Fadwa looked at him from where he sat, she pouted her lips and she didn't miss how he had been scratching his left eyebrow. "I can't go in alone, I've never been to a place like this, I don't know how to act." Her voice was low and undemanding. She didn't know how he was going to take that. She had never been to a mall before, and now that they were sitting in his car, she looked at him with confused eyes. She looked at the list she had in her hand and pouted again.
How did he expect her to look around the building and buy all these things? Badra sent the grocery list for Ramadan, and he asked her to come out so he will drop her to the mall. She had never been to a mall, even the local market; Ammi went there by herself.
Maheer groaned and scratched his left eyebrow, "What do you mean? You sitting in my car like this is enough to irritate me, Fadwa. Don't take advantage of me driving you here myself and you're still sitting in my car looking at me as though you're my wife. Will you please get out? Don't let me lose it on you, Fadwa."
She pouted her lips and was about to speak when he roared, "Go away!" And Fadwa didn't know when she got out of the car. She looked around and her lips naturally curved into a pout. She didn't know the next thing to make, she clutched the list and looked at his card that was in her hand. Fadwa gulped down a lump in her throat before she walked towards the entrance, but there was a weird man intensely staring at her as she walked closer.
He seemed like a mad man but he wasn't one. Fadwa was about to enter the mall when he took a few strides towards her and she didn't know when she screamed. She took a few steps back and practically ran to where Maheer packed and he sat in the car, looking at her through his mirror. She knocked on his window and he slided it down.
"What is it?" He asked with an irritated voice, and Fadwa didn't know when tears rolled down her cheeks. She was scared by the demeanor of that man. Her lips trembled into a pout before she spoke, the gold in her eyes doused with her tears.
"That man, I don't know what he's trying to do. Will you please escort me to the door? You can come back after I walked inside. Please," she begged and she watched as he scratched his left eyebrow before he opened the door and he was out of the car in the blink of an eye.
She walked beside him as they passed the man and to her surprise, Maheer walked into the mal together with her. He walked to the first raw where beverages were and looked at her, the blue colours in his eyes almost scaring her, she closed her eyes right after making an eye contact with him.
"Check the list and put everything on the cart, I'll walk you along the rows." He ordered, and Fadwa nodded her head before she did as he ordered. They were in the chocolates raw when a little girl ran over them crying as she hugged Maheer's legs.
Fadwa's eyes instantly flew to them as he knelt and took a hold of the girl's shoulders. "What is it, Princess? What made you cry?" His voice was low and soothing that Fadwa doubted if he was really the one. She turned around, as if she was afraid before she hugged Maheer.
"Uncle will you please help my Mama? Daddy is beating her around there!" She pointed at a raw that was out of their sight, and Maheer looked at her with keen eyes.
Fadwa felt a pang in her chest and she didn't know when she dropped the box she was holding and she walked over to them, kneeling beside Maheer. He looked at her and how she seemed to be up the creek and wondered why she was like that. She took the girl's hands and smiled ruefully at her, "What's your name? And what has Mama done?"
"My name is Intisar, and she didn't do anything. Please will you help me beg Daddy to stop? I begged him but he won't listen to me." Intisar was helplessly looking into their eyes, hoping they would help her mother out.
Fadwa felt a tear slipped out of her eyelocks before she cleared the tears on Intisar's face. She knew this feeling, and she wished she could erase the ache of it from this little girl's heart. She looked at Maheer that was staring at her and more tears gushed down her cheeks before she cleared them off and spoke. "Will you please talk to him? I know he'll listen to a man like him."
Maheer didn't know when he nodded his head and they both stood up. Fadwa held Intisar's hand in her's and she guided them to the row. They stared as he slapped her cheeks endlessly and uttered some incoherent words beneath his breath and all the woman did was stayed still, she dared not move an inch. Fadwa knew that, she knew it so well. She looked at Maheer and pouted her lips before tears rolled down her cheeks.
They went to them and stood an inch from them, she hugged Intisar to her body and avoid the girl from staring at the horrific sight of that. Maheer walked upon him and held the hand he was about to hit her with him with an angry smile doused into a displeased one. "You can't beat a woman, Brother." His voice was calm, yet it was unnerving.
"How about that? She's my wife, and that girl there is my daughter. What do you mean?" The man roared as he pointed at Intisar and the woman's eyes instantly flew to Fadwa and for the first time tears rolled down her cheeks.
"That's exactly the reason you can't hit her. That girl walked over to us and begged us to come and tsop you from beating her mother. Do you know what she sees you as? A monster, the devilish one. Will you please doing that? She's your wife not some slave that you bought." Maheer was trying so hard to hold himself from venting out at this man.
The man infuriately looked his wife and she shuddered under his gaze, "You told her to go and call some strangers for me? You asked her to, Amina? How many times do I have to tel.."His words were made guttural because he landed a slap right across Amina's left cheek and she took a step back due to the intensity of the slap.
"I didn't, Mukhtar, wallahi I didn't. Intisar, come and tell your father I wasn't the one that asked you to call these people." Before her lips were closed, Mukhtar pulled Intisar from Fadwa's hold forcefully and Fadwa walked upon them before he laid his hands on the little girl.
She forecfully dragged her out of Mukhtar's hold and looked at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. "What has she done? Wait, whatever she did to you doesn't call for this. If you feel and think you have the right to beat your wife, which you really don't have, then what of your daughter? Do you have an idea what she will see you as? She'll hate the guts of you, and if you keep doing this in her presence, I'm sorry but you'll lose your daughter someday. The kind of love you have for her will never matter to her, because she has seen you tormenting the one she loves the most in her life."
Fadwa cleared her tears and looked at a crying Amina. She wished she can stop her tears, but she couldn't. This felt like an opener to her old wounds. She could imagine how Intisar was feeling and if things persisted, how she would grow up as. The trauma, the pain, the heartache. "I advice you to leave this man. He doesn't deserve you, not even a bit of you. You're beautiful, don't damage your damage because of what you think is love, it isn't. Leave before you have another child and use it as an excuse not to leave him. That never works, you're damaging your kids life. Staying with a father like this...please, just leave him for the sake of Intisar." She handed Intisar's hand in hers and turned back.
Her eyes fell on Maheer's intense blue eyes that were staring at her and she pouted her lips, more tears rolling down her cheeks. "We should get out of here, please." She begged, and he nodded his head.
He asked one of the workers there and he took their cart and Maheer paid before he took the leathers to their trunk and he entered the car and met Fadwa crying. She had her head dipped into her laps and her body shook with her tears. He wondered what made her cry like this. Was it what she watched? Was she being sympathetic towards Intisar or that Amina?
He sat down and looked at her, he didn't know what he was feeling in his heart. It was something he couldn't fathom, but one thing he was sure about is that, he hated the way she cried. He hated seeing tears in her eyes, it hurt him. He cleared his throat and when she looked up and her eyes fell on his, Maheer was frightened. The color of her eyes had unnerved him and his hand naturally went to his eyebrow and he scratched his left eyebrow.
"You should stop crying before someone thinks I kidnapped you." You should stop please, it hurts me. He wished he could say this to her, but he knew he would never say that to her. He preferred the hurt look she sent to him now than the look she could sent to him if he said what exactly he wanted to tell her. He looked through his mirror how the skies had gotten dark and there were dark clouds and lightnings. It was evident that it was going to rain. He had always loved it when it rained in the late evening and night, it just gave him a beautiful feeling.
He ignited the car when she didn't speak and he drove directly to his house. Fadwa had been staring at the beautiful streets of Adamawa and she heaved a sigh when he drove into the parking lot and looked at her. "The bags are in the trunk, get them in." He ordered and she nodded her head before he walked towards the main entrance. She watched his retreating back and for the first time, she envied Maheer.
He had no bad memories that haunted him, he had the best kind of childhood, that she was sure of. She knew his parents were the best and they had the best life. He had everything he wanted in his life. She envied his life. So lively and full of positivity. She heaved a sigh and walked back before she began taking the leather's one by one into the house. The one encasing the packs of chocolates, some weren't even written on the list but Maheer choose them. She had pouted her lips and dared not voiced a word out.
She closed back the trunk and walked inside the house. The clouds were getting much darker and she wondered how she would get home. She opened the door and the next thing she heard was 'meow!' and she didn't know when she flung the leather and the contents flew out and splattered onto the floor. She screamed at the pitch of her voice and Maheer rushed out of his room and she ran to him when Lily ran to her. Before he was about to stop Lily it ran and clutched Fadwa on her chest, and Fadwa screamed once again before she dashed out when she stared into Lily's eyes. She was about to fall on the floor when Maheer rushed to her and she fell on his chest. With on last sigh, her breath halted.