She could not stop crying tears ran down her cheeks, her eyes so red. He kept calling, she didn't want to pick up. Why? Why did she not see this coming and now it's too late? She knew exactly what he was calling to tell her. Ummi came and whispered "ki tashi kiyi wanka, you'll waste people's time Zainab, composure mana, haba! And please answer your phone, please." (Get up and take a bath)
Zainab kept her voice straight and normal "hello! Assalamualaikum" at the other end of the line he said loudly "Zee, na sa ye ki, shikenan you're now mine and nobody else will have you" she found his words insulting "ka sa ye ni?"
"yes! An daura and in a few hours za'a kawo min ke" still she muttered "ka sa ye ni?" shaking her head she was sure now that she was insulted. "OK toh, later" she hung up. She didn't blame him, was paying her bride price so expensive that he felt he was simply buying her? Yes it was. No matter how much he was paying, it gave him no right to say what he said. Or so Zainab thought.
Ummi made sure she was dressed and made-up by Herdies. She looked brand new, for the Yinin biki Zainab wore white, and accessorized with silver (azurfa).
Her shoes were made of glass (just like Cinderella) she was having her dream wedding. Her gown was a ballroom dress, her makeup was nude making her look natural. They snapped photos with family, friends and guests. Food and snacks where served to the guests at Alhaji Sadiq's house.
The groom's family came around 7.00 pm to pick up the bride, They took Zainab to a room in Barr. Usman's house with her friends, Zainab and her friends were to spend the night there. A few of her friends came with her, Tahira (Tee), her childhood friend. Rabi'atu (Rhabs) her secondary school friend and her two sisters (Ummi and Hadiza). Tee was on Instagram following the trend of Abdul and Zainab's wedding. She came across a photo of Fateema grinding near Abdulzahir, with the hashtag #mistressoftheyear #zeeandabdul. Tee jumped "Zee you won't believe it wai 'mistress of the year' hmm lalle har trending take yi fa"
Rhabz replied "yeah na gani a twitter, kin ga zagin da ta ke sha? And some are supporting her sef, imagine! Tswww wa ya ga hoe of the year," Zainab took her phone about log on IG when Ummi snatched the phone from her hand "inaahhhh! baki isa ki fara mana kuka a nan ba, instead of you to make tactful plans on how to keep your husband," eyeing Zainab she hissed "mstwww nonsense"
Zainab was upset about the situation "please ya zan yi, did you hear what he said when he called this morning? "Rhabz sounding absolutely uninterested "So? So what dan ya ce ya sa ye ki? Look he's a man you need to find a way to get him to respect you, believe it or not kayan mata (aphrodisiac) won't help you do that. Kin kama duk kin jika kanki da abin da ba shi zai zauna miki da miji ba.
She paused for a moment "Look tomorrow would be the beginning of your marriage, from tomorrow forward earn your respect as his wife, ba komai ne zai miki ki kyale shi ba, there are times you have to be more patient and there are times you have to be rebellious and protest"
Ummi standing up said "it's your fault, you let it get this far from the beginning, tun lokacin da ya kai ki gun ta you should have talked to him about it, show him that as long as he's involved with her, you won't marry him, I promise you ko da suna tare he would do everything in his power to make sure she doesn't even come near you, ya raina ki ne a idon ta, tunda kika ga she has the guts to do what she did" with that she exit the room.
They kept advising her on how to get his attention Hadiza insisted that she seduce him and make sure he's always with her "kin ga nothing like down dressing at home, kin san Abdul dan gayu ne, show him that you can do better, seduce him to get what you want after all he's your husband" But what does Hadiza know, she's the youngest of the group.
Tahira raised the question "me ta ke da shi da baki da shi? Wayau! Zainab, she's controlling his mind with her body, you can do better cause he's your husband not hers, control him with both your brains and your body"
And Rhabz kept saying "kawai tu ra mu zaki yi mu je mu kashe ma shegiya warning, swear ta san ba wasa da ita ake yi ba"
None of their advice was careful elaborated, Zainab wasn't sure how to start a marriage under these conditions which she found herself.
The next morning 'budan kai at the grooms place, around 4:00pm they took Zainab to her home in Ishaku road, U/dosa. After they prayed mangrib Khadeeja AKA Herdies makeover came to make the bride up for dinner the groom's family organized. As khadeeja was making Zainab up, the girls continued to chat about the kamu while getting dressed. A heated conversation transpired between Zainab and Rhabz.
Rhabz came across the video of Fateema dancing around Abdul "har wani video aka dauka fa, I downloaded it, I'll start another trend."
"What video?" asked Zainab still getting her makeup done "the one of Fateema dancing fa" Rhabz replied "Ithink I'll start another trend on IG and tag her with the Hashtag 'whosthatwhore' and you guys should comment and tag others asking the same question"
Zainab jumped up "no please ki rufa min asiri Abdul will see it and think ni na sa ku"
Rhabz not interested in what Zainab was saying "so?" Zainab grabbed Rhabz, making her drop her phone hard on the floor "Rabi ki rufa mun asiri, he's my husband"
Furious Rhabz pushed Zainab away from her and picked up her phone cross-checking to see if it was broken "keh banza ne, dallah matsa, wawiyya because of Abdul zaki fasa min waya?" She continued to vent in anger "wawiyya, wa ya gaya miki na miji dan goyo ne? Just imagine fa" Ummi had to come between them because Rhabz was not finding funny and from all indications she wasn't going to take it easy on Zainab "ya isa please yi hakuri, Zainab ki tsaya a gama makeup din mana, haba!!!" Ummi complained
Just then Tee came with her own discovery "I finally got her profile, she's a private user and see followers ooo 26k kaman wata celeb"
Hadiza laughed 😂😂 "kaji manyan gari, mu muna managing da dan 500," All this was exhausting Ummi "kaiiiii!!!! ya ishe mu haka, haba! "
Rhabz did as she said she would not mind Zainab, she uploaded the video both on IG and twitter and tagged Fateema with the caption "ashawo no dey rest #mistressoftheyear #whosthathoe #gogetyourownman". Before you knew it people commented and retweeted as she also had a flow of many followers. In no time it became a trend, Fateema must have seen it, and most definitely so would Abdul.
DINNER
By 9pm they were ready, a car was sent to pick up the bridesmaids. Zainab's other friends where at the venue, Hajiya Aisha called to remind them not to be late around 8pm but as usual the bride is always late.
Ummi stayed with Zainab waiting for their car. Finally a car drove in for the bride, her phone beeped and on her screen she saw "ku fito" she stood up "toh Ummi mu je sun zo" as they stepped out, Abdulzahir and Kamal came out out of a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C- Class. Zainab and Ummi exchanged a look only known to them which meant "damn!!! The carrrrr."
As they walked towards the car Abdulzahir stared at Zainab his stunning wife, Salim Jamo started to capture the moment snapping the bride as she walked down the stairs, then he snapped her with her groom outside and inside the car. By 9:45 Kamal pointing out "ya isa haka mana time na wucewa, they have been calling on the phone". A few more shots and they got on their way
Kamal was driving, Ummi was in the front seat, Zee and Abdul at the back seat "kin yi kyau" he said to her finally breaking the silence between them. Ummi and Kamal kept making their own conversation.
Zainab blushed to the compliment, she wasn't going to reply him as usual, then she remembered what her friends told her about men and their egos and how she needed to get and keep his attention "thanks, you don't look so bad yourself"
he laughed "babes are you for real? "she's never had a conversation of this sort with him and it felt so new "yeah I mean it, I love your kaftan, pure class!" he seemed to be enjoying the conversation "yes babe, it cost a lot of money" gosh! why did he have to be so arrogant? A simple 'thank you' would have been OK.
He continued "so you asked your friends to tag Teemah as a whore? "what was he talking about? oh no!!! Rhabz!!!! She maintained her composure "what?" He looked at her and leaned forward, she could hear him breathe on her face. She didn't move, the scent of his perfume hit her hard and she felt uneasy.
He used his index finger to turn her face to him, he looked straight in her eyes and she immediately looked down, she could feel his breath on her face, the tension increased. And then just like that he pulled away, back to his former position.
What just happened? she wasn't sure, all she knew was he made her head spin for a second. His perfume was so hard and his breathing didn't help, was he angry or was he pleased? She couldn't tell. What was the purpose of his actions, was he marking a territory? Making sure she knew 'ya saye ta' as he claimed? For the rest of the ride neither Abdul nor Zainab said a word, Ummi and Kamal kept chatting while music played on the background.
They arrived around 10:15pm the bride and groom's train was arranged and waiting. The bridesmaids and groomsmen stood in a queue, the boys by the right and the girls by the left, leaving the middle space for the couple of the night. More photos where taken, Abdulzahir held Zainab's hand as she exits the car. With the bride and groom in the middle the train walked in the hall and the paparazzi began as the music played, the bridesmaids danced and some groomsmen dance.
The event was perfect, Zainab wore burgundy from head to toe, even her makeup complimented her dress. She was the bride of the century, nothing was flawed and no hair was out of place. Perfect.
She kept expecting to see Fateema, but she didn't, her girls kept an eye out in case she decided to show up again. The evening took a magical turn when Zainab was asked to dance with Abdulzahir and a slow song came on the speaker. He took her in his arms and took the lead as they danced gracefully across the floor. Zainab was shy but later she adjusted. The lights dimmed and all people could see was the glitters that blinked from Zainab's dress. For a moment she forgot the world and it's problems, she was with her man and no one could change that. Her put his hands on her waist as they slow dance across the hall, he whispered in her ears "you're perfect" she looked in his eyes and oh no!!! She wished she knew what she saw...
***
AFTER SHOW
Around 1am, they concluded the event, the bride and groom left with Ummi and kamal. The rest of the bridesmaids danced in the hall, the groomsmen joined them. The elder guest had left and at 2am the groomsmen started taking the ladies back home, Rhabz, Hadiza and Tee were taken back to Zainab's house.
ZEE/ABDUL'S HOUSE
They were tired, the first thing they did was get out of their dresses and pray Isha, they didn't get to pray before they left because the makeup started early. After they prayed, Zainab and Ummi were on the bed while Rhabz was sitting on the couch, Tee and Hadiza were on the floor.
Zainab just remembered what happened between herself and Abdulzahir in the car and decided to talk to Rhabz about it "Rhabz you posted that video ko? Kin san sai da ya tambaye ni?"
Rhabz was on her phone and paid little attention to Zainab "me kika ce masa?"
"Nothing fa i just pretended not to know" Rhabz looked at Zainab and raised an eyebrow "so kin mutu ne daya tambaye ki? Na gaji Zee just allow me please "
Someone knocked the door "waye?" Ummi asked "mune" the voice was familiar...Kamal. Zainab sat down and adjusted her veil to cover herself, and the rest of the girl got decent, they were already out of their attires. The door opened, Kamal, Abdulzahir, Hadi, and Abdulmaleek came into the room.
"Amaaareee!!! " Hadi began with his playful chatter.
"sannun ku" Rhabz answered. After they greeted, Hadi began "toh ango dai yace a bar masa amaryan sa, akwai guest room sai ku kwana a ciki" a wind of silence swept the room, no one said a word, Zainab's chest was beating, her heart was racing she grabbed her sister's hand holding it tight. Ummi knew exactly what her sister meant, through her silence she was screaming "don't leave me with him"
Rhabz and Ummi shared a look and Ummi shook her head silently informing Rhabz not to comply with their demands. A long silence swept the room and then finally Hadi repeated himself "please em mata, ango fa na son amaryar sa yau din nan"
Rhabz being the most bold among the ladies said "haba abu na rana daya? Kuyi hakuri mana, we're leaving tomorrow morning"
Kamal standing up said "yeah dont worry no-one is asking you to leave, akwai guest room ba ma daya ba, just spend the night there and allow them" then he walked out.
Ummi thought Kamal was more reasonable than the rest, why was he suddenly being unreasonable "haba ku kam, a gajiye fa ta ke, gaskiya ku ba ango hakuri sai gobe"
Hadi replied in his normal jovial way "kin san albarkan da ke cikin daren farkon nan kuwa, ai ba zai yuwu bane, kawai ku yi hakuri, ni na san amaryan nan ma na bukatan mijin ta" Another creep of silence graced the room, no one said a word and no one moved either. 10 minutes later Abdulzahir stood up and sat near Zainab, He started unveiling her and the boys stood up and left. The girls just sat there absolutely shocked, he didn't stop he unveiled her came even closer, Hadiza stood up and Tee followed, few seconds later Rhabz also stood up and followed them.
Zainab was still holding Ummi's hand even more tight now, Ummi said "Zee yi hakuri let me go" she didn't let go and he didn't stop, he unzipped her as she was the only one still in her dress, Ummi stood up and had to struggle with Zainab to get her hand back and then she walked out the door and closed it behind her
****