Whimpering in pain, with a body drenched in sweat, calling out the names of Allah , Khadijah gave birth to monozygotic female twins. Zee's and everyone's joy knew no bounds but they  pitied the lives of the newly borns from the bottom of their heart .

" Mabrook D Allah ya rayasu da imani " she congratulated her tired looking friend who looked like she will pass out any moment .

" Mashaa Allah, they are so beautiful Deejan , well done ,may Allah bless you with a home in jannah ,give you the fortitude to raise them according to the dictates of Islam and make them the apple of your eyes, may they become hafizas in shaa Allah " Ummie said with so much joy radiating her features.

" Amin Ummie, can I see them please ?" Khadijah said with a quivering voice .

When Ummie passed one to her and Zee the other, tears of mixed feelings cascaded down her cheeks , she couldn't believe that she gave birth to twins , two beautiful angels she had fallen in love with the moment she set her eyes on she muttered Alhamdulillah to show her gratitude to her Rabb.

On the other hand she is so sad they are the children of the man that molested her in conceiving them, she feared the life that is waiting for them after forty days, she can handle everything that comes her way but will she be strong in protecting her two kids from Ahmad ?

" Pass them D , you need to rest, Baba is almost here to give them the khutbah " nodding with a smile she passed the twins to her mother and friend after she prayed for her children.

Today is supposed to be a day she will share a rare form of happiness, a sense of fulfilment with Ahmad but he is nowhere to be found and she doubts if he even know she was in labour, he's supposed to be with her through it all but he wasn't there and Alhamdulillah she has people who support her and she will be forever grateful to them .

After few hours , she woke up with a start because of a commotion at her door . She strained her ears and heard Ahmad shouting.

" Zee let me in , she's still my wife and I have every right to see her "

" Ohh really ? Then she also have every right to know the kind of life you've been living behind closed doors , D doesn't deserve you, you don't deserve her either, she's too good for a dog like you, one who fornicates to be paid , a male prostitute "

Khadijah almost faints hearing the last part, what does that mean ? What does Zee know that she didnt know ,Yahsalam Ahmad can't do such a thing can he? But then anything can be possible considering the way he treated her .

She pulled out a pillow and cried in it muffling her wails .

After she calmed down ,she can still hear faint voices outside but couldn't decipher what they were saying .Then the door opened and the devil came in .

She shut her eyes tightly and turned around , she don't want to see him, neither talk to him nor listen to his voice .

" Sannu CaT ,hope you've delivered without any complications? I have no words to thank you for giving this special gift but I pray that Allah will reward you abundantly Cat "

So he knows Allah, yet he's an adulterer, she badly wanted to shout at him, throw cuss words at him but rein in her anger .

" what should we name our kids CaT? " he asked but she didn't answer, it was after the fourth time that she spoke

" name them whatever you want ,after all you're their father " she mumbled and he smiled bitterly .

" okay you should name them Cat , and I will be happy with your choice , do take care of yourself till I come back" He came closer and she flinched dropping a wad of naira notes on her bedside drawer he kissed her forehead .

The moment the door closed behind him , Khadijah took the edge of the coverlet and wiped her forehead cursing Ahmad and the day he came into this world . She didn't even spare the money he left a glance .

" mtsww this ain't fair wallahi , Baba should stop letting this guy do as he likes " Zee huffed in annoyance. Khadijah badly wanted to ask her what she knows about Ahmad that she don't but refrained from doing that.

" Maybe he has a reason for doing all this Zee, we should be patient ,he is my father and won't let anything harmful happen to me " Khadijah tried to make Zee see to reason .

" Hmm D ,what you fail to understand is that not every time our elders are right, sometimes they err they make wrong decisions, and we cannot always fold arms and watch them ruin our Lives " She adjust the baby in her arms and continue .

"D you lived with that excuse of a man for months, you know what you went through more than any one and yet you're willing to go back because Baba thinks it's right huh ? The world will redicule you no matter what happens. Either you go back to him or not the die is cast and nothing will stop them from gossiping about it. I love you too much to let you go back to that guy D "

" I know you love me Zee and I'll forever thank my stars for letting me have you as a friend. one who loves me more than I love myself, Zee I have no intention of going back to Ahmad's hole to be his doting wife , I just want to go there and end it all , severe all ties with him and leave once and for all ,trust me Zee I won't let him touch a hair in my body " They talk for a while before Ummie came in with a gruel and urged Khadijah to drink it up .

A week later the twins were named Ilham and Ihsan by none other than aunty Dije .Khadijah insisted that they should give them whatever name they desire , mommy came to Ummie and Baba's rescue by naming the kids Ilham and Ihsan .

Mommy came along with Afreen and the little child's joy knew no bounds ,she followed D everywhere she goes, it was such a cute sight and the chemistry between them is visible, since there wasn't any aqiqah ceremony only close relatives were in the house.

" Aunty D I came along with my toys to give to my little sisters" Afreen said showing Khadijah numerous toys in her bag.

" Wow mashaa Allah , your little sisters are saying a big thank you to their big sis " Khadijah was amazed as to how sharp the girl is , she's too friendly and loves her too much .

Mommy came in with a phone in her hands ,
" It's kaybee,talk to him " with that mommy left the room and Khadijah put the phone to her ears .

" Ya kaybee " she said excitedly .

" Bawani Ya kaybee kinyi aure kin manta ni " he complained .

" No it's not like that big bros, how are you, how's work and UK ?" She enquired tactfully changing the topic .

" Fine Alhamdulillah ,Congratulations Allah raya twins and for your information it was I who named them not mommy but don't tell her you know she will castrate my mouth " they all laughed at that .

" Thank you Ya kaybee ,the names are nice and thanks for the wedding gift too jazakallah bi khair ,Afreen is such a sweetheart I might take her with me to my house , come back soon we miss you "

" I miss you too D it has been long last I saw you and now you're a mother, I couldn't believe it when mommy told me about it, be a good one please "

They talked for almost an hour, cracking jokes and telling each other the good things they've missed in each others lives , mommy was shocked when she came back thirty minutes later to find Khadijah still on phone with kaybee. He hasn't talk much since his divorce .

" What have you two been talking about since ?" Mommy asked when Khadijah returned the phone .

" ahh ahh mommy, we talked about life now, you know I've missed Ya kaybee and I told him how adorable his princess is that's all "

Mommy smiled inwardly and continue what she was doing before she was interrupted by Khadijah's presence .

Khadijah saw Zee in her room carrying Ihsan.
" Welcome her majesty" she said sarcasm dripping from her voice .

" Am sorry D , you know I went to finish registration, and then Dr came and we went shopping for the twins " she said showing Khadijah a cute gift bag filled with kids wears .

" Since you have a valid reason I will let it slide , thank you so much jazakumullah khairan I don't have the words to thank you guys but know that I'm grateful "

" Haba D what are friends for ?what about that man ? Any news from him ?" Zee now refer to Ahmad as that man .

" heard that he sent four rams and one cow for the naming ceremony, and his mother came earlier with his relatives but none of them said anything about him " she said with a indifferent tone .

" Don't you wonder where he get all the money from ? He left a hundred thousand when he came last week and now this ?isn't he a common carpenter? " Zee voiced out what she wanted to make Khadijah suspect .

" even Baba said same , I was waiting for you to come, I overhead you last week Zee so please tell me the truth .What is Ahmad into and how did you know ?why didn't you tell me earlier? "

Zee told her everything and Khadijah was paralysed with shock , she couldn't even cry, what she just heard from her friend is beyond her .

" Why are you telling me now ?" Her voice didn't sound like hers ,it sounded distant, broken and filled with grief.

" It might be harmful to what's inside you that time, trust me zee you are better off without that man in your life, going back there won't solve your problems and now you have Ihsan and Ilham to consider" .

" I know Zee, but am still married to him "

" You should tell Baba and Aunty D is here, she will fight for you " with that the two friends agreed that they will tell the elders everything after the guests have dispersed.

Khadijah pretended to be sleeping all day long and cried her heart out .Indeed Ahmad isn't deserving of her love, but why is a part of her heart telling her that he can't do such a thing ,that there was some kind of misunderstanding but then she remembered that day when Baba was sick, she saw him in a car kissing a woman. Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun.

After ishaa Khadijah, Zee, Ummie and mommy sat in the courtyard waiting for Baba's arrival .

Zee narrated everything to them from A to Z

" I also made my investigations duk abunda Zainab tafada is true " Baba said bitterly .

" Kuma shine you agreed that she's going back to him ?" Mommy asked angrily .

" Do you think the day he came here he came to apologize and take Khadijah back ?" He asked no one in particular .

" he came to apologize and divorce her Habibty , Dije , I know what am doing just let her go back to him it won't last a month in shaa Allah , just be patient Khadijah in shaa Allah you'll find happiness in this life ". With that being said Baba left the women each with her own thoughts .

" D obey your father, it will be khair in shaa Allah, the moment he send you out of his house you should board the next available flight to Abuja with your kids, I will tell daddy ,I know he won't object to the three you staying with us, you'll go to school as I've promised you D just be more patient " Mommy said patting Khadijah who has been crying ever since .

Ummie didn't say anything and they went to her room , Khadijah adjusted Afreen's coverlet and stared at the ceiling thinking of how in a year her life had turned upside down.

" Do you think he will let her go sis ? I don't want what happened before to repeat itself I'm afraid " Ummie voiced out her fear for the first time

" Have trust in Allah sis ,by His will nothing will happen to Khadijah and the kids , just talk to your husband about my proposition "

" okay in shaa Allah I will tell him and I'm positive he won't object " with that being said the chapter was closed and the two sisters continued talking about everything and nothing . Mommy wanted to tell Ummie about what she think about kaybee but decided against it .

That night Khadijah didn't sleep a wink ,she was engrossed in thoughts and the babies keep waking up asking for her attention one after the other. She knows that Aunty D will never treat her badly, daddy is also a kind man but is she ready to let other people take care of her and the kids ? What if Ahmad take them away from her ?? What if he refuse to let her go ? What if Baba's haunch that she won't last a month is wrong ? God knows that she don't want to spend a second more in his house especially after knowing what he is really into .

*

Ahmad was sitting on a sofa in Hauwa's house and he can hear her laughter from the other room, she's with a man no doubt about it and he can't do anything about that since she will give him money ,let her sleep with whoever she deem fit it's none of his business, he's thinking of ways to break the news to her that Khadijah is going back to his house .

Just then , she came out with the guy not even sparing him a glance .

" Baby who is this man sitting like he owns the house?" The guy asked and Hauwa squeezed her face .
" Ohh this ?" She gestured a hand at Ahmad .
" He's Ikky's errand boy, we've known him for quite a long time , he's waiting for her to come out I guess " with that she held the guy by the shoulders and they left in her car .

Ahmad stood rooted to the seat for a long time hurting over what Hauwa did to him, errand boy ,ikky's ? He can't remember when last he saw ikram nor talk to her, he heard rumours that she stole a huge amount of money from Hauwa and travelled abroad.

He wiped away the sweat trickling down his face with a hanky and left in his car vowing that she will never know that Khadijah is back and he won't leave both of them cuz they are essential to his living .

He went to see the kids once after the hospital incident and he didn't feel any love towards them. They are an additional burden to him and he planned on living his life with cat only. Why did the damn kids have to come along ? Maybe he's not their real father but he knows cat to be a good girl and not a loose one ,if anybody can testify to that then it's him .

Cat didn't smile at him, God she didn't even look at his direction till he finish blabbing his meaningless words and fake promises to be a better husband and a good father .

His relationship with his mother had gone down the drain, he hadn't gone to see her since after the incident with his uncle , so after leaving Khadijah's house he went to see her only to be met with an empty house .He was told by a neighbor that she left to Jigawa and won't be coming back anytime soon.

He was not angry at himself but at his mother ,how can she travel without telling him ? So he dialled her number and it almost cut before she picked .

" Assalamu alaikum " she greeted .

" Haba Mama how can you just leave without letting me know ?this is unfair wallahi, I have some unsolved issues with you better come back and iron them out "

Mama from the other side smiled bitterly and without breathing a word to him cut the call and switched off her phone .

" Idris go and buy me a new MTN sim card " she fished out a five hundred naira note from her purse and gave it to her nephew .

She had forsaken Ahmad, she promised not to cry over him but she cannot take him off her mind, he's her son and she loves him no matter what , but Allah knows that she's angry at him and for the pain he made her go through she will never forgive him.

When she got the new sim she asked the boy to copy all her contacts to her new sim and she broke the old one , having it at the back of her mind to call her contacts and let them have her new number.

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Salam beautiful people ,ya kuke ya gida ya aiki ? Yah sanyi ? who is your favorite?I'm curious abeg feed my curiosity with loads of feedback .
Thank you and lots of love from yours truly

Humylash