Heart Broken (Unedited)

Chapter One

"Once upon a time i was falling in love but now am falling apart"

6 years ago

And again he did not answer. She's called him for the 50th time she thought, she has lost count of how many times she's called without him answering. What could be the matter she thought while pacing up and down, distress and fear evident on her face. It is unlike her husband to spend 2 hours without checking on her. And yet today he has spent over 6 hours without as much as a message informing her of his whereabouts or the usual he is missing her and can't wait to come home. Sakinah silently prayed for her husband's safety and went into her room to get a hijab and her car keys. As she was picking up the keys from her vanity table, she heard a faint sound of her ringtone from the living room. She hastily went out to answer it hoping it's him returning her call.

Hello?

She answered waiting to hear who the caller with an unknown number is.

Yeah okay i'll be with you in a minute, thanks.

Ending the call, she kept the car keys on the table,wore flats and went out of the house. Abba was already parked in front of the gate. She barely closed the car door when she began asking him why he had to take her home at such hour of the day. Abba(her husband's younger brother) smiled and told her he was on his way home when their mum called him and asked him to go bring her home. Her heart was beating so fast and she was silently chanting prayers. When her in-laws house came into view, she saw cars parked outside the gate which was unusual considering its already past 8 pm.

As soon as Abba parked his own, she ran into the house and was shocked to see Ahmad sitting amongst his siblings chatting away. He rose from his seat and walked gently towards her not breaking eye contact. He took her soft hands and all her fears vanished. The whole room erupted into a loud happy anniversary Ya Ahmad and Aunty Sakinah. Slowly tears of joy slid down her cheeks. She held him in a bone crushing hug and he whispered in her ear

Sakinah, wifey i love you. Happy 3rd anniversary.

She smiled and replied;

Habibi you sure know how to make a girl's heart race. I love you. And when we celebrate our 30th anniversary inSha Allah. I'll remind you just how much you made me feel today. I can't live without you Ahmad and today made me realise that.

Present day

Can't live without me indeed. I scoffed. I can vividly remember that day we had a mini party and prayer session at Hajiya's to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We would have been seated at a table in an exquisite restaurant at only God knows which country she could have chosen to celebrate our 9th at this moment. Instead, here i am seated on my desk moping while she is probably having the time of her life elsewhere. Wait! Stop it Ahmad. Just stop it already. I scolded myself. I can't go on like this. Sakinah left me and took my heart with her. She not only took my heart but my peace and happiness as well. Just then, my phone rang pulling me out of my trance. Ya Salam! It's Hajiya. I promised to drive her to the airport and i'm running late. She will skew me alive if i make her miss her flight. I slid the green recieve button on my phone screen while hurriedly walking out of my office.

Hajiya am on my way...Yes...You'll make it to Gombe today inSha Allah.

Cuts call.

*
While on the way to the airport, Hajiya kept talking about how excited she is to be going to her hometown.

It's been quite long since i visited last. It's almost a year now.

She said.

Then just like a switch has been flicked, her tone changed. She became gloomy all of a sudden. I know that look and i hate it. I don't like it when people pity me. Why should they do that anyway. Its not like i'm homeless or anything. Besides, i am not the first man who got ditched by the wife he loved so dearly. I'm not the first man to get broken hearted or the first to can't seem to heal. I am not the first and certainly won't be the last man to be a victim of such. Hajiya's gentle touch on my shoulder brought me out of my reverie. I slowly released my death grip on the steering wheel.

Hasbunallahu wa ni'imal wakil. A'uzubillahi min ash shaytanir rajim.

I kept whispering until we finally reached the airport. I carried Hajiya's luggage into the airport. And after some minutes of going through the weighing and checking in formalities, it was finally time for Hajiya to proceed to the boarding gate and for me to say goodbye. I apologised for the way I zoned out and kept to myself during the drive to the airport. Hajiya smiled,that motherly smile that is capable of making any angry man calm. And just like that i forgot all my worries and my tense posture relaxed. She advised me to continue praying hard and to stop worrying.

I want you to let go and become happy again Ahmad. I have this feeling that the time is near. May Allah make it easy for you.

And I replied a silent ameen Hajiya.

We said our goodbyes and she promised i'll be the first she calls when she lands in Gombe.

*
Habibi! Habeeebeee! she called out to me in her melodious voice. You know Hajiya's flight is in less than an hour and you promised we would take her to the airport unless you want her to miss her flight, she reminded me for the second time. On reaching Hajiya's, Sakinah entered her room and locked me out. After about ten minutes, both of them came out with Sakinah holding Hajiya's handbag and dragging her suitcase. I took the suitcase from her and took it to the car, with both of them trailing behind.

During the drive, i smiled all through because Sakinah sat with Hajiya in the backseat and she kept acting like a baby. She held onto Hajiya's hands and kept talking like a spoilt brat. She told her how much she would miss her. And the things she would do in her absence. On reaching the airport, i noticed tears running down Sakinah's soft cheeks. And that touched my heart. She would miss Hajiya, she kept sniffing.

After completing the usual checking in routine, we had to say goodbye to Hajiya. Sakinah clutched onto her arms and wouldn't let go. Hajiya hugged her (a warm motherly hug i don't often get but which my wife always does) and said;

My dear, i'll be back before you even notice i'm gone. I promise.

Sakinah kept sobbing and i just stood and looked at the two of them with surprise. This is the first time Hajiya is travelling since my marriage to Sakinah (4 months ago). Okay i know they are close but never thought it's reached this point. I've always heard of stories of mother and daughter in-laws and it's never been a pleasant one. It has always been that of pure hatred. But Alhamdulillah my mother and wife get along so well. Even more than my Hajiya and i sometimes do. That made me smile with content.

Ahmad you're just standing there and smiling. Come and get your wife.

It wasn't easy ungriping wifey's hold on Hajiya. I wiped her tears away with my thumb.

Wifey now i'm jealous. If you prefer to go with Hajiya and leave me behind all alone to wallow in misery 'cause of your absence, then let's get you a ticket too.

She raised her face to look at me and i feigned seriousness.

She sniffed and lowered her face. Habibi i'd rather not. I love you more than anyone and you know that. And i wouldn't want to leave you home alone.

Those words used to be my undoing.

I hope you liked the chapter.
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To obeybeh thanks for inspiring big sis.
Love you sooo much.

❤❤❤