Jadwa stared at him, speechless. Her mind raced, searching for words that wouldn't come. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Zara and Anaya's excited chatter filled the room as they burst downstairs.
"You're still not ready?" Zara asked, prompting Jadwa to roll her eyes and retreat back upstairs.
The room was dimly lit, so Jadwa flicked on all the lights for a better look. Stepping in front of the mirror, she scrutinized her reflection, searching for the wardrobe malfunction. With a hiss, she spotted it. There, under the harsh light, she saw the faint outline of her red lace bra peeking through her white dress. It wasn't blatantly obvious, but it was there.
Flustered, Jadwa squeezed her eyes shut. All she wanted was to disappear into a hole and escape the looming embarrassment. She quickly changed into undergarments that wouldn't betray her, then donned a plain, lilac abaya with flowing balloon sleeves. After giving herself a good minute to let go of the feeling of embarrassment, she finally took a deep breath and left the room.
Descending the stairs, Jadwa was met with silence. Muhammad remained glued to his phone and she couldn't bring herself to say a word to him.
As time seemed to crawl by, his attention was called by the buzzes of Ahmad's texts on her phone. Finally, he looked up at her and held his gaze for a few seconds before rising and walking out quietly.
"Masha Allah" he murmured, opening the car door for her.
"Thank you" she replied softly, her eyes downcast, to ignore the sick feeling before she glued to her eyes to her phone screen.
The insistent ringing of her phone broke the silence. It was Abdulhakeem.
Instinctively, Muhammad Imran turned towards the sound, catching a glimpse of the name on the screen before turning back to focus on the road. He assumed it was her boyfriend, judging by the single heart emoji saved next to the name.
"Go ahead, please, pick up" he said.
"No, it's fine" she replied quickly, sending Abduhakeem a text explaining she wasn't alone.
He simply nodded, a silent understanding passing between them but after a few minutes Jadwa broke the silence.
"Thank you" she blurted out, surprising even herself.
He glanced at her, piecing together the reason for her gratitude from her averted gaze.
"I didn't know you were a feisty one" he said.
"I'm not, of course" she defended herself automatically.
"Who was that, then?" he shifted his gaze to her, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"I thought you were just being a controlling older brother" she countered, meeting his gaze.
"Older brother?" he raised an eyebrow, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
She confirmed with a nod. His chuckle was genuine. "I'm not."
"I'm glad you're not, you seem like a really cool one" she smiled, oblivious to the deeper meaning behind his words. He studied her, his eyes lingering on her innocent expression.
Their short conversation ended as they arrived at the hospital. Jadwa followed him into the building, the tension momentarily forgotten. They entered the elevator, where he exchanged a few words with a nurse before being directed towards the specific ward.
He opened the door for her, and she stepped inside. The sight that greeted her was unexpected but it made her grin. Ameerah sat comfortably with her legs crossed as Ahmad massaged her feet.
