Against The Tide (Formerly Two Tribes)

26: Coming Clean

Najah wasn't surprised by Afrah's outburst. Putting herself in Najah's shoes, she realized she probably would have reacted in a worse manner. Afrah was still in the dark about why Najah had paid her a visit about a month ago. She understood Afrah was still pained about the false things and insults she had hurled at her.

Finally deciding it was time to come clean, Najah made her way to Afrah's room.

She inhaled a deep breath before knocking on the door.

Najah knew talking to Afrah wasn't going to be easy as Afrah already considered her a villain in her and Jameel's love story but that didn't discourage her at all. It was something she had to do for peace to reign in the house. She wasn't doing it for herself—she barely had friends so she had gotten accustomed to the loneliness. She definitely wasn't doing it for Jameel either because he didn't even have an idea of what was going on. She had promised Hajiya Hauwa that she would try her best to live in harmony with Afrah, and she planned on keeping her promise for Hajiya was like a mother whom she loved and had a truckload of respect for.

Najah knocked again on the door and uttered; "Assalamualaikum, Afrah... can I talk to you? I just need to clarify something to you."

Immediately the words left her mouth, the door flung open and an angry Afrah came into view. "Didn't I make myself clear enough to you earlier? What do you want from me?"

"Can I come in?" Najah asked.

"No," Afrah replied, blocking the passage with her whole body. "You can't come in. Whatever it is you want to say to me, say it to me right here."

"Okay...I know we started on the wrong foot, and for that, I don't blame you for not...you know, liking me..."

Afrah scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"I definitely would feel the same way you feel right now...I'm sorry about the things I said to you on that day. From the bottom of my heart, I didn't mean any of those harsh words. I was forced to say them to you because I wanted to provoke you."

Bemused, Afrah's face scrunched up.

"Yes, Afrah," Najah swallowed. "I visited you with the sole aim of provoking you into agreeing to marry Jameel."

"What rubbish are you saying?" Afrah eyed her. "Are you—"

"It's the truth, Afrah! I will explain...when I got married to Jameel, it was as if I had gotten married to an empty shell. He was there but he wasn't really there. I was surprised when I found out he was like that because he had lost the girl he was in love with. I tried to break down the walls he built around himself, and I believe I succeeded to an extent because he started to open up more to me. We had a deep conversation which ended in a mutual agreement of us getting to understand each other better before advancing our relationship because we respect each other a lot. I didn't want that to be lost. I was the one that suggested it to him because I didn't want to force him into something he wasn't ready for because given the type of person Jameel is, he would do anything for his mother even though it's against his will. He will go to whatever extent to fulfill her desires."

"How does this concern me?" Afrah shrugged. "Why are you telling me?"

"Jameel loves you a lot. I saw it for myself," Najah smiled, recalling how happy he had been when he found out she didn't die. That moment was special to Najah because it was one of the rare moments she had seen him laugh heartily. His heart was practically laid bare in front of her on that day. The conversation they had that day was not that of a husband and his wife, but two exceptional friends. He didn't hold back from expressing how he felt. Although a part of Najah's heart ached, another part shared his happiness with him. She had been so happy that she found herself smiling subconsciously. It was there and then that she decided to do whatever it would take to ensure he didn't go back to his old gloomy self.