Two weeks had passed since Afrah returned to her matrimonial home. Things had not drastically changed from how they were—Afrah still couldn't stand Najah's presence and Najah hadn't given her the opportunity to fight with her. Deep within, Afrah had been waiting for the chance. Not because she enjoyed the drama but because she wanted to prove to Jameel that Najah wasn't as innocent as she claimed to be. For some inexplicable reason, Afrah didn't buy her miss goody two shoes act. She could sense pretense in everything Najah did.
Jameel, on the other hand, had been doing everything he could to redeem his gentleman-ish self and prove to her that he made a huge mistake. Afrah couldn't deny the fact that he was doing an excellent job for he practically began to do everything she asked for. Even so, she didn't fail to guilt trip him once in a while. A part of her still hadn't forgiven him for what he did. Anytime the memory flashed in her mind, she tended to switch up and give him a subtle attitude.
There was nothing Afrah hated more than Jameel praising Najah in her presence. It invoked wrath in her. To Jameel, Najah could do no wrong, and that mentally of his irked Afrah beyond words. It made her dislike Najah even more because she had zero tolerance for manipulators.
Afrah had been trying her best to be on her lane, and she expected the same from Najah. She believed there won't clash as long as they minded their business.
Waking up feeling lightheaded had somewhat become a constant for Najah. Today wasn't an exception. She felt her head spinning and her vision, fuzzy.
Regardless of how dizzy she was feeling, she managed to complete her prayer.
Afrah was still seated on her prayer mat, making supplications when Jameel returned from the masjid and walked into her room muttering "Assalamualaikum"
She replied "wa alaikum salaam" under her breath and continued with her supplications.
Without saying a word to interrupt her, Jameel occupied the space beside her.
When Afrah had finished praying several minutes later, she greeted him; "Good morning..."
Jameel cupped her face with both his hands; his eyes boring into hers. "You look pale, Jafrah! Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? You've been complaining of headaches for a while now."
Afrah removed his hands from her face and shook her head. "I'm sure it's just stress. I don't want to undergo the stress of going to a hospital...besides, I despise the smell there. Thinking about it right now makes me even want to throw up."
Jameel drew her into his embrace and planted a kiss on her temple. "If you don't want to go, then we won't go."
Afrah nodded against his chest.
"You kept tossing and turning the whole night. I know you didn't sleep a wink."
"I actually did. I'm surprised I was turning in my sleep. Why didn't you wake me?"
"I did but you went back to sleep immediately."
Afrah hummed.
"What do you want to eat today?" Jameel inquired. "I'm going to make you whatever you want today. It's going to be breakfast in bed. I'm in the mood."
"What do I want?" Afrah asked herself. "Hmm...pancakes! Homemade!"
"Pancakes?"
"I have been craving it since last night."
"But I thought you didn't like pancakes. I remember that clearly."
"I also don't know why I suddenly want them," Afrah shrugged. "Can you even make pancakes?"
"Naj—" There was a momentary cut but he continued anyway. "Najah makes really nice ones. I'll get help from her."
Afrah's demeanor instantly contorted in irritation. "I don't crave pancakes anymore."
Jameel gave her a skeptical look. "You don't crave it anymore or you don't want it anymore because I mentioned Najah."
"I just don't want to eat pancakes anymore."
"Why are you acting this way?"
Afrah suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Was that even a question? "How am I acting?"
"It's fine."
"What is?"
"You don't want pancakes anymore, so it's fine. You've saved me the stress."
"You didn't want to make them in the first place..."
Jameel shook his head in disbelief.
"It's fine," Afrah continued. "I'll go out and look for where to buy some. I'm sorry for stressing you in the first place. I had no idea that I've been a burden to you."
"I thought you said you didn't want them anymore?"
"I just don't want you to make them for me anymore. I'm going to sort myself out."
Jameel shrugged. There was little to nothing he could do in that situation.
•
Afrah kept mumbling incoherently as she made breakfast. It pained her that Jameel couldn't see that she hated it whenever he spoke highly of Najah for he kept doing it. Afrah didn't plan for her life to be this way—filled with bitterness and jealousy. It was already taking a toll on her.
This time, she felt she shouldn't have agreed to return home. She felt she would be more at peace if she was at her parents'.
"He wanted to make the pancakes together with her but now that I'm the one making breakfast, he is nowhere to be found. Great! Just great." Afrah muttered as she began to transfer the pieces of yam in the bowl to the frying pan on the cooker.
Afrah had just finished making the fried yam and was about to turn off the cooker when she was overtaken by a wave of nausea. It was so intense that she had to hold onto the counter to support herself from falling to the ground.
Najah chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. "Afrah?!" She exclaimed and ran to her aid. "Are you okay? Why are you leaning against the counter like this?"
"I'm..." Afrah's voice trailed off as the nauseating feeling intensified. "Fine."
Najah shook her head in disagreement. "No, you're not." She said, attempting to move closer to Afrah but typical Afrah refused to take any help from Najah. Even at that crucial moment, the last thing Afrah wanted was to be indebted to Najah in any form.
"This won't do...I'm going to call Jameel." Najah informed.
At this point, all Afrah could hear were floating words that dissipated in the air. Her head was spinning so badly that she wanted to scream but just couldn't find the strength to do so.
The last thing Afrah remembered before everything turned black was Jameel running to her and Najah trailing behind.
•
Afrah opened her eyes to a worried Jameel. The intensity of his gaze made her uncomfortable and scared. For Jameel to have that look on his face, Afrah deciphered she was seriously sick.
"You're awake..." Jameel's voice trailed.
Wordlessly, Afrah continued to stare back at him.
"How do you feel? Do you need me to call the doctor for you?"
Afrah felt tears prickling her eyes at the possibility of her biting the dust. "Jameel," the words emerged from her lips before she could stop them. "Am I dying?"
Jameel's frown deepened. "Why would you even ask me that?"
The fact that he didn't answer the question made Afrah believe that her hunch was indeed right. She quickly caught a tear before it could run down her cheek. "Can you please just answer the question? I have a right to know what's wrong with me!"
Jameel's demeanor morphed into a dampened smile.
Afrah could legit see his eyes smiling. She heaved a small sigh of relief.
"The doctor confirmed to me that we are going to be parents!"
Afrah's eyes narrowed. "I didn't get that..."
"You have a blessing growing in your stomach."
Afrah's hand automatically found her stomach. "I...I am pregnant?"
Jameel nodded; the smile never leaving his face.
"Really? Seriously? How? I mean...this is insane. It's unbelievable. Are you sure the doctor didn't make a mistake?" Afrah questioned. She was finding it hard to believe because she had already had her hopes up once, only to have them shattered. She didn't want a repeat of that unpleasant feeling.
Jameel gave her a side-eye. "Why do I feel you don't want it to be true because you definitely sound like it."
"It's because I want to be sure first...the result came out negative when I checked back at my parents' house. I didn't tell you about it right away because I didn't want you to feel the disappointment I felt."
Jameel took her hand in his, caressing it. "We are indeed going to be parents."
Like a faucet, tears began to run down Afrah's face—tears of immense joy. She alone knew how much she wanted a baby that she would be able to call hers. No one else. Despite everything that had transpired between her and Jameel, she wanted to have his child. She had been waiting for the day she would hear someone call her their mother. She was finally going to get that.
Jameel moved closer to her. He wiped her tears with his hands before kissing her on the lips briefly. "I'm the happiest person in the world right now...I'm not even kidding. You needed to have seen me when the doctor broke the good news to me. Hajiya is going to be so happy too when she hears this. She's been waiting for this for way too long."
Afrah smiled at that. She was hopeful that her mother-in-law would finally accept her fully.
"Thank you, Afrah. This is the best gift I've received in a long while. I love you so much. I love you. Thank you!"
Afrah's heart couldn't contain the happiness. She felt the urge to scream at the top of her lungs. The feeling was overwhelming. It still felt like a dream to her. She was going to be a mother?
"You're going to be a great mom."
"I'm not sure about that..." Although she had been waiting for the moment, she couldn't stop the fear that was brewing in the pits of her stomach. Her thoughts went haywire. She felt she wasn't going to be a good mother as she wasn't the best wife.
"I'm telling you that you're going to be." Jameel smiled. "I know this for a fact. You're a wonderful person."
"You're just saying this to make me feel good."
"Have I ever lied to you before?"
Afrah narrowed her eyes at him.
"Believe in yourself."
Afrah nodded in agreement. That was the least she could do. "You're going to make a good dad too."
"In Sha Allah," Jameel smiled. "I'm going to try my best. Are you ready to go home? The doctor said we can leave when you're ready."
"Please," Afrah sighed. "I can't wait to leave here."
•
Back home, Afrah watched intently as Jameel broke the good news to Najah. She wanted to see the sadness in Najah's face but Najah refused to give her the satisfaction. All Afrah got was a disappointment.
"Really?" Najah's lips lofted from both sides. "Congratulations! I'm so happy to hear this."
Jameel smiled back at her.
Afrah suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She felt it was a charade from Najah's end. There was no way she would be happy about her husband expecting a child with his other wife. She didn't believe anyone's heart to be as pristine as that. There was no way—impossible!
"Congratulations, Afrah," Najah said. "I pray you have an easy one."
Afrah forced a smile. "Ameen." She then averted her gaze to Jameel's whose smile still hadn't disappeared. "I'm tired...I'm going to rest in my room."
"Do you need help?"
"I'm pregnant," Afrah sneered. "Not disabled."
Jameel laughed. "If you say so."
Afrah turned to leave but halted in her tracks when she heard Jameel speak.
"Come on, I'll take you to the grocery store."
She swallowed the lump that suddenly got stuck in her throat. She could never get used to Jameel showing the same affection to someone else. Her heart just couldn't take it. It was too much to bear.
"Thank you, dove."
Najah's reply made her heart stop beating for a second. Dove?? Wait what?? The word kept resounding in her head. Did she hallucinate that?
Afrah angrily walked into her room and slammed the door. "What was that?" She let out a humorless laugh. "Dove??"
When Afrah pledged to tolerate Najah, she had no idea she would be going back on her words barely two weeks after for she felt Najah was slowly becoming closer to Jameel and under her nose. She couldn't allow that. She needed to be selfish and choose herself at that moment. She would deal with her conscience later. "𝓝𝓪𝓳𝓪𝓱 𝓱𝓪𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓿𝓮."
•
Assalamualaikum!/hello!
It's been a while! How are you all doing? How was the Eid celebration?
First off, I'm sorry for the delay. I know I promised to update sooner but I couldn't. Final year happened and then Ramadan again. Y'all should forgive me 😩🙏 I'm back now, and in Sha Allah, the updates will be frequent... I have a new book coming up but I want to finish this or at least 'almost' finish this before diving into that one.
Thanks to everyone that checked up on me.
How do you feel about the good news? 😙
The next chapter is going to be 🔥🔥💯
Don't forget to vote, comment and share 🤌
Follow me on Instagram @deey_jah. I'll follow back 😙❣️
Until next time :)
deey_jah
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