stomach ache at night, if you eat it for dinner?" I pointed out, sitting at the kitchen table.

"Some things are worth the pain, my sister." She looked at me. "You sure you don't want some?"

I gave her a sheepish look. "I'm not missing out on it." I grabbed my own phone. "Let me check with Hamza if he's going to come in time for dinner."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

"I think he's here!" I jumped up and rushed out to open the door. When I opened the door, I was a little confused. Hamza wasn't alone. With him, stood a guy of average height, with curly hair and glasses. "Assalam Alaikum."

"Walaikum Assalam." Hamza replied. "Hania, I would like you to meet Shehryar, my cousin. Shehryar, this is Hania, my wife."

"Assalam Alaikum." The stranger nodded his head at me, smiling politely. "Just call me Sherry, Hania Bhabi." 

"Walaikum Assalam." I didn't move. I looked at Hamza, confused. Why was this random cousin of his here, so suddenly.

"Hania..." Hamza looked at me pointedly, gesturing for me to let them inside, and I reluctantly moved. 

"Nice home." Sherry looked around.

"It's my parents' house." I said. "But, thank you. Alhumdulillah."

"Appi, the food should be coming soon! I ordered some for Hamza Bhai anyway..." Iman came out into the hallway, and stopped short. "Assalam Alaikum."

"Walaikum Assalam." Hamza sighed as if he was about to do something difficult. "Iman, this is Shehryar, my cousin. And Sherry, this is Iman, Hania's sister." 

Iman looked frozen for a few seconds, and her eyes darted towards me, looking helpless for some reason.

I looked at Sherry and saw his gaze on her in a way that made me uncomfortable. I walked over and stood in front of Iman, protectively.

"So, what are we having?" Hamza asked, a little too cheerfully.

"Actually, Hamza." I felt really awkward and almost horrible saying this, but this was necessary. "Papa's not home and Mamu has gone to bed. I know you're my husband, but I don't think it's a good idea for all of us to be here in these circumstances. I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do, especially at Papa's house."

Hamza looked a little confused.

"I understand." Sherry nodded. "But before I leave, can I use thebathroom, please?"

"Sure, it's just down there." I pointed down the hall. He was still Hamza's cousin and I couldn't just push him out of the house immediately.

He headed over, and I saw him checking out the living room as he passed it by.

"I didn't know that you had a cousin around, or that he was visiting." I whispered to my husband.

"He's from Mum's side." He admitted. "I don't really know him very well myself. I'm sorry for bringing him over uninvited."

"Hamza, your family is my family as well." I said. "But I didn't like the way he was looking at Iman, which is why I don't think it's a good idea to have him over in the absence of any of Iman's mehrams. I'm not sure if Mama and Papa will like that." I grabbed my sister's hand. 

"Don't worry, Han." His gaze on me was intense. "I completely understand. Iman's like a little sister to me as well, and so her safety is important to me." He put his hands on my shoulders. "But it feels rude to let him go now. I promise, Iman will bekept safe from anything bad or unfair."

"Well, keep me away from Mama then because she was being unfair, expecting us to eat leftover while she went out with Papa to eat something delicious, I'm sure." Iman joked, even though she had tightened her grip around my hand.

Hamza chuckled as Sherry returned. I wasn't sure if I was happy with Sherry staying, but I had to trust Hamza, right? He would take care of us, of Iman. Plus Mamu was right upstairs, even if he was asleep.

****

"So, what do you do, Iman?" Sherry asked, casually.

"I'm a student. I study Biomedical Sciences." Iman replied.

Sherry scoffed, but didn't say anything further.

"What's that supposed to mean?" My sister asked.

"In the end, you all just end up making rotis. What's the point of studying such difficult subjects?" Sherry asked.

My jaw actually dropped open at that blatant sexism, but Iman wasn't having any of it.

"My Nano was a doctor, my Dado is a retired doctor, my Phupho is a doctor, one of my Mumanis is a nurse, and the other is a Director for a major charity of Pakistan." She said. "I come from two different families with greatly successful female doctors and strong female figures, so no, not all of us just end up making rotis! Not that there's a problem with any woman who chooses to make rotis."

"What about your mother?" Sherry asked, casually.

"What about her? She chose not to be a doctor because her family gave her the right to live her life the way she wanted." Iman was getting heated.

"I've often seen women act like that before marriage." Sherry replied. "They change later then." 

"Really? Mama won't agree." I spoke up. "She, as well as Iman and I, have been given freedom to do whatever we want."

"Because Papa doesn't think he owns us." Iman added. "He treats us like humans, not pets."

"I'm just showing you the harsh reality of life faced by many women even in today's times." Sherry didn't even look embarrassed.

"Hamza's not like that either." I looked at my husband, with a proud smile. "He doesn't control me." He smiled back at me, and grabbed my hand under the table.

Sherry was staring at Iman intensely as he took a sip of water. I narrowed my eyes at Hamza, nodding discreetly towards his cousin.

"So, Sherry, what brings you to London anyway?" Hamza asked, casually.

"Ammi and Suhaila Khalla recommended that I visit." Sherry looked at Hamza again.

The two got into a discussion about Sherry's life and worked. He was an assistant manager for a company in Lahore, lived in a joint family in an area that I hadn't heard of, and he was the fifth out of six kids. 

****

Iman

I excused myself after dinner, heading upstairs to my room. The curly hair had made me anxious. It had reminded me of that guy. I could easily deal with a**hole pr**ks like Sherry, but after that incident, I wasn't as strong as before.

I took a few minutes to compose myself in my room, before returning downstairs. I was startled to see Sherry standing at the bottom of the stairs. Where are Appi and Hamza Bhai... again?

"I wanted to apologise to you." He said, sheepishly. "I sounded like a sexist pig back there."

"You acted like one too." I frowned, keeping a fair amount of distance between him and me. 

"I know. I'm sorry. Can we start over?"

"Look, I barely know you okay? There's no starting over." I said. "We know each other only through Hamza Bhai, and that's how I would like to keep it."

"I just meant, start over on friendly terms, that's all."

"Whatever." I began to walk past him, but he grabbed my wrist. "What are you doing? Let go of me!" I looked up into his eyes and I felt an intense amount of fear inside me. He looked calm, but he reminded me of that guy and I began to feel a panic attack coming. "Let go." I whispered. I felt nauseated and my stomach hurt a little.

"You are overreacting, Iman. I'm just trying to be friendly." His voice was being muffled by the sound of my racing heart. 

I was trembling, feeling dizzy, and he grabbed my shoulders to study me, but my brain was already in a fight-or-flight mode, and it had perceived his actions as a threat to me, because I screamed at the top of my lungs. 

"What in the world is going on here?" A loud, firm voice came from the top of the stairs. 

"Iman!" Simultaneously, Appi and Hamza Bhai rushed out into the foyer, with my sister's hands covered with soap, from washing dishes I guess.

Arhaan Mamu came downstairs, looking absolutely furious. "Who are you?" He growled at Sherry.

"I..." Sherry looked startled to see an adult around, it seemed.

"Uncle, he's my cousin." Hamza Bhai stepped in.

"What did you do?!" Appi snapped at Sherry.

"She flipped out!" Sherry backed away, raising his hands in surrender.

Appi wrapped her arm around me, and neither of us cared about the soap.She glared at Sherry, looking angrier than I've ever seen her before. 

"Why are you in this house at this time, in the absence of Iman's parents?" Mamu stood in front of me protectively. "Hamza, what is the meaning of this?" He turned back to glare at Sherry. "And why did Iman scream?"

"It's not...I..." Sherry backed away.

"Leave. Immediately." Mamu warned him. "Hamza, you and Hania should have know better." 

Hamza Bhai grabbed his coat from the coat rack. "Sherry, I'll take you back now." 

"Yes, that would be best." Mamu said. 

****

Hania

"I know that there's a generational gap between us, and things that we believe are wrong may be acceptable to you, and vice versa." Mamu sat on the armchair. "But our religion remains the same, no matter what the time. It was absolutely unacceptable to have that boy here in this house, in the absence of Fawad and Jasmina, without their knowledge."

Iman was upstairs, after I'd made sure that she had fallen asleep, and now we were facing an overdue lecture from Mamu, after Hamza had returned.

"I'm sorry, Arhaan Mamu." Hamza sighed. "This is all my fault. Hania told me not to let him stay, but I told her to trust me." 

"Look, even you are still young, Hamza, and you may not understand the long-term consequences of even the smallest of things, but that's why we should simply follow the guidance of our religion. You brought a boy even you hardly know, who had impure intentions, into Fawad and Jazzy's house, where he acted like a predator towards Iman." 

I felt responsible as well. This was the second such incident with Iman, in our presence. "Are we telling Mama and Papa?"

"I won't tell them anything. But you two should. Iman must be traumatised after this, and they are the only ones who can properly support her right now. And she would most definitely need her mother right now." Mamu advised us. 

"Fawad Uncle will kill me." Hamza muttered.

"As an overprotective father, I understand that." Mamu looked at him. "So, if he does get absolutely furious, I can't blame him. One day, In Sha Allah, when you're a father, you'll understand how we feel." 

Hamza and I exchanged a worried look. How much trouble were we in?

****

"Why the hell was there an unknown guy present in my house in my absence?" Papa was furious.

Hamza and I had explained the whole situation to our parents, after they'd returned from dinner. Mamu had gone back upstairs to sleep.

"Uncle, he's my cousin and..." Hamza looked uncomfortable.

"You and Hania are married, and who you invite at your place is both of your decision, but after everything that Iman has been through, and in general, I'd rather not have a guy I don't even know in my house and in my absence, when my young and unmarried daughter is present." He looked at me.

"Hania said that to me, but I'm the one who said that I won't let anything happen with Iman." Hamza spoke up in my defence. 

"Then what happened that Iman ended up screaming while alone in his presence?" Papa asked. "I know that this may seem like outdated thinking to you, Hamza, but if someone is a threat to my family, I get very overprotective. I don't have many rules, but when it comes to the safety of my wife and daughters, I'm very strict."

"Hamza," Mama looked at him. "The world is a horrible place these days, and you were there when that incident happened with Iman. I agree with Fawad. A guy we don't know, should not have been brought into our home in our absence. I know that you were there, but look what happened even in your presence."

"I hardly know him myself." Hamza muttered. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You hardly know him yourself?" That did not go down well with Papa. "And you decided that it was a good idea to bring him here, where Iman was present?"

"The truth is." Hamza looked up at him. "My mother's blackmailing me. To avoid Papa facing humiliation and loss, I have to set Iman up with Sherry."

I stared at him, shocked,along with my parents. 

"For monetary and business loss, you decided to agree to set up our daughter," She gestured towards herself and Papa. "With a guy that even you barely know?" I'd rarely seen her this angry before. Yes, she remained calm on the surface, but as her daughter I knew that she was absolutely fuming.

"Aunty, I didn't." Hamza explained. "Yes, I contacted him to get Mum to back off, and yes, I brought him here, because I knew that Hania and I would be present, but I wasn't going to marry her off to that guy."

"Mama, I don't want to marry any rando!" Iman entered the room, looking horrified, before glaring at Hamza. She must have woken up again. "And if you had such protective intentions, why did you bring him here? To check me out like I'm an exhibit at a museum?! No offence, Hamza Bhai,but I'm not an object. You can't just marry me off to save a business!"

"Iman, Hamza is telling you, he never intended..." I came to my husband's defence. 

"Please, Appi." She looked at me. "Don't defend him right now. You saw how his cousin was behaving throughout the evening, and yes, ultimately I screamed because I freaked out, but it was because he grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let go." 

"We'll help you out however we can, and you need to speak to your father." Papa told him. "But do not, under any circumstances, get Iman involved. You had no right to do what you did today. She's already shaken by what happened at the club, I do not want any further psychological impacts on my daughter."

"Why did your mother want to set Iman up with Sherry, anyway?" I asked Hamza.

"She knows your family is wealthy, and Sherry's her sister's son, so it was all about dowry." He couldn't meet my gaze.

"Right, so they just thought that we would agree to this marriage?" Mama shook her head.

"Aunty, I would never have let this go any further." Hamza reassured her.

"But she's not going to back off just because you introduced them." I said. "What's going to happen now?"

"I have no idea." Hamza genuinely looked confused, and I felt bad for him. His mother sucked, and this wasn't his fault. He was just doing the best that he could in this situation.

I guess Papa felt bad for him as well, because he said, "We'll speak to your father. I'll come with you. We'll figure something out."

"I'm sorry about getting Iman involved." Hamza said, before looking at Iman. "I really am sorry, Iman. For the record, I would have protected you from him. He's a piece of s**t from the short time that I've known him, and he certainly doesn't deserve Iman Fawad." 

Iman managed a weak smile. "Complimenting isn't going to earn you forgiveness, Bhai." Then she frowned. "But yes, I don't deserve a guy who says that I'll ultimately only end up making rotis despite my education."

Hamza looked at me. "Hania, I think we should go now. It's late. Uncle, I'll be back in the morning and we can go speak to Dad."

Papa nodded. "In Sha Allah. Take care, both of you."

I noticed that Mama didn't look very happy, but she still politely said goodbye to Hamza. "Mama, it's not his fault." I whispered in her ear as I hugged her.

"Hmm." Was the only reply I got to that. 

I hugged Papa then. I worryingly glanced at my mother, who was lost in her thoughts, a frown on her face. I looked up at Papa and he nodded reassuringly at me. "She's angry." I whispered.

"Leave everything to me." He reassured me, kissing the top of my head.

That was the most obvious thing to do when dealing with an angry Mama.

I left with Hamza, but I was worried. I didn't want Mama to resent my husband. That would be a complete nightmare for me. They were two of the four most important people in my life. 

"I'm sorry, Han." Hamza shook his head, looking up at the sky. "I keep screwing up."

"You asked me to trust you to look after Iman." I slid my hand in his. "I trust you. I realise that you were in a difficult situation, choosing between Uncle and Iman. But I'm with you, and we'll keep both Uncle and Iman away from any harm, In Sha Allah."

He smiled down at me. "I really love you, you know that?"

"I love you too." I returned his smile. "And please don't be offended by my parents' anger. They're too overprotective of us."

"They're being loving and caring parents, Han." He looked almost sad. "How can I be offended by that? And despite it all, Uncle is willing to help me out."

"Yeah, my Papa's too good." I said, fondly. "He would never refuse to help anyone, especially not family. And you're a part of his family as well now." 

"But Aunty's very mad, isn't she?"

"She is." I admitted. "But Papa will talk to her. I'm sure she'll get over it and forgive you."

Because if she didn't listen to Papa, then she must be really, really angry, and that was something I didn't even want to think about.

****

Jasmina

"Mama!!!!" Iman's screaming made me and Fawad both run out of the room and towards hers. 

I entered first, and Fawad stayed in the doorway for now, out of respect for his grown-up daughter. "Mani?!" 

She was having a nightmare and was tossing and turning around in bed. 

"Mani, shh! It's okay, meri jaan." I sat on my knees beside her and began to calm her down, running my hands from her temples, over her head. "It's okay, mera bacha, you're okay." 

Fawad came in, frowning in concern. "Nightmare?"

"Clearly a terrible one." I told him. I gently pulled my younger daughter into my arms, holding her head against my chest. My own tears fell at the sight of her distress. I looked up almost accusingly at my husband. "This is exactly why I'm so mad! But you think I'm overreacting." 

"We'll talk in our own room, Mina." He said, before glancing back down at Iman, who had woken up with a gasp.

"Mama?" My daughter clutched onto it and burst into tears.

"It's okay, baby girl, you're okay." I whispered, feeling like my little Mani was five or six again.

Fawad, now satisfied that our daughter was okay, went back into our room, but I stayed there until Mani had gone back to sleep.

****

"No." I said, stubbornly.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Fawad looked at me, frowning.

"No means no, Fawad." I got into bed next to him. "I am not going to let this go."

"Bacha hai, yaar." He glanced at me, grabbing my hand in his. "He was in a dilemma. He didn't know what to do."

*"He's a kid."

"After everything he has done to Hani, I won't be surprised if he was willing to marry Iman off to whoever that guy was." I shook my head. "I've had enough." I glared at him. "And he's not a kid. At that age, I was already a mother of two."

"Mina, come on." He reasoned. "You never had to make a choice like that. What would you have done if you were forced to choose between your father and Fariha, for example? That's a difficult choice for anyone, and Hamza is a kid compared to us, so we need to cut him some slack."

"You can forgive him. I won't." I was truly adamant this time. "If there's one thing that I can't tolerate, it's anyone doing anything against my family, especially my daughters." 

"He's Hania's husband." He said. "If nothing else, just for the sake of that relationship, please let it go, Mina."

"Woh bacha hai, to Iman kya hai? Beti hai humari! Woh bhi bachi hai!" I have rarely raised my voice at him, but I was getting seriously agitated right now. "She's a human, not a part of a stupid business deal!"

*"If he's a kid, then what is Iman? She's our daughter! She's also a kid!"

"Jasmina, Hania ki khatir."

*"For Hania's sake."

A part of me knew deep down that he was right. Our elder daughter was married to Hamza. But that doesn't mean that he could get away with anything, just because he was the son-in-law. I was Iman's mother too, and in that sense I would not tolerate it if my daughter is used to fulfil someone's blackmail. And for Fawad and Hania to behave so calmly about it, made me even more annoyed. Just by introducing that guy to Iman, especially in our absence, Hamza had made a huge mistake. Just a meeting had a negative effect on Iman. If Hamza had decided to take things further...

"He told us the truth." Fawad's voice brought me out of my tangled thoughts. "He didn't have to. Even Hania didn't know, so he could have just kept it to himself. But he was honest, and there's nobody who appreciates honesty more than the two of us, after everything that we've been through, Mina." 

I was melting slowly. My husband always knew how to calm me down. But then I thought of Iman just now, suffering from a severe nightmare. I'd never seen my baby that vulnerable and it had broken my heart. The maternal part of me started getting angry again.

I got up and grabbed my robe.

"Where are you going?" He asked, wearily.

"I'm going to sleep in the guest room." 

"Why are you mad at me? I'm just trying to do the practical thing here for the sake of our other daughter. Iman's not in any danger of being married off, so it's best to let this go."

"I'm not mad at you." I looked at him. "But you'll calm me down and I don't want to do that right now. I want to stay mad because I want to use this rage against Hamza's mother."

"Ya Allah, Mina." He got up and walked over to me. "Stop. Don't do anything impulsively." 

"Why does it matter? First she basically called Hania a gold digger, and now she's trying to set Iman up with a random guy for dowry." I looked up at him. "How dare she go after my daughters like that? She's messed with the wrong mother."

He was fighting hard to stop a smile, but the amusement on his face gave it away.

"Don't you laugh at me." 

"You're a mother of two, and your elder one is married." He reminded me. "We need to deal with everything logically and sensibly, Mina."

"I'm an angry mother. Don't try and calm me down with your logic, doctor." I turned to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist. "Fawad."

"No." His tone was firm this time. "I know you're angry, but you are not going to do anything in that state of mind. Acting in anger always messes things up."

"Fawad..." I began to protest, looking back at him.

"I'm Iman's father. You think I'm not p***ed off that our daughter was treated like an object that could be used to obtain something? Of course I am. But directing that anger at Hamza is wrong. He's still young, and he didn't know what to do. How many times have we found ourselves in that situation when we are that age? But our parents guided us, Mina. We're like parents to him as well, so we will guide him as well, instead of being unnecessarily angry at him."

"He brought that kid over!"

"Yeah, and I made it very clear that I won't tolerate that again." He put his hands on my shoulders. "Look, let's be honest, Iman has done much worse and we forgave her because she's our daughter. Well, Hamza's our son-in-law, Hania's husband."

I didn't say anything. Crossing my arms across my chest, I looked away.

"If you love and respect me, you'll listen to me." He said with finality.

"You know that I never go against what you say, no matter what." I looked up at him. "I do it out of love and respect for you, but Fawad, if anything else goes wrong with either of my daughters, caused by Hamza, I won't even listen to you." I turned to leave the room.

"Jaan, ab kahan jaa rahi ho?" He asked.

*"Where are you going now?"

"I need some time alone." I replied, closing the door behind me. Tears slipped out of my eyes as I walked down the stairs.

Apart from feeling a mother's wrath, something else was bothering me. A fear kept nagging away at me that something was going to go seriously wrong with one of my daughters, and a bigger fear was that I wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it from happening.

****

As if there wasn't enough drama in their lives that Hamza's mother had to cause more.

Is Jasmina right to be that furious, or should she forgive Hamza considering this a youthful mistake by him?

Honest opinion: do you think it was acceptable for Hamza to have brought his cousin over like that? 

Thoughts on the chapter overall?

Thank you for reading and don't forget to vote.