It had been two months since Hajiya Turai was taken to a therapist but Ahmad never cared to pay a visit to her, Shukrah tried to persuade him to do so but he deliberately refused. He was not interested in anything concerning their mother, he was too busy trying to get his new house ready for his wife, daughter, and hopefully his daughter's other mother, Zarah. He felt that their old home was full of dark memories and settling in a new one meant a fresh start and he vowed to make the memories in the future worth reliving.
He visited Zarah frequently, trying to patch things up with her too, but she was hell bent on not going back to his house. He wanted to amend his mistakes, to make his family whole again but Zarah insisted that she was not a part of his family, and she needed to find her happiness somewhere. When he saw how adamant she was, he began avoiding the topic but he kept on paying her visits, hoping they would be able to kindle their relationship once again. Whenever he got the chance after visiting Safaa he always went to her.
He took his laptop and drove to his Uncle's house so that Safaa could make her choices concerning the interior design of her own side of their new home. There was no one inside the house when he arrived and after so many minutes of waiting in the living room, a Maid came and told him about the absence of her madam and that Safaa was at the living room upstairs. Ahmad thanked the Maid before going upstairs where he found Safaa sleeping on a couch with a book over her face, he took it off and scrutinized her, she looked tired and he knew their vexatious daughter was behind it. He sat on the couch opposite the one she was sleeping on and simply stared at her.
Minites later, Safaa sighed in her sleep and mumbled some incoherent words before opening her beautiful hazel eyes. She roamed her eyes around the living room and when it settled on her husband she frowned making him laugh at her funny face.
"What?" She asked groggily.
"What were you saying before waking up? You also snored" He said acting like he had not mentioned something she hated so much.
"I snored? Hell no, That is so not true" She panicked.
"So am I liar then?"
"I didn't say that and even if I did snore your daughter is the one messing up my sleeping habit, I got to sleep because Maa agreed to go with her to Inna's house" She mumbled sitting up.
"Sorry Babe, She would change soon" He said walking to her.
"That's what everyone's been telling me, I am getting older than my age because of her" Safaa whined.
"She's our daughter" He smiled sitting next to her.
"Yes Habibi, our bundle of joy, do you know how my heart swells with happiness when she smiles at me, no matter how frustrating she makes my life, It's just so amazing living with her, Alhamdulillah"
"Well I know all the complaints are just your way of getting attention and all that, She's like her Mama"
"Nah she's like her Papa"
"You know we can spend all day talking about the one who's an attention seeker between you and I, so let me just bring out something that will make us busy, I brought samples of the designs and I'm sorry babe, You have to choose from them this time around, the designer is already getting tired of us" He explained, because it was the fifth sample he brought to Safaa.
She was satisfied with one of the designs after they had spent an hour deliberating on it. And he sent it to the interior designer before they walked together to Inna's house.
Ahmad left after a while and leisurely drove around town. He stopped at Zarah's favorite ice cream parlor and bought the flavor she loved and ended up texting her to expect him in some minutes.
When he reached the house, he found her at the backyard giving orders to a Maid to take some stuff to her car. He silently watched how she gave the order, the kind gesture she used made him remember the Zarah he fell in love with, it mesmerised him and she caught him staring at her unawares.
"Hello" She smiled.
"Hi" He walked to her side smiling too.
He gave her the ice cream and they walked back into the house. She welcomed him warmly, asking him about Yusrah, and telling him to send her the baby's new pictures, as always. When they were conversing, he informed her about the reason for his visit which made her demeanor changed, from caring to cold.
"I'm actually coming from Safaa's home, I went with some of the designs for our new home and she made her choices at last, You ladies won't be the death of me, It's been two weeks since I've been asking you to make your choice too, I guess coming by myself will make you choose at last"
She tore her gaze away from him and began fiddling with the ring on one of her fingers, he waited for some minutes to let her think of what to say and when the silence began unnerving him he spoke again.
"Zarah..."
"I'm sorry, but I told you I've decided, I can't go back, this is home" She said everything under her breath but Ahmad heard all of it.
"You're still stubborn aren't you?" He sighed and she smiled shaking her head lightly.
"I wanted to visit an orphanage before I saw your message, Can you go with me?" She asked in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere.
"Ofcourse"
"Alright, Let's go then" She grinned adjusting the veil she used to cover her head. She was dressed in a peach cotton gown, that had intricate flowers all over the bodice, she looked so calm, looking so different from the woman who left his house some months ago.
They transferred the stuff she loaded inside her car to his own and he silently drove them to the orphanage she wanted to visit. The kids were so happy to see her and they chatted with her like a long lost friend. It amazed Ahmad because he knew how Zarah never liked associating with kids. They were in the garden of the orphanage, watching the kids play different sorts of games when he asked her the question that had been on his mind.
"Do you normally visit them?"
She laughed seeing the awed expression on his face before answering him.
"This has been my sanctuary for the past few months, I visit them once every week, I find peace watching them happy" She smiled staring at the kids adoringly.
"Wow, well Ma shaa Allah" Ahmad smiled turning his gaze to the kids too.
"Maybe through them I would be able to have peace of mind, be able to assure myself that my merciful Lord would forgive my sins"
"May He forgive us all"
"Amin ya rabbi, Forgive me too Yaya Ahmad" She pleaded with a shaky voice.
"Not again Zarah, this is the umpteenth time" Ahmad said almost frustratingly.
"I know, I just feel like..."
"Okay let's stop talking about this, Let's participate in some of their games" He cut her off.
She agreed reluctantly and they joined the kids, he was glad she had found something that made her feel a bit 'better'. They spent two hours in the orphanage and when it was time for them to leave, most of the kids became too emotional, pleading with Zarah to stay but she managed to control some of them, promising to visit them again before they would even miss her.
"You are already missing them" Ahmad teased her before starting the car.
"I know right, You can't imagine how attached I am to them, Can you remember the little one that has my name, Zarah? That girl is a handful and Ya Allah if I tell you her story you would want to take her away from that place and give her all the care in this world, not that the orphanage is not comfortable..." And she kept talking to him about them like she had known them for years.
Her eyes were gleaming with so much happiness and she could talk about the kids all day, She stopped talking only after he had parked at her home.
"I'm glad you've found something that makes you feel at peace Zarah" He said staring at her as she unbuckled her seat belt.
"Yeah Alhamdulillah" She smiled.
"Ma shaa Allah, That smiley Zarah is back, the one whom I fell in love with" He winked.
She shook her head amusingly trying to open up the car when he stopped her.
"You're still not going to come home?"
"Yup" She answered rolling her eyes at him.
"Well you're forcing me to involve our parents Zarah" He said coldly.
"So? I'm still going to tell them my decision"
"Marriage is not a joke and you know we're already married right?" He smirked.
"Are you challenging me? You think I'd be forced to go back to your house?" She began laughing until her laughter annoyed him.
"Yeah keep laughing like you've seen a comedian, Go away already" He mumbled starting his car.
"You're still not going to move an inch until I get off the car" She stuck her tongue out at him and hopped out of the car.
"Take care Zarah, Your Daddy will summon you later at night definitely" He raised a brow at her with a frown on his face.
"Whatever, Be safe" She waved at him and trudged inside the house.
He waited for some minutes trying to think of how he would convince her, he had tried all he could but she had been stubborn, he drove away after making a decision.
He had to involve their parents.
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Shukrah held her sister's hands and led her inside the room their mother was occupying at the rehabilitation centre, Fadwa was scared but she had been dying to set eyes on their mother, no matter how much she was afraid of her, she could not deny the fact that she loved her mother so much. They found Hajiya Turai having a sound sleep, hence they sat quietly and watched her pale face, several thoughts going through their minds.
"She sleeps a lot, but Dr Ibrahim told me there's a lot of improvement, she talks to him now" Shukrah whispered not taking her eyes off their mother.
"Alhamdulillah, will she be fine?" Fadwa asked nervously.
"In shaa Allah, I never thought Mama won't be able to see our wedding, I mean she won't participate in it" Shukrah sadly looked at Fadwa whose eyes were glassy from unshed tears.
"Yeah Baba said he could postpone the wedding again, but Yaa Salman told him not to, so let's pray that's khair"
Alhaji Sunusi had wanted to postpone the wedding again until his wife fully recovered but Salman was against it, saying his sisters' inlaws might not like it this time, the wedding date had been changed before when Fadwa was sick, he wouldn't want them to feel inconvenienced.
Fadwa walked close to Hajiya Turai and took her cold hands.
"Mama I miss you so much, I miss the way you massage my hair when I have a headache, I miss seeing you smile, I miss your laughter, I know we've been bad Mama but it's not too late to change, We're getting married in two weeks Mama, You won't be there, it's so heartbreaking but I promise you I would be a very good wife to Mohaa, I'll visit you more often, Hopefully when I come next you will be awake, I have a lot to tell you and I have forgiven you, You were not the one who pushed me down the stairs anyway, Get well soon please" She sobbed silently.
"Hey, stop crying like that" Shukrah wiped a tear and hugged her sister, they silently cried and after some minutes walked out of the room with puffy eyes.
They came with Fadwa's car but she was too distraught to drive them away from the hospital so she gave the car key to Shukrah who drove them to Salman's house where they would pick up the beautician whom his wife booked for their wedding. Salman's wife had been praising the woman and they had to go for her.
"Our brides" Salman pinched Shukrah's cheek when they walked into his living room.
"But Yaa Salman, You don't have to pinch me" Shukrah pouted perching beside him on the sofa.
The smile on his face faltered when his eyes fell on his little sister, she had a sad expression and she was not even aware of her surrounding.
"Baby Sis" He called her with her pet name but she was too far gone to notice it.
"Fadwa" Shukrah called her name after some minutes too.
"Huh?" She croaked.
"What's wrong with you?" Salman asked walking to her.
When he sat beside her, the tears that she had tried and stopped minutes ago came back.
"Shush" He hugged her and began patting her back lightly in an attempt to soothe her.
"Will.she.be.fine?" She hiccuped.
"We visited Mama" Shukrah mouthed to him.
"In shaa Allah" He assured Fadwa.
His wife came into the living room and noticed the tensed atmosphere, she wanted to leave but he called her back, letting her be a part of the team for consoling Fadwa. They kept talking to her, assuring her that their mother would be fine and it took them almost thirty minutes before she calmed down.
"Now let's go and meet the beautician, she's in the guestroom" Na'eelah announced.
"I have to go somewhere with Baba, so I'll see you guys later" Salman pecked his wife's cheek before heading out.
"Where are my babies?" Fadwa asked of Salman's kids.
Salman had two children, the first born was a baby girl who was named after Hajiya Turai, they all called her Fareeha and the second born was Amin, a six months old chubby boy.
"Fareeha visited my sister's house for the weekend and Amin is sleeping" Na'eelah informed her before they all went upstairs.
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Zarah had finished praying Isha when her mother walked into her room and sat on her bed. She patiently waited until Zarah finished her Du'as before starting a conversation.
"Zara'u I have spoken to you about going back to your husband's house but you're too stubborn..."
"But Mommy..."
"Don't cut me off when am talking, let me finish" Her mother said sternly.
"I'm sorry" Zarah mumbled.
"It's okay, Marriage is really not a joke Zarah, You have to be serious about it, we cannot just sit and watch you make a silly decision like this, you have to change your mind and am afraid you have to do that fast, your father wants to see you right now"
"Okay" Zarah sighed before placing her praying rug back to its place.
She walked to her father's living room with her heart hammering in her chest. She knew how strict her father could get and she hated seeing his anger. She salaamed and walked to him with her head hung low.
"Come sit" He patted the space next to him.
"Mommy said you wanted to see me?" She managed to ask.
"Yes Zarah, Can't a father call his daughter?"
"No, she actually...never mind" She stuttered.
"How are you?" He asked her concerningly.
"But I greeted you when you came back this evening and you asked me the same question, Are you getting old Daddy?" She giggled.
"You silly girl, I know what am saying"
"I'm good" She answered.
"Now tell me why you're still here in my house, I thought we have married you off to your Prince Charming" He raised a brow.
"Am..." She paused unable to make up an excuse.
"Go on" He urge her to continue.
"I don't think he's my Prince Charming Dad, I'm not even sure why I got married to him..." And she informed her father about everything, from the beginning till the end.
"Well I was surprised when your proposal came from him to be honest, because you informed me about someone, what's his name again?"
"Muneer" She sniffed.
"Yes and then suddenly I received a proposal from the Sunusi's, anyway, I'm glad you've learned a lesson from your mistakes Zarah but I still don't think you should walk out of your marriage, The ones you have offended hold nothing against you, And you're trying to change your ways, You have even changed your ways and I am so happy about it, so why don't you just go back to your husband's house and keep being the good girl that you are?" He urged her seeing how broken she was.
His wife told him to be strict on their daughter, to give her no option than to go back to Ahmad's house but he could not just be so heartless seeing how she was hurting.
"Daddy, I have to be honest with you, I don't want to go back, I can't keep being a hindrance to their happily ever after, Ahmad needs Safaa alone, he's whole with her, I don't even think he can be fair towards both of us"
"But you love Ahmadu, I can still sense that Zara'u" He smiled sadly.
"Even if I do, I would do anything to make them whole again, I want their lives to be the way it was some years after their marriage, not when Hajiya Turai and me disrupted their happiness, I know Safaa has a good heart, but she will always remember what we made her go through Daddy, she will always see me as a threat to her happiness"
"So what do you want your old man to do? Zarah it's good to make sacrifices for people, I do believe you're sacrificing your marriage because of Safara'u and Ahmad, but then he wants you to come back to him, She is also not against it, You can still be happy with them"
"Guilt will eat me up Daddy, besides I don't even think I was in love with Ahmad, I now believe its just an obsession or something"
"You're too stubborn Sweetie" He shook his head and gave her a hanky to wipe her tearstained face.
"I'm so sorry Daddy, for failing you, for being this kind of daughter"
"We all make mistakes Zarah, Let's go and meet your mother in the dining room, We'll talk some other time?"
"In shaa Allah, Thank you Daddy" She embraced her father and let her new set of tears soil his clothes.
"What for?" He asked.
"For not getting mad at me" She croaked.
"I'll always listen to your side of the story"
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So... I want you guys to do me a favour, and comment in this chappy please.
I've been indecisive about Zarah going back to Ahmad's house because of you guys 😂😂😂
I want her to do what she wants and most of you want her to go back...
And I feel like seperating her from him is too unfair...
So what will we do??????
Tomorrow is my birthday btw 😎
I might update In shaa Allah but it depends on the answers I get from you guys...
So vote... Should Zarah go back to her husband?
Aye?
Or
Nay?