20 Years Adrift
Chapters 18. She's my wife

The man who greeted Affan was Ardi. He is the son of Affan's cousin, whose grandfather is Affan's father's older brother.

Since Affan's company has made rapid progress, Ardi's extended family is envious. They assume that Affan only has fun and enjoys the wealth of his parents.

Ardi walked up to Affan while continuing to look at Aira with a wanted look. He could not believe that his uncle liked a young girl who was the same age as his son. During this time the person known alim openly held the hand of a woman in public.

"How are you doing Ardi?" greet Affan.

"Very good, Om. If Om's bored, I want him." Ardi still continued to stare at Aira with a disrespectful look.

"Astaghfirullah's. Stavropol, Ar. It doesn't matter if you don't respect me, but never harass a hijab woman in public. Keep your courtesy your son-in-law!" Affan doesn't like Ardi to keep staring at Aira.

Aira also felt uncomfortable being too close to Ardi. He moved behind Affan's back without letting go of his handrails. His head lowered, he did not want to show his face to Ardi.

Ardi's facial expression changed. According to him what Affan did was inferior to him. Likewise with the woman standing behind him whom he considered to be a saintly pretender.

"There is no need to bring religion when doing a crime, Om. That woman is willing to be held by Om, which means it's not wrong for me to want it either."

Affan's chest looks up and down. He talks a lot to his distant nephew. Maybe it's time everyone found out about the wedding. She would close her eyes and ears if anyone thought badly about her marriage.

"She's my wife, meet you. I'll beat you up until you touch it! Assalamu'alaikum."

After saying that Affan took Aira away from Ardi. He did not want to hear the words that caused him to get emotional. Ardi was just a small portrait of the vanity of his extended family.

The free life lived by Ardi made him go wild. Both of his parents always pampered him with materials. Moreover, he studied abroad which never limited a association under the pretext of human rights.

Affan's long footsteps made Aira walk quickly to equalize the pace. Affan did not immediately realize this state of affairs and continued to move on. His chaotic mind rendered him insensitive to the circumstances around him.

They finally arrived in front of a sizable distro. Before shopping for daily necessities, Affan wanted Aira to buy some clothes.

Affan looked at Aira's face that was soaked with sweat. His breath gasps and occasionally gasps. The journey from the parking lot to where they are currently quite far away so it is quite draining to reach it.

Aira looked confused, she did not know whether to say honest things or not. He chooses to smile without burden so that Affan does not feel more guilty about him.

"Next time you have to remind me if I make you uncomfortable, Aira. Don't just shut up." Affan rubbed the head of Aira who was wrapped in a headscarf gently.

"I'm okay, Om. I don't like to linger there either" Aira explained.

They both smile.

"Yes, we're shopping right away."

Affan took Aira's hand into a distro that sold branded clothes. Aira seemed hesitant to enter it. Although he had never shopped for clothes with brands in this distro but he knew if the price was very expensive.

To please Affan, Aira pretends to choose clothes even though there is no intention to buy them. He stopped for a moment and walked around. His very simple appearance showed that he could not afford the goods that were there and in fact it was.

The distro employee continued to follow him and watched him silently, while Affan was picking in the men's clothing section.

'Based on poor girls, don't have the money just to get into a classy distro. Thought here a lot of KW goods and discounts, what?' The staff of the distro glanced cynically at Aira who never picked up the clothes displayed in front of him.

"Who do you want, Ma'am? If you are looking for a cheap one, this is not the place. From earlier I saw that you just turned back the bandrol to check the price," the distro official said.

Some time ago there was a student who came to that place and broke a shirt. He does not want to compensate. Those employees are now stricter at keeping tabs on shoppers, especially younger visitors and not their subscriptions.

"Sorry, Ma'am. I haven't found a suitable shirt yet" Aira said nervously.

Her head looked back and forth to find her husband. Right now he's not carrying a penny. Without Affan, Aira looks like a missing person there.

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