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"Allah won't leave you empty handed. He will always replace something lost with something greater and better."

_______

"Did you offer your dhuhr salah?" asked Abdullah after few minutes he came in.

"Yeah why?" asked Rida.

"Get ready. I am taking you somewhere."

"Where?"

"Umm somewhere. You'll know soon." Abdullah said.

"Okay." she said and cladded herself quickly in a black Abaya and a descent long hijab, slipped her feet into her sneakers after wearing socks. Lastly she tied her niqab around her head, glanced at the mirror once to make sure that nothing was apparant except her eyes.

"Done." she said to him within few minutes.

"Wow that was fast, even I need a bit more time to get ready." Abdullah chuckled before getting up and moving along with her to the door.

"Don't underestimate the power of a Muslimah." she said adding more to his chuckle.

After a while they entered Al Baik restaurant, after taking a seat in a corner Rida spoke "so you've sercretly brought me on a date." said she and Abdullah grinned forcefully, not giving her a slightest doubt. They had a shawarma and later Rida excused herself and headed towards the washroom. When she came back, she discovered that a couple sat along with Abdullah on their table. Since their back was visible to her, she decided to move forward look herself.

It must be Abdullah's friend.

"Asslamu alaikum." she greeted before having a look at them.

"Walaikum Assalam." they answered her in a low tone but as soon as she came face to face with them, her face turned pale and the bitter past swirled around her head. She thought she'd faint but before she would faint, she preferred leaving the place. Her shivering legs walked away from the place and Abdullah followed her.

Her legs were stumbling but her heart made sure that she runs away from that place.

"Rida wait."

She did not stop.

"Rida stop."

The last stumble made her fall but this time there was someone who was near her, to catch her, to not let her get hurt.

"You would have fallen Rida. What are you doing?" Abdullah said as he made her sit on the nearby chair and then gave her a glass of water.

"Abdullah I want to go home. Now." said she while taking the glass with a trembling hand.

"Just calm down and have some water." said he and she lifted her niqab slightly and drank a few gulps of water.

"Why are you so tensed facing them?" asked Abdullah.

"You're asking me this? It doesn't matter. Just take me home." said she after calming a bit down.

"I want you to meet them once."

"What? Why? I mean you should be the first man to take me away from them. I never thought you'd ever ask me to meet my ex husband." said Rida.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Why are you asking this now?"

"Just answer me."

"Yes I do."

"Then come with me now. I promise I'd be the first person to take you away from him but after this meet. Please." he said extending his hand towards her. Her mind couldn't process what was going on all of a sudden, she was confused, she was mad and she was nervous. Her shivering hand made its way on his hand and he made her sit after walking back towards their table.

Rida sat facing them without glancing at them. She did not have enough courage to look into the eyes of a man who had left her for a girl and a girl because of whom her husband left her. She was hating the moment of sitting with them but for the sake of her husband, she was still sitting with them for the last time.

"I am sorry for whatever happened as I am the only one to be blamed." spoke Rehan and Rida looked away, in a constant denial of his apology.

"I don't even want your forgiveness because I am not worth it but still I am asking for it because I am afraid of Allah, I am afraid that I'll be caught on the Day of Resurrection and I'd be the one who did wrong." said he and Rida's eyes started to moisten. Abdullah held her hand from under the table to assure her that he was with her and she felt good under his warmth.

"I'd not exaggerate this...." he said and stopped for a while and then said "I never left you because I started loving Umaira or any other girl beside you but there's some other reason behind it."

"What?" her reaction came out all of a sudden.

"The reason is that I never loved you." he said stumbling and stopping for a while with his words.

"Sorry?" said she in a confused tone.

"I was never the one who had sent those letters to you. It was Abdullah." said he and Abdullah's grip tightened over her hand to make sure that he was there to hold her, to make sure that no matter what happened in the past, he was still with her.

"You must be kidding me. Right?" she said faking a laugh and looked at Abdullah while Abdullah approved his statement by a nod.

"I am serious." said Rehan and it felt like the world for Rida was crashing down. She had lived her entire life with a lie and when she was told the truth, it felt like death would be better than acknowledging this bitter truth. Her teary eyes glanced towards her husband, and he looked at her with a comfortable look to make sure she felt okay but how could she feel at ease when she had been given a news of blunder?

"I am sorry my intention was never to hurt you." he said with crooked voice while Umaira gave him a glass of water while rubbing his back.

"Why?" she asked with a mixture of anger and regret in her voice.

"We were best friends back then. Everything was good when until I started to feel jealous of Abdullah. You two were more like best friends and I felt left out sometimes. But this was not the only reason for jealousy. Abdullah was good at everything that I wanted to achieve. He was good in academics as well as athletes, he was good in character and everyone preferred him over me. The jealousy crept through my soul increasing every single day and making me worse day by day. At a point of time, I wanted to destroy him but I kept patience and waited for the right time. One day I saw Abdullah writing on a slip during the break and keeping it in your bag. I started reading those slips before you used to read it and after Abdullah use to write it. He would give hints to you but never wrote that he loved you and there were zero hints about who the person was and so shaytan whispered into me a plan, for which I am deeply regretful.

Abdullah had everything what I wanted so I decided to snatch away the thing which Abdullah loved the most. RIDA. So I destroyed that last letter in which Abdullah mentioned his name revealing to you that it was he and he also said to accept your proposal when sends in a halal way. After our school ended I messaged you telling you that those letters were written by me because I knew that Abdullah wouldn't message you before you two get married. I knew that I would have to prove so I memorised some of the texts that Abdullah had written in the letters. It was easy to manipulate you since you didn't know who he was and I knew what some of the letters were filled with. We talked until you asked us to depart until meeting in a halal way and I made sure that you would later marry none but me.

When I was about to send a proposal to Rida, I recontacted Abdullah to make sure everything was cool and also to make him jealous. I know I was such an evil man, but trust me I've regrets and those are deep ones.

I had no intention to hurt you ever, but my toxic behaviour led towards it. We were happy when we begun but slowly and gradually, I wasn't satisfied with what I did. I did not know if Abdullah was sad or happy in his life but my life was undergoing an extreme change and that was unsatisfaction which was taking me towards depression. I started ignoring everyone in my life because of the guilt which was creeping inside me. I did not want to hurt you because even if I wasn't the one who had given you those letters, I loved you because you were my wife.

My regrets reached its peak when I pushed you away and we lost our child. I was already ashamed of myelf  but after that I wasn't in a position to even have an eye contact with you, forget about telling you the truth. I wanted to tell you everything but I was so scared to bring it to my lips. When everything got out of control I decided to let you go even though I loved you immensely. If I wouldn't divorce you, I am sure that I would have gone insane.

I could only reverse my actions by giving you in the hands of Abdullah for none deserves you but a man of elite character. For some reasons I couldn't contact him earlier but later I contacted him. He was still engaged to someone, I told him everything and asked him to marry you and after what I told him, he wouldn't marry anyone else but you.

I know I shouldn't have gone so ahead of my jealousy, I know I shouldn't have cheated him and you, I know I shouldn't have behaved in a toxic way, I know I shouldn't have divorced you before talking but I am such a coward that I couldn't confront you. If Abdullah wouldn't have forced me to do this, I wouldn't be confirming these things in front of you right now." he said looking towards Abdullah forcing out the regrets of his life.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Beware of envy, for it devours good deeds just as fire devours wood or grass.”
Source: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4903

A true servant cannot feel jealous, he is content with what Allah has chosen for him and for others.

"Anything else?" Rida asked in an exotic tone.

Rehan opened his mouth to speak but then zipped it down before uttering a "no".

She stood up and walked away while Abdullah thanked them and followed her. Rehan thought she'd shout at him but she did not speak a single word. Abdullah drove her back to her house in a silent ride, neither did she had the courage to talk to him nor did he initiate any talk, to let her be alone. As he stopped the car and she started to unbuckle her seat belt, he finally said sonething "Take care of yourself." to which she nodded and bid her salam. He made sure that she had entered her house before leaving.

"Rida will you have lunch? " her mother asked but Rida's occupied mind was way too busy to process. She directly went upstairs to her room.

She closed the door behind, flipped her Abaya and sat on her bed, trying to sink in what Rehan said. Her heart was numb and the news wasn't sinking in. She spent half an hour thinking about it but everything felt like a dream, a scary dream.

She stood up to offer her asr salah and came back to open up her cupboard. She opened up the things she had sealed to never open again. She hurriedly opened it up and picked up those letters from Abdullah.

"Salam" was the first letter from him.

"Don't be sad, teachers are meant to scold and correct us." probably sent when she was scolded by a teacher.

"Your grade doesn't decide your intelligence." written when she failed in Maths.

"You should have told the PT teacher that you are asthmatic. My heart skipped a beat when you had an attack. Now rest at home and get well soon." she smiled reading this one. That day the new PT teacher had given her punishment to take five rounds of the ground because she wasn't playing the running games like everyone. He was too harsh and did not even listen to her reason while she was too soft to spell it out. Luckily she used to carry her inhalers with her.

"Wait"

"Oh no"

"I am such a dumb woman." she said and caught her head sitting on the flooe with a thud.

"I will never forgive him."

When Rehan pointed out that he never knew that she had Asthama, she was astonished with the fact because she thought that he knew but he did not. She did not remember how and when but her guts had that feeling. Now this hit her hard. This is what was missing. This was among the letters of the initial days and Rehan found it out during later days that Abdullah used to write letters for her. He never read those and he never knew that because she never had an attack in school after that. He didn't know this even though they were close friends because she did not like to talk about her illness.

Rida screamed in infuriation at herself because it was she who had ruined her life. Her eyes flowing with never ending tears. Abdullah wanted everything to be in a halal way and so he never messaged her while she was engaged in haram with Rehan, not even realising that she never loved Rehan. Abdullah never asked her to reply him, he just wanted to make sure that she marries her while Rehan messaged her and demanded reply just to make sure, he takes the happiness from Abdullah. She never gave preference to the minute details because the person who wrote her letters always hid his identity. If he were to talk to her directly, he would have revealed his name quite earlier.

"Ya Allah I ruined my life by my own hands." she cried aloud.

"Ya Allah truly you command us to be away from the things which might hurt us." she brought her hands to envelop around her legs and shrinked, burying her head in between.

"Ya Allah now I know why it hurt, because it was haram." said she grieving over it the entire night.