M a r y a m
To say she never thought Muhammad had it in him to do anything of a sort to her will be an understatement. She banged the door shut and harshly wiped the tears that was continuously running down her cheeks. She forcefully dragged the zip of the dress down and peeled it off her body. How could he? She kept asking herself. After all the planning and the anticipation.

She grabbed a sleeping gown from the drawer and changed into it. Not even in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined such things happening to her. Sure she has thought about the different ways in which a husband can try to impose his authority against you but with ya Muhammad, never for a moment. He never had a problem with her going out any other day. Why today?

She was beyond pissed. Not even baba has ever done something like this to her before. Tears filled her eyes and she quickly wiped it, annoyance creeping inside of her. Now, what was she going to say to Habiba? What excuse was she going to come up with?

The tears fell again and she wiped them, then again and again only this time she closed her eyes and let it fall. And she knew it, she was full-on crying. She cried for almost 10 minutes hoping to relieve the dull pain in her heart, to relax her mind because crying as told by many psychiatrists helps to relieve the mind of many emotions.

When she was done, she blew her nose with some tissue and wiped her face. She then sat on the couch by the window side and pushed the window open letting the sweet smell of fresh grass hit her nose and the warm light from the sun wash over the room. She inhaled a sharp breath, breathing everything in. It was so soothing.

Her room was facing a garden in their apartment and she gets a daily dose of nature every single morning. She couldn't be more thankful for it. Her eyes swept over the area taking in her surrounding. Three kids who she remembered to be the children of her next-door neighbor were playing around. Two boys were twins and a girl, who go by the names Harith and Abdallah for the twins, and Aliya for the girl.

They were playing hide and seek, and Maryam could see all of them in their hiding places. They were having so much fun. And right now Maryam wishes for nothing more than to be a child again, free of worry and stress.

The girl was hiding and the boys were to seek her.

Maryam peeked to see where the girl was going to hide and smiled when she hid behind the rose bush and closed her eyes. Anxious. She didn't want to be caught, just like everyone else. The boys started looking around, they searched behind the tall trees, under the chairs, their little minds not even taking them to look at the other side. She had wanted to say 'look over there and point over at where she was hiding and watch them laugh. At the same time, she didn't want to expose the little girl, she didn't want to see the disappointment in her eyes. They ended up finding her and having her look for one of them.

At some point, Aliya looked up and found her looking at them, they then all stopped and greeted her. She answered them cheerfully and ushered them to go on with their game and not mind her.
She sat there and watched them play for some more minutes before their nanny came and rushed them back in saying their father was on his way. They waved at her before they skipped back to their house excitedly.

A memory of baba hit her. She smiled and cradled her knees to her chest. "I miss you so much baba." She muttered. "Allah ya jikan ka."

Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes enjoying the warm breeze while reminiscing on the good old memories. Her eyes fluttered open when she heard footsteps approaching and then a creak of the door opening. She didn't look up to acknowledge the only possible person who it could have been, instead, she crossed her arms and turned her head.

Muhammad entered changed in a polo shirt with joggers. His eyes looked around the room, landing on the dress she had thrown on the bed and then back at her. He feels bad for what he has done. "Let's go, muje in kaiki." He said in a low voice, pushing his hand into his pocket. She didn't look up or even give him her attention, instead, she turned her head more to look out the window.

He knew she wouldn't come around easily, he had pissed her off. Even so, he wanted her to at least look at him and talk. He rubbed his hand over his stubble as he walked closer to her. "Maryam," he called.

She didn't answer. He stopped in front of her, "Maryam don't you hear me calling you?" Her hand wiped the tears that fell on her face and looked up. His heart shattered to pieces when he saw how red her eyes were, the guilt almost choking him. She let out an exhausted sigh. "Is it that I don't even have the right to be angry after what you've done or what?" The tears came again, "please just leave me alone, I want to be alone."

Muhammad swallowed his guilt and came and sat next to her. "I'm sorry, please stop crying. It breaks my heart." When she didn't say anything, Muhammad took her in his arms and hugged her while rubbing his hands up and down her back. She didn't resist, she allowed her head to fall on his shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut.

He didn't know his decision would anger her like this. They stayed like that for a few minutes until she pulled away, her eyes glued to his shirt. "Did I do something to offend you that I am not aware of? If so say it." He shook his head and rubbed his face tiredly, sitting up straighter. "I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry."

She turned her head to look out the window again, sighed, and started playing with her ring. Muhammad's eyes followed the movement. The room went silent that the drop of a pin could be heard.

Just when he thought she was done talking, she opened her mouth and said, "What gets me the most is the fact that you agreed when I asked and you come and tell me that you don't know anything about that?" Muhammad saw her eyes fill up with tears. "Is it fair? What you did, in your mind do you think it's right?" When he didn't say anything she continued. "It isn't and nothing you say will or can justify your actions." She managed to keep her voice down despite how much her blood was boiling.

Muhammad sighed through his nose. "I know baby. I know." He palmed her face, "I am sorry." He pecked her cheeks and brushed his fingertips down her arms. "Please smile, I do not like seeing you sad." His hands caressed her back. She let out a soft smile and wrapped her hands around him, pulling him in a hug. "I am also sorry."

He placed his chin on top of her head lightly, "everything's good."
"Oh, this feels so good. I feel re-energized." He added. They both love hugging one another, it's like their hearts get connected when they hug. "Ya Muhammad?" She called.

He removed his arms and looked at her, frowning. "Until when will you call me ya Muhammad?" She lowered her eyes smiling. This is almost the fifth time he is complaining about this name issue. "What do you want me to call you then?"
"Sweetheart, babe, darling, honey . . . Actually not honey. But they are a lot of choices to choose from but I don't know why you choose to be so formal. We have passed that level in our relationship." He stared at her with sad eyes. It was Maryam's turn to caress his cheeks now. "What do you want me to call you then, darling."

"I just listed . . ." He started but stopped when he realized that she had just called him darling. "What?" He asked, mouth slightly opened. "What do you want me to call you, darling." Muhammad's smile broaden and he could feel the butterflies in his stomach. "I never thought darling could sound so right." He said bringing her closer. Maryam laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you, baby." He said, pulling her to sit on his lap.
"I love you, darling." She sealed their lips.

~~**~~
"Jannah!" Ya Fatima gasped as she pushed open their room and jumped on jannah's bed. Jannah sprang out of the bed to the door, startled. When she saw that it was her sister, she let out a breath thanking Allah for saving her life. "Ya Fatima! You almost gave me a heart attack." She then looked from the grinning Fatima to the floor where she had spilled the tea she was taking moments ago. "See what you've caused."

Ya Fatima rolled her eyes and pulled Jannah to sit beside her. "Forget all that. Do you know what just happened?" Jannah looked at her confused. She turned and faced her, giving her her full attention. "What happened?" Ya Fatima couldn't stop grinning as she said, "don't freak out, okay?"

At that point, Jannah was already freaking out. "Ya akayi? This one that you're grinning. Did ya Umar finally gather the courage to ask for your hand in marriage or something? Because it's high time that happened." Ya Fatima frowned at that and hit her on her arm. "You better remove your eyes from mine and ya Umar's business. You've even spoilt my mood." She pouted, turning away.
Jannah laughed and held her hand, "come on, I was just pulling your legs. So tell me, what got you so excited."

"Your Farhan is in our house."
Her smile dropped, "what do you mean? Who is my Farhan?" Ya Fatima playfully hit her. "You know who I am talking about." "I think I . . . Come on don't make me wait, just tell me, who are you talking about."
"Farhan, ya Muhammad's friend. He's here."
"Here where?"
"In this house, with baba."
Jannah's eyes bulged out, "with baba, doing what? Ya Fatima, please explain I am not understanding what you're saying at all." She was more than freaking out. What was he doing? Why is he here? When did he come? All those questions were clouding her mind.

"Relax Jannah." She rubbed her arm up and down, telling her to slowly breathe in and out. She did as she was told just to get her to explain everything because it wasn't making any sense. "Farhan came around 2 pm along with ya Abdallah. They went straight to meet baba. I don't know exactly what they talked about but when I went to take water for them, I heard him baba saying he won't impose anything on you, but if you allow it then so be it." She then squealed and hugged Jannah who was seated still. She was shocked. "I think you asked if he could see you."

If eyes could pop out from its socket, then Jannah's eyes would have long popped out. "He what?!"
"I told you he liked you by the way he kept looking at you." Before she covered her mouth, ya Salma and Hajiya Halima; their mother walked in.

"Jannah come." Their mother motioned with her hand. Jannah's stomach turned as she stood up and grabbed her veil. "Your father is calling you, you have guests."

~~**~~
Hey guys
How was the chapter? I hope you enjoyed it as I did. Thank you so much for the support and for being patient even after such a long time. I appreciate you guys.
What do you think about Jannah and Farhan? What about Maryam's new nickname for her husband?
I like it sha.
Thank you❤️
With love Fatima🥂