My Husband's Twin ✅

18

It had been a month already, and as it was being said, time healed everything. But it didn't heal Nadia, it just thought her how to leave the pain and sometimes, it did wonder of making her forget the pain for a few minutes before it rushed back to her. She had been in her room all day, only went out when she went to greet Hajia in the morning and the maid brought her every meal. Sohila had gone to one of her Uncle's houses, to stay with her cousins as she said, it was too hard staying in the house and seeing Hussain without being heartbroken all over again.

They all wished they could have a change of environment, but there are things that it didn't matter how bad we wanted them, we just can't have them and have to adjust to what life had brought toward us. She was seated on the bed, just staring at the wall as she thought about their random romantic moments in the room, on this very bed. Sometimes she smiled, but a tear always rolled down to remind her that she would never get that life again, only the memories were left for her.

She heard as the doorknob turned and someone entered the room, who could it be? She was sure she had prayed her Isha prayer maybe two hours ago, it could be ten at night by now. Her heart lost a bit when she saw his face, and she almost thought he was the husband she had badly missed before she remembered what had happened. The reality they all painfully lived with. He was her husband's twin. There were huge shopping bags in his hands and she wondered what they all were for, they could reach ten, as she roughly counted, and they all were filled.

Hussain walked to the sofa and kept all the bags before he pulled her vanity stool and placed it closer to the bed, he had refused to look around the room, where all Hassan's things were kept and if Nadia could remember, this is the first time he had entered their room since they got married. Maybe he had snuck his eyes from the door lots of times while waiting for Hassan to get ready so they could leave, but never into the room. And it felt alien seeing him there, she wanted her husband, not him.

She took her eyes away from his face, totally forgetting that her hair was slightly revealing, was it because his face was that of her husband and it would be so hard to adjust? She looked at the heap of shopping bags, "What's in those bags?" She asked with a low voice, suddenly saddened by his appearance.

"The baby's clothes. I wished we could go together so you can choose some things yourself, but you can't unnecessarily go out during this period. I hope there's nothing wrong, can you check them now? If there's, the driver can always take it back to the supermarket for a change, maybe Sohila will go, that will be better."

She was just staring at him as he spoke, since when did Hussain learnt to speak so long without taking a break? He barely spoke when she first knew him. She felt tears pooling the brink of her eyes, but she pushed them back. "I told you he has bought almost everything we could ever need, Second H. Look," she pointed at the walk in closet, "I could barely squeeze myself into the closet because of how the baby's items are scattered there. And you need to see the storeroom in Hajia's chamber, it's filled too."

She turned again to the shopping bags, feeling her heart getting warmed with something she couldn't fathom. "They're too much, really. But, thank you so much." She smiled genuinely at him, feeling sincerely thankful.

"You don't have to thank me, Nadia. And this should please be the last time you'd thank me for doing something to my child." He looked damn serious, and if someone that didn't know them overheard this conversation, one would think it really was his child.

She chuckled playfully to ease the awkward atmosphere. "Ai fa ba saban ba. (Hausa proverb)." He glared at her and she returned with a smile.

Hussain sighed and revealed the bomb, "I'll be leaving tomorrow."