The arrival of Aunty Dije and Nabeeha lessened her worries , upon seeing her Nabeeha was like " Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun Kay what happened to you ??" Khadijah just smiled at her sister saying nothing while mommy chastised her ,saying that all the questions she got can be asked at home not in the hospital corridors ,with that she shot Khadijah an apologetic look and went to hug her Baby Zee as they used to call each other, it was an inside joke between the three friends,they once heard a lady calling her huge boyfriend that resemble a hulk Baby and it was a hilarious sight to them that they've resorted to calling each other Baby which Khadijah exempted herself from, they'd made jest of her saying that she's such a dry girl who is lacking in the humour department. After hugging each other and sharing some banters , they proceeded to the ward where Baba was admitted , Nabeeha almost cried seeing the state he was in , he is just her Aunt's husband but he has a major impact in her life, he is the first man to teach her the deen , to tell her the stories of jannah and the rivers flowing beneath it, to tell her about the torments of hell fire, to make her differentiate the difference between good and evil, the difference between right and wrong, she had almost come back to kano to live with them when she was 12 but daddy didn't let her. Being his favorite and the only little child at home back then , she love the man lying on a hospital bed fighting for his life so much like she loves daddy and she knows that Khadijah must be really strong even though she appears to be in pain ,she cannot wait for them to sit and have a heart to heart talk, she also have news for her,but it can wait till Baba gets well. They left the hospital after Asr leaving Baba and Ummie in the hospital. Khadijah fixed dinner for them after all the protests from Aunty Dije and Nabeeha , she didn't relent saying that they've not eaten anything in the hospital after a long journey " See her small mouth like long journey , From Abuja to Kano is not that far madam" Nabeeha teased her cousin which earned her a pinch on her lap .

Looking at Khadijah, Hajia Dije saw the exact same pain in her eyes like that of the one in Kaybee's eyes,they've had it bad and the people the world thought loved them were nothing but a source of pain to them,people who destroyed their happiness and shattered their hearts into pieces, she's also close with Khadijah because Ummie and her are like twins being orphans at a tender age,they have been each others strength and pillar to lean on ,the fact that Ummie is married to Baba who has nothing compared to Daddy it didn't make them forget each other, even though Ummie often decline to receive help from her or her husband they are each other's confidante and it was Hajia Dije that bought all the furnitures for Khadijah making the parents promise her that they won't ever let Khadijah know .Hence the somewhat expensive furnitures in Khadijah's deserted house .

" D come here, tell me what happened anya kina cin abinci kuwa ? Look how thin and pale you've become " Hajia stated the obvious with a small smile Khadijah put her head on Hajia's laps ,something she always do whenever they meet, Nabeeha is always complaining on how unfair it is , she's Hajia's Auta but never get the chance to be pampered that Hajia is being bias blah blah blah and they will laugh at her to her dismay .
" Aunty D please tell me it's going to be okay, tell me I'm going to pass this test,tell me that Baba will not pass away because of this , tell me that Allah will surely see me through, just tell me am going to survive this in shaa Allah, tell me that I am going to be happy in the future, tell me that this is a nightmare which am going to wake up from " she burst into tears and Hajia Dije couldn't say a word. She pities Khadijah and even though she cannot imagine the kind of pain the innocent child is going through she knows that it's immense " Khadijah you'll pass this test in shaa Allah, and if by chance Baba pass away it's not because of you, even if you're the happiest and none of this happened he will die at the exact time designated by Allah , have faith my dear, it's qadr of Allah that he falls sick when everything went down hill in your marriage,don't blame yourself D it has been destined to happen and no force on earth can change this " Those were the things she told her and maybe they are the things she wanted to hear ,she slept after a few more minutes of sobbing and Hajia let her sleep for a while before gently helping her to the bed , Nabeeha was quietly watching the exchange between her mother and favorite cousin and she wished she has a special power to take her pain, Khadijah doesn't deserve any of this but who says life is fair? Life ain't fair and the world is cruel .

Zainab was at home when a boy came inside saying that someone is waiting for her outside ,knowing that it is Dr Taheer she hurriedly donne her hijab and told her mom she's going to invite him inside before going out, if there's anything she hates in this life is to be standing outside with a man where every passer by will see them , that's why she never had a lot of boyfriends because if you can't come into her house ,introduce yourself to her parents then you're not worthy of her time. Dr Taheer had met her father three days back and he gave him the permission to start seeing her hence the visit. Dr Taheer on the other hand had made his investigations on Ahmad that's why he came to let Zainab know so that they will plan on the next step to take in exposing him .After inviting him inside ,Zainab went inside to bring the snacks and drink she had specially prepared for him in anticipation of his visit .  

" Assalamu alaikum Dr barka da zuwa " she greeted with a smile .
" Wa'alaikissalam matar Dr hope you're in good health " he answered looking at how naturally beautiful she is , she didn't even wear make up apart from a colorless lip balm, she is very different from the rest, he mused.
" Bismillah ga ruwa " she offered him the tray with her head down fidgeting with the edge of her hijab . After thanking her ,he said the basmalah before taking a sip and he must admit that it made his taste buds explode.
" Masha Allah my wife is a good snack and drink maker,am sure she can cook too " he compliments with a wink which made her giggle ,turning serious he cleared his throat " It's about Ahmad, he had been a pawn of one of the most notorious drug dealers, club owner and sex worker, she's like 6years older than him, she use to pay him huge amount of money for almost three years now, she bought him a car, the boxes he bought for Khadijah were all from her money, he bought the house they are living in and just faking to be a carpenter in other to cover his tracks , he's frigging rich and I've inquired whether he used to take up contracts in the workshop but was told that he usually just help around and sometimes give out his share of the wage to the other labourers, since Khadijah left he hasn't been going to the workshop and right now as we speak he hasn't gone to see his mother since an incident when he went to see his uncle , the neighbours hadn't seen him in a while, what I am trying to say in a nutshell is that Ahmad had cheated all of us and he's living two lives one as a good carpenter who's madly in love with his CaT and another as a sex machine for the most notorious woman in town who takes him abroad and anywhere she deem fit " Zee's head was spinning with all the information she heard from Taheer, she feel betrayed and shocked, a part of her is scared , scared of the kind of world we are living in ,this is beyond her, how can Ahmad a selfless person, someone who is so full of life, someone who makes people happy, someone who helps with the little that he has do such ? Then she began to place the pieces together, the boxes he bought for Khadijah were beyond what he earns and when asked about it he lied that he has been saving for a long time just to give Cat the best cause she deserves it, and knowing how much he loves Khadijah the matter was put to rest and never brought up again .
" La hawla wala quwwata illah billah, Allahumma ajirni fi musibati wa akhlifni khairan minha " She finally summoned the courage to speak .
" Yanzu dama Ahmad is ..." she couldn't even finish the sentence before bursting into tears, she's just picturing Khadijah, the pained look in her eyes, hearing this might be the end of her and the worst thing is that she's already pregnant with his child. If she can change fate then definitely she will change that of her friend , they have trusted him blindly, it's also Baba's fault because they haven't made any investigation prior to the wedding maybe they would've found out about it and none of this would've happened, but it's already too late .
" please keep this to yourself ,don't tell Khadijah yet till we confirm everything and gather all the evidence against him , he has been suspicious for some time now but in shaa Allah we will get to the bottom of it and don't worry too much Zee I know it hurts,it hurts Me too but prayer can change everything even if she's still hurting she will survive through it " he kept consoling her till she look at ease before they talk about themselves and he left leaving her with a heavy heart .

That night Zee kept tossing and turning in bed ,how can she sleep when her mind keep conjuring unimaginable scenes to her, when the moment she close her eyes it's the most heart breaking sight of her beloved friend she see, when her heart beat keeps accelerating whenever she thinks of the child inside her innocent friend, the almost lifeless body of Baba, the worn out look on Ummie's face and the pitiable looks by the neighbours. She then remember what Khadijah once told her, they were coming back from Islamic school and gisting about riches ,big houses and posh accents when Khadijah look zee in the eyes with her signature smile " I don't really Care about money zee, yeah it's good to have the means to get whatever you wanted and not to be anxious about where your next meal will come from , for example look at how happy Ummie and Baba are despite the fact that we go hungry sometimes. I will rather be happy and penniless than be rich and sad ,this world is not a permanent place for us to stay but I will love to live happily with the person I love ,someone who will love me back and will help me strive for jannah in shaa Allah " that time she had made fun of her calling her lover girl and all , but now she felt like crying remembering those words, she had married the person she loves ,someone she thought loves her too , he's kind of rich but she doesn't know that ,yet she's not happy. It was almost dawn when sleep finally overtake her and she almost missed her fajr sallah if not for her brother who banged on her door to wake up on his way to the masjid .

Two weeks after the shocking revelation, Zee went to visit D and to see how Baba is faring, he's still not well enough to go to the market but he had been discharged.

" D how did Ahmad manage to rent such a house for you guys ? I heard that its almost 70k per annum" Zee asked out of the blue.
" He told me that his late father's friend lend it to him , that he should stay until things get better for him .
" Is that so ?" Zee asked with a look of awe on her face , and Khadijah shook her head in the affirmative, shaking her head she marvelled at how clever the son of the bachelor is , coming up with a bullshit story to his unsuspecting wife, in this era who will lend you a house to stay in just because he had been friends with your late father ?

" Does he travel often after you got married ?" She asked again .
" Yeah , he travelled to the East three times to buy some rare types of wood " Khadijah answered wondering what makes zee ask all those questions, since the incident they hardly talk about Ahmad unless if it's absolutely necessary.

" Does he come home late at night ?"
" No ,he hardly come home late except on some rare occasions but sometimes I will wake up for tahajjud or to ease my self and find him missing ,I never ask though fearing that he might rain insults on me,but he always comes back before fajr, I used to think that he is in the living room praying or doing something else .But why are you asking me these weird questions?" She cocked a brow at her her best friend .
" Can't a friend ask questions like this ? " with that she tactfully evade the question and they continued gisting after a while Zee announced that she's leaving .

" Madam come back here, how are things between you and Dr?" Khadijah asked the question that had been gnawing at her .
" Idiot , I thought you'll never ask ai, God will punish you for telling me lies that he's married blah blah blah Yar bakin ciki " Zee smacked her arms and Khadijah laughed heartily after a long time , Zee's heart melted at the sight before her, she had missed seeing Khadijah happy, and she had forgotten how her laughter sounded until now .
" He's fine, we are in love and he's making butterflies erupt in my stomach , like seriously D I was never in love before, I have been deceiving myself but now I know what it is like to love and to be loved and the kind of purest form of love ,loving someone for the sake of Allah " she look like she has gone into another world and Khadijah smiled , praying that it will work out for her friend,one who is more than a friend but a sister to her .
" Ehen tell me more" she asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes .
" Uwar gulma, the rest is between us ,and you might puke if I tell you since you're allergic to sweets and the things are sweeter than honey " with a wink at Khadijah she left feeling happy that Khadijah's mood had lifted ,she texted Taheer letting him know that the things he asked her to confirm were all in the affirmative .With that she ambulated to her house which isn't far from Khadijah's .

Thinking of her favorite cousin ,Khadijah dialled her number but she didn't receive texting her that she will call her back she's in the middle of something, she called Hajia Dije who picked at the second ring " This old woman picking calls as if no one called you in a decade " Khadijah teased mommy .
" Haha you're funny D was on phone with kaybee when you called so I hang up on him and received your call you ungrateful wench " they both laughed at that.
" Allah sarki Yaya kaybee I've missed him hope he's fine ,where is my favorite baby Afreen ?" She asked of Afreen whom she had only seen twice since when she was born but love to bits .
" She's here, crying to her dad asking when he will come home to her " Hajia passed the phone to Afreen and instead of saying hello the little three years old said in her little voice " Assalamu alaikum aunty D " with a smile Khadijah answered her and they went ahead talking about Afreen's nanny ,her Daddu, her new toys the girls that bully her at play school and all those useless talks that mean the world to kids ,Khadijah listened attentively and urged Afreen to tell her more which made her sit down on the flush rug carpet in Mommy's room and they talked for over 20 minutes till Khadijah ran out of airtime and they finally said goodbye .
" Allah Hafiz habibty , be a good girl and God bless you " Khadijah said before cutting the call and mommy smiled at how good D is with kids ,she will be a terrific mom to her unborn child in shaa Allah.
" Jaddatie " Afreen tapped Mommy
" Yes angel " mommy turned her attention to the sweet child who took after her father in looks and everything
" When is aunty D coming here ? I want to see her and show her my toys then we will go out for ice cream and I will tell Abby that she loves me more than my nanny " she kept blabbing while mommy kept making mhmm sounds to let the kid know that she is with her .

°•°

Joblessness and Boredom are worrying me so I do what I do best , sit down & type away my imaginations .
The mistake most parents make in this era is not looking into the background of a prospective spouse of their daughters, if a man is rich or renown in town then he's good enough for their daughter, if he had been dating their daughter for a long time and there was no bad thing coming from him ,he's good for their daughter, if he's a son of a good friend of theirs he's also good enough ,forgetting that among the prerequisite of marriage is 'bincike ' he might be acting all holy just to get your approval and after the marriage the story will be different ,even if a guy lives next door and you've known him right from the day he was born you should investigate, it's for the good of your daughter because no sane parent will want his daughter to have a tough marital life .
And to the ladies ,don't love someone blindly , we tend to forget everything and throw all sane thoughts in the gutter as far as our suitor is rich, money isn't everything my sister and take an example from our parents ,some of them married each other without having anything but Alhamdulillah today they can take very good care of us , some of them were rich before and now just managing life .That's how life is ,money shouldn't be the only criteria on your list , neither love .May Allah guide us all and choose the best for us Ameen.