My wedding to Aria is two weeks away, and I hope everything goes smoothly without any problems later on. But I was suddenly shocked when Aria told me a few days ago, when he asked to meet, that the money he was supposed to deliver to my house—the remaining amount needed for our wedding money—was gone because his mother had used it when she went on umrah.
My heart sank. How could Aria's mother be so heartless as to use money that was supposed to be given to me? Whatever the reason, Aria had entrusted that money to his own mother, but she used it to buy souvenirs in the Holy Land. Aria wasn't an only child who had to take full responsibility for his mother. Why did she have to use Aria's money when he had so many siblings who should have been able to contribute spending money for their own mother? This was absolutely outrageous, I thought.
"Babe, are you even thinking? That's the money I was supposed to give Mom to cover the rest of everything later. Why did your mother use it? You know our wedding is in two weeks. Where are you going to get that much money to cover the shortfall?" I said angrily.
"I know, Sweetheart. This is all my fault for entrusting all my savings to Mom. But should I get angry when none of her children were willing to give her spending money for her umrah? Maybe she was forced to use it because no one else gave her any, Sweetheart. Try to understand," Aria said, defending his mother.
I let out an irritated breath. I really didn't feel like arguing with Aria about money, especially since this involved his own mother. Of course he was going to defend her. I was furious and angry that my fiancé could be so trusting and indecisive, but what else could I do? It had already happened. I sat silently, thinking, while continuing to listen to Aria apologize for his mother's mistake. Should I just call off this wedding, considering the way Aria's mother and all his siblings had treated me? What was I supposed to do when the wedding was only two weeks away? Should I tell my mother?
"All right, Babe. I want you to do everything you can to make sure I receive the remaining money at my house within this week, and tell your mother to come to my house so we can discuss all of this. If you can't provide the remaining money within this week, then we'll go ahead with the wedding using only whatever amount you've already given me," I told Aria, so he would think about it and immediately try to find the money if he really wanted this wedding to happen.
"All right, Sweetheart. I'll try to find the rest of the money Mom used yesterday. Pray that I can get it soon. I'll come to your house with Mom and my siblings," Aria replied.
After that, I left Aria and went straight home to tell my mother. Would she be able to accept this, considering the way Aria's mother had previously treated her by unilaterally canceling her visit to our house?
I met with my mother and immediately told her what Aria had said to me. "Mom, Raina wants to talk to you about the remaining wedding money Aria was supposed to bring to our house. The money is gone, Mom. Aria's mother used it to go on umrah because his siblings didn't give her any spending money," I said carefully.
"Hmm. Why would they do that, honey? Couldn't Aria's siblings contribute spending money for their own mother? How could she use her child's wedding savings when it was obviously going to be needed this month? That family is a mess. They do whatever they want and don't respect us as the bride's family," Mom replied angrily and bitterly.
"What else can we do, Mom? I don't feel like fighting over money. I already told Aria that he has to find the rest within this week. If he can't, we'll just get married with whatever money Aria has already given us, Mom. What matters is that the marriage is legally valid, and Aria won't have to go into debt to cover the shortfall."
"Raina, if his entire family doesn't come to our house and doesn't try to find the rest of the money either, you'd better borrow it from your aunt. You can pay it back in installments with Aria after you get married. I want your wedding to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, something you'll remember until you grow old together." My mother advised me to borrow the money from my aunt as a solution.
I fell silent and wondered whether that was the solution to covering my shortfall. Besides, if I paid it back in installments after the wedding, it wouldn't burden me because Aria and I could make the payments together, and our salaries should be enough. I also wanted to see what Aria would do this week. If he provided the rest of the wedding money, I would abandon the idea of borrowing from my aunt. I would only look for a loan from her if I was truly desperate. Fortunately, my family supported one another and never made an issue of money. As long as it was for a good purpose, they would help and do whatever they could. I was lucky to have such an understanding family that knew my situation and helped me whenever I had problems.
It had been five days since my last meeting with Aria, when we'd discussed his mother using his savings, but he still hadn't told me whether he had obtained the rest of our wedding money. I felt awkward about contacting him first, so I decided to wait for news from Aria. Maybe he was trying to find it right now.
In the afternoon, I heard my phone ring and checked who had sent me a message. It turned out to be Aria, telling me that he had gotten the rest of the money and would bring it over after Maghrib prayer that night. I was so happy because Aria had finally proved that he meant what he said about trying to find the rest of our wedding money. All I had to do was tell my mother that Aria would be coming over that night to deliver it.
"Mom, Aria is coming over tonight to bring the rest of our wedding money," I told my mother.
"Thank God. Aria is finally making an effort to prove that he meant what he said. I thought he wouldn't be able to bring the rest, seeing how messed-up his family is. I don't want in-laws like that—people who act rich but don't respect anyone else."
It was seven o'clock at night, and Aria's family should have arrived too, but by then there was no message or phone call from Aria informing me that they were coming. I was extremely anxious. What if Aria wasn't coming to my house after all tonight? I kept waiting while checking my phone in case Aria contacted me. Oh God, please let everything go smoothly tonight and don't let there be any problems.