Within the walls of the Campbell house ,the air was filled with excitement. Every room, every corner of the house was abuzz with joy admist the preparation for the petals of promises that will unfold.
The preparations for the wedding was woven thread by thread ,into a tapestry of vows and love.
The Al'Din family was to arrive this week on a day that was today. Although Bea and Gina had offered to take care of the wedding prep. But Noura Al'Din, Shaan's mother had declined
"It's my son's wedding,I can't let you do all the work , besides I have to prepare a part of the wedding to fit our Arabic standards" she had said.
Rosaline was nervous....what were they going to think of her?
Unlike her big average-joe family, his family was small with just his mother,sister and his brother. His father had died five years ago,it broke Rosaline's heart. She could not imagine how he must have felt,she couldn't live without her dad.
Back to reality.....
Her in-laws to be were coming and she was freaking out.
"They're here,Love.You good?" Shaan asked.
"Is my dress okay?...do I look pregnant?"
"You look beautiful,Ros. Relax,my Umm(mom) is very nice"
"Okay okay...how'd you say hello ,how're you doing in Saudi?"
"marhaba, kayf haluk, or you can just be informal and say hello Umm mrhbaan keefak?" He placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Marhaybab kayak heylook?"
Shaan laughed " Just stick with Umm mrhbaan keefak"
"Means??"
"Mom,welcome. How're you?"
"Umm merhbaan keefak"
"No ,mrhbaan"
"Umm mrhbaan keefak..."she scoffed"..easy peasy,you just won the lottery,I'm a total win"
"Obviously "he laughed.
"I'm ready"
"Okay,cool. There's something I wanna tell you,I didn't know how to. So I'll explain after okay?"
"Sure" She kissed him.
They went downstairs to welcome his family/her new family. Nothing must go wrong. Nothing could go wrong right?
She inhaled then exhaled.
Rosaline felt like she was going to like Noura,that feeling quickly faded as she fell in love with her the moment she laid her eyes on her.
She was expecting Noura to be old and plump like a typical Arabian mother. Much to her suprise, Noura was a slender giant. She was really tall and curvy,the black dress she was wearing did nothing to hide her hourglass figure.
Her face was petite with her cheekbones, her catlike eyes didn't forget to illuminate the green in her eyes, her lips were dark red. If hollywood needed to cast a vampire lookalike, Noura fit the bill. She was the female version of Shaan.
"Heavens, is that really your hair?" Bea said.
"Yes, it is" She smiled revealing her fangs.
A goddess in flesh, Rosaline blinked. Before she could regain her sense, she was face to face with her mother in-law.
Well not specifically face to face as she was short.
Sue me..I need to hide
"You're Rosaline?"
"Yes,mayam" she hiccupped.
"Mayam?"
"I am"
"I like her,baby" She chuckled, Shaan smiled.
"Umm, marma keefak?" Rosaline swallowed.
Mrhbaan!...why isn't my mouth cooperating with my brain?!
"I'm okay...the flight was a lot but it wasn't so bad"
"Noura!" Noah opened his arm for a hug.
"Nose, been a while"
"It has, where's Abeer and Majed?"
"They're helping your porter with the bags"
Abeer is the sister right?....it sounds like a male name.
Rosaline looked from Shaan to Noura then back again.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree
Abeer Al'Din wasn't as beautiful as her mother and elder brother but she was beautiful. She had short hair,she was also tall. She had a tomboy vibe to her.
Unlike his sister,Majed Al'Din was the shy type. A mini daddy,they called him. He was the exact replica of their father,Noura had said proudly.
"Did you leave the nanny outside?" Shaan asked.
"Yes, she said she needed to change to his diapers before bringing him"
Diaper,him?...who?
Rosaline looked at Shaan,who had an apologetic look on his face. Was it concerning what he couldn't tell her?
"Dada!" The squeal came to her ear like a melodious nightmare.
Don't go to him.... don't please!
Shaan walked past her to carry the boy from his nanny.
Rosaline swallowed,this must be a misunderstanding. He was going to explain,maybe it wasn't his child. She forced a smile, a sense of betrayal washed down her body.
He brought the baby to her, and raised his hand to touch her face.
"Say hi to mommy"
The both of them side by side....it was not hard to know that they were father and son.
The baby cooed and squeaked then he laughed.
Tears threatened to fall,but she couldn't help but smile. The baby was so innocent and cute, the one she was angry at was his father.
"Hi..."She took the baby from him.
"So cute,how old is he?" Nara said,facing Rosaline for the answer.
Rosaline frowned, what was she trying to prove?. That she didn't know that Shaan had a child until now?
I hope I'm right?....he looks..screw it!
"He's 11months old" she and Shaan said in unison.
"Oho...he's a bigboy, my second grandson. Or should I say my first since he's older than David" Beatrice took him from Nara, it took everything in her not to snatch him from her.
" What's your name baby boy?"
"Kaiyd" Rosaline said.
Rosaline glanced at Shaan from the corner of her eyes ,if he was surprised of how she knew the name of the baby,he was hiding it well. He was just smiling. It was contagious because she was also smiling.
Wasn't she supposed to be angry?
She wasn't angry anymore but she still felt betrayed.
What was the difference between him and Toby if this was how he wanted them to start out their marriage?
She needed to talk to Renee,the preparations had been so overwhelming that they didn't have time to talk.
**. **. **.
Two days had passed, they didn't get the chance to be alone to discuss. The wedding was going to happen regardless of how she felt about Kaiyd.
It was unfair to her.....he couldn't tell her??,no,he chose not to.
Was she that unreasonable or she was not understanding enough?
She patted the rising and falling belly of the small infant beside her. Rosaline smiled,she didn't know why but Kaiyd liked her....a lot.
It made her happy and it made her angry,she wanted to hate the child. But she didn't dare, because she had one growing in her.
If she could hate another's, she could hate her own.
"Hey girl" Renee said as she plopped down beside her.She was so lost in thought she didn't hear them come in.
Her sisters and her brothers wives.....it was normal for Zoe to be in her room but Jordan?!
"Look at you,the new mom...bonding with your son to be" Renee said
"Is that mockery I smell?" Rosaline raised an eyebrow
"Rosy!" Renee gave her a jab on her arm.
"How're you doing Keish?" Rosaline held Keisha's hands.
Keisha blushed and she was flustered like she got caught stealing something.
"What's with the sudden chumminess?" Renee asked.
"We have our secret" Rosaline winked at Keisha which made her blush even harder
"Chill out Keisha, you're both women and she's your sister" Zoe said and laughed
" Why does your world revolve around homosexuality,it's like you're constantly waiting for someone in the family to come out as the premium version of LGBTQ+" Jordan said as she laughed hard.
Everyone except Renee laughed at Zoe's silliness when she tried to explain herself with the fact that she was Nigerian and her country wasn't very accepting of homosexuality.
"What's wrong Ren?...." Rosaline asked "....you don't look happy,is something bothering you?"
"Oh,get off your high horse,Rosy" She chuckled.
That didn't sound like a joke to Rosaline or to the rest of them, they fell silent.
"What'd you mean?"
"Y'know,I really can't understand why you chose ,this time to want to get married. It should be my wedding that is being planned...."
"Uh-oh" Zoe said ,Jordan pinched her side.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you felt that way. But I can't cancel the wedding or postpone it...the invitations has been sent out,besides,the wedding is a day away"
"Does it make you feel better to think that if you offer to cancel your wedding I'd be happy?.....you knew about my plans to announce my marriage and you used yours to kill the shine. Mom doesn't even have the time to discuss my wedding,it's just you you you"
"I think that's because,hers comes first before yours....your wedding isn't till November " Keisha said.
"Nobody wants to hear what you have to say Princess, you think you're now in our inner circle because you have something going on with Rosy"
"Renee, that's not very nice " Rosaline frowned.
Renee gave a small laugh "Since when was it about You and Keisha....it was always us ,me and you.....she was never there and don't you dare tell me she must've wanted to be close to us but she didn't know how to...that's just bullshit. You're both selfish,you didn't tell me you were in love with Shaan or that you were gonna get married,but Keisha knew about it when mom told us. I didn't,I thought I was supposed to be your go-to,your bestie. But all of a sudden ,I'm a third wheel. You're too in your own world to even know how I feel,you think you're the only one who has it tough. Always whining about how Toby beat you ,or how he didn't love you or how you caught him with your library friend....I never asked you to get married to a piece of crap or a wife beater...." Renee gasped and covered her mouth, tears travelled down her face "....oh,I'm sorry,I didn-"
"Get out, all of you...."Rosaline scrambled up from the bed and went to the door".....I said GET OUT!" She shouted.
They didn't stand up like there was someone at the entrance. She turned, there was indeed someone there,temporarily blinded by the tears in her eyes. She blinked hastily, much to her rage, it was Shaan.
He heard it all....the part of her she didn't tell anyone, except Renee.The part of her she didn't want him to know now.
Was it possible for something to shatter twice?
From the noise and seeing many people he wasn't familiar with, Kaiyd cried so loud it was deafening.
Maybe it was the love she had for the child or that she was going to be a mother of her own...when she heard him cry the only thing on her mind was Kaiyd. She carried him from the bed,undid her shirt to breastfeed him.
This is the worst....now everybody knows.