47~ Guess who just got engaged?! #2
"Najib..." She sighed, trying not to smile. "I know exactly what you're thinking."
"Oh?" He leaned back with a smirk.
"And what am I thinking?"
"I don't need to spell it out... You already know."
"And what is so wrong if I want you?" He asked shamelessly.
"Huh?!" Hanan gasped, quickly looking around before slapping both hands over his mouth.
"Shhh!"
"Just eat." She whispered sharply.
Najib burst into laughter, easily removing her hands from his face.
"Why?" He teased.
"Are you shy?"
"It's only the two of us, Habibti."
"Najib..." She said, lowering her voice. "We can't commit... You know... Zina."
He stared at her for a second.
Then smiled.
Then chuckled.
And finally burst into a loud laughter.
Still laughing, he asked,
"You're still shy about things like this?"
He leaned closer.
"I hope you're a better fucker now."
"Huh?" Her jaw dropped once again as she blinked innocently.
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
"Oh..." He waved it off dramatically.
"Never mind." He grinned.
"Don't worry... You have me, I'll teach you."
Hanan stared at him in utter disbelief before shaking her head.
"You're so dirty minded."
His eyebrows lifted. "So... you actually understood what I meant?"
"Of course I know!" She shot back.
"I'm twenty two now... I'm no longer eighteen."
His grin widened.
"So... Are you now a better fucker?"
Without saying another word, Hanan grabbed the vegetables from his plate and shoved them into his mouth.
"Eat!"
She glared at him.
"Your mouth and your thoughts need serious cleansing."
She continued stuffing vegetables into his mouth until his cheeks puffed out.
The moment he swallowed them, he laughed again.
She folded her arms proudly.
"Just be a good boy."
"When we're married... You'll definitely find out."
"Oh..." Najib nodded dramatically. "I like the sound of that."
He rose from his chair and extended a hand toward her.
"Come with me."
She placed her hand in his, allowing him to help her to her feet.
Once they stood side by side, he pointed toward the night sky.
"Look."
Hanan lifted her gaze.
Darkness.
Nothing but an endless darkness.
"I don't see anything."
"Look carefully." He pointed again.
She narrowed her eyes. "I can only see... a star."
Najib smiled. "That's not a star."
"Then what is it?"
She continued staring.
A few seconds later...
Her eyes widened.
Her lips parted.
Her heart skipped.
"Is... is this real?" She whispered.
High above them, hundreds of synchronized drones lit up the sky.
They gracefully shaped a sparkling diamond ring.
Hanan stood frozen.
The ring dissolved into thousands of shimmering lights before rearranging themselves into glowing words across the night sky.
Habibti... Will you marry me?
Fresh tears instantly blurred her vision.
She shut her eyes for a brief second, trying to steady the overwhelming emotions rushing through her.
When she opened them again...
Najib was no longer standing beside her.
He was on one knee.
A velvet ring box rested in his hands.
His eyes never left hers.
"Miss Habiba Aliyu..."
His voice was calm.
Steady.
Filled with love.
"Will you do me the honor of marrying me... again?"
Hanan couldn't answer.
She simply stared at him through tear filled eyes.
She had imagined this day countless times.
She knew it would happen someday.
But never... Never like this.
Her smile, her tears, and the way she trembled spoke louder than words ever could.
"Please... Habibti..."
"Will you marry me?"
This time she answered with a trembling nod.
"I will..." She whispered, her voice breaking as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I will marry you, Najib."
For a heartbeat, neither of them moved.
They simply stood there, smiling through their tears, letting the moment settle between them.
With hands that trembled just as much as hers, Najib opened the velvet box and carefully slid the sparkling square shaped diamond ring onto her finger.
He lifted her hand and pressed a tender kiss against it.
Still holding her hand, he looked into her eyes.
"Habibti... I promise to be the best husband I can be to you and the best father to our children."
"I promise to stand beside you through every season of our lives."
"I promise to love you endlessly, in this Duniya and by Allah's mercy, in Akhirah."
"Thank you for coming back into my life."
"Thank you for giving my heart another chance to love you... And for believing that my love could become worthy of you."
His words completely broke the walls around her heart.
Unable to hold back any longer, Hanan gently pulled him to his feet.
She wrapped both arms around his neck until their foreheads rested together.
"Najib... I promise you..."
"Even when we're old, when our hair has turned gray, our hands become wrinkled and our smiles are missing a few teeth... I'll still choose you."
She smiled through her tears.
"I'll stand by your side because loving you isn't a burden, it's the greatest blessing my heart has ever known."
"Even after death, if memories are all that's left of me... I pray yours is the last one my heart lets go."
She caressed his face lovingly.
"So thank you for giving my heart the chance to choose you... over and over again, every single day."
"I love you."
She closed the distance between them, kissing him slowly before melting into his embrace. Her tears soaked through his shirt, but neither of them cared.
Najib simply held her tighter, smiling as he let her cry.
He knew these weren't tears of sorrow.
They were tears of pure happiness.
A short while passed before she finally pulled away.
Najib looked into her slightly reddened eyes. Her lipstick, mascara and kajal had smudged, making him chuckle softly.
"You haven't changed." He smiled warmly. "You're still a little crybaby, huh?"
He reached for a tissue from the table and gently wiped away her smudged makeup while she remained quiet, simply watching him with a soft smile.
"It's beautiful." She whispered, lowering her gaze to the ring adorning her finger. She admired the simplicity of the square shaped diamond before lifting her eyes back to his.
"I never expected you would propose today. I honestly thought you were only taking me out to celebrate my birthday."
Najib smiled. "I wanted to surprise you... I wanted this birthday to become something you would remember for the rest of your life. I considered so many ideas, but none of them felt right. Then it came to me... why not propose to the woman I love on the day she came into this world?"
He chuckled.
"With the help of Mr Charles and Abdul, I managed to pull everything together."
"Abdul knew?!" Hanan gasped.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Woah!" She laughed in disbelief. "He's becoming far too good at keeping secrets."
She admired him for another long moment before smiling warmly.
"Thank you, this is the most beautiful gift I've ever received."
"I'll cherish this moment for the rest of my life."
Najib's smile widened.
"And thank you... for giving me the chance to make you my wife again."
She chuckled.
"So, hubby, when should the wedding happen?"
"If it were up to me." He answered immediately. "We would get married tomorrow, wifey."
She laughed. "Tomorrow? That's way too soon."
"So, when do you want it?"
"Hmm... any date is fine."
"Just... not tomorrow or the day after."
"Deal."
He intertwined his fingers with hers.
"I'll discuss the date with Grandma and Uncle."
"But honestly, I would love for the wedding to happen before this month ends."
She tilted her head. "That's fine."
"Let Grandma and Uncle decide the date."
She smiled curiously. "But why are you in such a hurry?"
Najib smiled. "Remember the business trip to Paris I was supposed to take last week?"
"The one you cancelled?"
"Yeah."
"I have to leave before the end of this month."
He gently squeezed her hand.
"And I don't want to go alone, I want my wife beside me."
A smile slowly spread across her face.
"I even searched for the best honeymoon destinations."
"And guess what topped almost every list?"
"Paris?" She guessed.
He nodded proudly. "So... why don't we spend our honeymoon there too?"
"Hmm..." She smiled shyly. "I don't think that's a bad idea."
"So." He continued. "Tell me... what kind of wedding do you want? I'll arrange a meeting with our event planner so we can discuss everything together."
She thought for a moment.
"Honestly... I'm not a fan of grand events. I want something low key."
"Low key?"
"Yeah."
"Just a day wedding with our immediate family."
Najib blinked in surprise. "I honestly didn't expect that answer."
"You want a big wedding?" She asked.
He laughed. "I've always imagined that if we ever got married again... It would be a grand celebration."
"A whole week of festivities."
"A whole week?!" Hanan gasped.
"What exactly are we celebrating for seven days?"
"Our wedding, of course."
She shook her head, laughing. "Okay... if that's really what you want, then let's do it."
"But I still think it's a bit too much."
He laughed with her. "We'll decide all that after we've fixed a wedding date."
"For now..." He reached for the heart
shaped cake.
"Let's celebrate your birthday."
He placed it before her and patted the chair beside him.
"Come."
She happily sat next to him.
"Make a wish."