After Larai had offered her morning prayer, she went into the bathroom to freshen up. She had just emerged with a towel around her petite figure when a knock on the door jolted her forward a little. "Who's there?" She yelled, afraid that Mr. Kasim might have returned.

"It's me." Came a feminine voice.

Relieved, Larai walked to the door and opened it. "Good morning." She greeted the maid.

"Good morning, ma. Madam wants to see you."

Larai's heart skipped a little. She wondered why Mrs. Hadiza suddenly wanted to see her. She hoped it wasn't about what happened last night. "Is she in the kitchen?"

"No, she's in her room. She told me to tell you to hurry."

Larai's heart thumped faster in her chest. Her nervousness grew by the seconds. "Alright. Tell her I will be there." She closed the door and sauntered to her suitcase. She picked the first skirt and blouse her hand touched and put them on.

Larai couldn't help, but continue to wonder why Mrs. Hadiza had summoned for her. Had she perchance seen her husband leaving her room last night? "No, no! It can't be. I need to clarify things to her." She increased her pace; her heart still pounding violently.

She knocked on the door once and when she didn't get a response, she got impatient and pushed open the door. 

Larai looked around but didn't find Mrs. Hadiza anywhere.

The room was empty.

She took few more steps inside and before she could comprehend what was happening, the door had been slammed close right behind her.

A gasp involuntarily left Larai's mouth when she turned around and her gaze met that of Mr. Kasim.

She moved backward, but shockingly, with each step she took, Mr. Kasim took the same forward.

Larai's back met the wall and she gulped; her eyes closing and opening. It seemed as though she couldn't believe what was happening at the moment.  "What are you doing? Where is your wife? She has called for me. That's the reason I came here. I should leave." 

"As naive as ever." Mr. Kasim chuckled.

Larai's brows furrowed.

"My wife?" he asked. "She's busy in the kitchen, but don't worry, she will be here in a few minutes. I can already imagine the look on her face when she sees you here."

"You sent the maid to my room, didn't you?" She cried, realization downing on her.

"Right." He affirmed. "You're so intelligent."

"Why are you doing this?" More tears ran down Larai's cheeks. "Please stop this right now. This isn't right. Please don't do this. Just let me go! I beg of you."

Mr. Kasim threw his head back in a hysteric laughter. "If I remember correctly, you had threatened me yesterday, didn't you?" He cocked a brow. "Isn't that right? What happened today? Why are you suddenly acting so innocent and scared? You ingrate!" He raised his voive. "I accepted you in my house and instead of fulfilling the little request I asked of you, you threatened me. No one has ever done what you did yesterday and for that, I'm not going to let this slide. I will make you regret saying those words to me. You're nobody."

Larai's breath was uneven. She wished she had her cellphone with her, to record his words and show them to his family as proof.  She realized she made a huge mistake by not exposing him to his children when she had the chance. She realized how much she messed up by deciding not to tell Yusuf because for sure, she knew he'd lose his respect for him. 

"Why isn't she here yet?" Mr. Kasim paced to and fro in the room.

Larai dropped to her knees and joined her palms; her tears flowing like a loose faucet. "Please don't do this to me. I didn't mean to threaten you. I just said that to stop you from returning. I'd never say anything to your family, please just let me go. I promise to leave this house and never return."

Mr. Kasim crouched to her level and lifted her head with his hand. "Why should I? I want you to give me a good reason. What's in it for me if I let you go?"

Larai was utterly disgusted by Mr. Kasim. She wondered how he wasn't ashamed of himself as well. She was old enough to be his daughter. Even though he didn't put that into consideration, what about his children? Didn't he realize he would be putting their future in jeopardy, because people will always point their fingers at them—especially the female children. And his wife, she would be ashamed to call him her husband.

Larai couldn't decide if he was that senseless or a lunatic in denial. In any case, she had lost all respect for him and would stop at nothing to expose him. It was his likes that gave the country a bad name.

Shameless!

"Why are you doing this to me?" Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked repeatedly in an attempt to stop the tears from falling, but she failed.

"Vengeance" His response was curt. "I'm no longer interested in you, due to how to threatened me, and that's why I vowed to make you pay for disrespecting me in that manner. In case you don't know, I'm big on respect. A kid like you just can't disrespect me and get away with it. I know you'd expose me one day, but before that, I will make sure I teach you a lesson you'd never be able to forget. You threatened me. Me! You of all people? You're no less than a beggar—an ungrateful one. I believe you know this. I took you in and provided shelter above your head."

His words did hurt, but only to an extent. Since it was coming from a shameless man such as himself, she didn't take these words to heart. He was an irresponsible man after all—a snake in sheep clothing.

Larai's eyes widened when a knock was heard on the door. Her hand flew over her mouth and she began to cry. Without a doubt, she knew Mr. Kasim was about to frame her and make her look like the irresponsible one in front of the whole family. It was Mr. Kasim's plan to make it look like she was the one throwing herself at him—seducing him in his matrimonial room.

"Perfect timing." A crooked smile curved Mr. Kasim's lips. He went over to the nightstand and picked the alarm clock.

Bemused, Larai looked on.

Mr. Kasim smashed the clock on the floor, hard.

"Alhaji, Alhaji!" Mrs. Hadiza yelled, banging the door. Her voice laced with panic. "Yusuf!"

Totally demoralized, Larai sat on the floor, unable to move a muscle. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. If she decided to shout, she would only implicate herself further and if she decided to stay silent, the result would be the same. At that moment, more than ever, she wished the floor would split open and engulf her.

Just as Mr. Kasim sat in front of her the door began to shake vigorously. S

Soon enough, the door burst open and the whole family came into view.

Larai's could swear her heartbeat stopped for a moment. She couldn't bring herself to look up at their faces. Her face was lowered.

"What is happening here?" Yusrah's astounding voice filled Larai's ears.

"It's not what you think." Larai shook her head and stood up. Despite how impossible the situation seemed, she was positive Yusrah would believe what she had to say. "Listen, I—" she was cut off by a resounding slap across the face.

"Shut up!" Yusrah bellowed. "How could you do something like this. I can't believe this. How dare you!"

Disregarding the slap she just got, Larai vigorously shook her head. "This is a setup, Yusrah. You know me, I'd never do something as shameless as this." Larai held her hand. "Please—"

Yusrah yanked her hand away. "I thought I knew you, but sadly I don't. What kind of explanation do you have to give? Why else are you in this room and why is the door locked? Haven't you heard of; do not bite the hand that feeds you? I should have known that people like you are not meant to be trusted. You're disgusting! I hate you so much right now. I wish you never came to our house."

Hot tears brimmed up in Larai's eyes. It hurt to know how lowly Yusrah thought of her.

Though Larai couldn't completely blame her, she thought she would be given the chance to explain, but Yusrah had proven to her that an outsider would always be an outsider and family would always be family. Without any explanation, she had chosen to accuse her. If it had been Yumnah, she wouldn't have been that hurt, but coming from Yusrah, it sent a dagger through her heart.

Larai swallowed a nervous lump in her throat, before averting her gaze to Yusuf, who had been silent in an eerie manner. The pain in his eyes did not go unnoticed by Larai. It would completely break her if he doubted her as well. She would not be able to bear it but if he believed her, she didn't care about what the other members of the family had to.say about her character. "Yusuf." She blinked and more tears streamed down her face. His silence was wrenching her heart. She needed him to say something—anything at all.

"Is this the reward I get for taking you in?" Mrs. Hadiza's voice was firm. "I treated you not less than how I treat Yusrah and Yumnah. I thought you were a good person, but you turned out to be a green snake under the green grass. I regret ever accepting you into our home. Every mother would be ashamed to have you as a daughter." 

"At least let's listen to her explanation, before jumping to a conclusion," Yusuf spoke. His voice was barely audible. "And why is no one questioning him? He is the one not putting on a shirt."

"Don't talk about Abba like that!" Yusrah stood almost daringly in front of Yusuf. "He's still our father. You can't disrespect him in that manner. Especially if it's because of a random girl you picked from nowhere." 

Despite the spiteful words from Yusrah, Larai released a sudden breath, glad that Yusuf had given her the benefit of doubt. She knew he trusted her, but she couldn't depend on that trust alone. It was his father they were talking about. The fact that the family members found it insignificant to question Mr. Kasim was rather astonishing to Larai. Why? Because he was a man and she was a woman. Because he was the head of the family and she was considered a poor church rat perching in their house and paving the way to stay in their house forever. How uncalled for!

"This woman is despicable!" Mr. Kasim finally spoke, pointing an accusative finger at Larai.

Larai shook her head in disbelief. Mr. Kasim calling her despicable?

"She had been making advances to me for the longest time and I kept on rejecting her. I didn't tell anyone because I considered her my daughter. I didn't want her future to get ruined. This morning, I was busy reading my daily newspaper, when she barged in and locked the door from the inside. I tried to make her—"

"Lies!" Larai boomed, cutting him off. She couldn't keep listening to him spurt those lies against her. Her heart was shattering.

Larai turned to Mrs. Hadiza. "It's all lies. I didn't do anything of such. He was the one that planned everything."

"Did he also drag you here?" Mrs. Hadiza huffed. It was obvious she didn't believe a word from Larai's mouth. Her demeanor said it all.

Yusrah also huffed and stood at akimbo.

Yusuf and Yumnah on the other hand, remained silent as they watched the scene unfold right in front of them.

"He sent the maid to my room to tell me you're looking for me in your room and when I got there, I didn't see you. I was about to leave, but he closed the door. I wanted to scream for help but I didn't because I knew no one would believe me. I was scared of bring misunderstood."

"What an interesting story." Yusrah shook her head. "The least you can do after being caught is apologize and not make up stories. Who do you think believes your story here?" 

Yusuf.

He might not have said a word to prove it, but in the depths of her heart, she knew he believed her. He had to if he truly did love her as he claimed.

"Keep quiet, Yusrah, let me speak to her." Mrs. Hadiza ordered and moved closer to Larai. "Why would he want to implicate himself by locking you right here in OUR room?" She emphasized.

A sob escaped Larai's mouth. She didn't want to tell the family about Mr. Kasim's contemptible act. She had buried it in her soul because she didn't want to break their family apart, but seemingly, Mr. Kasim wanted to do that. Larai could not keep quiet anymore. Doing so would make her seem like the shameless one, when in fact, she was the victim. She wanted to clear her name. 

"Tell us." Yusuf's voice was calm, yet anxious.

"Do you remember the day I told you I didn't want to stay in this house, but rather in the hostel?" Larai asked Yusuf, but he didn't respond. She carried on regardless. "On the previous day, your father had come to my room and attempted to force himself on me."

Larai could hear gasps, but she kept on speaking; her eyes on Yusuf alone. "I managed to escape by locking myself in the bathroom. I was shocked by his action because I have always had great respect for him. I used to look up to him as a father." Her breath labored. "I didn't tell this to anyone because I didn't want to break your family. I felt it would be unfair to cause havoc in your family when all you people have done is show me kindness, so I kept the secret buried within me. Until now, I have never spoken a word of this to anyone. When I would come to visit, he always gave me a type of look, but I ignored it, and last night, he came to my room again around 11 a.m and I threatened to expose him to all of you if he dares to repeat that. He got angry by my threat and that's why he planned this charade. I'd never stoop so low as to have an affair with a man I'm not married to—a married man at that. I know the difference between right and wrong. My parents might have their flaws, but they didn't raise me to be a homewrecker. I'd die, but I'd never commit a great sin, such as Zina."  She wiped her tears. "That's not my character."

"Are you done?" Mr. Kasim fired. "None of you should believe what this shameless woman is saying. She's clearly accusing me. I have never been to that room when she's around. In all the years we have been married, have I ever done something like this, Hadiza?"

To everyone's astonishment, Mrs. Hadiza raised a hand and slapped Larai hard, across the face. "Not another word from you."

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

Ghen ghen! 😩 Hot just got hotter! More drama loading. Who else can't wait for the next chapter? 🔥🔥🔥

Do you think Larai will be vindicated?

Will Yusuf believe her?

I smell a lot of drama unfolding soon 😩

This chapter deserves so many comments and votes abeg.

100 comments and I will give y'all another update before the day ends. Deal?

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