It was a Saturday night and the weather is hot, Khadijah, Ummie and Baba sat on a mat  in the courtyard reminiscing on old memories when Khadijah will cry at night and refuse to sleep because it is too hot

" I pray your child will not make your life miserable as you made mine Deejan, you were a handful and your father is always in support of you I almost packed my clothes and leave this house leaving you behind for  him to get a taste of what I was going through "

" Be honest habibty, I was with you all through those nights ,we will rock and fan her together, I have never left you alone " Baba defended himself which earned him a glare from ummie .

If there's anything Khadijah admire in this world is her parent's relationship , to her it's something worthy of praying over for. Baba  address Ummie as habibty regardless of whoever is in their presence likewise Ummie and when times are hard for them they will comfort each other , encourage each other and  come up with a way to solve their problems together .Never for once in her entire life had she seen her parents unhappy with each other, no matter how unhappy or tired Baba is ,the moment he set his eyes on his family ,his mood automatically change to a happy one and all he pray for is to give  them a better life because the two most important women in his life deserve nothing short of the best .

They were laughing over a joke when Ahmad said the salam, all of them sobered up and their mood changed to that of indifference, Khadijah's heart started beating faster than ever, it feels like her heart will burst out of her chest .

No one answered his salam for a while before Baba finally cleared his throat and gave him the permission to come in .Khadijah averted her gaze towards the inner house and felt like running to her room, slamming the door shut and blocking out everything ,right now she wish with all her heart that she's numb, that she's inured to feelings and unaffected by the presence of a man that molested, abandoned her and forgot that she exists for 7 months .

" Good evening Baba, Good evening Ummie , hope I find you in good health " his voice , the voice she loved so much ,that which was music to her ears ,that which lull her to sleep countless nights sounded like the eruption of a volcano to her ears, and brought out the worst memories she tried to hide in the deep recess of her mind .

" Lafiya lau " came the short clipped answer from Baba . when neither said a word for a long while , Ummie took it as her cue to leave and Khadijah tried to follow suit ,looking any where but the direction she heard his voice .

" where do you think you're going to? We are having a family time here and it's not yet 9pm " Baba  summoned  them back and from his tone they know that it's best not to argue.

After what seemed like forever, the guy crouched in front of the mat, directly facing Baba cleared his throat, knowing that he might stay forever in that position and no one will breath  a word to him.

" Baba am really sorry for all the things that have happened, I have no excuse whatsoever and I know that all of you are disappointed in me. It was Satan  but in shaa Allah such will not happen ever again ayi hakuri Baba "  a loud hiss came from Ummie's direction, Khadijah can swear that she had never seen her mother his angry in her life .

" Ahmadu "

" Yes Baba "

" Ahmadu "

" Na'am Baba "

" Ahmadu "

"Yes Baba "

" How many times have I called you ?" Baba asked raising from his slouched position .

" Three times Baba "

" Take a  good look at Khadijah "  without a warning, Baba flashed his torch at Khadijah's direction , she ducked her head and lo and behold Ahmad's eyes were met with a lean ,dark, worn out looking version of CaT with a protruded belly that looks like she may be in labour any moment .

His jaw slackened and tears glistened in his eyes , no one told him that Khadijah is pregnant, but then who is going to tell him when he fight with anyone that dared talk to him about how unfair he's being to her and how what he has done is not good .

" Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun " those were the only words he was able to utter .He is beyond shocked, Cat is carrying his child , something that's a little bit of him and a little bit of her is growing inside her Yahsalam  then he cannot fulfil his promise to Hauwa, he came to see Baba and apologize not  because  he wanted to take Khadijah back but because Hauwa ordered him to divorce her if he really want to be with her but now  he can't .

" Wallahi Baba I have no idea that she's pregnant, I'm really sorry "

" How will you know that she's pregnant when you treated her like a piece of trash which you discarded in a trash can , how will you know when you've pounced on her like a donkey, how will you know when you have betrayed her trust and treated her like an animal ,I gave her to you not because I can't take care of her but cause I trust you to be kind and gentle to her.  It is not like am tired of seeing her here neither I can't continue to feed and clothe her with the little I have " Baba paused and started coughing , Ummie hurriedly passed him a cup of water rubbing his back and saying sorry .

" Baba please don't say anything more ,you are still sick " Khadijah pleaded, the first time she talked since when he came .

" I must tell him what is in my mind even if it will kill me ". Baba said glaring at Ahmad who looked like he just received the news of the death of his mother .

" You know how much Deejan means to me , you know how I value her and cherish her and I told you that on your wedding day , God knows that I have not done anything wrong to you or any member of your family and I didn't force  my daughter on you, you worm your way and got closer to her till you stole her heart and made her see nothing but you, none of us was ever against your relationship, amma dayake kai butulu ne bakada imani, it hasn't even been a year but you made her leave your house at her own free will because of the monster you've become ."

" I have made a mistake Baba and I am sorry "

" This isn't a mistake,  it was done deliberately since you're not suffering from a bipolar disorder or any mental illness ,I can't force you to divorce Khadijah. Since Allah have done His will and there is a child between you , she will go back after she delivers , if you like cut her into pieces and bring  what is left of her to us for burial ,Allah is never asleep and He will punish you for all your wrongdoings, now get up and leave my house , don't show up till forty days after she delivered "  with that being said Baba dusted his jallabiyah and went inside without sparing anyone a glance .

Khadijah felt her head spinning, she desperately wanted to shout after Baba and beg him not to make her go back to Ahmad but she lost her voice ,even if she can she will hold herself back ,she will obey Baba this time around ,he married her off because it is her choice and the aftermath is a nightmare but if that will make him happy, if it will keep him at ease and he will be hale and hearty again then she's ready to face whatever it is that is waiting for her at Ahmad's house  .She is not going to argue ,she will relent without a fight after all Allah is with those who are patient and steadfast in their salah .

Ummie didn't utter a word and she followed after Baba, seeing that she's left alone with him, Khadijah got up and made a beeline to her room with a thudding heartbeat and shaky legs.

Ahmad stayed rooted there for a long  time before finally getting up and ambulating out of the house , he is in a dilemma as to how to break the news to Hauwa. She was in the car parked outside waiting for him with music blaring and cigarette smoke emating from the windows .

" Hope you're done with that girl once and for all? "  she asked squinting her eyes at him, trying to scrutinize him under her gaze .

He almost told her that the girl she's referring to is carrying his child but held himself back , knowing Hauwa she might bring harm to cat and the child or worst kill them both so he nodded  his head and started the car .

The ride back to the club was eerily silent , Hauwa sensed that Ahmad is  not happy and deep in thoughts.  Let him brood all he wants , she will never let him off .

She had invested a lot of money on him , polished him well and she feel something close to love for  him,she has come this far and not going to back down .

* * *

He was going through some files in his macbook when the call came in .knowing that it's probably someone from home ,he picked the call with a tired sigh ,  it has been a long day and he needed a break, it's past 1am and he is still in the office buried in work trying to forget the mess his life has become .

" Assalamu alaikum Abby" Afreen chirped from the other end .

" Wa ailaikisaalam princess , how are you doing today " he asked with a yawn .He need to retire  immediately after the call .

" Fine Alhamdulillah , what about you ? Have you eaten ? Nanny gave me scrambled eggs with hot chocolate for break fast "

" Mashaa Allah Habibty, hope you said thank you to nanny ? Abby haven't eaten yet,it's still not morning here,but I pinky promise that I will eat before going to work ,why did you call me  Bunny?"  Knowing that there must be some unusual reason for the call ,he let his curiosity get the best of him and asked .

Mommy pried the phone out of Afreen's firm hold and said. " don't mind her Kaybee, she had a dream with you and Khadijah buying her lots of toys and taking her to school or something of that sort that's why she insisted on telling you about it, do three year olds dream ?" 

Kaybee chuckled from the other side , rubbing the back of his neck with his hands ,he has no idea why Afreen is obsessed with D ,not a  day passes by that she won't talk to him about aunty D , how much she loves her and can't wait to see her and buy ice cream now she's even conjuring scenarios in her mind with D in  it.

" Mommy I don't know whether three year olds dream, you will know better since you have three of us and a grandkid who is obsessed with her aunt "

" ai dan ma you're not here, even the cats knows about aunty D in this house , how is work ?you sound tired kaybee get some sleep we will talk later in shaa Allah "

With that mommy cut the call wondering whether her son is taking good care of himself or not, she wish he's living with them and working in Abuja , she's scared for her son but always include him in her prayers .

He  got up and switch off the lights in his home office, walking sleepily to his room he crashed down and instead of sleeping almost immediately his thoughts wandered to two territories ,one which makes him smile and the  other which makes his heart ache .

Thinking back to the days him, Aneesah and Nabeeha used to spend with Ummie and Khadijah he smiled at how innocent she has always been, how they pull pranks and how she feared him. There was a time he caught them playing with sand ,they've  soiled their clothes and he shouted at them which made Khadijah  wet her pants out of fright .From that day onward she will run for her dear life whenever  she saw him coming and she's playing with sand. She is full of life but mostly keep to her self .He haven't seen her for almost two years and now that Afreen always talks about her,  he kept wondering how she is doing ,if her husband is treating her right and stuffs like that .Mommy didn't tell him what has happened to Khadijah so he had no idea that she's going through what he went through only that in her situation it's the husband that is torturing her .

He remembered his time with Nihal , his ex wife. The she devil , a woman who has no fear of Allah ,devoid of faith, a woman who worship money and affluence, a woman who wanted to abort their child .He can vividly remember what happened that day , he came back home calling her name, he was ecstatic because he was promoted at work to be met with a heart breaking sight, Nihal was writhing in pain clutching her stomach and in a pool of blood  , he took her to the hospital where it was confirmed that she's pregnant and tried to abort it . she never cook, she's always out with friends, she never pray neither fast, she doesn't have an iota of respect for him and he had been patient and sucked it all up ,hoping and praying she might change , waking up at night to pray for her ,but she has gone too far in trying to abort his child .

Upon reaching home , he let her be  for three days before broaching the topic to her.

" Nihal, even a kafir  will not be as heartless as you're, what kind of heartlessness is this ? Have you forgotten all those times we planned out our lives? How we will raise our children and all ?is  this the payback I'll get for all the love I showered on you even though you're undeserving of it?

She didn't even look at him and he knew that she will not say anything thereby he sighed and and continued " I will tolerate everything but not this , better not try anything again because by Allah Nihal I will do anything for the sake of the child growing inside you " .

From that day none of them talk to the other party , he will bring food and all the necessities for her, she made her life miserable by not eating and trying all possible ways to get rid of Afreen but God so merciful , she didn't succeed.

It was in her final trimester of pregnancy that they came back to Nigeria for her delivery , and it was when everything went downhill for them.

Some nasty videos of Nihal with some men and women were sent to him ,some of her taking drugs , some dancing in club with a skimpy dress ,in a bikini , in all manners that a good Muslimah especially a married one will never think of doing. With tears in his eyes and a heart broken to a gazillion pieces, he found her in labour and took her to the national hospital where she delivered Afreen and the moment she regained consciousness he asked of how she is feeling and tried to show her the new bundle of joy.

" Alhamdulillah look at the special gift from Allah ,isn't she beautiful?? " He asked with pure joy , a rare kind of happiness on his face .

" Who cares about whether she's beautiful or not ? Do you think I give a hoot about her ? The worst mistake I've made in my life is by marrying you . Ga tsiyar ka nan na Haifa maka so I will go my own way " she limped to the door trying hard not to fall .

" Wait " she was almost out of the room when he called out to her .

" You've forgotten something Nihal, I regretted marrying you too Miss world , so let me relieve you of the  shackles of marriage , na sake ki saki uku may Allah guide you aright and don't ever think of coming back to claim your rights over this child , I'll take care of her alone and in shaa Allah she will not grow up to be like you ."

She left without a second glance neither a look of remorse or regret over what she has done .

A tear rolled down his cheeks and he wiped it away , if there is anything he loved whole heartedly and truly in his life then it's Nihal but she betrayed him in ways best left known to him.

Seeing that it's already past 4am he made ablution and vowed down in sujood, telling his  problems to Allah, asking Him to cleanse his heart ,heal it, and mend it back to a whole.  He prayed for his family, he prayed for his princess Afreen and  finally for the first time he prayed for Khadijah that Allah will keep her happy and safe wherever she is .

It was after subh salah that he finally drifted to sleep and for the first time in a long time  he was late to work and it did not bother him a bit .

°•°

I need a cover for Burnt Embers please .
Thank you !