Chapter dedicated to me, it's my birthday alhamdulilah.

•••• •••• •••• ••••
As soon as Muhammad heard that scream, that heart wrenching scream that sounding like it was coming from a place of torturous pain, he shot up and run up the stairs with no idea where he was going to. Amirah's family were behind so he yelled,

"Where is her room?"

Her sister, Fareedah or Zarah quickened her steps and led him to it. He pushed her aside and made his way into the room and fell on his knees at the sight before him.

Amirah was curled up on the floor, her hand wrapped around her stomach, blood gushed out from where her head laid and also from in between her legs.

"Adnan!!!" He cried out in anger before immediately crawling towards her. Muhammad cradled her head in his arms and then began to whisper to her.

"Amirah, hey, babe, open your eyes." But her eyes remained shut tight and fear descended on him.

"Au'zubillahi mina'a sha'aitani rajeem!!!!- I seek refuge from Allah against Satan."

Hajiya screamed as she saw the state Amirah was in and Muhammad would've scoffed and called her a hypocrite if not for the fact that fear had rendered him immobile for a few seconds.

He quickly got over himself and stood up to steady himself before bending down and picking her up, he walked outside quickly with Amirah still heavy in his arms and unmoving.

"Zulaihat!!" He screamed looking around for his sister.

"Yes, yes. I'll unlock the car." She carried the key from his pocket, she proceeded to the door and her hands fumbled as she tried unlocking it.

"What happened to her? SubhanAllah! What happened Muhammad?" Khadijah was suddenly by his side, shaking and questioning him but he paid her no mind, as soon as Zulaihat got over her clumsiness and finally unlocked the door, he gently placed Amirah into the backseat, he shut the door, got into the driver's seat and sped off like he'd never done in his life.

The General hospital was crowded but Muhammad knew a senior doctor and with the fact that Amirah was unconsciousness and needed urgent treatment, she was immediately admitted.

His phone rang for the fifth time and when he brought it out from his pocket this time, he turned it off and stuffed it back into his pocket. The calls were from Hajiya, Khadijah and his sister, he didn't want to talk to any of them especially the first two.

Muhammad knew without a doubt that Adnan had done this, if not him who else? But why he'd done it was what Muhammad couldn't fathom, not that he cared much at this point because his hands were twitching to get hold of that bastard, he'd show him that you never hit a woman and most especially, not his wife.
Aside from being scared about his wife's state, he was scared for their little one, would the baby make it? Praying was all he could hold on to fervently and praying he did as he paced the busy hallway, he'd lost count of the number of times he'd recited ayatul kursiyu and other surahs.

Amirah's memories plagued his thoughts and he hated it, remembering the times they'd shared, both the good and bad and it felt wrong. Remembering them made it seem like she wasn't going to come out alive and he knew that was impossible, she'll be fine, she'll definitely be fine because if anything happened to someone he loved again, Muhammad knew he'd finally lose it. The loss of Jamilah had hit him hard, it had been almost impossible to get over it but losing Amirah who was pregnant with his child, that would drive him to insanity, that he was sure of.

When the medical staffs finally walked out through the door, he rushed towards them. How the roles had been reversed, he stared at the head doctor for a telltale sign of bad news, he would recognize it, he was after all most times a bearer of bad news too but the doctor's face held something that resembled contempt and the nurses passed him by with sneers.

"How's she? Please tell me she's fine, please." He pleaded staring at the lady with hopeful eyes, she had to be fine, she really had to be.

"Your wife has been stabilized but she'll need rest now, she was awake for few minutes but we've sedated her now. We'd like to talk to someone else, her parents?"

Muhammad breathed a sigh of relief and chanted alhamdulilah before finally mustering the courage to ask.

"Wha... What about the uhmm... What of the... Did the baby?" Being coherent was suddenly impossible as he had no idea how to string the letters together to form the words, the answer to his question terrified him and he knew if it was bad, it'd terrify Amirah more.

The doctor gave him a hard stare. "The baby is fine too. Like I said, we want to speak to her parents."

Muhammad found breathing easier, the world was now brighter and everything was back to normalcy, they were both fine, they were both fine! He wanted to scream out but instead he chuckled until it turned into laughter and a tear ran down his cheek. The doctor took a step back as she gave him a strange look.

"Is anything funny about asking for your wife's parents contact?" The lady asked and that was when Muhammad remembered.

"No, no. Why are you asking? I'm here and I'm her husband." Muhammad had confusion etched on his face and his brows furrowed.

"You're not to go into your wife's room until she's awake and has given the permission, for now we'd rather talk to her parents." Her tone was clipped and that was when Muhammad remembered the nurse's sneer. What was going on?

"I'm confused, what's this about?" He asked.

"It's the hospital code, victims suspected of suffering from domestic violence must be kept safe and..."

"Domestic what?" He interrupted in shock, he? Domestic violence? How could they think he'd ever hit his wife but he knew how, she had slap marks, she was bleeding and he was her husband who'd brought her to the hospital

"I'll never hit Amirah, I swear by Allah. Look, I'm a doctor." He brought out his ID card and handed it to her but she didn't even spare it a glance.

"Then tell me what happened to her? I presume you'd say she was involved in an accident, or rather she fell while mopping the floor?" The doctor's voice was cynical and Muhammad was frustrated.

"No, no. We were at her family's house and she was up in her room taking a nap when we heard her screams, and I went up and saw her on the floor like that which was how I brought her here." He explained in a rushed manner.

"I see so she was attacked by someone in her family, not just that but it happened in her family house, let's say I believe you, why then is none of her family members here in the hospital with you?"

Muhammad sighed defeated. "I know you don't believe me and you have good reasons not to but that woman in there is my wife and she's pregnant with my child, I love them so much and I will never do anything to hurt her. I swear to it."

She gave him a blank stare. "When you're ready to let us be in contact with her parents, you'll find me in my office."

And with that she walked away. Muhammad stared after her then back to the door she'd walked out from, the room Amirah was in. He walked back to his car, got in and drove back to her home.

This time he parked his car outside the compound, he opened the gate and stepped in. There was no one in sight so he calmly walked into the main house which was empty too, he'd been hoping to see Adnan, to kill him. Without a call to anyone, Muhammad climbed up the stairs and went back into Amirah's bedroom.

It was scattered, showing signs of struggle. How had he not heard her until it was too late? What had transpired?
He bent down and began to pick pillows and blankets from the floor, he went on and made the bed, after he was done, he stood and stared at the room for awhile before he headed out.

At the far end of the hallway, he heard voices so he walked towards it, the room it was coming from has it's door shut so he couldn't hear clearly because the voices were muffled but he put his ear to the door and pressed it.

"Hajiya please take me seriously, I'm sure of what I saw fah." He heard one of Amirah's sister say in an exasperated tone.

Hajiya said something but in a calmer voice and Muhammad couldn't get what she'd said.

Amirah's sister's voice was shrill and it expressed annoyance. "I told you he was in Ya Amirah's bathroom when we all ran there, our eyes met. What will Ya Adnan be doing hiding in the bathroom if he hadn't hurt her?"

And speak of the devil, Muhammad saw Adnan climb up the top of the stairs in easy stride, his face was expressionless and he was yet to notice Muhammad. Muhammad used that to his advantage and rushed at him with a flower vase he'd picked up from the corner of the hallway.

As Adnan's eyes widened when he saw Muhammad, he immediately tried to go back down the stairs but with his back turned to Muhammad, he'd given his attacker a chance and Muhammad used it well by smashing the vase on Adnan's heard.
Muhammad watched him stumble and missed a step before he went crashing down the foot of the stairs where he laid in an abnormal angle.

A/N:

Hey everyone. Please say a prayer for my friend Ilyas who lost his life on the 23rd of this month. May Allah forgive him his sins and grant him Jannah.

Like I said earlier, it's my birthday so please say a prayer for me too. It's been a great year for me, I've learnt a lot, I've cried a lot too and I've had some of my happiest days.

I can only keep thanking Allah for the gift of life and you my readers, thank you for making me happy and excited by reading my book, I appreciate every one of you. Thank you so much.

If you read this up until this point, I just want you to know I love you ♥️

Do vote and comment.