HER WEDDING NIGHT

CHAPTER 51

Akeela groaned and fluttered her eyes open sharply as the pain came. She was still laying on the bed without attempting to stand up, even after Jamal had left when the pain came.

She hadn't felt that much pain before. The usual ones were fever-like, cough, catarrh, and high temperature.

The pain came again and she groaned more loudly holding onto her stomach as she tried to sit upright all to no avail. She cried out when the second wave of pain hit her hard, making tears spill down her eyes.

She crawled down from the bed and lay on the cold floor. She began to cry when she realized that Jamal had no idea about her sickness and the thought of death came to her.

If she died, Jamal would regret it when the truth is eventually.

The pain suddenly subsidizes and she sits up. She sat for some minutes expecting the pain again but it seemed like it was gone. She wiped her tears, waved away all the bad thoughts, and dragged her body on the floor closer to the wardrobe.

When she got there, she stood abruptly and take off her two boxes beside the wardrobe. She flung the wardrobe open and began to select some clothes, folding them into the box. She was doing it in a hurry so she could leave before the pain comes back but she wasn't halfway done before it came back, hitting her harder than before. She slumped to the floor and winced in pain. She held her stomach.

It continued for a while until she realized she had to call someone before she pass out. She crawled to the bed to pick up her phone from the stand. She was lucky to get a hold of the phone but when she turned back to sit with her back to the bed, she noticed the trail of blood and her body began to shake profusely.

What is happening to me? She cried out and dialed Haneefah's number with her trembling hands. Haneefah wasn't picking.

She cried for several minutes before dialing the number again and she picked at the fifth ring.

"Hello", Haneefah's sleepy voice said into the phone.

"I'm dying, please come", she declared.

"What?!" Haneefah exclaimed sitting upright with wide eyes before Akeela disconnected the call and laid flat on the floor, hoping the pain will subside again like it did earlier and hoping Haneefah would come quickly so that God would use Haneefah to save her from dying.

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Jamal met the gate wide open and without giving it much thought, he drove in and parked the car roughly. He climbed down from the car in a hurry with his heart pounding hard in his chest like it was going to burst out of his chest soon. He had no idea why he was having a strange feeling about Akeela.

He opened the front door and rushed in. The living room was empty so he hurried into the master bedroom. It was also empty. He ran out and checked the other rooms, including the kitchen and the toilet but there was no sight of Akeela.

He rushed back into the bedroom, fishing out his phone from his pocket to give her a call to come back home from wherever she might have gone to when his eyes fell on the two opened boxes beside the wardrobe.

They were Akeela's and his mouth dropped open in surprise as he moved closer to the boxes. He flung the wardrobe open to see that half of her clothes were missing. He stared down at the boxes, pondering over what must have happened.

It looked like she was packing to go away but the presence of the boxes there was what got him confused. None of the boxes were missing. He got her the complete set of boxes including the three boxes she brought from home but they were all there. He swirled around the room in confusion. His head was hot and he wasn't thinking straight.

Where can she be? He asked, after a second thought that she must be around since her box was still inside and it looked like she hadn't finished packing yet.

He thanked God that he realized his mistake before it was too late. He had a feeling that Akeela was leaving him for good but since he came on time, he was going to do all it takes to stop her.

He strolled to the bed and sit down burying his head in his hand and letting out an exasperated sigh. When he raised his head again, he caught a glimpse of a sheet of paper on the nightstand and he picked it up immediately.

It was Akeela's handwriting and his heart picked up the racing session again.

It reads;

It's been two weeks of hell. Two weeks of nothing called happy married life like we were wished after the Imam tied the knot. Two weeks of suffering and wallowing in self-pity. Two weeks of no mercy from you and hopelessness on my path that it will turn out fine. I thought it was too early to give up but I realize it is also early for us to start taking the bumpy ride in our marriage which seems not to have any remedy to have our happily ever after.

Now, I am regretting why I didn't' marry Fred in the first place. I am regretting why I accepted you because my parents wanted us to be together, without considering my feelings which I tried as much as possible to quench to give yours a chance.

Now I am regretting everything I said and why I visited Fred. I regret being too soft and too considerate. I realize this might lead to my early grave when it was clear to the eyes that the man I call my husband doesn't even know that I am ill and dying.

I have no idea what is wrong with me and why I have been feeling sick for more than a week. I thought it was because I was depressed but I was wrong. Something was eating me up and I didn't bother about it because I was after my husband's happiness. I no longer wanted to go out when he is out so that when he comes back, he won't assume I went back to my ex to have goodbye sex.

Jamal, I spent 5 years in England. Fred and I met after 2 years of leaving Nigeria and we never had sex. My friends were always talking about what it means to have sex and I felt left out. I decided to give it a try, pushing away the thoughts of what my religion teaches about fornication. It was a normal thing to them and I thought it was too. But it never happened and I thanked Allah for that.

I caught Fred cheating and I left. If I didn't have sex with Fred for 3 years, why then will I give myself cheaply to him in just a few days to my wedding with the man I was already falling head over heels in love with?

Put yourself in my shoes and ask yourself the same question. Can you do that?

As much as I didn't want to compare you two, the loneliness and boredom in this house we call our matrimonial home wouldn't allow me. I gave up Fred because of two things; he was cheating and a non-Muslim.

Fred loved me wholeheartedly, in fact, Fred is obsessed with me. He apologizes for every little mistake of his. He cries for me and makes me feel like the most beautiful woman on earth. But the man I call my husband is different. We don't act or behave like couples. We are living as strangers and it is killing me.
I have decided to.....

The note stopped and Jamal saw the blood-stained parts. Her eyes flew open wide in shock.

Blood? He touched the stained part which was already dry and it fell from his hand as his hands trembled in fear. He was confused. Not only about where Akeela was but also about the blood.

What happened to my wife? He asked inwardly.

He wanted to run out when he noticed something written on the floor with the blood. It was saying. "I am sorry. Don't look for me."

Jamal stumbled to the floor and howled.

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I think we have just a few chapters to go. Thank you all for the continuous support, votes, and comment. Thank you, God bless you in immeasurable ways. Indeed, I am grateful.