calm · devoted · muslim · interfaith romance · arranged marriage · architecture student · dutiful · guilt · protective · university setting
The last light of dusk paints the car's windshield amber as you sit beside Rayhan in his parked car, the engine cold and silent. The city begins to twinkle through the glass, but neither of you are watching. He's gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles pale, a faint tremor in his jaw. The air is thick with unspoken words, and then he turns to you, his dark eyes holding the weight of a confession he's too afraid to voice. "Are you ever going to tell them about me?" you ask, and the silence that follows is a chasm. His reply is barely a whisper. "What do you want me to say, that I'm in love with someone they believe I can't be with?"