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*

Yamna

I was just getting ready for the long drive out with Rohaan, wondering what to wear, when Mama came into my room.

"Get an overnight bag packed. We have to go." She spoke in a rush.

"Go? Where?!"

"To Manchester. It's Fardeen Bhai." She said grimly. "He had a heart attack."

Fardeen Jamal Uncle was a university friend of Papa's.

"Not to sound insensitive, but to rush out close to midnight like this...?" I was confused.

"He's that one sole good friend of your Papa's. Of course, your Papa wants to go and see him."

"Mama..."

"Let's go."

Hence, I sat in the backseat of my father's car twenty minutes later, messaging Rohaan.

<Yamna: We are going to Manchester. Long drive cancelled. 😞>

<Rohaan: Manchester? So suddenly? All good?>

<Yamna: Fardeen Uncle had a heart attack.>

<Rohaan: I'm sorry to hear that. May Allah give him a quick recovery. Ameen!>

<Yamna: Ameen!>

I yawned and dozed off slowly.

I had no idea how long I slept, but I woke up to hear my parents talking quietly.

"How can I tell Yamna this? That her father is a failure?" Papa was saying. "Dad was right about me all along. I'm too naïve to do anything on my own. And now my foolishness put Fardeen in this position."

"You are not a failure, Yasin."

"I made a bad investment. I encouraged Fardeen to do the same. It crashed and burned, and we lost out on so much money. This stress put him in the hospital, Saba. It's what caused his heart attack."

My heart was pounding hard as I listened to their conversation. I hated to eavesdrop, but I didn't want to embarrass my father either by telling them that I was awake.

"If anything happens to him, it's my fault! He has three young daughters, Saba!"

"Don't blame yourself. Instead, pray for him."

"Dad was always right about me. I'm too naïve." Papa repeated.

"What's going to have to happen now, Yasin?" Mama sounded worried.

"I don't know. I thought this investment would help us financially. But..." He paused. "Now we may need to sell the house and move to a flat or something."

"Yasin, I know that you want to be independent, but you should tell your family."

"I can't stress out my elderly parents. And Bhai? He has always fought for me, and now I have proved him wrong. How am I meant to face him?"

"What will we tell them when we move to a flat?"

"Simple. Yamna is getting married, and we don't need such a big place."

"The wedding, Yasin. How will we organise Yamna's wedding? We cannot rely completely on Bhai and his family."

"I'm sure if we request simplicity, Bhai and Bhabi won't have a problem." Papa spoke quietly, but I could sense his pain. I was their only child, and they would have wanted a beautiful wedding for me to. But unless Papa turned to his parents for help, it was going to be difficult for them.

"My Yamna deserves a beautiful wedding too." Mama said.

A tear ran down my cheek. But I wasn't crying because I wouldn't have a grand wedding. I was crying for the pain that my parents were facing. For as long as I could remember, my father was determined to be independent, as if he had something to prove.

"I don't know what to do, Saba. Not only is my head hurting from worrying about our financial condition, but now I've put Fardeen in this mess. I have backup, because in the worst of circumstances, I can move back into the Tariq family home. But Fardeen? You know how hard it had been for him to set up his life after moving here from India in university? The life of an immigrant is so full of hardships already, and I had inconsiderately put him through hell." 

"You didn't do it intentionally, Yasin."

"Intention is irrelevant in the face of massive stupidity." He sighed. "I thought that with this investment, we could make enough to give Yamna a beautiful wedding, as well as have enough left over to leave in a trust for her as her inheritance. I never intended anything bad. May Allah forgive me. May Allah give Fardeen good health and a long life. Ameen. He doesn't deserve to suffer for my mistakes." 

*

I tried to remain nonchalant, as if I hadn't heard their entire conversation. As if I didn't know about their stress.

Papa parked outside a hospital. "I'm going to see if I can get an update. I doubt they'll tell me anything as I'm not family."

"We didn't think this through, Yasin. Where are we going to stay? We won't find a hotel in the middle of the night. The visiting hours are over at this time. What are we going to do?" Mama looked stressed. "We can't just stay in the car with our young daughter!"

"Rose Luxe. I took Farhaan into confidence, and he told me that we can go to the Rose Luxe no matter what time it is, and we can stay there for however long we need." Papa unlocked the car. "Lock the doors when I'm gone. I'll be right back." 

As soon as he left, I leaned forward between the seats. "I overheard everything."

She sighed. "Yamna..."

"If he tells Tayan, he can get help." I said. 

"You don't understand, Yamna. It took a lot for him to even convince his parents about going to university, he was that... dependent on them. Now, he just want to be independent, and to fight his own battles." 

"I get that, Mama, but I can't see him upset like this." 

"He'll figure it out. You don't worry." She looked at me, a sad smile on her face. "Your wedding..."

"Don't worry about my wedding. You and Papa matter more, and I know that Rohaan would agree." I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Everything will be okay, right?" 

"In Sha Allah."

*

Yasin

FLASHBACK

It was a restaurant in a hotel in Lahore, and our family was together after a long time. There was clear tension between Bhai and Dad, and Mum was trying to act like a referee, as usual. The soothing sound of a flute playing did nothing to calm the simmering tempers.

"Yasin!" Dad snapped at me as he saw me playing on my handheld game. 

I almost dropped the game, hearing Dad's voice, then set it aside the way Dad had asked Bhai to put his phone aside.

I was twenty at this time, and this was before Bhai's marriage.

"You missed dinner last night, and now you are barely present here with us." Dad glared angrily at Bhai.

There was constant tension between my father and brother over me. Bhai wanted them to let me be independent, but my parents were worried that I wasn't responsible enough. I was too naïve.

"I had an important meeting that I had to attend." Bhai replied.

Mum pressed her fingers over her forehead, exasperated. For once, she just wanted a stress-free meal with her family. "Rehan, you have some responsibilities towards us as well, in case you are forgetting."

"Like you two have a responsibility towards Yasin." My brother pointed out.

'Oh no, not again.' I thought. 

"And what exactly do you think we are doing?" Dad's voice rose and Mum placed a hand on his forearm to calm him down.

"You are taking away even the most basic of control from him, like him handling his own bank account!" Bhai argued, as always fighting for me.

"You want us to let him have control over his bank account so he can give the rest of his savings away as well?" Dad raised an eyebrow at him.

I once had naïvely transferred most of my savings from my bank account to a 'friend in need'.  That friend had conveniently disappeared, never to be heard from again. My father had been furious, and my parents had taken control of my finances to protect me. In their own way, they genuinely had my best interests at heart.

"Don't fight!" I shook my head. "Bhai, I'm fine. I'm happy. Don't worry about me." 

"Yasin is vulnerable. We are protecting him, Rehan." 

"You are fighting his battles for him, which would make lie much harder for him in the future!"

"Stop it!" I slammed a fist on the table. "I don't want you fighting my battles for me either, Bhai. I am happy the way I am."

Dad looked satisfied at my words, smirking at Bhai.

My brother stood up.

"Rehan." Mum looked up at him, almost pleadingly.

"Relax. I'm not walking out." He told her. "I just need a minute to cool my head." He walked off.

I felt guilty. He had been fighting for me, and I had snapped at him. I excused myself and followed him.

He was in the courtyard, sitting on a bench, and I went to sit beside him. "Why do you do this? I am fine the way I am, Bhai. Don't clash with Dad for my sake."

"I wanted you to be independent, to live the way you would want to live." He looked almost apologetically, like he had failed me.

The guilt within me grew. My brother loved me so, so much. How could I blame him for always taking a stand for me? "Maybe this is the best solution for me, Bhai. But I am not complaining. I lost a lot because I was unable to read people and their intentions." I smiled weakly at him. "Our parents want the best for me, you know? You can't doubt that." 

He looked at me silently for a few moments. "What do you want, Yas?"

"I'm grateful to have overprotective parents, Bhai. I am blessed. Alhumdulillah. Don't worry about me." 

He patted my back, nodding.

*

**Yes, this scene was from Unconditionally, written now from Yasin's POV**

PRESENT

After confirming what I already knew, and not being allowed in the hospital, I headed to the side of the hospital, looking up at the night sky in silence.

I hadn't learned. I was still the naïve Yasin who was dangerous to myself. And now, Saba and Yamna could suffer because of my bad decisions.

Out of habit, I took my phone out and unlocked it, tapping on my contacts' list and scrolling through the favourites.

Bhai.

My thumb hoovered his name. I wanted to call him and blurt everything out. 

It's the middle of the night, Yasin. And there's no need to disappoint him.

To my surprise, I saw Yamna walking towards me. I frowned. "What are you doing out of the car?" 

She approached me and placed my hands on my upper arms. "It'll be okay, In Sha Allah. Your intentions were good, and that's all that matters." 

"You know?"

"You can't really help overhearing in a car while zooming down the motorway, right?" She shrugged.

I glanced towards the hospital. "For now, I can only pray for Fardeen's life. He doesn't deserve this." I placed a hand over her head. "Since you heard everything, know that you don't need to worry about your wedding, okay? I'll do everything in my power to give you a beautiful wedding, I promise."

"Don't worry about that, Papa." She shook her head, dismissively. "But, I don't get it. You are a university lecturer, and Mama has a good position at the gallery. Even with this investment crashing, don't you earn well enough?" 

Confession number two. "My salary was significantly cut. In the past couple of years, the number of students enrolling in the university has decreased significantly. Our department has faced the harshest impact. In the recent years, with the idea of being at least twenty-seven grand in debt with student loans, puts of a lot of students from university. Businesses, social media, they all can be done without a degree, and I suppose, people are turning towards these means of earning, rather than end up with almost thirty grand of debt and no guarantee of a good job."

She looked almost tearful.

"And to live in London, it's a struggle, even with both of us working. It's so expensive." 

"Papa, at least you have a back-up plan. You can go live with Dada Jaan and Dado. They are your parents. They won't judge you."

I nodded, reassuringly at her. But the truth was that she didn't realise how much I had struggled to achieve my own independence, and it was precious to me. I had my wife, my daughter, and I didn't want to be the helpless and dependent-on-others Yasin again.

*

Rohaan

It was different at home now, now that Tahira was around. 

I couldn't just walk around with my shirt off, or I couldn't p**s Arsal off with pranks. And yes, both parental figures had sat me down before Arsal's wedding to give me a lecture. I swear, I was so badnaam. 

"Assalam Alaikum, Boss Woman." I entered the kitchen, where Mama was making breakfast.

"Walaikum Assalam."

It was Tahira's first full morning at home, and Mama was going out of her way to prepare a proper breakfast. The first thing I did was to start preparing for coffee. 

"Why are you ready for work?" She noticed my outfit.

"Because I'm going to work."

"I thought you had the day off today as well!" 

I grinned. "Mama, once upon a time, I used to beg or a day off, but you always refused." I glanced at her. "They called me in." 

"You don't have to go. You had booked the day off." She said. "I thought you could call Yamna over, and we could have some family time together." 

"Yamna is in Manchester with her parents. They went last night."

She blinked at me surprised. "So suddenly?"

"Chachu's friend, Fardeen Uncle, had a heart attack."

"Ya Allah! May Allah give him a quick and full recovery. Ameen." 

"Ameen." 

Arsal and Tahira walked in then, greeting us with warm smiles. "Assalam Alaikum!"

"Walaikum Assalam." We replied.

"May I help you, Aunty?" Tahira walked around to help Mama.

"Absolutely not." Mama shook her head. "Rohaan is here. He'll help me. You two go and sit down." 

I looked at her questioningly, but she didn't look at me, silently handing me bread slices to put in the toaster instead. 

Arsal smirked at me.

Watch it, grasshopper. I'll get you back for laughing at me.

*

Yamna

We had been offered two separate rooms or suite at the Rose Luxe, but we took a junior suite, with my parents inside and me in the living room on the sofa bed. 

When I got up in the morning and was heading towards their room to use the bathroom, I heard their voices once again.

"...Fardeen's daughter informed me of his heart attack, but Bhabi doesn't want me anywhere near him. She's blaming me."

"Oh, Yasin..."

"She says, and she's not wrong, that I have my family wealth to fall back on, but Fardeen has nothing. I shouldn't have dragged him into this, Saba. I wronged him and his family." His voice broke. 

My heart broke for him. It hurt me to see him in pain.

"Maybe we should give them some space." Mama suggested. "In Sha Allah, you can speak to Fardeen Bhai once he has recovered." 

*

Papa stopped by he hospital before our journey home.

When he came back, he looked at Mama. "I managed to see Fardeen. He was all smiling and relaxed, and told me that he held no resentment against me. He had made the decision as a grown adult of a stable mind, and he didn't blame me at all."

"That's good, isn't it? Your guilt can ease up now." Mama placed a hand on his upper arm.

"Hmm." He nodded, his expressions stating otherwise.

"I can get a weekend job for now?" I suggested. "Or I can start working as soon as my last exam is done?"

"No, Yamna." Papa shook his head. "You are not going to pay for my mistakes. And you'll be getting married as soon as the university is done, anyway." 

"We can postpone it if it's financially difficult?" I swallowed hard.

"You will not pay or my mistakes." Was all he repeated. 

Mama glanced at me in the rear-view mirror and I saw the worry in her eyes.

I felt terrible. My wedding was a huge part of their stress right now. I wouldn't even be surprised i they were wondering how they'd ever compete to Arsal Bhai and Tahira Bhabi's wedding. 

I was scared that this might cause some sort of bitterness between the families, or at least some distances. 

*

Rohaan

"Aren't Yasin, Saba and Yamna coming?" Papa asked Dado.

A few days later, we had arrived at the Tariq family home for the usual family dinner.

"No, Yasin called to apologise that they wouldn't be able to come." Dado replied.

It had been days. I hadn't seen Yamna seen the day Tahira had come home. Her messages were one-worded, or brief, and lacked emojis. She kept saying that she was busy with coursework, and the two times that I had visited Chachu's house, Yamna either wasn't home or she was asleep after an all-night study session.

"I hope all is well. I haven't spoken to Yas in a few days." Papa voiced out my concerns.

"It's nothing like that, I'm sure." Mama said. "I forgot to mention it, but Saba called earlier. She wanted to host a dawat for Arsal and Tahira, with all of us invited."

"I can drive by after dinner today." I suggested. 

Dado nodded. "I think that's a good idea. You are very samajhdar, Rohaan. I'm sure you can figure out if we need to be concerned or not."

*Samajhdar: wise.

"Rohaan? Wise?" Arsal teased.

I glared at him. He knew I was holding back so that I don't make him look bad in front of Tahira, but how long would my patience last? He smirked at me. 

I turned to Tahira. "I have different categories of stories from Arsal's childhood: embarrassing, very embarrassing and absolutely mortifying. You tell me which ones you want to hear, okay?" 

"You wouldn't dare." Suddenly, Arsal's smile disappeared.

"I am the only one who'd dare." It was my turn to smirk.

"You should go, Rohaan." Papa nodded. "You are their son-in-law anyway, and my advice would be for you to look out for your Chachu and Chachi as their son. And Yamna is your responsibility anyway."

"I will, Papa. Don't worry." I reassured him.

*

"Rohaan?" Chachu looked surprised to see me, but then his usual warm smile appeared on his face.

"Assalam Alaikum."

"Walaikum Assalam."

"I hope I'm not bothering you by being here." 

"Chup karo. My nephews and nieces coming over is always a pleasure for me." He patted my shoulder. "And with you, I have a double relation now."

I held up the bag. "Mama and Dado sent over food. Dado had special packages made for you all before dinner started." 

"Mum and Bhabi have the tendency to do that when we don't go." He smiled.

Chachi appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Rohaan!"

"Assalam Alaikum." 

"Walaikum Assalam." She looked genuinely pleased too.

It always warmed my heart to come to this house, even before my Nikah. Chachu and Chachi were such warm and loving personalities, Ma Sha Allah.

I handed Chachi the bag. "From Dado and Mama."

"They are so sweet." Chachi whispered softly. "Mum must be asleep, but I'll call Bhabi to thank her." She headed back into the kitchen.

"So, what's up, Chachu?" I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and led him inside. "You mad at us or something?" 

"What are you talking about, Rohaan?" He looked bewildered.

"You're all home, but you didn't come for dinner."

"Oh, Yamna was studying, an we didn't want to leave her alone at home." He replied simply, but he was avoiding my gaze.

I didn't want to pry, but it seemed that there was something wrong. I almost wanted to point out the fact that I was good at sensing it when people were hiding something, but I let it go. It might be a personal matter. It was different if Papa asked about it, but it didn't seem right for me to try and asking. "I'm going to see her, if that's okay."

"Of course!" 

I got up and headed out of the room and up the stairs. Pausing outside Yamna's room, I knocked lightly on the door. It was slightly ajar, so I stepped inside.

Yamna was asleep on the bed, her notebook spread open by her face, and a pen still clutched between her now slack fingers. Her hair was in a braid, and she wore a lilac t-shirt with white trousers that had lilac stars all over them. 

I picked up the open notebook and stared down at her neat notes in her beautiful handwriting. I then grabbed her textbook and took both books to her desk, setting them down as they were. A thought occurred to me and I reached into my wallet to take out a contact card of mine, and placed it in her textbook as a bookmark. Then heading back over to her, I gently moved her away from the edge of the bed, before pulling the duvet over her. Taking her glasses off, I placed them on the nightstand. She must be really tired if she still hasn't woken up.

Then as a second thought, I went back to her desk, grabbed a pen from her pen holder and scribbled on a post-it note that she had kept on her desk. Call me when you see this. No message, no emoji. Direct call, Mrs R. 

After kissing the side of her head, I turned off the light and left the room. When I got downstairs, Chachu and Chachi were watching TV in complete silence. "Wow, I wish it was this quiet in our home when I watch TV. But even after the annoying twins left, Arsal made it his life mission to not let me watch TV." 

Chachu laughed. "That's the raunak, Ma Sha Allah. Here, sometimes Yamna is here and she talks, otherwise she's up in her room reading or studying. Our home is generally always this silent."

"Once we're married, Yamna and I will regularly come around to spread our raunak, In Sha Allah." I grinned.

"Absolutely. This is your own home, as well as Yamna's." Chachi said. "I'm going to go and make coffee, Rohaan. Shall I make some snacks with it?"

"No, thank you, Chachi. I should head out now." 

"I'm not going to take no for an answer. Sit and talk to your Chachu. I'll be right back." She headed out of the room before I could further protest.

Chachu was massaging his head, looking a bit tensed.

"You okay, Chachu?" I asked.

He looked at me and gave me a weak smile. "I'm just tired, Rohaan."

"You don't want to tell me, that's a different matter, and I respect that. But I'm a detective, Chachu. I can read expressions, and sense when people are keeping something." 

"It's just a little work stress, Ro. Compared to me, you're still a child. I don't want to burden you with my issues." 

"The things I have witnessed in my career, Chachu, I'm more mature than anyone can even realise." I spoke grimly. "It's different that I also try not to let those experiences reflect on my face or behaviour." 

"You have grown up so much, Ma Sha Allah." He said. "But Ro, you have enough of your plate, mere bachay. You don't need your Chachu's problems as well."

"I'd tell you what I'd tell Papa if he ever says that to me. The least we kids can do is support our parents as they age, after all that they'd done for us. My shoulders can bear handling the worries of everyone I love, Chachu, and that includes you. So, you can talk to me." 

He gave me a small smile. "May Allah give you endless success, happiness, good health and a long life. Ameen." He paused. "I may not be able to give Yamna an extravagant wedding."

I patted his back. "How about we give Yamna a simple wedding then? Simple and sweet, something befitting that princess of yours."

"We had so many dreams for her wedding..."

"Wedding is in one day- okay, three or four days in desi weddings, but still. Your dream should be that your daughter gets a handsome, caring, protective husband. A dashing, charming man like yours truly." I teased lightly, while simultaneously reassuring him. "And when it comes to me, I can just come here with my family and take her along. That's sufficient."

He chuckled. "I would never have trusted Yamna more with anyone else but you, Rohaan." He patted my back now. 

"Chachu, do you trust her with me? She's a dangerous girl." I grinned.

He looked thoughtful. "Good point. And her partnership with Bhai makes her more dangerous for you. Tell you what, why don't you and I form a partnership? Just as a form of insurance." 

I laughed, holding out my hand. "Deal."

He shook my hand, grinning.

*

Yamna

I woke up in the middle of the night, having fallen asleep early.

I was in bed, tucked in with my glasses off and the light off. I didn't remember getting into bed. Maybe Mama had come in while I was asleep?

With a yawn, I reached out and turned the lamp on before pulling on my glasses. Rest is complete, it's time to get back to work. I walked over to the desk and sat down, and saw my notebook open. My textbook was closed, and I saw something had been stuck inside like a bookmark. 

Opening it, I saw... "Rohaan's contact card?" He was here? I saw a post-it note stuck on the lion soft toy that had been placed there from my shelf.

Call me when you see this. No message, no emoji. Direct call, Mrs R.

Jumping up from my desk, I raced over to get my phone and saw that it was almost three in the morning. Sitting down, I messaged him.

<Yamna: I know you said not to message, but are you, by any tiny chance, awake?>

Rohaan was unpredictable. Sometimes he would fall asleep at ten due to exhaustion. Sometimes he would only sleep after praying Fajr.

<Rohaan: Good nap?>

I grinned.

<Yamna: ...

I had just been typing, and before I could send anything, he sent a message again.

<Rohaan: Direct call. No messages.>

<Yamna: I didn't want to disturb your sleep.>

He read the note but didn't reply. After a few moments, I typed again.

<Yamna: ??>

Again, he read it and didn't reply.

I video called him, giggling at the thought of him sulking. "Assalam Alaikum."

"Walaikum Assalam." His hair was a mess, and he was leaning against his headboard. 

"So, you paid me a visit and didn't even wake me up?" 

"You looked too peaceful. How are you doing?" 

"I'm tired. I can't wait to finish the year."

"Almost there, Yamna." He said. "Why don't we meet tomorrow and talk? I feel like I haven't seen you in a very long time." 

I hesitated. I couldn't tell him about our situation, but I wouldn't be able to hide it from him either. "Rohaan, I'd rather just get the exams out of the way first."

"Look, you have to have a meal, right? Have it with me. Come on." He said. "Mama and Papa are going to Dada Jaan and Dado's place tomorrow, and will be there for a couple of nights, and even Arsal and Tahira will be away from a mini-break for a couple of nights. Have dinner at home with me tomorrow." Sensing my hesitation, he asked, "All okay, hamster?"

"Okay. I'll come for dinner."

*

And so, I arrived at Tayan's house the next evening, wearing a long ankle-length brown dress with white and beige floral patterns. Over the sleeveless dress I wore a white buttoned cardigan-shrug. On my feet were brown wedges. The breeze ruffled through my newly trimmed straight hair that hung halfway down my back. 

I took a few moment to calm my nerves before I rang the doorbell, clutching the strap of my brown tote bag. Feeling highly nervous, I closed my eyes.

I heard the door opened and I smelled his cologne before I saw him.

"Assalam Alaikum!" His warm voice greeted me.

I opened my eyes. "Walaikum Assalam!"

Wearing black jeans and a navy blue button down shirt, Rohaan had his hair neatly combed back away from his face. He looked handsome beyond words. Ma Sha Allah. Giving me one of his signature charming smiles, he held out his hand.

I placed my hand in his, and he pulled me inside, closing the front door behind us. 

"Where have you been?" He whispered, his arm wrapping itself around my waist. "You look beautiful, Ma Sha Allah. Did you cut your hair?" His other hand lightly ran through my hair.

"Trimmed." 

"It looks good." He kissed my forehead. "Come on." He took my hand and walked me down to the kitchen.

"Did something burn in here?" I wrinkled my nose.

"Yeah, my attempt to make dinner." He laughed. "But don't worry, beautiful. I won't get you to eat it. I ordered out." 

"I don't know. It's the thought that counts." I took a seat on a bar stool at the isle, watching him take out glasses and a two litre bottle of Rubicon Mango sparkling.

"The thought can lead to food poisoning, so no thanks." 

He poured out the drink into the glasses and brought along a glass to hand it to me. "I have learnt a lot over the years, but I still slip up when it comes to cooking." 

"Good, because if you were awesome at cooking, you'd be dangerously close to perfection." I took a sip from my glass.

"I can see that you are getting bolder when it comes to complimenting me or saying nice things about me." He sat on the bar stool beside me, our knees brushing. His foot lightly nudged mine.

I turned away, my cheeks turning warm. I decided to change the topic, but the saying 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' seemed to apply to me. "It's a little warm in here." 

"You can take your sweater off." He suggested.

I shook my head. "It's sleeveless."

"So? It's only you and me here tonight." He placed a hand over the back of my neck. "But no pressure. I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with." 

I slowly unbuttoned the cardigan-shrug and took it off, exposing my bare arms, before hanging it at the back of the stool. "So... what have you ordered?" 

"It's a surprise." He traced a finger up and down my arm, causing me to shiver slightly. "Are you cold now?" He looked amused.

I shook my head without looking at him.

"Listen, Yamna, I have an ulterior motive behind calling you here tonight." 

"What ulterior motive?" 

"I have been sensing something off about your family." He moved closer, his hand on my back. "Everything okay? Anything that we need to worry about?" 

This was what I had been worried about. I was in a dilemma. On one hand, he was my husband and I wanted to tell him everything. I always told Rohaan everything, because I'd always trusted him blindly. On the other hand, this wasn't my secret to tell, and I knew how much Papa wanted to protect this secret. He was ashamed and he didn't want Tayan or his family to know.

"You can't tell me?" He guessed.

I turned to face him, taking his hand between both of mine. "I want to tell you. I'm sort of caught between being a wife and being a daughter."

"Be a daughter." He spoke immediately.

"I don't want you to think that I don't trust you."

"Sometimes it's not our secret to tell. That doesn't mean that there are trust issues between us. It just means that whoever entrusted you with their secret can trust you with their life. And I'm proud to call such a trustworthy person my wife."

I smiled, squeezing his hand, feeling grateful to have a husband like him.

*

"Yasin, I didn't realise it was that bad!" Mama sounded like she was in tears.

I quietly closed the front door, frowning.

"How much money did you invest?! You have used up all our rainy day savings!" 

"I...Saba, I thought it was a good idea then."

"Did you think to talk to me about it? Did you consult a financial advisor?" 

"It sounded like it would work then." 

"DID IT?" Mama sounded furious. "We have nothing left to give to Yamna! You have used all our savings! We are basically surviving on the salary that we receive at the end of each month now!"

I stepped into the living room. "What's going on?" 

Mama sat down on the sofa in tears. "People leave so much behind for their kids. What are we going to leave behind for Yamna? Debt?!"

"Mama, it's fine. It's just stupid money." I tried to reassure her.

"Yamna, stay out of this. In fact, go and pack an overnight bag. We're not staying here tonight." Mama ordered.

"Saba..."

"I'm furious, Yasin. I cannot be here. If you had messed with something that was mine, I would have overlooked it. But you messed with something that was rightfully Yamna's. I cannot forgive that."

"Mama, I don't want the money!"

"I wanted to leave financial security for you, Yamna! And he...he blew it all. He has an inheritance to fall back on, but he left nothing for you."

"What are you talking about, Saba?" Papa asked in disbelief. "My inheritance, my everything belongs to Yamna."

"It's not even about the money, Yasin. You must such a major life-impacting decision, and you didn't even think to consult anyone about it?" 

How did things become so serious?

"Yamna, go and get ready!" Mama snapped at me.

"Yamna's future is secure with Rohaan." Papa said, quietly.

"I wanted to give those savings to her at her wedding." Mama said. "So that she could use it on a rainy day if needed. Your wrong, naïve decisions have wronged your own daughter, Yasin."

And even though my heart broke for Papa, I got into the car with Mama and we drove off into the night.

I was shaken by it all. I'd always thought that my parents had a strong and stable marriage. But as I grew older, I could see that parents often put up façades for the sake of their children. I could see that they, like any married couple, had their deep issues. 

I just hope that they resolve the issues.

*

Yasin's naïve behaviour might not just give the family severe financial circumstances, but might put his marriage in danger too.

For those who'd say that he still has his inheritance, need to realise how hard he fought to become independent, and had managed to successfully start his life and family on his own basis, with Saba by his side. He struggles at the idea of going back to rely on his family wealth.

However, will this cause issues within the Tariq family?

Will Yasin and Saba be okay?

Favourite part?

Thoughts and comments?

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