The Eid Surprise
"Every Eid, Amina's family asks why she's still single. This year, she invents a fake boyfriend. She doesn't expect her 'fake' boyfriend's cousin—handsome, genuine Omar—to become very real."
The Eid Surprise
"You have a boyfriend?"
Amina's mother nearly dropped the seviyan. The whole family was staring.
"Yes. He couldn't come today. Work emergency." The lie came easily—practiced in her mirror all morning.
"What's his name?"
"Um. Raheem." The first name that came to mind.
"Raheem who?"
"Raheem... Khan?"
"Like Auntie Fatima's neighbors' son?" Her mother's eyes widened. "Let me call them—"
"NO!" Amina panicked. "Different Raheem. You don't know his family."
The lie spiraled.
By evening, "Raheem" had a full backstory—doctor, tall, devoted to Amina. The aunties were satisfied. Her mother was planning wedding colors.
Then Auntie Fatima's actual neighbors arrived with their visiting nephew.
"This is Omar," Auntie announced. "Single, successful—"
"I have a boyfriend." Amina's voice was too loud.
Omar raised an eyebrow. "Raheem Khan, right? My cousin."
She went pale. "What?"
"The family chat group is buzzing." He stepped closer, voice low. "Want help with your lie? I can confirm Raheem's existence."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I know what aunty pressure feels like." His smile was conspiratorial. "And because you're interesting."
They spent the evening maintaining the fiction—Omar vouching for the fake cousin, adding details, making Amina's family delighted.
"You're very good at this," she whispered.
"I'm even better at truth." He held her gaze. "Have dinner with me. Tomorrow. Let me get to know the woman behind the elaborate lie."
"Why?"
"Because you're brilliant, clearly terrified of your family's expectations, and I haven't laughed this hard in years." He took her hand. "Give me a chance, Amina."
Dinner became three months of real dating.
Omar was everything the fake Raheem wasn't—genuine, present, devoted to knowing her rather than impressing her family.
"This is the opposite of how it was supposed to go," Amina said one night, in his arms.
"Life's better unplanned." He kissed her neck. "I was supposed to be at that Eid party for five minutes. Instead, I found you."
"Because of a lie."
"Because of a woman brave enough to lie to her entire family." He grinned. "That takes strength."
They made love with laughter—finally, something uncomplicated.
Omar touched her like she was a gift, his joy infectious. When he entered her, Amina felt something settle.
"Meri jaan," he breathed. "You made up a boyfriend. Let me be the real one."
"You already are."
"Let me be more." He thrust deeper. "Everything, eventually."
"My family is going to have questions," Amina said afterward. "About Raheem suddenly becoming Omar."
"We'll tell them love works mysteriously." He laughed. "Or that Raheem moved to Canada and his better-looking cousin stepped up."
"They'll never believe that."
"They'll believe we're happy." He kissed her forehead. "That's all that matters."
The next Eid, Amina brought Omar—real, present, hers.
The family asked no questions.
The lie had become the best truth.