Zaynab's POV
The drive home was quiet, too quiet. The hum of the car engine echoed against my thoughts, but it did little to calm the storm in my chest. My hands clutched the steering wheel tighter than necessary, and though my eyes stayed on the road, my mind replayed the moment at the mall over and over again.
"Alayla".The name throbbed against my skull like an unwelcome reminder.she didn't speak to me,only muttered a sorry, but in that silent moment when her eyes lifted and met mine, I felt the sharp sting of truth: she is the woman who now stood where I once dreamed to be. She is Khalid's wife. His chosen.
When I reached home, I tossed my keys carelessly onto the table and slipped off my hijab, letting my hair fall loose against my shoulders. I sank into the edge of my bed, staring at the ceiling as the silence pressed down on me. My chest tightened with a mix of rage and yearning, envy and sorrow, a thousand emotions swirling until I could hardly breathe.
I had thought Khalid would forever be mine alone but today proved otherwise. One look at Alayla,her gentle face and I knew i had to act fast but i am not willing to share Khalid. Not with anyone.
I remembered the promises whispered to me in our youth, the laughter in the evenings when the world was simple and Khalid was mine alone. Back then, I believed our future was certain. Until life had pulled me away, forcing me into a foreign land, tearing the threads of our engagement apart. I had returned, yes,but not as the girl who once held his hand beneath the neem tree. Now I am the woman standing at the edge of another's happiness, watching from the shadows.
My fingers curled into fists. Was it her fault? Perhaps not. But why did fate choose her over me? Why did he build her dreams into concrete and glass while mine dissolved into memories?Jealousy pricked at my heart, but beneath it, a fire stirred. I stood abruptly, pacing the length of my room as my resolve hardened. No, I would not crumble into self-pity. I would not sit in the shadows while another woman lived the life that was once promised to me. I had waited too long, sacrificed too much, to simply bow out now.
My reflection caught in the mirror,my eyes glistening, my lips pressed in determination. For a moment,i saw the girl who once owned Khalid's heart, the woman who could claim it again.
"If fate has brought us back together," I whispered to my reflection, my voice steady, "then I'll make sure he remembers me."
And with that vow echoing in my mind, the storm inside me calmed, replaced by a dangerous clarity. This was no longer about chance,it was about choice.If I truly wanted Khalid back in my life, I had to make a choice. And as the thought settled,a strange calm washed over me as I whispered the words aloud, testing their weight on my tongue:
"I will take him… even if it means as a second wife."
The declaration surprised me, but it also steadied me. I could endure this. I had endured worse. My years away had taught me resilience, and if I had to step into his life through the smallest door available, I would do so gladly.
But deep down, a flicker of unrest stirred. Could I really live in her shadow? Could I bear to watch him give another woman the love I craved, the attention I longed for? I silenced the thought before it grew. This was not about shadows; it was about survival. About reclaiming the place fate had stolen from me.I had always dreamt of having Khalid all to myself,but life had never allowed me such luxuries.So I've made up my mind,I'll share him, being a second wife is better than letting him go, besides in our part of the world polygamy is a common thing and Islam accepts it but my only problem is that I'll snatch Khalid's love away from her, she has enjoyed enough and even if he's still going to love her,he should give her a bit,a tiny bit of his love and I'll have everything for my self,his love,his care,his attention and everything else he has to offer. Am i not a generous person?
Tomorrow, I would return to the hospital, wearing my mask of composure, listening to the gratitude of patients who would never guess the fire that burned beneath my calm. I would save lives, hold power in my hands, and smile as though nothing weighed on me.
But tonight, I allowed myself the truth I had long buried: if destiny had brought Khalid back into my orbit, I would not let him slip away again - even if it meant sharing him under one sky.