Late at night, Larai left her hut for the outdoor latrine to relieve herself, when suddenly she halted in her tracks and looked back.

Her instincts made it known to her that someone was watching her from afar. But who could it be? She shook her head and continued walking towards the latrine. 

Emerging from the bathroom, she cautiously looked around again and headed back to the hut, when suddenly she heard a sound—a weird sound emitting from somewhere in the compound.

Her eyes scanned the area she thought she heard the sound coming from, but because the night was very dark and the moon was hidden, she could see little to nothing. "Zakari?" The name emerged from her lips, intuitively. Could it be him? Afraid, she hurried back into the hut and secured the room with the wooden lock.

In an attempt to soothe her racing heart, Larai placed a hand over her chest and inhaled, then exhaled. "No," she shook her head. "It's can't be him. I'm probably just paranoid."

"Ya Larai?" Azumi's voice was groggy and rubbed her eyes to wear off sleep from them. "Who are you talking to in the middle of the night?"

"It's no one. Go back to sleep." She waved a hand at her, dismissively.

Wordlessly, she turned to the wall and soon, fell back asleep.

Larai heaved a sigh—they weren't even married yet and she was that afraid of him. What would happen when the marriage eventually happens? She could not stop those thoughts from disturbing her peace. Several times, she had thought of going straight to Baaba and telling him exactly who Zakari was, but she knew better than to do that.

Her father trusted the beast blindly.

Everyone did. It seemed she was the only person who knew him for who he truly was. But sadly, the beast was about to become her husband in just a little period.

Larai lay on the unoccupied space of the mat and muttered some prayers underneath her breath before her soul was eventually taken away to dreamland.

•

The crow of cocks at dawn and the chirping sounds of birds awakened Larai. She groaned and stretched out her limbs. "Azumi! Azumi!!" She called; her eyes still closed. "Get up, Azumi. It's time for prayer."  

"Please, let me sleep for a little more." She beseeched, scratching her neck.

"You can't. You have to pray at the right time. Come on, get up, Azumi, before I pour cold water on you." She threatened and that seemed to do the trick.

Azumi sprung up, like someone possessed by an evil spirit and maneuvered out of the room.

Larai stretched some more, before standing up and following suit.

After they were done praying, as usual, they went to Baaba's room to greet him, then Nna's.

"Kube lazhin, Nna." (Good morning). They swatted and greeted her simultaneously.

"Kube lazhin, egi mizhi." (Good morning, my children) She responded with a bright smile. Seemingly, she was in an exuberant mood. "How was your nights?"

"Fine, Nna." Again, they responded in sync.

"That's good. Azumi, you can go ahead and start your chores. Larai, stay back, we're going to talk."

Azumi muttered an incoherent word, before leaving the hut.

"Larai, my daughter." Nna started. "Your wedding is in three days."

The reminder sent a pang directly to Larai's heart. Just when she thought she could use a minute, without having to think of the ugly reality.
"I'm so happy. Words would not be able to convey just how much. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah (Thank you, God. Thank you, God.) I'm alive to see this day. Now, I'm just waiting for Azumi to be married off as well, then I can finally be completely
satisfied."

Larai hummed.

"What I am about to discuss with you right now, is not something you don't know—not something I haven't told you before, but because you're going to leave this house for your husband's in three days, it has become necessary for me to remind you."

Larai squirmed, uncomfortably on the well-swept floor. She knew exactly what her mother was about to discuss with her and she hated to hear it. If it had been up to her, she would have stormed out of the hut, but being the coward she was, she lowered her head and opened her ears to the words she loathed the most.

"Once you get married, your life will drastically change. Your husband's house will become your home. His wishes will become your command. His family, your family. Just the way you respect your father and me, you're obligated to respect your husband in the same way. He is your ticket to Jannah (paradise) don't you ever forget that. Are you listening?" 

"Yes, Nna." She affirmed; blinking severally to fight back tears.

"Permission: before making any decision, you must first seek permission from your husband. You can NEVER leave his house, without asking for his permission first. Even if you want to go to a place as close as the house next door, you must seek his permission first. If you want to come and visit us and he refuses, then you mustn't come. It's Haram (forbidden) to go to places without informing your husband beforehand and getting his permission. With every step you take, angels will curse you. This one that you're looking down like that, I hope you heard everything I said."

Wordlessly, she nodded.

"Good. The next is cleanliness. You should never allow your husband to perceive a foul smell from your body. Be neat always and he will respect you for that. Prepare his meals on time. Try to make his favorite meals once in a while. Do not give him a reason to complain about your cooking. Your mother is a good cook,  you should prove that to your in-laws. Respect his parents in the same way you respect us. Disrespecting them means tarnishing my upbringing. Give him his rights when he requests it. Don't go there and start fighting with your co-wives. You met them there and I'm certain they are older than you. For peace to reign, respect them, but know when to report them to your husband when they treat you wrongly, and lastly, be tolerant. Don't talk back at your husband or insult him. Never do that. If you can do this, then I'm sure you're going to be happy in your marital home."

Larai couldn't hold her sobs back anymore. She had been trying for a while and that suffocated her. The fact that she was indeed going to be married to an old perverted man in three days hurt her. And what hurt her even more, was the fact that Yusuf, who claimed to love her immensely, had abandoned her. She did push him away, but if he truly loved her, shouldn't he have fought for her? Perhaps, her mother was right: By thinking she could find true love, she had only been living in delusion.

"Larai!" The tone in which her mother used to call her, made her flinch. "Did you hear everything I just said?"

She simply nodded in response.

"I want you to give me your words that you'll be the perfect wife to Zakari. Mine and your father's upbringing mustn't be put to shame."

She opened her mouth to respond but got choked by a sob instead. Too late to hold back, she broke down in front of her mother and sobbed.

"Larai." Nna placed a hand on her shuddering shoulder. "Why are you crying so much?"

"I don't want to be married anymore." She uttered the words straight from her heart.

"What!" Nna placed a hand underneath her chin, raising her head and making their gazes meet. "What rubbish are you vomiting right now? I thought we've had this talk. It's beca—"

"No, Nna." She was quick to cut her off. "The only reason I don't want to get married is because I'm going to miss you, Baaba, and Azumi so much. I'm afraid Zakari won't ever allow me to see you for a long time."

"Ya Zakari." She corrected. "He is going to be your husband in three days. You should learn to add the respect prefix to his name. And about that, if that's what he wants, then that is what will happen. Don't bother yourself about such unnecessary things. Now, go to the stream and have the drums filled before sunset, then come back here. There are some herbal medicines I need to hand over to you. I collected them, just for you. You have to start using them now, for your skin to become fresher and fairer, before your wedding night."

"Okay, Nna. Thank you." She replied in a subdued voice.

•

On Larai's way to the stream, all she could think of was how unfortunate she was; her life was about to be ruined, yet she had no say. She never wanted to be married to the old pervert, Zakari, but she couldn't bring herself to tell that to her father—not that he would listen anyway.

She had thought Nna would at least help her get out of the unwanted marriage, but instead, she was the one anticipating it more than anyone else.

She felt completely demoralized.

Larai just wanted to disappear; to be carried by the river, to somewhere far away—somewhere away from everyone she knew, including her parents.

She was still engrossed in her mini world when suddenly, someone covered her mouth from behind.

Her grip around the jerrican loosened. She kicked and attempted to free herself, but her efforts were futile.

"I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't stay still, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from doing just that."

"Leave me alone!" She tried to scream, but her screams were muffled.

"Quiet!" He yelled. "I told you to be quiet, didn't I? If you cause a scene here, I'm going to kill you and then feed your body to vultures."

Needless to be told, Larai already knew whom it was. As hard as she could, she bit his hand.

He groaned and let go of her.

She took that as her cue to escape, but her hopes came crashing down when he pulled her to him, but her blouse and backhanded her.

Larai's eyes closed and opened in an instant; her cheeks already bearing the prints of his ugly palm.

Disgusted by him, she gathered her saliva, and without thinking twice, she spat on his face.

"How dare you!" He boomed and struck her face with his iron-like fist. "I haven't spat on you yet and you think you can do that to me? Who do you think you are? You're going to be my wife in three days and do you know what that means? You automatically become my slave. My slave." He emphasized. "Once we're married, I will make you dance to my tune. I will make you pay for every single time you chose to disobey me. You will regret ever getting on my bad side. You're a woman. Women are beneath men and therefore submissive to us."

"Let me go, Zakari." She pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Please just let me go. What is it you want from me?"

"Playing dumb, are we?" He smirked, pulling her even closer to his chest; his finger trailing patterns around her face. "You know exactly what I want and you're going to give it to me, whether willingly or unwillingly."

"No!" Larai yelled, struggling to free herself from his monster grip. "That would be over my dead body."

"That's okay too." He licked the side of his lips. "When I heard the news of you, being raped, I was angry. So angry. Do you know why? Because I thought someone had the chance of eating my dish, before me. Before that happens for real, I will execute my rights on you. I let you off the hook last night, but not this time."

"You're sick!" Larai cringed. The mere sight of him made her stomach twirl in a bad way. She felt disgusted and the need to throw up was fast arising. If she couldn't bear his sick presence for few minutes, she wondered how a lifetime would be.

He pushed her hard unto the grasses. "You haven't seen how much yet. I'm going to show you." He pulled out the rope that served as a belt to him and allowed his trousers slid down his legs.

Larai tightly shut her eyes and screamed; all hope lost. No one could save her from the monster now, except for God. 

"Get away from her!" A voice bellowed. The voice of her knight in shining armor. She had no doubts it was him. In the midst of millions, she could single it out.

She opened her eyes to Yusuf aggressively beating Zakari to a pulp.

At first, she didn't have any intentions of stopping him. Maybe. Just maybe it would be a good thing If Yusuf killed him. Then, she wouldn't have to get married anymore, but on second thought, her beloved Yusuf would be tagged a murderer and would most likely be killed as well.

"No! No! Yusuf!" She screamed and began to pull him away from Zakari's motionless body. "Please stop." She cried. "That's enough, Yusuf, you're going to kill him. Please stop. Please. Please. That's enough." She cried harder.

Her cries snapped him out of his insanity.

Yusuf sat on the grasses; his breath emerging laboriously.

"Your hands!" Larai's hand flew over her mouth and dropped to her knees in front of him. "Your hands are bleeding." She attempted to touch them, but he drew back his hands and moved away from her.

"Yus...uf." Her voice broke. "Where have you been? I have been so worried about you. I thought...something bad had happened to you."

"Do you even care?" He huffed and rose to his feet. "Out of gratitude, you don't have to pretend you care for me. I did what I did out of humanity. If it had been someone else in your place, I would have done the same thing."

"You didn't have to intervene." Larai retorted. "I would have been able to save myself regardless."

"Oh, really?" Yusuf taunted. "It didn't seem so." He stretched his wounded hand and cringed.

"Are you alright?" Larai rushed to him and stopped right in front of him. Her gaze met his and right at that moment, she felt like disappearing in thin air, due to guiltiness. He may not deserve her, as he didn't fight for her, but the least she could have done, was confess her feelings to him, but instead of doing just that, she lied to him and pushed him away. She turned a blind eye to the pain in his eyes. She made herself seem void of all emotions, when in fact, she was falling apart, inside.

"Doesn't matter." He muttered, clenching and unclenching his wounded fist.

At the sight, Larai winced. "Please don't do that. You're hurting yourself."

Yusuf fixated his gaze in hers and he swallowed; his Adam's apple bobbing to and fro. "Why are you here in these bushes? Who is this man?" He pointed at the almost dead body of Zakari.

"I was—" she had only begun to narrate the story to him when suddenly, she cut herself off. "It's none of your business." She humped.

"Please tell me." He pleaded.

His tender and amiable voice had her restraints slacking. "As usual, I was going to the stream to fetch water. He attacked me from behind and dragged me here."

"Who is he?" He asked through his teeth.

Larai's breath hitched. She had been avoiding the topic for so long, but not anymore. He deserved an explanation and that was exactly what he was going to get. "He's my fiancé." The words emerged from her mouth like thorns passing through. "We're going to be married in three days." She added, avoiding his gaze.

Indisputably, his expression must be pained. Larai didn't want to see that. She wouldn't be able to bear it, knowing she was the reason for his pain.

"Let's go." That was all he said, before walking away.

"Huh? Where are we going?" She yelled after him and eventually caught up with him.

They didn't stop walking until they had reached their special spot—the spot which meant a lot to the duo. There, they made memories; memorable ones.

"Is that the reason you lied to me?" Yusuf pointed a hand to his chest.

Remorsefully, she nodded, lowering her head. "I had no other choice."

With pleading eyes, Yusuf walked closer to her. "Do you love him?"

"No! Of course not!" She rebuffed.

"You saw what he wanted to do to me earlier. How can you even ask me that?"

"Then you're not getting married to him. Not in three days or ever!" He declared.

"My father has already decided. There's nothing you can do to change his mind. Who do you even think you are to intervene in my life? The last time I checked, we're merely acquaintances. You don't have a say in my life and moreover—" 

"I love you, Larai." He blurted, cutting her off.

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

I just love Yusuf 😁 no beating abiut the bush.

Do you think Zakari is stalking Larai?

Next chapter tomorrow! Stay tuned 😉😎🤞

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