When Idris drove me home, he had intended to trail me inside and explain everything to my parents but I told him not to bother, and that I could take care of things by myself. "Sure?" He had asked with a wrinkled brow and I nodded.

I walked into our house and guess what? I was welcomed with glares by both my parents and Ya Qasim, they were very angry. "Where have you been?" My father asked squeezing his face.

"To..." I thought of saying to one of my friends' house but if I escaped that question I definitely would not escape why I didn't pick all their 56 missed calls. So I decided to just say the truth. "To Idris' house" I uttered lowering my gaze.

"Subhanallah..." They chanted.

"What?!" My father screamed walking more closer to me. "Repeat what you said, Manal!"

"To Id..." I was repeating when a resounding slap from him landed on my face. It was so hurt that tears began gushing from my eyes.

"How dare you, huh? How dare you?!" He said as he quickly held me in a tight grip. "Today I will teach you a lesson you will never forget!"

"No, Alhaji..." My mother was trying to interfere when he loudly yelled at her.

"Ke Zainab!" He said breathing heavily. "Don't you dare chime into this if not I will divorce you, kin ji koh? Whoever wants to continue living in this house should just watch kawai!"

And that was how everyone watched him dragged me into his chamber, thus flung me to the floor. I knew he was going to throb me mercilessly if I didn't implore him but yet I refused to because I didn't regret what I did. Everyone stayed outside the chamber except my mother who followed us to see what would happen. I could see fear deep inside her eyes, she was probably scared of what he would do.

"Ya kwana da ke?" He uttered glaring at me. "I am asking you Manal, did he slept with you?!" 

That moment, I wanted telling him the truth but something told me to lie, to tell him Idris slept with me so that my marriage with that brute, Ya Qasim would crash. And that was exactly what I did. "Yes, he slept with me"

"What? Ka ji shegiya!" He kicked me so hard that I tumbled and hit my head on the wall. "Yau sai na kashe ki. I will kill you lest you tarnish my image in this area!" He said as if killing me would not tarnish his image.

Actually, I thought he was just saying it until he grabbed my neck and squeeze it tight, that was when I realised he meant his words. "No, you fool!" My mother ran to us and pushed him away. "Foolish man, matsiyaci kawai" She uttered in tears. "So this is what you're up to?"

"Zainab, didn't I warned you?" He roared.

"Yes, but wallahi sai dai ka sake ni. I would rather be divorced than to watch you kill what I carried for nine months in my belly. If you don't know the pain of delivering a child, ni na sani!" She uttered fully ready to protect me.

"Zainab, this is your last warning!" He said.

"But why are you doing this, Alhaji?" She said.

"Just step aside before I hurt you!" He said.

"Kayi duk abinda ka ga zaka iya, do what you are capable of doing" She uttered clinching her fists. "Today I will show you the extent a mother can reach to protect what she bore!"

"Okey then" He said and I thought he was going to back down but he didn't. He rushed to my mother and began hitting her like his age mate. "Protecting what you bore, huh? Wasn't I the one that pushed her inside you? Huh?"

"Uhhh, shege!" I watched as she kept shielding her face with her hands. When he couldn't get her face he gave her a strong blow in her belly which made her fell down. "Manal run, now!"

"She's going nowhere" He said about coming back to me when she held his leg very tight.

"Take my life instead" She said sobbing.

"I won't because I love you, but Manal will not tarnish my image as the head of this district. I must teach her a lesson!" He uttered and thus kicked her so hard that she screamed for help in a tone I had never in my life heard before.

And just then Farouq and the rest of the family members bashed the fear of our father and stormed in. Farouq and Ya Sufyan were able to hold our father. They had to put lot of effort.

"Innalillahi wa'inna ilaihi raji'un..." Both Ya Qasim's mother and sister began chanting as they ran to my panting mother to help her. I watched as they helped her stood to her feet. "Qasimu don't just stare at Manal, kaji koh?!"

"Okey, Mum!" Ya Qasim who was so confused held me tightly. "Manal, lets go to the hospital" He said trying to help me up to my feet. "Your head is bleeding" He said and that was when I realised I was indeed bleeding. My head had hit the wall. "Come on, my love..." He added putting all his power to raise me up to my feet.

That was when our father realised he made a terrible mistake in his life, everyone glared at him even Nafisah and Asiya; his last born from our moms. "It's a minor injury, I can stitch it..." Our stepmother said. She was a nurse in the same hospital Idris was working in. They took me to my room and thus she went and brought her first aid box. That was the worst thing I had ever encountered in my life, one lie threw both me and my mother into danger. If one of us had died, I might have been in hell already.

An hour later, my mother came into my room and asked me to get my things ready that we are living. "To where?" I had asked her and she told me to her parents' house. "Me and you or all of us; your children?" I had queried and she told me only Farouq would be left behind.

"Haba Hajiya Zainab, abu ya faru haka da zaki kwantar da hankalin ki sai kice gida zaki? I am very sure Alhaji did all that in anger ne, and will surely come back to his senses and apologise soon..." Our stepmother tried to stop us but to no avail. Our mother started the car and thus drove us out of the house. The idea of leaving came when our father asked Ya Qasim, his mother and sister to go back to their house and that the wedding should be put on hold.

While on our way to our grandparents' house, our mother broke into tears again with her hands firm on the steering wheel. "Mama, stop crying" Nafisah who was sitting in the front with her said and continued. "You are making me to feel like crying too, just stop dan Allah". Hence, our mother composed herself till we reached our destination. She pulled over and we went into the house with our luggage.

"Zainab, lafiya kuwa?" Grandmother puzzled.

"Umma, nothing is okey. Usman bullied me and my child today" Our mother said crying heavily. "Umma, I am not going back to his house. He's now mad, he wants Manal dead"

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Thank you for reading #InsideArewa

Forgive me for the errs.