A tale of love, loss, and new beginnings.
Hareem wants to start over, Momin is stuck in the past. Can a newly wedded couple learn to love and accept one another while also dealing with an uncertain future and a haunting past?
Trigger warning: ptsd...
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Chapter Sixteen
Momin's face lit up as soon as he saw Hareem enter the room. It was like he was transported back to the time when they had had their nikah, when he had walked into the living room and seen her as his wife. His eagerness to see her made his heart soar with excitement, yet as his eyes took in the bruises lining her face, his excitement soon shifted to worry.
She walked over to the couch parallel to him and sat down with a whisper of a 'Salaam.'
By the look on her face, her mind was somewhere else.
"What happened?" He asked, scooting near to her. She shrugged without meeting his eyes.
"The mirror in my room broke."
He studied her face, the thin scratches running along her cheeks and over her nose looked like they were healing, yet their pattern suggested that Hareem hadn't even tried to shield herself.
"How did it break?" He inquired, even more concerned.
"It just did," she snapped, mirroring a tone he had heard Ahmed use. She seemed to catch her own words, raising her head at him as soon as she said the words. "I mean-" She paused as if she was shocked.
"What's wrong Hareem?" Momin whispered, putting away the flowers and taking her hand.
He noticed her bandaged hand and snapped his eyes back to hers again. What had happened exactly? Why would her hand be injured if the mirror had broken on its own?
Her face grew soft, and a tiny smile appeared on her lips.
"I'm okay," she assured, pulling her hand out of his as her parents entered the room.
"I'm sorry for making you worry," Hareem's father said as he sat down next to Momin. He was referring to Hareem's wounds.
"Kids can be very clumsy, and Hareem here has always been the clumsiest," Hareem's mother teased, sitting down next to Hareem.
Momin masked his face with an easy grin for the sake of keeping appearances.
"Did she have her hand checked out? It looks badly hurt." He wondered, keeping his voice neutral, yet deep inside he felt betrayed. When had she hurt herself? Why hadn't anyone told him anything?
