"Don't rush into love. Remember that even in fairytales, the happy endings take place on the last page." -Unknown

Cool droplets of rain framed the condensed windows that peeked through to watch the two nomads twirl around the large expanse with grace. They smoothly curled their bodies around the sharp corners of the marble countertops and ducked under the polished cabinet doors. The smaller version of the older one walked with more finesse than any other three year old could possibly muster in their little hands and feet. She followed every move of her mother's as she chuckled with a small hand covering her plump cherry rose lips that bubbled over with laughter.

The smell of the garlic and light butter melting upon the crispy soft flatbread wafted through the little girl's nostrils as she closed her eyes and sighed contentedly.

"Yummmyyy!" she exclaimed with her small arms flailing in the air like a free born butterfly on an a mystic adventure.

"Is my Raaina bug hungry?" Nouran smiled down to her little baby girl that waved her arms up to her mother to be held and given a generous glance at what she was stirring on the stove.

"Raaina hungweee," she frowned down at her belly as it grumbled with distress. She patted the soft watermelon color linen of her Zara pompom jumpsuit, the loose strands of her hair framing her heart-shaped face, a single strand of honey chocolate getting stuck on her plump cherry lips.

"Oh my darling, Mama is almost done, okay? And then she will feed you right away," she smiled, a frown forming between her eyes as she covered the simmering pot of butter chicken.

Her thoughts roamed to the clock striking quarter past nine as she thought about where Izhar was. He'd promised his girls he'd be back as early as possible so that they could all eat dinner together, especially with Raaina who would wait and wait for him to come home this past week but would fail as she fell asleep in Nouran's arms.

"Nooo, I wanna wait fo Daddy!" Raaina pouted at Nouran. Her chubby fingers played with the thin rose gold chain that held a small ruby teardrop at the nape of Nouran's neck as she picked her up and rested Raaina on her hip.

A gift from Izhar that she was forbidden to take off after he'd given it to her over a year ago on her birthday.

A small token of their love.

An ember that burned so dark, it had scarred a lustful mark.

She was his, and his only.

"Meri jaan, but you have to eat. Your stomach is grumbling like a roaring dragon's," she whispered as she snuggled her slender nose into Raaina's cheek, earning a shrill of delighted laughter.

Nouran couldn't help the brilliant smile that enveloped her whole entire face as she watched Raaina adoringly. Her entire life had revolved around the two people she loved more than the whole universe that had taught her how temporary this world truly was.

Nothing could and ever would compare to the precious angel she held in her arms that was gifted to her, leaving a sparkling trail of glitter that swarmed with irreplaceable memories.

Her own daughter.

"Raaina will wait fo Daddy," she mumbled, her thoughts consumed by the beams of light the small ruby threw against the ceiling.

"If you say so," Nouran sighed, looking at the clock one last time.

He always kept his promises.

Always.

******

After everything was cooked, plated to perfection, and the kitchen shined in its polish with cleanliness, the two skipped up the stairs and to the walk-in closet of the master bedroom. Each droplet of rain marked its path against the transparent walls of glass that shielded them from the bolting thunder as it guided nomads home.

There was a roar of lightning,

A whisper of the cool breeze mingling with the soundless storm,

Hinting at the soprano that rang within the eavesdropping walls of the penthouse.

"Mama, what about thees ones?" Raaina pulled out a pair of shiny nude stilettos from one of the vintage paisley boxes in the lowest shelf on the shoe rack. Her current mission was to doll her Mama up for the dinner date of three as they waited for Daddy to come home soon.

Nouran turned around from flipping through the compartment of dresses, raising her eyes at her daughter sitting on the floor, more amazed by the sparkly tissue paper in the box that smelt of dry peonies then the heels themselves.

"Don't you think they're a bit too much Raaina jaan?" she smiled to herself, picking at the lavendar dress with the fluted bell sleeves.

"Hmm," Raaina frowned at the triangular point at the feet of the shoes. "Raaina thinks so too," changing her mind, disappointed at herself for not picking something less extravagant.

"Doll, what do you think about this dress?" Nouran asked after awhile, biting the side of her lips as she touched the soft georgette material, blushing at the way Izhar's fingers would caress it against her skin.

"Issa pwetty colo!" Raaina nodded with widened stormy eyes as she dropped the shoes in the box and covered them with the tissue paper. "But-" she drifted off to a quiet mumble, not wanting to hurt her Mama's feelings.

"But what?" Nouran looked down, raising her perfectly arched eyebrow at Raaina.

"Don ya thwink issa bit much?" Raaina whispered without raising a hairbreadth, not meeting Nouran's eyes as she plopped down on the ivory loveseat in the middle of the walk-in closet. Her feet dangled off the floor, her hands covering her cheeks while her elbows rested on her knees.

Nouran let out a single chuckle and shook her head. "Which dress do you suggest Mama should wear tonight instead?" she leaned back from the compartment that held all her casual dresses that were color-coded, eyeing her daughter as she excitedly jumped out of the seat and looked up at her Mama's dresses in awe.

Raaina always loved playing dress-up with Nouran's clothes and accessories. She'd pretend to don the splendid jewels around her small wrists and neck as she'd twirl around in the rich fabrics and feel like the princess she truly was.

Raaina took her time as she touched and fiddled with each dress, thinking about the look in her Daddy's eyes when he'd see her beautiful Mama; a true antidote for sore eyes.

"Mama, you look pwetty in ewerthing you wear, but Raaina luvies this one!" she gasped dramatically as her lips turned into a small O, her eyes glinting with excitement as she stared at the most beautiful spring dress she'd ever seen. "Wow!"

It was a midi dress that came down to just a few inches below the knees, the sleeves in four quarters that slipped down the shoulders, earning a blush from Nouran. The boat neck of the dress with cold open shoulders made her own sharp ones prominent, and defined her collarbone. The white of her dress created a perfect canvas for the small rogue pink flowers that were embellished with painted hunter green leaves.

"Daddy is going to be so wow-ed!" Raaina squealed, her high milk chocolate bun bobbing as she jumped up and down with excitement.

"Really really?" Nour whispered under her breath, more to herself as her eyes roamed over the fitted bodice of the dress that ended with a daring flare.

"Really really!" Raaina fully grinned, pulling Nouran out of her trance.

Nouran took the dress off the velvet hanger and held Raaina's hand as they walked back into the master bedroom to get ready.

Raaina's bubbly chatter erupted around the dim room, as the lights from the vanity woke up the walls from the night's slumber while Nouran bathed her body with the most extravagant of oils and swathed her skin with the most subtle of fragrances.

Raaina laid on her stomach, her feet bouncing in the air as she flipped through the pages of her most favorite poetry book, reciting a prose by E.E. Cummings.

Nouran had washed her skin raw until it was a fresh blossoming pink.

"I hold it true, whate'er befall;" Raaina enunciated slowly in her mellifluous voice.

She moved her wet tendrils to the side of her bare neck as she rolled the dry rose and lilac scent against her wrists and the column of her neck.

"I feel it, when I sorrow most;"

She let the sleeves of her spring dress slide down her shoulders like they were made to, covering her eyes with a shy blush as she never imagined something like before.

"'Tis better to have loved and lost,"

She coated her enthralling lips with a fresh coat of passion fruit lip gloss, the wax painting a blindingly frozen smile.

"Than never to have loved at all."

And he was finally home.

"Nour darling! Raaina bug! Where are my girls?" Izhar's voice boomed through the walls of the penthouse as lightning thundered above them.

"DADDY!!!" Raaina yelled as she ran out of the room, not looking twice at the book she left wide open on the bed, the satin sheets crumbled beneath,

Speaking of a true lovers quarrel.

"Be careful Raaina!" Nouran yelled after her, getting up from the seat at the vanity. She shook her head, making her way to the bed. She closed the book and placed it on the bedside table as she smoothened the sheets, glancing at herself one last time in the mirror before walking out herself.

"Bismillah," she whispered just a hint under her breath with the biggest of smiles and tiniest of mischievous glint in her wide luminescent eyes.

******

She found Raaina wrapped around Izhar like a monkey, her stealthy legs were around his built and chiseled torso, tied at their ends on the small of his back, and her arms glued to his neck and she giggled out loud. Izhar and her were taking turns giving each other kisses, laughing in between when he hit a ticklish spot. She was just as ticklish as her mother, and every fight ended with him winning against the two girls when the tickle monster came out.

"No, Daddy missed you more," Izhar grinned as he left a huge slobbering kiss on Raaina's left cheek.

Raaina shrieked with a chuckle as she shook her head, and kissed Izhar's right eye with a plop. "No, Raaina missed you moe!"

"Daddy missed you one hundred times more," and he kissed her forehead.

"Raaina missed you one thos-an times moe!" Raaina grinned as victory was closer, and she kissed her Daddy's nose.

"I missed you one million times more!" Izhar snuggled into her hair.

"I missed you one trillion times infinity times moe!" Raaina screamed with her arms reaching high.

"Daddy missed you one million mega infinity times more! Daddy wins," he beamed as he tickled her stomach and threw her across his shoulder.

"Daddy, you cheated!" Raaina hiccuped with peals of laughter echoing the entire house. "There'z no such thing as that!"

Nouran couldn't help but watch the two from where she leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed on her chest. Her eyes trailed over Izhar's face.

His five o'clock shadow had darkened, his crystal blue eyes brilliant under the bright ceiling lights as the midnight sea washed upon the chestnut shore. His shirt tightened around his carved pectorals and abdominals as he turned around with Raaina squirming in his arms, the smile reaching beyond his eyes.

Damn. They'd been married for nearly six years, and he was still as devilishly sexy and handsome as he had been when he'd bumped into her on the street and sent her Ferrero Rocher Frappuccino flying.

"Woah," Izhar whispered as he stilled with Raaina in his arms, his eyes shining with pride and struck with awe as he looked at the beauty in front of him.

Nouran met his eyes, transferring her weight from one foot to another as she tucked a lose strand of her now drying and freshly washed hair behind her pink earlobe. Her cheeks burned as she could nearly feel his presence just a few short feet away, his musky mint smell traveling to her nose and rocking in the pit of her stomach. Her palms turned clammy, her neck suddenly burning, and it was terribly hot in the room.

A fire had ignited in Izhar's eyes

It burned so deeply, that its magnitude could be felt light years away

A small combustion in the sky

Letting the rest of the universe know

Izhar had finally laid his eyes on his Nour.

"AsSalaamualaikum," Nouran greeted, a threatening smile slipping through her traitorous lips as she looked away.

Something tugged at Izhar's arm, and he gasped as he looked down. It was his daughter trying to catch his attention. "Get it togethew Daddy, Mama's waiting!" she half-whispered behind her hand as she looked at Nouran approvingly.

"Uh, Walaikum as-S-Salaam," he stuttered, gently placing Raaina on the floor and running a hand through his already tousled hair, his thin black tie hanging loosely around his flushed neck.

Raaina smiled at her Mama as she elbowed her Daddy's knee.

"Oh uh, um beautiful! You- you look... breathtaking ma sha Allah," he said as he gestured to Nouran with one hand, his nose turning a brilliant shade of amber pink.

Nouran giggled as she straightened. "Why, thank you. Raaina jaan suggested I wear this dress tonight," she smiled at him and winked down at Raaina as she made her way into the kitchen to serve dinner. "Dinner's ready, why don't you go freshen up while I get everything set?" she said as she walked through the French doors to the kitchen, Raaina and Izhar watching her every move with wide open mouths.

"Yeah, I'll be back in just a bit," Izhar said a bit too quickly, earning a dumbfounded glare from his three year old as she smacked her head.

"Daddy's majnun for Mama," she said to herself as she walked after Nouran; something she'd picked up from her Nani jaan saying about her Daddy.

Izhar's eyes widened as his mouth dropped to the floor, his head spinning to the side to look at his daughter. "Hey! Where did you learn that from?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in the middle.

"Nani jaan says it all the twime. She says you and Adeel Mamu are both majnooooon," she looked back at him before flipping the loose tendrils of her hair and running the rest of the path to her Mama.

Izhar let out a single chuckle as he whispered down at her, watching her gloat at the way he'd stared at her Mama. "You and your Nani jaan are absolutely right," he said under his breath before taking one last look at his two most precious gifts and walking to the bathroom.

Alhamdullilah for everything.

Always and forever.

******

"Raaina jaan, open your mouth," Nouran said as she held up the spoon of rice to Raaina's mouth.

Izhar was famished after a long day at work, not being able to eat lunch with the continuous meetings that had taken up the whole evening. He knew that no matter what Nouran would make, he'd devour it with an empty stomach.

She'd prepared palak paneer with juicy chunks of cottage cheese, spicy chickpeas, pilau, butter chicken, garlic naan, and raita on the side. She'd even made his favorite Gulab Jamon for a luxury dessert to get him on the brink of listening to her tonight.

He'd known something was up when he'd seen the crystal Mikasa bowl that held the round balls of fried dough, seeping in the sugary syrup that made his mouth water. Yet, he couldn't figure out what it possibly was after failing to catch her eyes over dinner.

"Daddy, today I went to Anam Khala and Adam Chachu's house," Raaina said between aimlessly biting on her bread.

"I know, Mama darling told me she was going to drop you off before going to work. Did you have fun?" Izhar asked with a smile, as he watched the way Nour's head was tilted slightly to the side, playing with the rice on her plate.

"Mhm!" Raaina nodded her head enthusiastically. "I even felt the baby move today!" she whispered like it was a secret with widened eyes. They held the purest innocence in the whole galaxy that could light up all the stars across the sky.

"Subhan'Allah, really? Did you get scared?" he asked, his eyes not slipping from the way Nour brushed a dry strand of hair behind her ear.

His eyes traveled to the slender curve of her bare neck, lingering on the sharp collarbone as his hand clenched his spoon, his knuckles turning white.

"Of couse not! It was so cool, the baby would kick every time Adam Chachu would laugh," she said in awe.

"Open," Nour said with a small smile.

"Aaahh!" Raaina grinned at her Mama as she tucked the folds of spinach into her mouth.

After a few short seconds passed, lingering on the misty windows like a wasp stuck in a spider's web, Raaina asked her Mama something she'd been curious about all this time. "Mama dawling, can we pwease have a baby too?" Raaina said as she played with the tassels on the neckline of her dress.

Nouran froze, her mouth slightly agape as her eyes stilled on Izhar's. He watched her carefully, waiting for her response even though he knew what her mind wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.

Years had passed, and she had asked him for another baby, but he hadn't give in. Not after everything that had happened the last time.

They'd fought, they'd cried their own silent tears, they'd begged the other to see reason, but neither of them had budged. They were both stubborn, both selfish to keep each other.

But what she didn't know was that he'd spent the past year and half trying to make sense of every single humane force that could possibly come at them once again in the hopes of ruining all they'd gained after all they'd lost.

What she didn't know was that he'd revisited her one wish she'd laid upon him all this time.

She didn't know that for her, he actually considered it when he'd told her no, when he'd told her they would be okay with just the three of them because he was selfish and couldn't go through what he'd gone through the last time.

He wouldn't lose her, not this time; no.

Her eyes watered at the rims as she tilted her head slightly to the side, trying to find what his mesmerizing escapade of eyes were trying to tell her. But she simply couldn't ask him again for what he'd denied her solely because he couldn't come to putting her in that position again.

Nouran swallowed a dry heave of breath before licking her lips and looking down at her plate. "If Allah wills, we will see then," she softly whispered as she cupped Raaina's cheek and gave her the most gentlest of smiles.

"Okay," Raaina watched her Mama and smiled back, cupping her cheek the way Nouran had caressed hers.

Guilt had washed over Izhar, painting a melancholy river between them as he cleared his throat and took a sip of his water.

Was it really his fault for being so selfish, wanting to keep the love of his life away from the danger that could be overlooked?

But he was willing to risk it all, looking for answers, for outcomes, for anything just to get that smile back on his wife's lips that would tell the secret of one night in a thousand ways.

******

The late spring air had transpired alongside the walls of their bedroom from earlier in the day when the curtains were drawn to the side and the windows and balcony doors were wide open. The humid chill from the outdoors had stuck to the walls, nestling a home deep within the pale parameters as their own garden of long roses with thick vines grew into the crevices and corners. Even the flowers wanted to take shelter within the penthouse. It was simply a loving and warming home filled with joy that had been dug out from years back.

Izhar paced from the wide wall of glass windows and to the foot of the large bed, the sheets tightly covered and tucked underneath the corners. Not a single wrinkle nor a spec was visible to a naked human eye. The lights were dimmed, and he'd only kept his bedside table lamp on and the built in ceiling ones that gazed over the raised part of the adjoined living space in their room.

His hands were tucked in the pockets of his dark charcoal slim fitted trousers, the sleeves of his phthalo blue button up shirt rolled up to his chiseled forearms, his tie discarded. His fists were clenched inside of his pockets, the veins running down his arms, taut with bounding pulses. The soles of his socked feet padded on the lush crème carpet, the minuscule beams of light casting shadows in his thick hair that he'd raved his hand through multiple of times in a single minute.

He blew a shivering sigh from between his lips as he stopped in front of his bedside table, running his hands down his face and pinching the bridge of his nose. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as Nouran's words roamed into every corner of his thoughts and consumed his entire being. She'd asked for something that he knew he didn't have the heart to deny her. She'd asked him more than once before, and after repressing the situation multiple of times and turning the conversation back to her, he finally knew that he no longer had a reason to refuse her except for the obvious.

She'd wanted to try again; she'd wanted another baby, another piece of him and her. At first, she was beyond terrified to ask him, not knowing how he'd refuse her. He could tell that anxiety pinched her spine and that nervousness had created havoc as it spoke into her ears and into her mind before she'd came to him with fidgeting hands and a quiet yet shaky voice. He hadn't understood the reason of her fright until she imposed her wish upon him; and yet, he didn't know how to return it.

He'd been taken aback, shaking his head and looking at her with shock as he put the pieces together for what she had truly asked for, but after seeing her pale stricken face that had lost the sliver of hope that she had come to him with, his heart stopped in his chest and rose with want to hold her,

to love her,

and simply give her everything she asked for.

But he couldn't.

Not after everything they'd been through,

Not after everything that had happened last time.

"Ugh," he grunted in agitation as he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes shut.

She had eventually made him understand. But with precedence came reparations, and before he'd agree, he'd done every single thing to understand that maybe, just maybe if they were to try once more, things wouldn't turn around and swallow them into oblivion.

He had spoken to all the doctors and specialists known to man before agreeing to her wish, but Nouran had to compromise to go forth with every single precaution as well. He couldn't go into something blindsided just to be left with empty hands. But this time, he'd begged and asked his Lord with all of his heart to be on their side once more like He had been the last time.

It was too much to ask after how justly they'd been treated the time before, but the light in his Nour's eyes were too vibrant and lively for him to blow out like simple candles against the wind. There was a fire that had burned within him every time he refused her, and it was only this one thing that he'd been hesitant about.

She was his life.

She was his hayaat, and he simply couldn't go through what he had last time no matter how selfish it made him sound.

They'd fought in the silence of the night when Raaina would be sound asleep in her princess castle, but every minute he didn't give in, he felt more guilty than the last. It pained him to deny her something that he himself would want one too many times over, and because of that, it hurt him even more.

He'd gotten the final phone call from Dr. Qadeer, the cardiothoracic surgeon who had done Raaina's surgery to get her input on the situation and what the odds would be this time around. She had assured him after reviewing all her reports and comments from the other healthcare professionals.

But there was a fear, an undistinguishable wound that throbbed to agree to his Nour's wish. He hadn't said much during the rest of dinner, and he couldn't meet her eyes even though she'd cornered him in the kitchen and kissed his cheek with the frailest of touches after what Raaina had abruptly asked.

He exhaled a deep breath and raved a hand through his thick hair before bending over and opening the topmost drawer of his bedside table. He rested one hand on the flat surface of the marble top, the other moving the many trinkets inside of the drawer to the side until the cool pads of his fingers met a jewelry box he'd bought Nour from Paris. He opened it up to a smooth and thick lilac envelope and gingerly took it in his hands before straightening and closing the drawer.

Izhar smiled at himself, a faint blush running up the slender line of his nose as he traced the edges and opened up the folds to reveal a matching ivory piece of stationary inside.

Oh, how many times he'd lived through these moments in the presence of himself, the Lord, and the hushed night. And every single time felt like the very first as his lips would read the words she'd left for him.

He sat on the edge of the bed and slipped out the perfect rectangle. His breath hitched as he slowly opened up the perfectly creased piece of thick paper while he eyed and rubbed his fingers over her initials in rose gold.

Her absolute, personal favorite.

He remembered the time he'd first presented her with her first batch of stationary. She'd innocently thrown her head back, full of thick and silky locks and laughed at him. She couldn't get over the fact that he'd persisted her initials have a K at the end to signify Khan even though she'd never changed her last name after marriage.

Izhar let out a single chuckle as his fingers deftly perused over his darling's perfect calligraphy. Every single word echoed the tunes of her heart, every single syllable voiced the endless and unexplainable emotions that defined the person she was, and every single curve of a letter cried the tears of her heart.

He let out a shudder of a sigh as the curves of his lips slackened around his mouth and his eyes swam at bay.

When she'd written this letter, she'd let her emotions loose, her thoughts wild, and her entire being dangling at the edge because she'd believed that that would be the last time she'd be able to speak to him through her words.

Her words crashed at the tides of Izhar's eyes, as he read every single one as if it were his first time; yet, he very much had memorized every single thing she'd written just for him.

Dear Izhar,

This is quite unusual, isn't it? I never imagined writing a full letter to you, let alone one that has my smile all over it and tears framing the outskirts. It's funny how hard life plays at the constant game of time, and how we give up so easily when in reality this is what we really have left before we travel to where our fates always have been destined.

I want you to read this letter with a light heart that's not heavy with your cloudy eyes because you know with all your being that the single drops of tear that fall on this paper, travel directly into my soul. And oh Izhar, my precious love, my greatest strength, my every fiber of life, your darling won't be able to tell you the things she wants to if you let the tears shed from the beginning.

I know your breaths are thrumming like a beating harp in the middle of your chest, your heart is exploding in the pit of your stomach as if it's been quite literally dropped from the the highest level of the skies. But my dearest love, this is what life had to give us, isn't it so? So then why shall we fight and hold grudges against what was never ours?

If my calculations are right, then I've left you with a precious baby girl. Don't ask me how I know. I simply felt like Allah SWT was trying to tell me all this time that indeed our love bug was going to be a girl; your princess who has had you wrapped around her tiny little fingers ever since she made her presence known to us. I bet she has your eyes and smile with my lips and nose. She is already the most beautiful, most astonishing, most breathtaking creation in this world.

I felt like it was too much for me to ask our Lord to give me more time, when He's given me nothing but a beautiful 35 weeks. That's more than I could ask for, but you- you Izhar deserve so much more, my heart. You still need to love her for the both of us, for the rest of her life. To feed her, to change her diapers, to listen to her cries in the night and rock her to your beautiful lullabies. To teach her every single thing that I could only have dreamt of and watch her grow and become the beautiful, strong, intellectual woman that she's meant to be.

I can never explain just how much you mean to me, and I despise how good you are with words and showing your emotions to me on a scale that I can't even conjure. You were always, and always will be my brightest star that taught me how to love, how to live, how to live for love, and how to love life for what it's truly worth before it slips through our lissome fingers.

Love knows no boundaries, but you have showed me that in this limited life, infinite love can only be shared, appreciated, and conveyed just so much. And that's why, as I leave you with empty hands, I apologize that I am taking this heart in a life that can't be understood by a naked eye who's only seen and lived in this world. Forgive me, but I'll be waiting selfishly to show you just how much my love for you exceeds the boundaries of this world.

And maybe, just maybe when this lifetime after defines what out true relationship is, you'll understand just exactly the love that fills my heart, encapsulates my mind, and consumes my whole body that only speaks the tunes your fingers have taught it to play.

Do you remember the first time we bumped into each other all those years ago? I was awestruck by your dazzling eyes. There were no mundane metaphors to enunciate the beauty and the tale that they spoke in nothing but a hummingbird's secret. In that instant, I detested you and loved you all in the same breath because I was so jealous of the morality they held, the knowledge of the worlds they'd seen, and the way they simply felt like they had a carefree path carving into the oceans of the world.

I never thought a man like you would grace my world and turn it upside down and inside out just to show me what love simply felt like. I utterly despised you Mr. Mohammed Izhar Khan. I coveted you, and I fell in such deep love, that I didn't know what life was before I knew that feeling to wait for you in the night, to watch you fall asleep beside me, to feel your very presence next to me, to hear the whisper of your breaths next to my ear, to watch the way your body would curve into mine, making me feel like the world's most prideful possession.

I'd fallen in love with you, and the whole world's eyes were on us. You made me into the person I am today, and I thank you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing me just how temporary this life was, and how this simple stop into our reality was nothing but a mere test. I'm sorry that you feel like you're all alone, I'm sorry that you feel like I betrayed you, I'm sorry that you think I took the easy way out and stranded you in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

But I promise you Izhar, this is temporary. I am, and always will be there with you every step of the way before you can even see me there with you. I promise that there is nothing in this world that can tear us apart because Allah SWT wrote our names next to each other's. And He is the Most Merciful and Most Gracious. Subhan'Allah, believe in Him and the love He's given us, and the rest of the world's worries will pass.

My love, always remember to be strong. You are the most kindest, most sweetest, most gracious man, most gentlest of souls that could steal someone's utter being with those brilliant eyes that tell one story one hundred thousand different ways. You my darling were born to fly, so what's holding you back?

Pyaar toh hogaya apse, Izhar (I've already fallen in love with you). Aab toh jaane dey (Now please let me go). Intezaar ki ilham humse shuru aur aap pe khatam (The divine wait placed by a greatness starts from me, and ends at you).

Remember what you once told me: The purest of hearts have endured the most pain. The kindest of souls have been wounded the greatest. The biggest of smiles have quivered the hardest. The quietest of eyes have cried the heaviest of tears.

It was always you Izhar, always and forever.

Your Darling,

Nouran Bayaan Hameed Khan

His eyes burned as he held the letter close to his chest, feeling as if its touch could calm the turmoil that brewed deep within him. How, how could he deny her when she'd left her whole world at his feet?

She was his everything, she was his Nour, his darling. And Izhar was nothing without his Nour.

As his tears marred against his hollow cheeks, painting a whimsical drawing on his face, the softest of touches padded alongside the floor outside of their bedroom door. Raaina was finally asleep, and he could smell Nour's fresh lilac and dry rose skin just feet away.

He quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, the coolness of his wedding band silencing the tears that begged to tell Nour what had haunted him. He rose to his feet and quickly tucked the letter back into it's home before putting it back in its sanctuary and closing its home's door after like a true guest.

"Izhar? Did you see-" her voice halted as she found him staring at her with wide eyes, a sheen of clear perspiration covering his enticing irises. She gently closed the door behind her, voice left hanging. "What's wrong?" she whispered as she walked up to him.

His body was pinched at the apex and base, the lines of worry marring his forehead as his eyes swept over every inch of her body.

"Nothing. I-I love you," he whispered as clear as the day, as wholesome as the night.

She smiled at him, a rush of pink coating her cheeks as she came closer. "I would hope so Mr. Khan," she teased even though in the back of her mind she knew that something, possibly what Raaina had brought up over dinner had broken him to extents not known to man.

She'd thought that this night, as the rain plastered on their transparent windows, covered with live muslin curtains she'd ask him one last time, and no matter what his response would be, she'd silence him with her lips and traveling fingers, accepting his choice.

But what she didn't know was the real hell he'd been and back from while trying to find himself answers that would bring her peace.

"I love you too, never doubt that for a second," her fingers slowly grazed the bristle on his sculpted jawline as she took a step closer, his heavy breaths fanning her exposed neck.

One, two, three drops of rain stilled their forms as the thunder bolstered through the comfort of their arms.

His shaky hands slowly came up to sit at the tip of her spine, sending one million neuronic spasms up and down her body. Her shy fingers followed the ridges in his bitingly cool lips as he leaned his head to the side and breathed in her scent.

"Have you ever laid underneath the artistic stars while the entire world around you remained silent? Have you ever slept under the canopy of leaves and branches while the wind hushed in your ears?" his husky voice froze the veins in the column of her neck as his lips kissed them cold.

Her head tilted back as a shivering breath escaped her lips, her eyes falling shut. "Have you ever allowed yourself to be absorbed in the realm of peace where you could succumb to the slumber hidden within you? Have you ever truly lived life in time while darkness washed over you?" he asked as his lips trailed a fiery path down her exposed and shuddering shoulder, to where her sleeves slipped down.

Her hand clenched the collar of his shirt as he moved a hand back to hold her head to his. They stood under the dimmed lights that surrounded their presence, the pitter patter of the rain music to the way their breaths mingled heavily with each others. He'd pulled her close enough to have her bare feet on top of his, her hands clenched on his shirt, her eyes drunk as they stayed lowered.

One of his hands fanned at the back of her head, holding her steady while her knees remained weak and unable to keep herself standing up. All the while, his other warm hand at the small of her back, the metal of his wedding band digging life into her skin while his eyes remained on her.

"I have," his deep voice not a note above a hairbreadth of a whisper.

Her eyes looked up at him, her mind a hazy breeze that had forgotten all purpose.

"With you, I fell in love and there is nothing in this world I wouldn't give up for the smile that pierces my heart and joins it back together as if it weren't flawed. I have spent the past year and half trying to understand why you wanted what you asked for. If there was anything- anything else that you'd wanted, then I would've given it to you within a heartbeat. But you asked me for something I couldn't comprehend," his words stroked into her skin as his lips caressed her eyelids the smell of her lipgloss making him go all sorts of crazy.

"Darling, you will be the death of me," he shook his head as he held her chin, drawing her eyes to his.

There was a fear that had taken up her almond shaped large brown eyes that were filled with intelligence.

"I will protect you for as long as I can, and if this is the one thing I can give you wholeheartedly, then so be it because I know Allah SWT will always watch over us," his voice finalized into the momentous night before another round of showers curled around their feet and uprooted them in their positions.

"Izhar," she said his name like an unknown enigma. Tears coated her pretty eyes as he smiled down at her, his lips brushing against hers they quivered in an unbelievable protest.

"I love you," and with that she silenced his smiling lips as they curled around hers and the monsoon sheltered their touches, breaths, and love that could never be explained.

And there you all have it! :')

Leave your thoughts, comments, and love behind for Izhar and his Nour, as they've missed you all immensely.

Just a little background: this technically happens before the epilogue if speaking chronologically. I hope you all enjoyed it just as much I enjoyed writing it. And once again, this is the only piece of bonus material for 'She Is My Hayaat'. Please respect that and the characters. It's time we let them be.

'She Is My Hayaat' is now officially completed; I will go back and edit when I can, and it'll be announced on my wall when an updated chapter has been posted.

Completion: July 17th, 2017 @ 8:39 pm

AsSalaamualaikum, and thank you very much for all the love and support! Until next time, now back to 'The Secrets We Keep Hidden'. (: