Chapter 31 20: Retaliation

"I've already told you." He kissed her warmly on her forehead and when he pulled apart, she had crimson red on her cheeks, looking flustered. "Wait for me until I'm back before you go back to sleep, okay?" She nodded her head at him and watched him leave the room. Unconsciously, Fareeda lifted her palm onto her forehead, she could still feel the warmth of his lips on her skin. And like he made her promise, she waited for him on the prayer mat as she silently prayed. She quickly texted Adam before he came back because Fareeda knew she didn t have the courage to call him, at least not after what had happened yesterday. She wouldn't risk for something like that to happen ever again. He walked into the room and she immediately looked up to meet his gaze as a smile immediately graced her lips. "You re back, can I sleep then?" She asked as she immediately stood up and Mujaheed reached where she was before she sat back on the bed. "We re going to read the Qur an together and supplicate, Fareeda. Just for fifteen minutes, can we do that?" She was about to whine when he beat her at it, "Please? It s going to be good for our souls." Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she nodded her head before they sat back on the praying mat and placed the Qur an between them. "What's your favorite Surah?" She smiled and flicked through the pages of the almighty s book. "That s Suratul Rahman, because it reminds me of the greatest of Allah and how forgiving he is. It doesn t matter how much in pain I am, whenever I read it, it gives me the peace and happiness I need. Can we read it?" He smiled, "Sure, why not?" And slowly, they began reading together, their voices hinted with sleep and early morning laziness. Mujaheed listened as she recited the Qur an with such melody he had never imagined her voice could have, he wanted to be hearing this forever. And when his eyes wandered briskly to her face, she looked calm with a soft smile on her lips. "What are you staring at?" She asked and flipped the page before she pointed back at the Qur an for him, "Read, or else I'll make you read the remaining verses for us, alone." "Can you read the remaining verses for us today? I promise to read it for us tomorrow." She was about to argue with him when he flashed her his best puppy eyes and she sighed. "Sure, and don t you dare forget about your promise." Mujaheed realized that watching her read the Qur an was the best thing he had ever seen in his whole life. And her voice while she recited the Qur'an had got to be the most melodious voice he had ever heard in his life. And what he had been denying himself for the past few years he had known her, today he realized he couldn t hide it anymore to himself. He would agree to the fact that Fareeda was beautiful, glamorous even. She was done reading it when she looked up at his face and he seemed to be ruminative. "What are you thinking about?" She asked with a calming smile as she clapped her hands over his face to bring him out of his trance. "What? Oh, I just realized you re beautiful and what an excellent reciting." He fondled her head with a warm smile, "Allah yayi maki albarka, Fareeda. (May Allah bless your life, Fareeda.)" No, she wanted to cry. No one had ever said this to her, no one in this whole world. She couldn't control her tears, because they pooled her eyes and Mujaheed chuckled before he cleared her tears away. "What are you crying for? Are you so sleepy to the point that you d cry so I ll let you sleep?" He asked and she shook her head. "That s not it, after you said that, I realized no one has ever prayed for me like that. Thank you, Mujaheed." She smiled at him while clearing the remnants of her tears on her cheeks and he lifted them both up. "I'm so sleepy," she stifled a yawn while she took her hijab off. He helped her got out of the hijab and folded it himself while she watched him with an amused smile on his face. He was done folded the prayer mat and kept everything back on its place before he turned to her, "Good night," they chuckled at the same time, "Sleep well, Fareeda." And she did slept well with an amazing smile on her lips without knowing the reason behind it. All she knew was, she had enjoyed the way her day started and would love it if it always start up the way it did today. Maybe with a few changes to it. Mujaheed should be replaced with Adam and he shouldn t be a gateman also. But if it was Adam, both of them would have been sleeping by now and wouldn t have woken up until after noon. ? She knew living with Mujaheed for such a long time had been both amazing and stressing but she was finally happy that in a very short time, all this will be over and she will have a solution to all that bothered her in the last few months. And because she wanted to have the best moments with him, she was going to break a few laws today. First things first, she had terribly missed Nana. And today she wasn't going to listen to his rule of not entering the house, she would have to see the worst Hajia Hadiza Kamal Sardauna could do. She made sure that he was at the gate before she firmly wrapped her head with her veil and took her phone with her as she walked into the house. Feeling as though it had been years since she last came back there but to think that she lived in the same mansion they did was unbelievable to Fareeda. She pushed open the door and the maids cleaning the downstairs living room began to greet and for the first time, Fareeda stared at their faces while she answered them. "Where is Nana? Is she in her room?" She asked one of them, which was closer to Nana. "She's in her room, she d love to see you today, Aunty Fareeda, she has been talking about you nonstop everyday." She said and smiled while Fareeda walked to the stairs. "That little devil, I've missed her too though." With a warm smile on her lips, she walked through the corridor and felt a feeling of nostalgia. She couldn t believe these people forced her out of this house to live in it alone, she felt pain trying to overshadow the happiness she came together with, and Fareeda quickly brushed the thoughts off. Something struck at her heart when she saw the door leading to her chamber and she quickly walked past it because she knew if she walk in there, nothing could stop her from crying her eyes out. She softy knocked on Nana s door before she entered without waiting for a response from her. She could count the times she had been in this room but it had always been the same. Girly, neat, beautiful and bright as Nana was. She smacked her on her thighs while she saw that she was asleep, "Look at the girl that would now rant my ears off and say she has missed me!" Nana yelped as she immediately sat up, thinking that it was Ummah. But when her eyes fell on Fareeda, she didn't know when she squealed and fell onto her, "Ya Fareeda! Ya Allah!" Fareeda heard as she broke into tears while she tightly held onto her. Fareeda chuckled but fought her tears back as she fondled Nana on her back before she broke their hug, "Hey, come on, what's with the tears now? I won t come to see you again if all you re going to do is cry, okay?" She cupped Nana s face in her palms and Nana kept crying. "I've missed you so much, Ya Fareeda. And whenever I wanted to sneak out to go and see you, Ummah wouldn't let me. There was a day I wanted to sneak out, but she caught me on the CCTV and from that day, she always checks the footages before she goes to sleep and if she saw that I was trying to sneak out, she beats me mercilessly. She asked Jibril to be parking our school car in the second gate, that way I won't have the excuse of going to school to see you. It hasn't been easy, Ya Fareeda. I've missed you." She hugged her again and Fareeda chuckled despite the way she wanted to go and take Ummah s eyes out of her eye sockets. "I've missed you more, Nana. I've been wanting to see you, but Mujaheed couldn t let me come. I had to sneak my way here today. How have you been? How s life without me here?" Fareeda asked with a warm smile and Nana excitedly nodded her head while she pulled her bedside drawer and pulled out the new things she had gotten. "They re the same as you know. There were times when I asked Ya Mujaheed how you ve been when he opens the gate for us, and he told me you've been fine. Dahlia was in the car with us, there's no way I can come down to see you. Look..." She kept showing her the things she had gotten and the ones she didn't know about her. They were conversing lovingly as Fareeda laughed when the door got banged open. "What do you think you re doing, Fareeda?!" Ummah thundered and Fareeda gulped down her anger before she calmly turned to look at her with an edgy smile on her lips. "Good morning, Ummah. It has been long since the last time I've seen you. How have you been?" Ummah hissed softly while she shook her head. "Is it because you know Alhaji isn t home that's why you re coming here today? And hold your greetings with you, we both know I know they aren't real, okay? Now, get out of this house, stick to your gateman chamber, okay? If you dare set your feet..." So Alhaji wasn t home? Fareeda wondered and internally danced. She might finally retaliate what she had done to her. She enigmatically walked to where Ummah stood, "Don t tell me you re planning to tell me to get out of this house? I mean, my father s mansion?" She asked with one of her brows arrogantly lifted up. "That s what I'm going to do and I dare you to stop me, Fareeda! You ve been banned from this way, you don t belong here anymore, you shouldn t have belonged here in the first place. Get out of here or else I'll throw you out myself. No, I'd have to call the gateman to take you away for me, whom sadly happens to be your unfortunate husband."