[2 Months Ago]

"What's wrong with you bro?" Isa snapped through the phone. What is wrong with me? Why can't I go home? What's stopping me from going to her? I knew at first I had to figure things out, be the person she deserves. But now that I've done that I don't know why I can't just go home.

Would she even forgive me for being gone so long? "I don't know..." I muttered more to myself than him. "Why aren't you picking up her calls? You know I can't always be there to fix things up for the both of you, right? My coach is even getting mad at me for making this phone call during practice. Just hurry up and come back home because you know she can't wait forever."

He was right, she can't wait forever. I'd be lucky even if she talked to me when I go back let alone marry me.

I watched as Zamzam laid her head against a pillow and closed her eyes tightly. I stroked her head with my fingers gently so she wouldn't wake up. When we got to my house she was so tired that after she removed her makeup and changed her clothes she fell right to sleep.

"Thank you Allah." I whispered gratefully.

* * *

Suddenly I felt someone pushing me side to side gently, I slowly opened my eyes and saw Zamzam. She was holding a plate of pancakes and a cup of juice then put it on the night stand. "Good morning sleepy head!" She said in a sing song voice as she opened the curtains. I could get used to waking up to her face everyday.

"Morning, beautiful." I replied as I got up and kissed her forehead. "I'll come back in a second." I quickly walked over to the rest room and brushed my teeth. When I came back in I noticed her laying on the bed using her phone not even noticing that I came back inside the room. I quickly snatched her phone from her hand which caused her to glare at me. "Give it back Mathews!" She demanded.

She's so cute when she's angry.

"Come and get it, Mrs. Mathews." I challenged her with a smirk creeping on my face. She tried to snatch it back but she was too slow. "Seriously dude, hand it over," She tried hard to hide her smile but I could still see it. Doing stuff like this reminds me of before I left. "Is whatever you're doing on your phone more important than me?" I feigned hurt.

"Yes."

"That's it your not getting it back."

She looked around the room and smiled when she saw something. "And you're not getting your hair gel back." She smirked knowing that I'd do anything for my hair gel. "Okay, you won." I set her phone back on the bed. She quickly grabbed it but didn't bother to hand me back my hair gel. "Come and get it!" She repeated my words as she ran out of my room. I ran after her and into the living room. "Come on babe, lets not go crazy." I slowly walked over to her as I put my arms up in surrender.

"Why? Can't go without your precious hair gel?" She smirked wider. I quickly ran up to her and wrapped my arms around her waist, picking her up from the ground. "Put me down!" She struggled under my grip. I laid her down on the couch and grabbed my hair gel from her hands. "I have to give you credit though. I never knew you were that fast." I laid beside her.

She turned to me, propping herself on her elbow. "I ran track from 6th grade to 9th grade. That's one of the many things you have yet to discover about me." She looked up at the ceiling with a thoughtful look on her face. Ya Allah she's so beautiful. Slowly, I got a grip of her hand and held it tightly in mine.

"Tell me another." I said curiously.

"You go first."

"I've always wanted a sibling ever since I was little." I told her, not knowing what else to say. "Then when I discovered I had one all my life .... You already know." I trailed, suddenly feeling depressed a little. It's the first time I've said anything related to what happened with my father and Avon. I still think about them from time to time though. She suddenly turned to me and looked me deep in the eyes. "You know you could always talk to me about anything right? Even if it's about you know what."

"I know. Your turn, quit stalling." I changed the subject.

"I've always wanted a daughter. You know, a little mini me." She stated with excitement in her eyes. I would love to have a daughter, one that I could protect and love with all my heart. I'd want to shield her from all of the evil in this world and make sure she's always happy. "Another one of you? I don't know if I could handle that." I joked, which resulted with her hitting my shoulder.

"Shut up!" She laughed. "You'll be lucky to have another me. I can't imagine what it would be like to have another Adam Mathews running around."

"Hey, what's wrong with another me?" I asked giving her a fake defensive stare.

"Too much cockiness for one person to handle!" She stated while sticking out her tongue. "Now you're asking for it again." I teased as I got up and chased after her. Zamzam then quickly leaped off of the chair and our short truce was over.

* * *

"Turn on ESPN, Isa is on right now." Zamzam said as she ran to the living room with a bowl of popcorn. Grabbing the remote, I turned on ESPN. She quickly sat beside me and leaned on my shoulder. "Today we are here with two time boxing world champion, Isa Amin. At the young age of 21 he's managed to take the boxing world by storm and capture millions of hearts while doing so." One of the hosts said as he smiled at Isa. "Mr. Amin, a lot of people are very interested in your story so would you care to tell us?"

The camera turned to Isa. Surprisingly he didn't looked nervous at all, it's like he was meant to be on TV. "Thank you for having me here today. I'm sorry if my story isn't the one you've imagined, but it is what made me the person I am today so here it goes. I was born and raised in New York City with my parents, and 2 siblings. I have one older brother and one younger sister, I'm pretty sure they're watching this right now. Ever since I was little I've always wanted to become a boxer so one day when I was walking in the mall with my mother I saw these boxing gloves through a glass window. I remember begging my mom to buy me it and when she finally did I looked to her and told her every time I'd win a match I'd think of her," He stopped for a second and cleared his throat.

"Wow she must be so proud of you." The second host said. "Please go on."

"W-When I was 17 she passed away due to a car accident. Before she died, I stopped boxing due to an injury I got during one of my matches. After she passed away I got into a lot of fights and fell into the wrong crowd, I just completely let myself go. I knew I was being selfish by not trying to help my family get through this but I just couldn't stop. Not once did I ask if my brother, sister, father, or grandmother were okay. I just continued to fight until one day I was called into my counselor's office. He told me I should start boxing again. At first I was against it but after a while I finally did. I think that was the best decision I've ever made because if I didn't I'd probably be in jail by now."

"Anyways, one day I was at practice when I saw an ad for a free boxing scholarship. After talking to my brother about it I decided to make an application. A couple of months later I got my acceptance letter and was preparing to leave. But then I got into a car accident weeks before I was supposed to leave. After my doctors told me to lay off of sports I thought my whole career would come to an end. I prayed that everything would be okay. Thankfully by God's will everything did turn out to be okay because here I am living out my dream. I never thought that I'd ever reach this far but Alhamdulilah I did. But I didn't do it alone, I wouldn't be anywhere without my family, friends and most importantly God." Isa finally concluded. Turning over to Zamzam, I noticed a tear drop rolling down her cheek.

"That truly is inspiring. What made you want to become a boxer in the first place?" The first host asked curiously.

"I've always looked up to Muhammed Ali ever since I could remember. It's because of him that I wanted to not just become a boxer but someone who sticks up for what they believe in." Isa responded. The second host looked at the time on his phone then looked back up at Isa. "Thank you for coming here today and sharing your story with us but it seems like we've run out of time."

"Thank you for having me."

"Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?"

"Oh wow," He smiled at the camera. "First of all thank you for always supporting me and cheering me on. I wish I could meet every single one of you and personally thank you. You guys aren't just my fans but you're also my strength. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't live out your dreams because if you put in enough time and effort then your dream can become a reality. I love you guys."

"That was Isa Amin, ladies and gentle men. We will be back after this short break." After that I turned off the TV with a sigh.

"I have a new kind of respect for him." I stated.

"Same here."

* * *

I'm so proud of Isa for going on national television and telling his story. I've always known that he was brave but not this brave. "Is this the place you work?" Adam asked as he slowed the car down. "Yup." I replied, grabbing my bag. "I didn't know you worked at a Children's hospital." He stated in shock. "I'm a paid intern here. I've been working here ever since my senior year of high school."

"Oh okay what time should I pick you up?" He asked.

"Around 8 o'clock." I answered as I closed the door.

* * *

"Hey Smurf." Amir said as he walked through the double doors with Deenah in his hands. Oh did I forget to mention that Amir and Aliyah have a kid? Yeah her name is Deenah and she's only 8 months old. She's the cutest thing Mashallah. "What's up, Girrafe." I walked up to Deenah and held her in my hands. "Hi Deenah." I kissed her on the cheek. "You here to see your momma?" I cooed.

"Where is Aliyah anyway?" Amir asked as he peered over my shoulder. "She's in the back checking up on a patient." I replied as I handed Deenah back to her father. "You know I'm angry at you for not coming to my wedding." I glared at Amir.

"I'm sorry, I really wanted to but I had work and when I got off I had to stay with Deenah. Our babysitter said that she wasn't available last minute so it was either I stay or Aliyah. I didn't want her to because she deserves to go out and have fun. But I'm so happy for you, you know that right?" He asked with an apologetic look on his face. I nodded my head with a sigh, I understand why he couldn't make it but it still sucks. We've been best friends since elementary school. In a way he feels like my twin, we literally did everything together and I know how it killed him to miss it. Dude has been apologizing nonstop and I forgave him a while ago. He just doesn't know it yet. Hey, he needs to suffer a little. I know I mean, so what?

"How is Adam anyway?" He asked. "Fine, I'm only forgiving you because I understand. He's good I guess." I let out a sigh as i sat back down on my seat.

"Did you see Isa on TV today?" He changed the subject. Before I could say anything Aliyah walked up to where we were and greeted her husband and daughter. They're such a cute family Mashallah. "I'll leave you guys alone." I said as I walked back to my desk. I can't wait until I have my first child In Shaa Allah. Suddenly my phone started buzzing so I checked the caller ID before answering. It was Adam's mom, my new mother-in-law.

Ever since Adam left Veronica and I have gotten really close. "Hey Veronica." I answered. "Hello Zamzam, I was just wondering how everything is going." She responded.

"It's going good, how are you?"

"I'm fine I just have some disturbing news," She let out a sigh before continuing. "I don't know how but Alec seemed to have found out that Adam came back and now he's demanding to see the both of you. He won't stop trying until he meets you guys."

My hands immediately started to shake once I thought of what he did to Adam and what he did to me. "I'll speak with Adam about it."

"Okay sweetie."

* * *

"What?" He said immediately after I told him. "That's what your mother told me." I replied, just the thought of Alec makes me so angry.

"I'll go..." He stated after a moment of thought.

"What!?" I looked at him as if he lost his mind. Well he might as well have if he's okay with seeing him again. "I want to see my father and show him that we are nothing alike. I want to prove to him that I've changed." He tried to explain.

"Fine, then I'll go with you."

"No you won't." He exclaimed.

"Why the hell not? Do you expect me to let you see him by yourself!?" I practically shouted.

"Listen to me Zamzam, I can't let you go anywhere near him. This is my fight okay? I have to do this alone. Please understand." He grabbed my hand gently. "Last time I checked being married to one another means that we both fight each other's battles together. Haven't I proved to you a thousand times that I don't always need a bodyguard? I can take care of myself. You can't just expect me to sit back and do nothing." I don't know why I was getting so angry.

"I know and that's one of the many reasons why I love you. You're strong and independent. But this fight, I really need to go it alone. I hope you understand." He pleaded. After a couple of seconds I finally nodded my head. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me. Maybe I'm being too much? Or maybe just the thought of him scares the hell out of me.

"Thank you for understanding." He kissed the top of my head gently. I let out a sigh and laid down on the mattress. Before I knew it I let the beautiful thing called sleep over power me.

😘