Hidden Secrets {Zianna's}

The End {Part three}

Eddat is a word that Hania thought she would never experience. But now, the time was up and it was time for her and Zianna to leave the house under the name of Hussein, her ex-husband. He didn't even care where they would end up as long as they left the house.

But Hania was determined to make it work for her daughter Zianna.

She also wanted her daughter to have the best role model in her figure.

"Mamma, where are we going? And why isnt Dad coming with us?" An anxious Zianna asks her mother as she helps in packing her clothes.

Hania took her daughter's hand and made her sit beside the pile of folded clothes.

"Your father and I are no longer married, habibty. He divorced me. And now we need to leave this house, as it is his not mine..."

"Why did Dad do this to us, Mamma? Doesn't he love us anymore?"

"Habibty, your father loves you very much and he cant look after you as he always works and travels alot," Hana says lying to her daughter.

She had to protect Hussein's image for her daughter's sake. Hania didnt want Zianna to hate her father even though, he would never be involved in her life.

Hussien already told Hania when her eddat ended that Zianna would no longer be his daughter and she had to accept it.

"Remember that Zianna is no one to me. I do not have a daughter with you. I divorced you and her. Remember that Hania!"

Those were the last words that Hussein told Hania and thankfully, Zianna was at school.

"Okay Mamma but will Dad come to see and how will he know where we moved?" Zianna asks her with hope in her voice.

Hania couldn't dare break her daughter's heart and just added another lie.

"I will send him a message explaining everything and also our new home address, is that okay?" Hania asks with a smile but tears threaten to flow from her eyes.

I am sorry, my precious for the lies I will keep telling you and may Allah forgive me for lying because if I tell you the truth, Zianna, you will end up hating your father and I don't want that to happen. Because no one knows what tomorrow holds for any of us.

As they continued packing, Hania came to the realisation, there were certain things she would never own.

Like the jewellery Hussein would buy whenever he would come from the so-called trips.

She didn't want any of it not even for Zianna's keepsake in her future.

After helping her daughter pack their clothes, Hania went to her room and packed all the jewellery he had given her.

Hania was aware that Hussein would arrive in thirty minutes to pick up the keys, at which point she would give him the package with the jewellery.

"Mamma are you okay? Is it because of that Dad and you are now divorced..."

"Zianna, never say that again, habibty. You are the light of my life and I would do anything for you," she said pulling her teary-eyed daughter in her arms. "I love you so much, habibty more than my life," she added kissing her head.

Hania desired a father figure for her daughter but didn't anticipate that Hussein was already married. He calls the other woman the love of his life.

"Now be a good girl for Mamma, go and get your school supplies from your room. And put them in the box I had kept near your bed, and then call me when you are done with packing, okay?" Hania instructed her daughter with a smile.

"Okay, Mamma."

Hania watched as her daughter ran to the room and knew that Zianna was trying her best not to ask questions that would hurt her mother.

She had to keep a strong facade for her daughter.

Zianna emerged from the room carrying two boxes after a couple of minutes. Promptly, her mother dashed to her side and snatched the top box to lend a hand.

"Zianna, I told you to call me when you are done packing your school supplies and now you are carrying this two heavy boxes alone, why?" Her mother asks.

Hania disliked scolding Zianna but her ways of teaching her were on point and her daughter knew what her mother was trying to tell her.

"Mamma, they aren't even heavy...

"Zia, I know that you are trying to help but you do realize that we can do things together," her mother explained. "Helping each other doesn't mean that one of us is weak or the other is stronger. It means sometimes we just need a helping hand even if its from a stranger," she added with a smile.

"Okay, Mamma. From now onwards, I will let you help me with anything," Zianna says.

When their clothes and a few essential items that Hania bought were packed, the movers were instructed to take the clothes and boxes to their new apartment.

Alhamdulillah, Hania had helped get movers especially when it was almost holiday time for them.

"You can now put the boxes first and then ad the suitcases. After that you can collect the box that I marked 'fragile' on top of it," Hania says to one of the movers.

He nodded and immediately instructed his colleagues to do what Hania wanted.

Hania didn't want Zianna there when Hussein came to collect the keys. She didnt want her to witness what would happen between her parents.

"Zianna, take your bag and wait for me downstairs with the movers. I will just need to take something and then I will join you," Hania says as soon as she sees Hussein walking into the house.

"Okay, Mamma. But can I say bye to Dad?" Zianna asks enthusiastically but Hania knows what Hussein would be like. "Please, Mamma can I?" she added while looking at her father who had no expression.

When Hussein heard this, he moved closer to Zianna and stood there for a minute.

"I love you, Dad. And I know that Mamma has sent you our new address. I hope you could visit us when you aren't busy with work," she says to her father.

Zianna put her arms around her father's waist trying to hug him. But all he did was stand there without moving her arms to wrap around his daughter.

This broke Hania's heart but she removed her daughter's arms from her father.

"Habibty, your father is tired and could you do what I told you?" Her mother asks her. "Wait for me and I will meet you there in five minutes," she added hoping Zianna would do what she told her.

"Okay, Mamma."

Zianna walked away without glancing at her father because of what he had just done to her.

I might be almost thirteen years old, but I know when someone doesn't care about you. My father changed the month before my birthday and I never understood why until I heard my parents arguing about him having another family. I can't say that I will hate him, but the love I felt for him was slowly diminishing because of the way he treated me. I will always respect him as my father, but nothing more. I promise you, Mamma, that I will try to be the best daughter just for you. In Shaa Allah, someday you will tell me what happened between you and Dad, but for now, I will respect your wishes.

Meanwhile, Hania walked into the room gathered the packed jewellery box and handed it over to Hussein.

"This is all the jewellery you used to buy for me. I don't need them and will never need them. It would be best if you gave them to your wife or maybe your daughter. And here are the keys to the house. You can check if everything is in order..."

"The jewellery is for you, Hania and Zianna..."

"Like I told you, Hussein. I dont need them neither does MY daughter. So take them wherever you want as for now, I need to go because Zianna is waiting for me and the movers are done with their job," Hania says without letting him talk. "Have a good life, Hussein and always be happy," she added leaving the room.

Hania walked away with tears threatening to fall, but she knew that Hussein wouldn't care if she was crying or even begging for him to stay with her.

She had a lot of time to think about her future decisions and knew that Hussein wouldn't be able to give her what she wanted from him.

For him to love her and Zianna.

A few weeks passed, and Zianna kept asking her mother when her father would come and visit them but all Hania could come up with were more lies so that her daughter wouldn't hate her father for disowning her for no reason.

That didn't go unnoticed by Zianna, so she just stopped asking her mother about her father's whereabouts.

But as things started to look up for them, Hussein's first wife found out everything about Hania and was confronting her husband.

"You got married! How could you do this to me?! Who is she? Tell me?" Nadia started yelling at Hussein after finding a message from a woman called Hania on his phone.

"Come down and I will explain everything to you. Just please try and calm down," Hussein tells his wife who is currently nine months pregnant with their third child.

Nadia took a seat and listened to him trying to explain everything about being married and how he is now divorced.

"I married her when my parents forced me to almost thirteen years ago. I was just waiting for some time because..."

"You had a child with her didn't you?" A furious Nadia asks him.

He meekly nodded and she raised her hand to slap him.

"How could you do this to us? I thought your parents accepted me but no, they blackmailed you to marry someone they chose for you. So all those 'business trips' was you being with them, right?"

"Nadia, I already divorced her and I want nothing to do with the child we had together. I already explained it to her and she understood and accepted it. Besides, it was the right thing to do because now I can love you without any restrictions from my parents," Hussein tried explaining to his wife.

His parents died when Zianna just turned eleven years old and thats was when he decided to divorce and also disowned his daughter.

"Fine but this shouldn't get out, because what would our friends say? That you cheated on your pregnant wife. I don't want that over my head, Hussein. You are mine and that woman shouldn't have sent you any message of that brat of hers," Nadia says but decides to do something at that very second. "Give me your phone, and I will put an end to them sending you messages," she adds putting her hand out.

Hussein reluctantly handed it to her. She unlocks it and sends a message to Hania.

And then blocks her without waiting for her to reply.

Meanwhile, Zianna was passing by the living room when she saw her mother's phone light up. S he immediately knew that it could be her father replying to the message she begged her mother to send him.

As soon as Zianna opened the message, her eyes couldn't believe what she saw.

The message wasn't written by her father because of the certain words used to describe her and her mother.

Shameless, worthless, good for nothing, husband stealer and illegitimate child.

Zianna knew that the last words were for her. But who could have sent this? Could it be her father? The same father who loved and cared but suddenly changed when she turned eleven years old.

She dropped to the ground with the phone in her hands while sobbing uncontrollably.

Was I illegitimate? Is that why Dad divorced Mamma? Was it because of me?

Her thoughts wandered the times that her father would pick her up from school and they would go and get ice cream.

The memories that they had together were all faked by Hussein because he wanted his parents to know that he was 'happy' with their choice.

But reality was far from the truth, inside Hussein never loved Hania or even Zianna.

Hania walked into the living room to find Zianna on the floor clutched her phone in her arms.

She quickly rushed towards her and pulled into her arms, letting her cry as much as she needed to.

After a few minutes, Hania took the phone from her and checked what made her daughter cry.

She was shocked to see the message that her ex-husband had sent her. Even though all Zianna wanted was for her father to come and visit her.

"Zia, I am sorry about this, Habibty. Forgive your Mamma..."

"I know whatever you did was to make me happy but Mamma, I am no longer a kid who you need to lie. I know that I am almost thirteen years old but also know this, I understand everything that happened between you and that man," Zianna explains to her mother about what she knew about the man she refused to call her father.

"I am sorry, my precious. But now I do promise you that, I will never lie to you about anything, okay?"

"I know that Mamma and you dont need to ask for forgiveness because you did what you thought was best for me. And I understand that."

From there Hania promised her daughter that she would also be honest about everything that would happen in their lives.

Hania even blocked and deleted her ex-husband's number so they could start afresh.

As time went by, Zianna didnt feel the absence of her father because her mother would always make up for everything that she would ever need in her life.

But tragedy was about to strike when Zianna just turned seventeen years old and no one would thought that the happy teenager would once lose something special.

Her mother.

But her death was something mysterious as Hania drove her car extremely carefully but on that day, something happened that made Zianna question things.

With no one there for her, the authorities didnt let her stay alone because she was still a minor and they contacted her father.

After almost six years, father and daughter met for the first time during Hania's funeral. Hussein didnt want to take her but had no choice whatsoever.

Taking her to live with her stepmother was the beginning of Zianna's abuse and with her father turning a blind eye, this made Nadia hurt her more.

Her saviour was her older stepbrother Tayyal. Even though he was in college when she arrived, Tayyal never treated her badly as his mother did.

He became the big brother that she also wanted to have. But will he always be there for her?

Zianna's past is something that she will never be able to forget especially when she has a reminder of the last message that her father sent through her mother's phone.

The phone was hidden from everyone except herself.