The door to her hotel room opened and she grinned as she turned around to see Abdur Rehman lock the door, placing the papers on the stand beside it. Their gazes met and smiles automatically stretched through their lips.

With a quick pace, he walked up to her, kneeling, he pulled a box out of his pocket. "In our culture, when the groom sees the bride for the first time, he gives her a present," he explained with a sheepish smile. His hands reached up to take off her veil to fully view her face.

"This is not the first time you are seeing me," Rafa laughed as he opened the box and at once she gasped for inside it, sat a rose gold embarked sapphire ring. "It's...it's beautiful."

"As I said, it's a silly tradition...shall I?" He asked, gesturing towards her hand and she happily obliged, he held her hand in his palm, sliding the ring into her finger, "It's my Mum's selection."

"Masha Allah," she gently took her hand from his grasp and examined the gemstone glint over her fair fingers.

"That's not all, I have something for you too," he grinned, making her tear her gaze from the ring to him.

"What is it?" She asked, excitedly.

Abdur Rehman pulled another one of the boxes from his pocket, making her wonder how many boxes he held in his pocket. "This is the last," he nervously chuckled, slightly fearing whether she would like it or not.

Rafa looked over the anklet neatly cushioned in a small silk pillow and looked up at Abdur Rehman, eyes shining with adoration towards it. "Shall I ?" He asked.

"You don't even have to ask," she laughed, lifting the top of her dress that fell to the ground showing her feet.

Abdur Rehman tugged the two heart that encircled each other in a silver row and knitted the ends around Rafa's ankle, the softness of her feet laid a velvety feeling to his fingers as they brushed against her skin,"You have already wrapped me around your feet," he chuckled, meeting her ocean blue eyes, "How is it, Dr.Miller?"

"Don't you think we have come too far to be on the first name basis?" She asked with a laugh and he nodded sheepishly,"Precious. It is precious", she pointed to the ornament adorning her feet.

The reply made a full-blown smile stretch through his lips as he left her feet to grab her palm. He kissed her knuckles, his gaze never leaving hers as if he feared that if he blinked, the fairy who sat in front of him that he had claimed that day to be his would vanish leaving him gaping.

The moment turned mystically charmed.

Rafa could never have known that eyes held so much power in them, she broke up looking away from his chocolatey brown irises, the same pairs of which tried to hypnotize her into a jelly and her face burned like fire when Abdur Rehman continued to look at her. "Can we do something other than starting?" She murmured to herself but it was audible enough for him to hear.

"Or can-can we do just that?" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "If I can, I would just spend the rest of my life by just looking at your face," saying it out loud made his voice husky than it already was.

Rafa briefly gazed at him with surprise and quickly whirled her vision to sit on the sapphire ring that beautified her fingers, "Oh! Come on, it's cheesy," she tried to suffice her heart from jumping up and down like a maniac for Abdur Rehman was subtly making it go mad, for the first time she agreed, the fluttering is real.

"Well! Everyone likes cheese," Abdur Rehman laughed, finally looking away.

"I do love extra-cheese," she grinned tucking at her hijab,"Only on my pizza of course."

Her quirky replies made him burst into a chuckle, "What do we do now?" Abdur Rehman wondered out loud.

"Pray?"

"Uh-what?"

Rafa thought for a second and replied, "My friend told me that praying two-rakah salah in the wedding night is sunnah."

"I don't remember the dress being so heavy when I tried it on for measurements," Rafa shyly said after the prayer, tugging at the ample length that trailed the carpeted floor.

"Uh, feel free to take it off?" Abdur Rehman nervously laughed, shrugging like he wasn't sure either.

"Take it off?" She whispered, half horrified, half grinning.

"I mean-I mean to change into pajamas or whatever," he stammered in a panic, keeping the prayer rugs on one of their opened suitcases. "Just-just do what you're comfortable with?" His reddening face gave away the conflict going inside him.

Rafa let out a chuckle, diffusing the tension between them.

"Aye aye captain!"

Gathering together the layers of her dress she retreated towards the bathroom.

Abdur-Rehman let out a heavy sigh behind her, falling deeper into the soft bed.

How in the world did people deal with these situations, he wondered. They were now bound in holy matrimony, but they had been strangers only a few hours ago.

His hands reached for his collar, unbuttoning it to breath easily.

Is there really no guide for these things? He mentally groaned. Mahad had taken him aside and had a short talk with him, but...how good would a last minute prep talk be?

He wasn't done brooding yet when he heard Rafa call out to him.

"Yes?" He asked, cautiously growing closer to the bathroom door that was left ajar.

"I need a tiny favor," she requested, peeking her head out of the door. "I managed to unzip, but I need you to hold down my under blouse so it doesn't tear with the tug?"

"Sorry?"

"I had the sleeves and neck piece sewn later, so they will rip if I don't pull off the dress in one go," she explained, an edge in her voice like she was growing impatient.

"O-okay." He took a step forward to open the door and step into the large bathroom.

As soon as he entered his eyes took in the carefully decorated features that matched the rest of the wedding suite. Warm candles were carefully placed on the white marble top counters, rose petals floated on a pool of cloudy water in the large tub. An air diffuser was plugged into one of the sockets near the sink, letting out mists of scented rose oil that fragnanced the comfort room.

"That's definitely a fire hazard," he whispered, looking at how close the candles were to the plush red toilet cover.

Rafa let out a snicker at his comment.

"Hold it tight, okay?" She instructed as if they were about to go in for surgery.

Standing with her back towards him, parallel to the sink and adjacent to the full tub, she took his hands and placed them on the small of her back, guiding him to tighten his grip over the silky material that had been placed there to make her dress modest. With his hands secured around the fabric, she grabbed the neck of the dress and pulled with all her strength.

With a powerful tug she pulled the hemmed neck over her head before her grip loosed the slightest. The fabric that Abdur-Rehman held onto stretched, but before it could tear, he instinctively cupped his hands tightly around her waist in an attempt to rescue it. But instead as soon as his hands touched her waist, tickling her sides, she let out a yelp.

It was when her elbow knocked against Abdur-Rehman's nose that she realized that perhaps she should have warned him of how ticklish she was. Abdur Rehman groaned out in pain on the impact, stumbling back. As he stumbled, his hands still held her, and before he could stabilize both of them, they went tumbling into the bathtub.

The cloudy scented water splashed with the added weight, pouring out from the sides and flooding part of the plush bathroom rugs.

Rafa's surprised gasp drowned out as she fell on Abdur-Rehman and into the water. As her husband's head knocked against the tiled wall because he was too tall for the constricted space, she struggled to get ahold of herself. Her head was stuck in the neck of the dress, her arms flapping to hold onto whatever she could.

In her attempt to grab the sides of the tub made to help the occupants out, her nail caught in Abdur Rehman's long beard, pulling it until he cried out in pain.

"Are you okay?" She exclaimed, finally popping her head out of the dress, back to how deeply she was placed within it. The back of her knees burned with the impact of the rim of the bathtub.

Abdur Rehman's dazed face tilted towards her, reminding her of the day he had rushed into the hospital with an equally drained look, and how her words had been the same to him.

"Of course you're not okay," she recited, grinning to herself as she was washed over by memories.

That night felt worlds apart from where they were at that moment. Back then they had been strangers, one profusely bleeding, the other tired to her core after a day at work.

Her hands snaked towards his wrist, wrapping around it like they had that day. The pad of her index finger traced the scar that was still healing, fair and unequal in his otherwise taunt and tan arm. A jolt of electricity went down her spine, ricocheting through her and bursting out her fingertips. When she processed where they were, she lifted her eyes to look at his.

Her makeup was running down her face, her dress clinging to her body like second skin while her hijab clinged to her face.

Abdur-Rehman who was planted under her lightweight yet still sprawling out of the small space gave her a lopsided grin trying to ease his heart from jumping out of his mouth at her sensitive touch.

Their situation was so intimate yet hilarious at the same time.

"Am I bleeding?" He asked instead, his hand instinctively going towards the back of his head that had hit the wall. Some rose petals stuck to his beard, a couple resting on his now drenched white shirt.

"Let me see," she whispered, moving away from his hand to lean towards his impacted site.

The water splashed around them as she lifted her increasingly heavy dress to settle herself on the rim of the tub. She took his head within her hands and surveyed the site.

"On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most, how much pain are you in?" As soon as she said the words, she pressed at the tender spot, making him flinch while her face rested dangerously close to his.

"You," he whispered and as her eyebrows scrunched in confusion, he quickly raked his brain to know what was the question in the first place, trying to control his tone, he said,"six?"

"I'm sorry," she announced oblivious of the agony she was causing him, seeing her pained face, he understood how she was worrying about his head that she forgot to give heed to the state of his heart beats that were all over the place.

They had been married only a few hours and she was already putting him in pain was all her worry.

"Not your fault," he gritted, taking his finger to wipe off the beads of water that lined her forehead and then slowly caressing her cheeks.

Does it matter, he thought.

"It does matter," Rafa blushed and Abdur Rehman laughed at how his behavior was changing, he was surprised at the speed of how his liking towards her increased with each passing second, and how incredibly he wanted to spend each flicker of his time, closer to her-her heart that felt as his home now.

Taking support from his strong shoulders, she hauled herself out of the tub and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. Abdur-Rehman followed after, unfolding his lanky legs to rise to his full length. They looked around them at the mess that they had unconsciously made. Rafa was the first to laugh.

"Who knew you were so wild, Sherlock." She laughed, shaking her head.

With the dress stitches being the last of her worries, Rafa tugged off the dress and finally changed into breathable, light lounge wear. She wiped off the stained makeup, moisturized and then returned to the bedroom where Abdur Rehman stood at the door of the balcony.

His clothes which had dried sometime during their mutual efforts to soak the flooded water, now hung off his body; creased and not a shred of the pristine look they had earlier. He held an ice pack to his head, soothing the ache of his fall earlier.

"You can take a shower if you're done with your rosewater mask," she teased, plucking off a petal from his shoulder.

He turned towards her with a grin, which faltered as his eyes rested on her hair which weren't covered for the first time and the sight made him visibly gulp. Jannat had dark brown hair and so did Badr, Manahil, and the rest of his family but Rafa's golden locks left him breathless. The way it fell over her forehead as she pushed them away, her milky white cheeks turning the hues of pink as he stared at her made him not to even blink. He remained frozen.

"You are making me self-conscious, Abdur Rehman," she laughed nervously, toying a hair strand that fell above her bosom.

He blinked finally, taking a step towards her, "I-uh," words failed to come out of his mouth. He palmed the ice pack, as if not knowing what it was anymore.

"You?"

"It's nothing," he rubbed the back of his head, shaking it and then he let his fingers push the strands away from her face. "I will be quick."

Rafa nodded and watched him hazily stroll to the bathroom after picking his clothes. She looked around the room, the silver theme that stood out to the eyes, the large square-shaped mirror, the flowers on the plush white mattress, the wide-open balcony that looked over the tides kissing the ocean's shore. The lapping sound of the waves acted as a melody to the harmonies of the night.

She opened the cabinets to search for food, the whole escapade in the bathroom made her body tired and hungry. She ignored the beverage sachets, tell-tale fringes of daze lingered on her brain and she didn't want to be drugged with caffeine for her brain was already hazy with the happenings and at the same time, it still contained excitement of the future.

There were chocolate chew-sticks, she happily tore the top cover, and sucked the stick only to be filled with the cocoa-flavored cream to fill in her tongue, fulfilling her craving taste buds.

Slowly enjoying her snack, she tread towards the balcony, as she stepped out, she was at once greeted with the flapping wind of the beach.

She stood there watching the twinkling stars reflected in the overlapping waves, the moon's beam reflecting a certain vertical part of the water in the middle. "Look, like I promised, I am clean out of the shower, " Abdur Rehman gleamed standing at the threshold and she turned to him, chuckling. She remembered how he had told the same when they parted their ways on the night her car went out of gas.

He strode towards her, standing beside her, he watched her suck the stick looking at the water ahead. "Want one?" Rafa pointed towards the extra stick she held in her hand.

"Yeah sure."

"Feel free to go and open the lower cabinet over there, I give you the permission to have one." Her eyes hid a teasing twink, her lips curved into a smirk as she hid the other stick to her side.

He moved closer with a laugh, his hand holding the railing beside her and his other hand moved up towards her lips, he wiped the smudge below her lower lip and he sucked his finger, making her bow down her while the darkness of the night blanketed her blush from his protruding gaze.

She could feel his breath over her neck, his hand caging her from the back and at the same time, it was located away from her waist in order to not make her ticklish, to procure her from jumping away from his grasp.

He moved all her hair to the other side to plant a kiss on her cheek, it was only featherlight yet it failed to calm her racing heart, as soon as his lips left the vicinity of her skin, she craved for more-wanting them his soft lips to be always be near, grazing her skin with love.

She tilted her cheek as if asking for more and Abdur Rehman smiled, "Feel free to give and then, I will give you the permission to have one," he played, conveying her dialogue in his way.

Rafa giggled and shook her head while he smiled, leaning his head at the crook of her neck to gaze at the beautiful view ahead, his beard crawled on her skin sending sparks of love to run down her spine.

His closure filled her with warmth amid the cold atmosphere and she ravished each tick of the clock, witnessing the moment she had only dreamed so long.

They stood there, together in each other's embrace for a long time and as Rafa yawned, Abdur Rehman held her hand and guided her back to the room.

She tucked herself in the left side while he climbed the bed from the right side, switching off the night lamp to let the rays of the moon to enlighten the room. He laid himself close to her and she happily obliged to rest her head over his chest, holding his hand.

His fingers gently caressed her face, pushing her hair away, a half-crescent remained intact in his lips. Rafa smiled back, snuggling close.

The moment seemed too perfect to be true that when Abdur Rehman kissed her forehead to usher her to welcome some sleep so she may rest, his phone rang.

"I am sorry, I forgot to turn off the silent mode," he whispered apologetically when her twinkling eyes opened, "Ignore it."

"Okay!" She closed her eyes but was again forced to open them back when the phone rang for the second time.

He didn't attempt to move away from her so she let the call slip but when the device didn't seem to stop ringing, she sighed letting out a yawn," You should attend it, what if it's something important."

He begrudgingly nodded, obeying her he got up, leaving her to sit on the bed holding the comforter.

He frowned looking at the caller-id, his thick eyebrows knitted together as he slid the screen to answer the call.

"What?" He shrieked in horror the next moment, almost dropping the phone.

sumaiya: I am dying
sumaiya: This is why I don't write sol🤣
sumaiya: Coz these two take the best out of me😂
sumaiya: Where r u?

saroosh: I passed out on the carpet 😂