Warning: unedited.

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Maryam sauntered back to her room and met Saeed already set for work. Her anger about him stopping her from working suddenly arose. "So he can go to work while I can't?" She muttered underneath her breath and walk pass him. She had no intention at all of speaking to him.

"Have you done it?" Saeed asked, startling Maryam a bit. She had not expected him to speak to her.

She cleared her throat dramatically. "Done what?" She asked, pretending to be oblivious to what he was asking.

"Is she gone?" He rephrased his words, his haze never wavering from hers.

Maryam signed. "I have already fired her. She will soon leave."

"Good. I'm off to work." He remarked and when she didn't reply, he continued. "Please take very good care of yourself and our babies."

Maryam restrained herself from rolling her eyes. With one last look at him, she lay down on the bed, turning her back on him.

"Okay then. I will try to be back early today so I can help you with some of the house chores." Maryam heard him say before the door slammed indicating he just left.

With a heavy heart, she turned around and her gaze lingered on the door. She felt extremely bad for how she just treated her husband. She felt bad for not wishing him well before he left like she always did. She felt bad for not kissing him and praying for him. She felt bad for snubbing him while he was talking to her. She was not used to doing all these at all. It was an entire new thing for her. But despite the guiltiness she felt, she had to remind herself why she was going all these - why she was giving him the cold shoulder. "I'm sorry, habibi."

Minutes later, she ambled straight to Manal's room to see how she was faring. On pushing the door open, she met Manal lying on the bed and flipping pages of her little magazine. A huge smile appeared on her face, but instantly turned into a frown as she remembered why she wasn't at work - because of her children. She shook her head a little in an attempt to spurn the thought from her mind. She walked closer to her and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you feeling now?" She asked tenderly.

"Alhamdulilah." Manal replied smiling.

"Does your arm still hurt?" She inquired.

"Yes, a little bit."

"Where?"

"Here, here and here." She pointed, showing her the exact places that was aching her.

Maryam began planting small losses on the spots to numb the pain. "I'll the kiss the pain away."

"Thank you, ummi." She grinned.

"Do you still feel anything?"

"No ummi, the pain is all gone now."

Maryam's lips tugged up into a smile. "That's good and yes, I came to tell you that Nafisa will be leaving today."

Maryam watched as Manal furrowed her brows. "She's leaving? Today?" She asked, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

"Yes. Do you feel bad?" She inquired.

"No... She doesn't like me." She blurted and her hands flew over her open mouth.

Maryam's demeanor contorted in confusion. "She doesn't like you? Why? Does she..." She trailed off, not wanting to even harbour the disdainful thought in her mind. Nafisa would never mistreat her daughter, she was positive.

"She... She always -"

"What does she always do?" Maryam asked, cutting her off.

"She always scolds me." She replied, averting her gaze from her mother.

"That's it?" Maryam chuckled. "She does that to make you a better person and not because she doesn't like you."

"Will she ever come back?" Manal suddenly asked out of the blue.

"I don't think she will ever come back here."

"Just like Sa'adatu?"

"Just like her."

"Alright."

"Do you want to say goodbye to her."

"No. I want to sleep."

"Alright, baby. Get some rest." Maryam kissed her forehead before leaving for the living room.

On getting to the living room, she met Nafisa dragging her suitcase and some bags with her. She let down the bags in front of Maryam and began to shed tears. "I'm leaving, ma."

Maryam cleared her throat a little before speaking. "May Allah protect you."

Nafisa ignored the prayer that was just made for her as she was so engrossed in crying.

"Don't be disheartened by all these, Nafisa. I'm sure there is something better waiting for you out there. I hope to see you again sometime." Maryam's lips curved into a smile.

"Thank you for all the kindness you've showed me, ma. I promise never to forget it and I'll surely repay you for every single thing you've ever done to- done for me. You're kindness will never go unpaid."

"It's alright dear. You don't have to pay me for anything. I did it all for Allah's sake."

"Is Manal upstairs? I want to say my final goodbye to her."

"Yes, but she's currently getting some rest. I will be sure to convey your goodbye."

"Alright, ma."

"Where will you go from here?" Maryam couldn't help but ask. She felt extremely bad for sending the poor girl away, but what was her consolation was that; it wasn't entirely her fault. The majority was Saeed's.

"To be sincere, ma, I really don't have anywhere to go from here." She replied and burst into more tears.

"Why don't you go back to your village?" She inquired. She thought about it thoroughly and came to the conclusion it would be much better for her to return to her village rather than staying back in the city.

"I... I can't go back to my village." She sobbed. "My mother will not accommodate me back. She will be so disappointed in me."

"She is still your mother and no matter how disappointed she may get, she would never send you away from home. So please don't go anywhere else. I will keep in touch with you."

"I will just as you say. I will go back to my village."

"That's good. Please be safe."

Nafisa looked around as if looking for someone. "Where is sir? I want to say goodbye to him."

"He's already left for work."

"Too bad. I wanted to apologize to him for all the time I had made him angry."

"It's okay. You don't have to do that at all. It's inconsequential."

"Thank you, ma, but..." Her brows furrowed. "Aren't you going to be late for work?" She inquired.

"No." She replied tersely. She didn't want to talk about it nor remember, but Nafisa had succeeded in reminding her of the injustice Saeed had done to her. "Take this." Nafisa stretched her hand, handling an envelope containing a pretty huge amount of money to Nafisa. "With this, you can start a little business and with your efforts, make it grow."

Nafisa darted her gaze to the envelope and reluctantly collected it. "I'm grateful."

Maryam smiled and handed her another envelope. "I know this won't be enough for you to complete your studies, but I'm sure it will go a long way."

"Thank you very much, ma." Nafisa wiped her tears with the back of her palm and carried her bags in her left hand. "Goodbye." She sniffed and continued dragging her suitcase with her.

Maryam's gaze trailed behind Nafisa as she sauntered out of the main door. She plopped into the nearest couch disheartened. This was never what she wanted for herself - to be a housewife.

~~~
Thank you so much for the comments on the previous chapter. It made me happy to write chapter 38.

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