*

D couldn't believe that Kaybee is capable of shunning her for three days, her uncountable calls were left unanswered, texts not replied and video calls rejected .She was frustrated to the point of madness . The worst of it all ...she can't tell a soul what's going on , at least not until she has exhausted all the means to reach to him .

It was on the fifth day that he picked her call when it almost went to voice mail .She had to rub  her eyes to make sure that she isn't dreaming, that it is real, Kaybee have really picked her call and is ready to talk things out .

" Assalamu alaikum " her voice sounded hoarse from choked up emotion, she felt like bursting into tears .

After a few agonizing seconds that feels like forever kaybee managed to answer her prayer and she had never felt alive like that moment, it was like she stopped living and his voice resurrected her back into the land of the living.

" Abba am really sorry for whatever wrong I have done to you. Please forgive me and do me the favour of never punishing me this way, it's the worst punishment  on earth please " she pleaded ,and the dam exploded .She sobbed heard unable to control herself .

" Shhh please don't cry. You have no idea how hard it is for me too and I'm really sorry for acting childishly, believe me when I told you that I have no intention of doing this but you've hurt me so much Mamie, I feel cheated and like you still didn't trust me " he explained, the sound of her cries adding salt to his wounded heart which would've stopped beating if he hadn't picked her call .

He had wanted to pick her calls, call her back or reply back her messages because whatever she had felt, he had felt more and worse but every time he tried doing that, Satan will whisper into his ears, telling him that D deserves whatever he will do even if he's hurting himself in the process, that it is the only way she will learn her lesson.

" Mamie how could you not tell me that Ihsan is sick, until I heard from a third party? How could you block me out of Ihsan's life when we've promised each other to be a team in everything especially in raising our children? " he finally told her her offence and she froze .Out of all the possibilities she has gone through , this never occurred to her, not even once neither for a split second .

" Subhanallah ! Abba !!!" She shrieked wiping away her tears , unable to hide her utter surprise .

" You should have at least ask or scold  me. That will save us the trouble you made me go through" she said, her voice sounding detached because she is so hurt by what he did, how could he even think that she did what she did deliberately?

After explaining to him every single thing that happened that day, from Zee's sickness to her coming back to a very sick Ihsan,calling Ummie to bring the herbs, tending to the poor child forgetting about her phone .She told him every single detail which made him feel so ashamed of himself, willing the earth to open up and swallow him whole .

" Mamie am sorry " he started but she cut him off. Now she is the one who is pissed , madly and rightfully so

" No I am sorry Abba, for giving you a reason to doubt me , for making you think my words are mere words just for saying sake , I never thought you will think so low of me , I have spent  nights wondering about what wrong I've done to you. Beating myself because I've hurt the man who showed me what  it feels like to be  loved only to realised that all these while, after all the things we have gone through you still don't trust me enough to give me a chance to explain, you just concluded that I am capable of blocking you out of the life of the  children you love , the children who will never be loved as much as you love them even by the man who sired them .

Even if I will not tell you because I don't consider you as their father, I will tell you that she is sick as the man who feed, shelter and clothe them without a single word of complaint .Thank you for thinking so low of me ,do have a  nice day" and she was gone before he could even comprehend most of what she was  saying .

He tried calling her back but her phone is off, he had messed up and have no idea  how to clean the mess ,if he can turn back time then definitely he will just to do things right not acting based on impulse .At least he didn't switch off his phone to let her know that he is alive , but her switching off hers made him think of different scary scenarios which can all be possible .

He kept trying till the next day and when he called he was surprised to the point of stuttering out a reply to her overly cherry greetings, she sounded like nothing happened. Heck !she sounded happy and excited .

" Angel " he breathes out her name which made her heart skipped a bit .

" Ya Hayatee " she mirrored his  voice and his heart swell, knowing that the woman at the end of the phone have him hooked and he will never be ready to be unhooked .

" I am so sorry for being such a baby, inconsiderate , hot tempered and all .I am sorry for not giving my better half the Chance to explain, I am sorry for being mad at you for what is not your fault to begin with, I just badly want to gain your trust which made me think otherwise .I am sorry for making you suffer for days which makes me break the promise I've made to always make you happy no matter what.

I am human and not perfect please find a space in your pure heart of gold to forgive your stupid husband " he apologized .

" It's okay Abba, after sleeping over it, I understand why you did what you've done. It is partly my fault for making you think that I still don't trust you by either my action or inaction but believe me when I tell you that I trust you with everything I have hence the reason why you're the king of my heart, you have me all the moment the knot is tied and I am here to stay for as long as you will have me which hopefully is till the end of time and beyond.

Misunderstandings do happen, and as you said we are not perfect, I forgive you Abba. Let's put this behind us and move on with our lives, life is too short to fight over small things " she replied .

" Alhamdulillah " he said

" For?" She inquired

" For blessing me with the kindest among women as my wife, I love you Angel, you are just so amazing you always take my breath away and make my heart swell with pride for being Lucky enough to have a pious woman like you as mine " he professed which made her blush.

" Alhamdulillah for having you too, though you're amazingly childish for your age " she teased .

" Hey!it was a momentary lapse " he depended which made her chuckle.

" I know that you used to call Ummie to inquire after Ihsan's health " she stated

" Yeah I do and I am sorry. I admit it was childish "

"And a little bit cute but more annoying than cute " she pouted

" Afwaaan Angel" he apologized once again .

" It's okay, now tell me about all the things I've missed in my husband's life because of his childish attitude " she changed the topic and they talk for a long while none wanting to stop talking because they've missed each other badly .

" I don't think I can take not being around you anymore honey , I will be coming home ASAP" he cooed meaning every word he uttered and that made her super happy. She just can't wait to have  him home , if only he can stay forever .

**

Nihal has lost her glow  in a couple of days. She has lost count of the weeks she has been held captive in whatever the place in the middle of a forest is .The other day, a woman spoke to her on phone telling her to return every single dime that belongs to her , she wanted to tell her off , throw cuss words at her but held herself and opted to ask what money she was talking about and who she is .

" I am your worst nightmare come true " Hafsat spat venomously.

" Please, just tell me who you are, then we can talk this through, I am tired of being held captive here please " Nihal pleaded, it was obvious that she is starting to break and will do anything to free herself .Had she been on good terms with her parents they must have come looking for her by now , but she has messed everything worth salvaging in her life because of her arrogance and hard headedness .

" Well well well, I am not going to make this easy for you  hajiya Nihal, just think hard, think of all the people you've hurt one way or the other. Especially those whom you've deprived of their right to inheriting what rightfully belongs to them" Hafsat sneered and click off the call .

Nihal was plunged into a dilemma because she had cheated a lot of people, manipulated them , make them do unspeakable things, and guessing the correct one that put her into this mess is almost impossible. She had no conscience when she did what she has done, she doesn't stay in the same city or country, always roaming round .

She thought she can have it all in a flatter of gold and go Scott free ,had she known that this is  what her habits will land her into she would have stayed in her loving husband's house and raise their beautiful baby.

She knew that she had wronged kaybee and he has moved on without her, something she never thought will happen, she hate his wife with a passion and can do anything to see her out of Kaybee's life for her to have another chance with him, she can let go of all her bad habits, be the good wife he wanted her to be so that they can live happily ever after, but then she know that it's also impossible ,she need to start thinking of how to pay back the money ,her biggest problem is that she is almost bankrupt if not bankrupt already because of a shady business she got herself into .

It was after a few months that she remembered and the realisation hits her hard to the extent of knocking her off .She knows that she is now really in trouble because there is no way in hell that she can afford such exorbitant amount of money, even if she can she will not because that means she is going to give up everything, her father had practically disowned her and the old man is not ready to die yet ,the last time she saw him ,he is as fit as a fiddle and she cannot just kill her father to inherit his wealth can she ?

" Call her " she croaked after she regain her consciousness , her heart thumping in her chest loudly.

" Yes " Hafsat said sounding annoyed .

" I remember " she said matter of factly .

" Very good, I have the details of everything, the number of houses and how much they are worth, the monies, the lands and the penthouse in London " beads of sweat cascaded  down Nihal's forehead because  she knew that Hafsat is right and she is in deep trouble .

" What if I don't have them?"she asked knowing the answer already .

" You die " came the answer that made her pee in her pants .

***

" Jaddatie please call Abba for me " Afreen pleaded with mommy giving her the best puppy look she can muster .

" Yahsalam ! How many times do you want me to tell you that he is busy in a meeting?he will call when he is done ?" Mommy said , sounding frustrated , she wonder when Afreen will start behaving her age not like a spoilt brat which is partly their fault .

She felt glad when the girl came back from kano and told her that D had taught her how to wash her panties, a baby step to grooming her  into a responsible girl, she can now loose her braids With ease and can do all the things girls her age are supposed to be doing .

" I am sorry " She apologized and left mommy's room. Ever since the incident with Nihal a day before she left, Mommy has never been the same to Afreen and the young girls heart is yearning for her grandmother's love. The one she has gotten used to since when she cannot recognise people. She is like her mother even though its her nanny that practically raised her but Mommy has always been there and she loves her so much .

She bumped into Daddy and muttered a small sorry, daddy picked her up and twirled her round before asking " What is wrong with my princess ?"

" Nothing " she squealed because of the effect daddy's tickle have on her .

" Okay, if my princess says so , now go and pray zuhr am heading to the masjid also "

" Can I follow you Jaddie ? I want to see how the inside of a mosque looks like " She asked with innocence.

" No habibty, girls don't go to the masjid around here, but I promise to take you to the central mosque on Friday " he gave her a smile and left while she went to perform ablution happily. Forgetting her worries for the mean time .

After praying, she went to the kitchen and served herself lunch of moi moi with peppered sauce and sat on the kitchen island devouring her meal oblivious of the world around her .

" My baby " Kaybee called out from the door, Afreen raised her eyes towards the door and lo and behold, it is her Abba in all his might. She leapt up in joy almost hurting herself and ran into his open arms .

" Abba !! You're welcome , Jaddatie told me  you're in a meeting" She said happily ,clinging to him like her life depends on it .

" Yeah, I wanted to surprise you and its totally worth it ,how is my princess doing ?" He inquired patting her head .

" I am fine Abba, come and eat, it is delicious " she offered tugging his arms and he has no option than to oblige .They ate Merrily , telling each other stories ,Afreen doing most of the talking while Kaybee listened with rapt attention.

" Abba when are we going to see Mamie ?" She finally asked with hopeful look .

" Tomorrow in shaa Allah but you're not going because of school,don't tell Mamie I'm here when she calls I want to surprise her " He replied taking another spoonful .

" Pinky promise , cross my heart and hope to die " she beamed at him .He is so happy listening to Afreen rant about how much she loves and adore  her Mamie and the twins and how much the feelings are reciprocated back in ten folds .

Later that night, when kaybee is alone with his parents he told them about his decision to leave his work in the States and come home for good .

" Alhamdulillah. I am so happy to hear this Kabeer, I was thinking of advising you to do same because your family needs you here , your country too , I will check with the firms that need people with your qualifications before you finally pack back here in shaa Allah " Daddy expressed, inwardly thanking  Allah that his son finally got his happiness .

" I am also happy and in support of your decision kaybee, may Allah bless you " Mommy chirped in beaming with smiles .

" Ameen " Daddy and Kaybee chorused in unison .

The trio talk about everything and nothing, the men's main attention on politics .

" I think I should head to bed since you two are talking about boring stuffs " mommy complained and they apologized ,kaybee telling her he had missed them and their family time but in reality his mind is somewhere else , he is eager to bid his parents good night and call his Angel .

" You should try and visit Aneesah with D and the kids, she has been on my throat begging me to coerce you into letting D go for the weekend but I declined saying that you will take her yourself when  you come back " Mommy suggested and Kaybee nodded in approval .

" May Allah continue to bless your union my son, Aliyu called a few weeks back thanking us on how good you're taking care of his daughter, he asserted that he has never seen her this happy after her ex husband even though you're not around " Daddy commended looking at his son with pride in his eyes .

It was past 11pm when they finally call it a day and each left to the bedroom. Kaybee was half running, half walking to his room praying fervently that D is not angry at him or past asleep .

He hid his number first and dialled hers, it almost cut when she picked with her sweet soothing voice that instantly calm his nerves .

" Angel" he breathes out ,it was like a prayer .

" Ya Hayatee where have you been ? I've been calling you since morning but your phone is off, do you have any idea how sad and worried I am ?" She asked her voice hoarse from crying .

Oh ! Sweet sweet Angel, if only you have an idea that I am closer to you and will soon be home .

" Answer me " She  prodded.

" I am sorry dearest wife, I was super busy and my battery  died down. I didn't mean to worry you .Dry your tears please, you break my heart whenever you cry " he soothed and after a while he was able to calm her down .He almost slipped and told her about his talks with Mommy and daddy but caught himself in time .

°•°

Was kinda sick, then school, then project wahala .Everything is packed like sardine. Just be sweet dears , read, vote and comment please.

Thank you very much .