Asmau
"Ring—ring—ring—ring—ring." The sound of my ringtone interrupted my sleep. With my eyes still closed, I reached out for my phone placed under my pillow.
"Hello," I said in my sleepy voice.
"Aunty Asmau, don't tell me you're still sleeping?" Mima asked, making me check the time. I gasped and immediately sat up when I saw it was 9:30 am.
What the hell is wrong with my alarm?
"This isn't Babaji's house anymore, Asmau. You should get up and make breakfast," Ya Aminah said after I returned to the call.
"Wallahi, I don't know what the hell went wrong with my phone alarm. I set it to wake me up at 8 sharp, but now it's 9:30 am. I was enjoying the sleep too much," I sighed.
"Well, you better go take your bath and start preparing breakfast," she said and hung up.
I dropped my phone, hopped out of the amazingly comfortable bed I'd slept in like a baby, and changed into my towel before heading to the bathroom for a shower and my morning routine.
A few minutes later, I emerged, transformed into my Ankara gown. I applied a little kohl and lip gloss before making my way downstairs to the kitchen.
Upon entering the kitchen, I found a girl about 18 or 19 years old cleaning. I greeted her and learned she was Saratu, the housemaid. She hadn't been able to meet me the previous night due to the fact that she went to bed early.
"So, did you make breakfast?" I asked.
"I didn't cook anything because breakfast will be brought from the family house," she replied. Just then, the doorbell rang.
"I will go get it," she said but I stopped her, insisting that she continue working while I went to answer the door.
I unlocked the door and was met by two fair-skinned ladies, one of whom I recognized as Abubakar's younger sister, Maryam.
"The bride herself!" Maryam exclaimed with a bright smile. "Good morning, Ya Asmau," she added.
"Good morning. Come in," I replied, stepping aside to allow them to enter.
"Matan yaya," Maryam greeted me, engulfing me in a hug, which took me by surprise.
"Yes," I giggled nervously as we pulled out of the hug.
As they took the warmers of food they'd brought to the dining area, Maryam introduced me to the other girl, Layla, who hadn't said a word and had been frowning since their arrival.
"Ma sha Allah. Nice to meet you," I smiled warmly at her.
Layla gave a fake, tight-lipped smile. "Nice to meet you too."
Had I done something to upset her?
Maryam then inquired about the kids, and I informed her that they were still sleeping. Layla asked about Abubakar, to which I replied that he was also sleeping.
"Okay, we will get going now," Maryam said, but Layla was visibly irritated.
"Why would we leave now? We haven't even seen Ya Abubakar," she said, her voice tinged with anger.
"Layla, we came here to bring them food, and now we are leaving, just as Mamii said we should," Maryam replied. She then turned to me. "Goodbye, Ya Asmau. See you soon."
"Okay, Maryam. My regards to Mami and Abba," I replied.
"In sha Allah," she replied before leaving, with Layla.
Weird people everywhere. Smh.
Saratu walked out of the kitchen, and I asked her what time Abubakar and the kids have their breakfast.
"Around 10," she replied.
I checked the clock and saw that it was a quarter past 10. I walked upstairs to wake them up.
I first went to Ansar's room and found him playing a game on his iPad.
"Good morning, Ansar," I greeted.
"Good morning, Mummy," he replied with a smile. I asked if he was hungry and informed him that breakfast was ready. He asked if he could bring his ball down, and I agreed.
I then proceeded to the girls' room. They were still wrapped up in their duvet, sleeping soundly. I turned off the room's A.C. and opened their curtains, allowing the sunlight to wake them.
"Wakey, wakey, beautiful princesses," I greeted.
"Good morning, Mummy," Noorie greeted, rubbing her eyes.
"Morning, my princess. Did you sleep well?" I asked, carrying her in my arms.
"Yes," she replied, resting her head on my chest.
"Feeyah, did you sleep well?" I asked Safeeya, who was sitting on her bed.
"Yes, I did. But it would have been better if you weren't in this house," she replied, donning her comfy house slippers and leaving the room.
Ya Allah, give me patience with this child.
"Mummy, I'm hungry," Noorie whined.
"Sorry, darling," I replied. I cleaned her up, and she went downstairs. Afterward, I went to Abubakar's room.
I knocked on the door a few times, and when I didn't get a reply, I turned the doorknob and stepped inside.
I was really surprised by the fact that almost everywhere in the room was painted black, but in a good way. I love how simple the room looks, and for a man, it is really well-kept. I also love the scent of the room; it has a hint of his cologne. Lol, I know it's weird how I have already memorized his nice scent.
I walked further into the room and kept looking around. You might say I'm being nosy, but I'm just curious. Besides, I'm his wife, so I don't think there's any problem with me being in his room.
My eyes caught a glimpse of a picture placed on his bedside drawer. It was a picture of a woman together with him.
Curiosity got the better of me, so I slowly took it to have a good look at the picture frame. The woman in the picture was quite fair and beautiful. Abubakar was on her left side with his arms wrapped around her, and Safeeya was on her right. The place in the picture was all snowy, so it was obviously not Nigeria, and they were all wearing their coats and winter hats. Suddenly, it clicked to me: she's Abubakar's ex-wife!
"What are you doing here?"
The picture frame I was holding in my hands almost fell, but Alhamdulillah it didn't. I turned around only to be met with a shirtless Abubakar.
I gulped before moving my gaze somewhere else.
"What are you doing here?" He asked again and looked down at the picture in my hands before immediately snatching it away from me. "And why the hell are you touching this?" He fired.
"I was just looking at it," I defended, seeing how angry he looked.
"Who gave you permission to go through my things? And why are you even in my room?" He asked.
"I—"
"Now, let me make it clear to you that you should learn how to knock before barging into someone's room and going through his stuff. If this should happen again, we are going to have a serious problem, I promise you that. I hope I'm clear?" He asked in a dangerous tone.
I couldn't even say a word; I was just looking at him in shock. I was really speechless. He was nice to me throughout the wedding, and now he treats me like trash? So it was all a charade? Men are truly something else. I'm really disappointed.
"Okay then. I'm sorry, Abubakar," I apologized and quickly rushed out of the room.
I could have actually defended myself, but I didn't want to say something that I would regret later on. No matter what, he is still my husband, and I should respect him.
Immediately I stepped outside and shut his door; I took in a deep breath to help myself calm down. I won't let him get to me, never. I just realized where Safeeya got her rudeness from.
I made sure to hold a normal expression on my face before moving downstairs to the kids. They were all seated politely at the dining table and waiting for me.
The breakfast was fried yams and egg sauce, so I served the kids and myself with hot coffee before we began eating.
I noticed how Safeeya was playing with her food and not eating, so I decided to be a bit nosy. "Safeeya, don't you like the food?" I asked.
"I'm not hungry," she replied, not sparing me even a glance.
"Then give me your plate of food," He suggested, and she pushed the food to him.
"Safeeya, this isn't right; you should eat, or else you will be hungry. Breakfast is one of the important meals of the day," I said, trying to convince her.
She didn't reply to me; instead, she just remained quiet and continued staring at the dining table.
"Ansar, allow Safeeya to eat her food, please. Give it back to her," I ordered.
"But she's just going to waste it," he whined.
"Yes, I am," she said.
"You know what? Safeeya, come over here," I patted the empty seat close to me.
She stood up and came to sit at the place while I took back her food from Ansar and began to feed her, even though she was hesitant at first.
"You know I can eat by myself, right? I'm not a baby," she argued with a frown.
"But you refused to eat, and I can't allow that here."
"Don't you hate me because I'm not being nice to you?" She asked, taking me by surprise.
I smiled, shaking my head. "I don't hate you, Feeyah, because I honestly understand you. You're just finding it hard to adjust to the fact that I'm married to your Dad now. But I'm sure if you get to know me better, we will get along, I assure you."
She didn't say anything after that; instead, she adjusted herself comfortably and allowed me to continue feeding her.
"Mummy," Noorie called.
"Yes, baby?"
"I want you to feed me," she pouted.
"Okay, open up," I said and began feeding her too.
"Mummy, wheris Daddy now?" Noorie asked with her mouth
"Noorie, don't talk with food in your mouth," I scolded, using a tissue to wipe under her mouth.
"I said, where's Daddy?" She asked.
"I'm here!" There appeared his royal highness, walking down the stairs with full authority and majesty.
"Daddyyyyy!" Noorie squealed and ran to hug her Dad.
"Babyy." He picked her up with no effort.
"Good morning," She grinned.
"Morning, Princess."
Ansar and Safeeya greeted their Dad before I served him his breakfast and tea since he didn't like coffee. I was really angry at him for what happened minutes ago, so I avoided eye contact with him by any means.
"Daddy, Mummy is feeding Feeyah and me," Noorie said happily.
"That's nice, but you should allow her to eat too. That's selfish. Asmau, stop feeding Noorie and eat," He ordered, looking at me.
"I'm—"
"I didn't ask you. It's an order, now eat," He said, his voice full of authority.
I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes and then began eating. Suddenly, Noorie began laughing, and we all looked at her.
"What's wrong, baby?" Abubakar asked her.
"Mummy and Daddy are so cute!" She said, making me blush so hard while everyone, including Safeeya, began laughing.
And that's how we continued eating, with Noorie entertaining us every now and then.
After breakfast, Saratu and I packed the warmers and plates before taking them to the kitchen for washing. I allowed her to do that while I went upstairs to my room to grab my phone. I checked some things on the phone before turning to leave, and then I saw Abubakar standing by the door, clad in his blue caftan with black embroidery around the neck and a matching zanna bukar cap. No doubt, he was looking so dashing and handsome. Really very handsome. Would I be a bad person if I say that I find Abubakar more handsome than Abdul?
"Like what you see?" He smirked.
"I have seen better," I blushed and dropped my gaze. "Excuse me," I said and was about to go out of the room when he blocked my way. I stepped aside, and he followed me there too, I stepped to the other side, and the same thing happened. "I want to pass," I said, looking up at him.
"Let's talk first."
"We have nothing to talk about," I rolled my eyes.
"You're not going to leave this room until we talk, Asmau."
I sensed seriousness in his tone, so I just decided to listen to anything he wanted to say. "Okay, let's talk," I said.
He gestured for me to take my seat on one of the sofas in the room, and I did exactly that. He also came and sat down beside me, making sure to leave enough space between us before he began.
"I'm sorry for how I spoke to you earlier. I was just angry because my staff called me from the office and said something that pissed me off, so I vented all my anger on you. Sorry for that."
"I was really hurt by what you said, Abubakar. But thanks for making it clear to me that I'm not permitted to enter your room as your wife or go through any of your things. I will learn to mind my business," I said, not willing to make it that easy for him. I can't just forgive him like that.
"Asmau, come on. I told you I was mad, I said all those things without thinking, but I didn't mean them. I have no problem with you entering my room and going through my stuff even without my permission. You have all the rights," He paused and took my hands in his. "You're my wife, after all, and anything that's mine is also yours. Anything." He kissed my knuckles, making me feel butterflies in my stomach.
What is wrong with me?
Am I falling?
"Am I forgiven?" He asked, meanwhile, I was just staring at him like one dummy.
I smiled a bit and nodded my head. "I want to ask you something," I said.
"Go ahead," He urged.
"Who is that woman in the picture?" I asked.
"That's a story for another day," He smiled.
I understood that he wasn't ready to open up, so I just let him be.
"Let's talk about Safeeya," He said, and I urged him to go ahead.
"Asmau, I'm sorry if Safeeya has been rude towards you. She's like this to almost everyone. She wasn't like this before, but since her mother left, she completely changed. She wasn't the happy, cheerful, and bubbly Safeeya anymore. She became the quiet, nonchalant, and sad Safeeya. I'm also to be blamed because I didn't pay attention to them when we separated from my ex-wife. I was always tied up with my work, just so I could forget all my problems, and I didn't pay attention to Safeeya or listen to her problems as a father at the time she needed it the most. Everything changed for us; things haven't been easy since we got separated from their mother. And yes, I know I have failed as a father," He sighed and buried his head in his palms.
"Don't say that, you haven't failed as a father, and you will never, In sha Allah. Life tests us in different ways; what matters is that you never give up. Don't think just because you made one mistake you have failed or you're a bad person. There's still time for you to be the perfect father that your kids deserve," I assured and slowly grabbed one of his hands and entwined it with mine. "I trust you, and I'm here for you, and together we will be the perfect parents for your kids, if you will agree, of course," I smiled, staring at him.
"Of course, Asmau. I would love to raise my kids with you, and I would love to raise a family with you," He pressed our entwined hands.
"If you really want that, you would have to give me a chance. I mean... I'm willing to be a mother to them but in my own way that I know how to be since this is all new to me. I know our marriage came as a shock to both of us, but please give me the permission to be a mother to your children, children that you will be proud of."
"And a wife to me," He added.
"Yes, a wife to you," I repeated, trying to hide my blush. "We will do this together as a team," I assured and moved closer to him. I was skeptical at first, but I decided to do it; I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him, to which he hugged me back.
"You better get going to the office before the problem gets worse," I chuckled nervously, pulling out of the hug.
"Yeah, okay," He smiled before we stood up and went out of the room.
Immediately we came downstairs, we saw Noorie and Ansar bouncing on the couch with Noorie singing to the song of the cartoon Spongebob on Nickelodeon.
"Spongebob SquarePants!! Spongebob SquarePants!! Spongebob SquarePants!! Spongebob!! Squarepants! Turuturuturu..." She sang at the top of her voice.
"Noorie, will you stop yelling?" Safeeya scolded, already getting pissed off with her sister.
"Nooooooooo!!" Noorie, being the troublemaker she was, screamed into Safeeya's ear, making Safeeya hit her on the arm.
"Troublemaker," Safeeya muttered angrily.
Noorie turned her head and saw us, then she quickly got down from the couch and ran over to us. "Daddy, Mummy, Feeyah ta bugeni," She reported while crying.
This was actually the first time I heard Noorie speaking Hausa. I was shocked because I thought they didn't know how to.
Abubakar carried her up in his arms. "But baby, why were you shouting?" He asked, running his hand through her silky hair.
"I was singing Spongebob," She pouted.
"You weren't singing; you were disturbing us. And Daddy, please tell Ansar to sit down," Safeeya said.
"Ansar, sit down. Now!" Abubakar ordered.
"But Daddy, jumping on the couch is so fun; you should try it," Ansar said and continued, but when Abubakar sent him a deathly glare, he zipped his lips and calmly took his seat.
Meanwhile, I was just looking at them in amusement because their drama was definitely something else.
"Kids, I will be going out, so please don't be troublesome or try to disturb your mother. Especially you, Noorie," Abubakar said to her.
"But Daddy, I'm not troublesome," She pouted.
"Yes, you are," Ansar replied.
"Daddy, where are you going? I want to tag along," She asked.
"I'm sorry, baby, but you can't come with me today. However, don't worry; we're planning a family outing for tomorrow, and we'll visit Granny too. I'm sure she misses you," he reassured her.
"Okay, Daddy." He put her down, and she sprinted back to her siblings.
I escorted Abubakar to the front door before he left, not forgetting to place a kiss on my forehead.
Edited version✨
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