Through the window of her room, Larai watched Yusuf drive out of the compound.

Her grip around the curtains loosened and she crouched beside the wall. "I love you so much, my Yusuf." She muttered beneath her breath. She wished she could say it to his face-she knew he had been desperate to hear her say the words to him, but her shyness would not allow her. She wasn't audacious enough.

"Larai." She heard her name being called from outside the room, then a knock followed. "Are you in there?"

The voice was clearer now, so she was able to depict who it was.

She hurried towards the door and opened it.

Mrs. Hadiza was dressed in a royal blue lace-a blouse and a wrapper. A big white veil was draped around her head, covering the upper half of her body. In her left hand, was a white bag. Her shoes were also a shade of white. She looked dashing.

Larai wondered where she was off to. "Is there something you need? You should have sent for me and I'd be there. You didn't have to take the trouble to come here."

"Actually, I am about to go out, so I decided to come here to inform you about that and that all the maids have been granted permission to go to their families for at least two days. If you're hungry, there is food in the kitchen. Fix yourself something. I'm hanging out with few friends of mine, I might return late. I hope you're okay with staying here all alone."

Larai nodded. "Of course, ma."

"Alright then. Bye."

Larai saw her off to the door, then secured the door with a lock before sauntering back to her room.
She pushed open the door and was about to go in, but stopped, sensing someone's presence and eyes on her.

She took in a deep breath and shook her head-she was being paranoid again.

She pulled off her headscarf and her curly, natural hair flowed out of its confines. She didn't fancy braiding of hair, so she tended to leave her hair open. Nna had complained bitterly, but still, she didn't have a change of mindset.

"I should call Yusuf." She picked up her phone from the nightstand and gasped when the phone was snatched out of her hold. She turned around and at the sight of the person in the room, her eyes broadened and her hand flew over her opened mouth.

"Sir...Sir.." She stuttered, unable to bring herself to utter a coherent word.

"Shhh." Mr. Kasim placed a single finger against his lips. "There's no one in his huge house, except for you and I."

What does that even mean?

Larai dashed to where her hijab was hung and attempted to put it on, but again, the piece of clothing was snatched away from her and thrown to the extreme of the room.

"What...what are you doing, Sir?" Larai's heart thudded aggressively in her chest, as she backed away from him. "Please stay away from me, Sir."

"Nice hair you have." He sank his hand in her curls; a devilish smile playing on his lips.

Larai could not believe her eyes and ears. Mr. Kasim? The man whom she thought was responsible and generous. Indeed, not all that glitters is gold. All the while she had been living under his roof, he had not looked at her twice, so his action to her great surprise.

With all the strength she could muster, she pushed him away and ran to the spot her hijab was flung and put it on.

"Did you just push me?" Mr. Kasim pointed a finger to his chest and began to advance towards her at a slow dangerous pace. "Answer me!"

"I didn't mean to...I'm sorry." Her voice shook as she spoke. "Please leave my room."

"Your room?" He chuckle in derision. "This right here is my house. I built it with my money, singlehandedly. So technically this room is mine as well. You're just a helpless person we decided to pick from the gutter out of the goodness of our hearts."

It was the plain truth, but hearing it so harshly saddened Larai a great deal. To him, and probably the whole family, she was just a helpless person picked up from the gutter. "What do you want from me?" Her voice was daring and bold. She had had enough of his antics. She was going to put him in his place if he carried on.

"You're not so daft, are you? Isn't it obvious what I want? Or do I have to spell it out to you? For the past few days, I have been observing you and I realized what a beauty you are. I couldn't stop myself from coming here. I just need you to give in, just this once and I promise never to return to this room ever again."

And that was supposed to make her feel better? Larai scoffed and joined her palms together. "Please leave my room, otherwise, I'm going to tell Yusuf and Mrs. Hadiza about your-"
She was cut off by him forcefully grabbing her arm. "You ingrate! After everything this family has done for you, you dare to threaten me? What I'm asking for, is it too much?"

Larai couldn't believe the disgusting words he was spurting. How dare he!

"Listen to me." He swallowed and his voice softened. We can civilly negotiate this. Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."

Larai's brows furrowed in incomprehension.

"If you fulfill my desire today, then I promise to give you whatever you want. It's just for a night. I will buy you a car, you want that, don't you?"

He actually thought she was a prostitute, when in fact, she was a woman of virtue.

For all the money in the central bank, she would never stoop so morally low. She wasn't brought up like that and most importantly, the foul act is forbidden in Islam-haram.

"And this is the perfect opportunity." He added. "My wife has gone out to hang out with her friends, Yusuf has also left the city for some work. The twins are yet to return and the maids have also been granted two days off. let's make use of the time we have now, otherwise, we might not get a chance like this ever again."

"You're a disgusting man!" Larai fired. She had tried so hard to keep her anger at bay, but his words only served to ignite the feeling. In a blink of an eye, the respect she had for him had completely vanished. He was a despicable man who deserved nothing, but contempt.

"Enough, young lady!" He boomed. "I won't tolerate you insulting me, right under my roof. So far, I have been lenient with you. I have tried to negotiate with you and make you understand my needs, but you've proven to be stubborn. Now, I will do what I came here to do and you won't be able to stop messaging for." He lunged towards her like a lion to his prey.

Larai took few steps backward and her back collided with the wall. She was trapped between the wall and the monster. "Please don't do this." She whimpered.

Mr. Kasim let out a peal of shrill laughter. "What happened to the fierce girl of earlier? Where has that attitude gone to."

"What you're doing is wrong." She tried to talk some sense into him. "This isn't right. Please stop this. I promise not to say a word to anyone. Please pity me."

"That's the same thing I want." He cooed in a baby-like voice. "I want you to pity me as well. If I don't have my way..." He sucked in a breath and began to caress her arm. "I migh-"

Larai reached for the vase on the dressing mirror. She heaved a sigh of relief when she got hold of the ceramic pot. "Get away from me right now." She warned, clutching the neck of the vase tightly.

"I have come this far, I can't just get away from you." He breathed, almost as if he was in pain.

Larai's eyes dilated as he began to lean in.

At that moment, she couldn't decide on whether to hit him on the head with the vase or not. If she did, he could die. And if he dies, how would she be able to explain the whole situation to Yusuf? He was still his father after all.

As a last resort, she did the same thing she had done with Zakari. She lifted a knee and hit him in the groin.

He landed on the floor with a loud thud and yelped in unadulterated pain.

Larai took the opportunity to run to the bathroom and banged the door, right before he could stop her.

"Open up!" Mr. Kasim banged his fists on the door. "If you don't open this door, I'm going to break it down and if I do, you're going to see the other side of me. Open the darn door!"

Larai shivered in fear. She thought all of her problems were gradually coming to an end and then Mr. Kasim popped up. He reminded her so much of Zakari. Both of them were birds of the same feathers-perverted old men!

"If you breathe a word of this to anyone, especially my wife, I will kill you. This isn't a threat. I mean every single word I say. Don't test me!"

Larai slid down against the door and began to sob intermittently. Her problems were unending.

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

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Seems Larai's problems are far from coming to an end 🥺

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