Salaam everyone! Sorry for not updating for a while. Same ole story lol Requesting Duaa please :) Ill try to update more often when I feel well enough! Sorry this chapter is kind of short. I miss all my awesome redears and their even more awesome comments. And of course Hudayfah and Rami ;) Stay awesome <3

“Are you doing okay?” Rami asked leaning over Sami to look at Rana, and she laughed nodding back at him.

“Yes Alhamdulillah. Are you?”

“I’m perfect. It’s a little weird having this wall between us but you know.” He said motioning towards Sami who rolled his eyes and put both his headphones in.

“Yes like it was my dream to be the third wheel on a romantic carriage ride!” he mumbled, and Rana laughed, leaning her shoulder lightly into her brother’s.

“So how are the wedding plans going?” Rami asked, and Rana grinned.

“Emma is amazing. She has planned everything so perfectly you would think she has been planning for months, not a week!”

He smiled at her.

“MashaAllah that’s great!” he was silent for a second has he fumbled in his pocket before he pulled out a small box which he placed in his lap before turning towards her. “I have something for you. And please be honest if you don’t like it.” He said handing it to her, and as she opened it, she gasped loudly, before picking up a ring with diamonds set in rose gold, and turning towards him.

“Oh Rami. It’s beautiful.” She whispered, and he smiled.

“It was my grandmother’s. Jenna gave me one of your rings so I had it sized for you. Already.”

She pulled it out of the box, swallowing slightly before turning back towards him, tears in her eyes.

“It’s beautiful. Sami, isn’t it beautiful?”

“Gorgeous.”

She laughed, glancing at it again as she wiped away a tear, before she placed it back in the box. “Rami, it is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen in my life, and I love it, and I love you,”

“Hey watch it.” Sami warned, and she laughed.

“Sorry.” She put the ring back in its box and closed it. “But I don’t want to take this right now.”

“Oh. How come?” he asked a bit self-consciously as he took it back from her.

“Because I want to wait until you can put it on for me.” She shook her head. “I’ve dreamt of this moment for a while.”

“What moment?”

She let out a deep breath, before looking over at him.

“It’s not exactly about the ring. It’s about what the ring represents.”

“And that is?”

“Our commitment to one another. And I know that we don’t necessarily need a ring to prove that we want to be together, and that InShaAllah we are going to be together forever, but that’s what it does signify. And it’s going to be you who puts it on my finger, not me or my mom or anyone else. Does that sound crazy?”

He gave a chuckle, a smile on his face.

“No. It sounds romantic, and something that I am now looking really forward to.” He said pocketing the box again, and as he leaned back against the seat, he let out a breath. He had enjoyed this night immensely, even if it was kind of weird having Sami around. Even right now they were pretty squished together. The carriage driver couldn’t understand why they didn’t have Rana sit in the middle since she was the smallest, but after much explaining that they were just engaged and Sami had to be in the middle of them because he was the chaperone, the carriage driver had let them be, though he still looked confused. Thankfully Sami hadn’t been much of an intrusion, aside from a snide remark here and there, but it was still odd to have him there.

They had all been surprised to learn that Sami was still in New York, it had been assumed that he had left right after Hudayfah and Jenna’s second wedding party, and Rami couldn’t help but find himself just a little bit uneasy. Sami had always made him feel like that, ever since he was little. There was just this roughness about him that made him unapproachable. Maybe because his mother passed away so early in his life, or he took his big brother role seriously, whatever the case may be, he was not someone you joked with, you laughed with, nor was he easy to get along with.

As a powder of snow began to fall upon them, Rami glanced behind their carriage again, a weird feeling creeping up his spine. He had had the feeling all day despite how nice it was going, and he couldn’t help but feel anxious as his gut feelings were never wrong. He was most worried that Jamaal was up to something, but for the life of him he couldn’t think of what it could be. Rana was sitting near him, Jenna was in the carriage in front of him with Hudayfah wrapped all around her. The girls at the house were being guarded, so he should have nothing to worry about, everyone was safe.

But he couldn’t help but worry.

“What are you thinking about?” Rana asked peeking her head around Sami, and he smiled at her, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

“Just looking at how pretty the snow is.”

She nodded.

“It’s gorgeous. I love the snow, always have.”

He tilted his head and looked at her thoughtfully.

“What if we got married in the snow?”

Her eyed widened.

“What?”

“We could do it on the roof. It’s big enough to hold like three hundred people, and we are only having fifty.”

“What about all of Emma’s planning?”

He shrugged.

“It will be too cold to be outside the whole night, so we could just do the Nikkah outside and do the Walimah inside. What do you think?” he asked, and as her face lit up, he smiled.

“Oh Rami that would be wonderful!” she glanced around at where the snow was falling faster before looking back at him, her eyes sparkling, and her cheeks flushed from the cold. “It would be perfect. Thank you.”

He grinned at her before pulling off his glove, reaching out a palm and catching a snowflake, extending it towards her. She laughed, as it was just cold enough for it not to have melted upon touching his hand, and as he tilted it into her hand he winked at her before making sure the blanket was in reach of her, resisting the urge to let their fingers meet.

After muttering a quick ‘Astagfirallah’ under his breath, he turned back around again, praying nothing bad was going to happen.

***

“Are you warm enough?” Hudayfah whispered for the twentieth time since they got on the carriage and she laughed.

“Hudayfah, we have two blankets and hot bricks which I thought were only used in Jane Austen time. I’m pretty warm I promise.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. And plus, I have you to keep me warm too!” She said sliding her arms around him, and he smiled.

“It would be my pleasure.” He said tilting her chin up to kiss her, before pulling her head down to his chest.

Jenna smiled, glancing down at the bracelet he had given her during dinner. It was a truly beautiful diamond encrusted bracelet with blue sapphires, her birthstone, placed throughout the setting, and snuggled in closer to him. It had truly been a magical night, and she didn’t want it to end. Even having Sami, Rana, and Rami around them hadn’t turned out to be weird like she thought it would be. The carriage moved slowly down the street, and she looked out at all of the people. Despite it being a weeknight, the streets were abuzz with activity, and she had already made Hudayfah promise twice that they could come back here someday soon and explore.

“What are you thinking about darling?” he asked, and she brought up his hand, fingering his wedding band.

“Just thinking about how amazing today was. I don’t want it to end.”

He smiled.

“InShaAllah we will do many more things like this in the future.”

“So we don’t have to hide in our home in fear anymore?” she teased slightly, and his chest moved up as he laughed.

“No.” he was silent for a second, before shifting slightly. “So I wanted to ask you. When do you want to go back home?” he asked and she looked at him in confusion.

“Aren’t we going home once we finish this ride?”

He shook his head.

“I meant home to Arizona.”

“Oh. I actually had forgotten we lived somewhere else. I mean we’ve settled so well here.”

He smiled and patted her hand.

“I’m glad you feel so at home. We can definitely stay here if you’d like. Have your things sent for, set up home here. I can work in any of the offices so it doesn’t matter where we live. Though you haven’t seen our home back there, it’s pretty impressive.”

“Is that so? Are you trying to buy my love?” she teased and he laughed looking down at her.

“Do I need to?”

She looked up into his face for a few seconds before smiling.

“No. You don’t.”

His smile covered his whole face, and he kissed her forehead gently before taking her hand in his.

“So what’s the verdict? Where do you want to live?” he asked.

“Where do you want to live?”

He shook his head.

“No this is up to you.”

She fingered the fringe at the end of her Hijab before looking up at him.

“If we leave New York, Jamaal would follow us wouldn’t he?”

He hesitated, before nodding.

“Probably.”

“Well I guess until things get resolved we should stay here.”

“What’s your reasoning?” he asked, and she sighed.

“Emma and Maria will be going home soon. If we go back to Arizona and he follows us, my family will be in danger. I can’t let that happen.”

He nodded.

“I understand, and it’s terribly considerate of you. But I want you to choose what will make you happy.”

“I want to keep them safe.” “Plus,” she said with a smile, “wherever we are, as long as I am with you will make me happy.” She whispered, and his eyes flashed, before he gripped her face in both of his hands, pressing his lips to hers. They were so distracted that when their carriage suddenly jolted to the side, Jenna almost fell out.

“Woah man slow down!” Hudayfah exclaimed, grabbing Jenna’s arm, and the driver came to a halt.

“Sorry Sir, there are fire trucks coming up behind us, I have to get out of the way.”

As the sirens grew louder, and the trucks flew passed them Jenna’s eyes widened.

“Wow. Three trucks! It must be a bad fire.”

Hudayfah watched them, his eyes wide.

“Don’t turn left.” He muttered, and when the fire trucks turned left, he groaned. “Oh shoot.” He exclaimed his eyes following them, before he yelled at the carriage driver that they were getting off, pulling Jenna down.

“Hudayfah what’s wrong?” she asked, and he ignored her, motioning to the carriage behind them.

“We have to go. Rami! Sami! Let’s go!” he called to them before tossing a fifty at the carriage drive, and whistling for a cab.

“Rami, you come with me and Jenna, Rana go with Sami.” He said as his siblings and Rami came up next to him.

“What’s going on Hud?” Rana asked.

“I think something bad happened. I’ve had my phone off but…” he paused to turn it on and when it beeped he ran a hand through his hair. “Fifteen missed calls.”

“I have ten.” Rami said looking at his own phone, and as they got into the cab, Hudayfah redialed Ali who was the last caller. When his cousin didn’t answer, he tried Jafar, and Farris, both of whose voicemails answered.

“What do you think is going on?” Jenna asked worriedly, and Hudayfah sighed, looking apprehensively out the window.

“I don’t know darling.”

“I knew something bad was going to happen today. I just knew it.” Rami muttered, jiggling his leg anxiously.

As the cab approached closer to their building, the sound of the fire trucks grew louder and to everyone’s horror, they smelled the strong smell of smoke.

“Holy…” Rami muttered as their house came into view.



The entire top of their building where their house resided, was on fire.