ABUJA, NIGERIA
To say she was tired would be a huge understatement, she was exhausted! All her energy had been drained out of her, having a mansion is nice when you aren't the one cleaning it but when it turns out you are the one cleaning it then you will wish that you only have a living room and one bedroom. Maha has been cleaning her new home for a month now after her marriage but whenever she cleans it, all her energy drains out everyday. It was now that she realized that sweeping was excruciatingly painful especially when you keep bending. She groaned helplessly and then sat on the floor, she pouted her lips and she looked as though she was about to cry. She glanced at the broom lying besides her on the floor and she took it and flung it towards Ayman's room, just then he opened his door. Maha gasped and covered her mouth with her two hands afraid that the broom might hit him but thankfully he dodged it.
Ayman came out of his room and then his eyes fell on Maha that was sitting on the floor and pouting her lips, he knew she wouldn't be able to clean the house herself but she had never asked for his help so he never volunteered to help but now that she was sitting om the floor, pouting her lips and making a face as though she was about to cry, he couldn't help but chuckle. He picked up the broom and then handed it to her, when she saw the broom she looked at him and then glared at him, which made him chuckle again.
"You sweep, i will mop." He said in his mesmerizing sweet voice that always made her knees weak. She took the broom and started sweeping in silence and he also mopped the place she swept. After a long while, Ayman spoke. Something that had never happened before, he only spoke when he was spoken to. He had never initiated a conversation between them, though over the past few weeks she could see that the he was slowly breaking the barrier he had built around himself, he would always answer her questions whenever she spoke to him and he answered her with words, unlike before that he answered her with his eyes. She knew she just had to push a little harder and he would open up to her. It really warmed her up, the way he would always ask about her day whenever he came back from work, he would always wait for her so they can have dinner together, and best of all he would always remind her to pray everyday and everytime, what could be more beautiful than this? Although these were the only things he did for her and to some it was absolutely nothing, to her it meant the world. At least he was now beginning to care, there was a time during their marriage when he wouldn't even bother to look her way but at least now whenever he saw her, he would look at her and smile, she had noticed since that the smile was fake and it never reached his eyes but at least it was better than nothing, at least now he cared to look at her and fake a smile. It always hurt her whenever she remembers that she cannot make him smile because he still doesn't love her and she is already head over hills in love with him. Yes she is in love with him! It might sound absurd but even she didn't know when it happened, maybe it was his little gestures of him trying to be nice to her that made her fall for him since she wasn't that hard to please. She had fallen completely and there was no return, the worst part was that she wasn't sure if he would catch her.
"We can get a maid if you want one." Ayman said, though he was speaking to her his eyes were focused on the work in front of him and it looked as though he wasn't addressing her. Maha's lips curled into a beautiful smile and her green eyes glimmed with happiness, her smile was so bright that wrinkles formed around her eyes and her dimples deepened. It is because of her distracting beautiful face that Ayman always avoided looking at her.
"Do i want a maid?" Maha asked but it sounded more like she was asking herself. Ayman's brows knitted into a frown, from the looks of things she needed a maid so why was she asking that stupid question?
"Oh my God! I don't want a maid, i need a maid!" Maha said as she sighed loudly indicating she was tired and then she slumped on the couch next to her, she spread her arms and her mouth was slightly open, she sat there in an unlady like manner but she didn't care nor did Ayman care. They were now more like friends than like husband and wife, though the friendship wasn't deep and they hardly spoke to each other, they understood each other so well without even speaking. None of them needed to act in a certain formal way infront of the other, they behaved the way they liked and none of them minded. Ayman no longer looked at Maha like she was crazy when she behaved like a drama queen, instead he would just look at her, smile and then shake his head in amusement, he found her actions rather cute now. Today was no exception, he looked at her and shaked his head, when he smiled their eyes met and she also smiled at him, a smile so beautiful that he felt his heart flutter.
"I will talk to umma to find a maid." Ayman said, Maha nodded her head and then stood up and picked the broom and continued sweeping, they worked in quietude until Maha spoke.
"Do you want me to teach you Arabic?" Maha suddenly asked out of the blue. In the ears of the listener it sounded as though she really wanted to teach him but deep inside she wanted to use it as an excuse to get even more closer to him, they sometimes stayed in the same place but only words of greeting were exchanged, it was always awkward and they hardly even sat together. She felt as though it was lack of communication that made them so distant from each other and she so badly wants to demolish that distance.
Ayman stared at the woman in front of him, with one eyebrow slightly raised, he was caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand after Aisha's death he had promised himself that he would never allow himself to fall for another woman because his heart only belonged to Aisha but lately, this woman whom he had met a month ago, with strange but beautiful forest green eyes whom he found annoying at first was beginning to change that. He was in a battle with himself, he didn't want to give her his heart but it was obvious his heart isn't in agreement with that decision, she had changed so much about him over only a month that sometimes he wondered whether his love for Aisha was that weak. On the other hand he had always wanted to learn Arabic but he never got the chance because things just kept popping up in his life and so he later onwards gave up but now the opportunity was here and he would be stupid if he just let it slide. Maha stared at the demigod in front of her, his brows were knitted in confusion and she knew he was debating whether he should say yes or no. To make him answer in her favour she decided to make a deal.
"It's not going to be free though." Maha said with a cheeky smile, she looked at the man waiting to get his attention and finally he turned to look at her with one of his eyebrows raised and his mouth curled in amusement.
"What is the price?" He then asked.
"You will teach me hausa." Maha said, she wasn't completely lying when she said that though, she truly wanted to learn.
"How comes you can't speak hausa, when all your brothers are good at it?" Ayman asked, he was now truly confused, he knew her grandmother from her paternal side was from kano and her father and brothers knew how to speak hausa, so how could she not?
"They never taught me."
"Or maybe you never paid attention when they were teaching you?" Ayman asked, there was no way she was going to tell him that no one among her brothers ever taught her hausa. Maha looked at him with puppy dog eyes and a pouted lips.
"So you didn't pay attention." Ayman said, from the way she behaved he knew that she didn't pay attention when they were teaching her.
"Ah, you know me so well." Maha said as she face palmed herself and pouted her lips again.
"They didn't teach me but grandma did but i never paid any attention." Maha said. Ayman said nothing and nodded his head.
"Okay." He later said.
"So you will teach me?" Maha asked with a sweet smile, she smiled so sweetly and her smile was brighter than the moon at night and brighter than the brightest sunlight, Ayman felt his heart skip a beat. He swallowed thickly before he nodded his head and went back to what he was doing, he didn't like what his heart was doing to him, he didn't want to fall in love with her. It felt like his heart had a mind of its own but what he didn't know was that he could never stop a heart in love even if that heart is his.
"And i will also teach you arabic."
........
The days passed by quickly as if it was mere seconds and it was only a week before Maha would go back to her school in india and finish her 6 years medical course, she had always been a bright student since she was a kid and she was now determined to sail through with flying colors, not just for her mother but for herself. However, something was holding her back, no matter how much she denied it she didn't want to leave Ayman but she knew it was inevitable and she now regretted that promise she made to her mother. A week before her wedding her mother had made her promise that no matter what she would go back to india and complete her studies, she told her that she would talk to her husband for her even if he didn't agree and Maha had foolishly made that promise to her because she didn't think that she would fall so hard for her husband that she wouldn't even want to leave him. Maha collasped on her bed with a loud sigh she felt exhuasted and she needed to sleep but she couldn't, she had just finish cooking dinner and sad memories from 6 years ago came rushing to her, india always reminded her of the memories from 6 years. If only he had stayed in india and had not come back to kano then none of that would have happened, the pain would have been less but now she felt like a murderer. A silent sob escaped her lips and tears cascaded down her eyes like a waterfall. She sat on the floor, her head on her knee and her her arms hugging her legs, she kept rocking back and forth, crying silently to herself, she stood up and started looking for her drugs. Her entire body was shaking and her cries were now louder, the pain was unbearable! She was crying because of the incident from 6 years ago and because of the fact that she had to take drugs to pacify herself, knowing fully well that it is haram.
She finally reached the bedside table were she hid the drugs and took it out, her hands still shaking and tears cascading down her beautiful face, she was the true meaning of damsel in distress! Just as she was about to put the drugs in her mouth the door was flung open and instinctively Maha hid the drugs but she was a bit late because the sharp eyes of the tall broad man standing at her door had already caught sight of the drugs.
Ayman narrowed his eyes and rested his sharp eyes on Maha's hand that was behind her back hiding something from him but she was already late because he already saw the drugs. A deep frown appeared on his face when he saw her crying face and the drugs she was trying to hide. He was in the living room when he heard her silent sobs, at first she was crying quietly and he even wanted to ignore her even though every part of his body was telling him to go to her, he was doing a very good job at ignoring when he heard her cries getting louder. All reasoning flew out of the window and he ran towards her room. Ayman stared at her hand again and then he slowly entered the room, his eyes still on her hands that is behind her back.
"Is it the headache again?" Ayman asked, his sharp black eyes were now staring directly into her guilty green eyes, both his hands were entwined behind his back, Maha knew that by now he knew something was definately fishy and she felt as though he was mocking her when he asked if it was the headache again. Ayman watched her like a hawk for about a minute and then finally he saw her nod her head timidly. This was about the 5th time that he had seen her with drugs and whenever she saw him she would immediately hide it but what baffles him is the fact that she is always crying whenever he sees her with the drugs. She keeps telling him that she takes the drugs because of a headache and she is crying because her head hurts alot but he had always found that hard to believe. If the drugs were truly for headaches then she would not try to hide it whenever she saw him, he had realized that she always hides the drugs when someone sees her and that is why even though she already told him the drugs were for headaches she always hides it out of habit whenever he sees her with the drugs. He still finds it hard to believe that she is crying because of her headache though, because when ever he sees her in the condition, she always looks dull and look as if the entire burden of the world is on her shoulder. He keeps thinking that maybe she is a....no! He doesn't even want to think about it, there is no way she would do something like that! she would never, but her actions today were telling him otherwise. He looked at the girl in front of him and he knew that he had to ask this question or else she might end up ruining her life. He raised his chin and then he pointed at her hands that were still behind her and ask.
"Are those drugs hard drugs?" Ayman asked in an almost inaudible whisper, he wanted her to deny it, to tell him he was mistaken and that it was the headache that was making her cry and that she was hiding the drugs because she didn't want him to worry but the look on the girl's face told him otherwise. Immediately he had asked her that question, her face became deadly pale and she was looking at him shaking her head vigorously, her eyes pleading with him. Without another word he walked towards her and then carried her hand that was behind her and took the drugs from her, he closely examined the drugs and he realized that indeed they were hard drugs, from the labels on the bottle. He looked at her and whispered to her,
"Why?" He asked, his voice was an almost inaudible whisper.
"I-I'm really s-s-sorry." Maha replied in a choked voice, she knew this was the end of their relationship, no man in his right senses would want to stay with an addict. Every man wanted a good mother for his children. She watched as Ayman sat beside her looking dejected, she didn't know if he was angry or sad. He raked his hand through his thick black curly hair and then turned to look at her but then he looked away immediately. Even he didn't know what was wrong with him, hadn't he been looking for an excuse to divorce her? But now a huge opportunity was placed on a golden platter in front of him but he couldn't bring himself to say the words. He felt as if he would be unfair towards her if he divorced her, a little voice inside him kept tellimg him that she also didn't like taking the drugs and that was why she was always crying whenever she took the drugs.
"Give me the drugs." Ayman said after a long while of silence, his voice was no longer a whisper and instead his voice was stern and harsh that Maha felt as though a million needles had pierced her heart. With a shaky hand she passed him the drugs that was in between them.
"All the drugs." Ayman said, glaring at the drugs he was now holding. Maha gasp when she heard what he said.
"I-i can't sleep if i don't take the drugs."
"Just tell me you are an addict." Ayman said harshly and Maha looked down at her hands as tears welled in her eyes. Ayman immediately regretted what he said.
"Give me all the drugs." He said in a more softer voice, Maha stood up and brought all the drugs out, Ayman gaped at the drugs in her hand, she had almost a dozen.
"Why do you take them?" Ayman asked when she settled beside him. Maha looked down at her hands again and kept playing with them. At that moment Ayman didn't know what got into him but he suddenly held her two small hands in his warm large hands and held her chin and raised her head to make her look at him.
"You can tell me anything." Ayman said, subconsiously he had started caressing her hands with his thumb and his other hand that was on her chin was caressing the dimple on her chin.
"Tell me." He gently said with a sweet smile and instead of her to speak she broke into tears.
"Am sorry, i can't tell you. You will hate me even more if i tell you." Maha said in between her sobs.
"And who told you i hate you?" Ayman asked, and the girl looked up at him tears still in her eyes.
"You can tell me when you are ready, okay?" Ayman said and she nodded her head. Suddenly she closed the gap between them and wrapped her frail arms around his neck and buried her head on his chest.
"I promise i will tell you when i feel better, but please don't tell anyone especially any of my family members." Maha said still crying. Ayman was shocked by her action and his entire body went still, he turned into a statue and only his eyes that were blinking proved that he was still alive. They stayed like that for about a minute and slowly, moving in the pace of a turtle, Ayman placed his hand on her exposed black hair and patted her gently.
"Shhh, its okay. Stop crying."
Finally! An edited chapter😌
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