Match Made in jannah✅

CHAPTER 22: ASMA'U

ABUJA, NIGERIA.

         Maha cleared the bead of sweat that had gathered on her forehead for the nth time with the back of her palm. Within seconds the sweat gathered again even from her head making her front hair which was slightly exposed look a little damp. It wasn't that the kitchen was hot, no. The kitchen could be called anything but hot, the work she was doing in the kitchen was what made the kitchen hot. Ignoring the sweat all over her face and body and the ache in her hands Maha continued to stir the tuwon shinkafa(rice meal). Aisha's father, Muhammad Dan-musa had been sick for over a month now and Samira is coming to see him today, even hajiya babba had volunteered to come. Just yesterday she had called Ayman and asked him to tell his wife to prepare a rice meal for her. To say she was shocked would be a huge understatement, she had never prepared this kind of food and now out of the blue, hajiya babba told her to prepare it for her. She had called Nadia for help but unfortunately for her, Nadia had travelled to tokyo together with Hassan and little Aryan.
        Ayman...? Oh yes it was now she was remembering that mischeivous husband of hers, she told him to help her prepare it since she realized he was a great cook, he had agreed and he told her not to start cooking until he came back but it has now been 2 God damn frustrating hours since Ayman left the house. Time was passing by and she knew Samira and hajiya babba would soon arrive so she had decided to start preparing the food.
"That brat." Maha scowled as she shifted her attention to the stew, and also stirred it before closing the pot. The stew wasn't that hard since she browsed it on youtube and she was almost done with it, even though she had also watched a video on how to prepare rice meal it was still very hard for her.
           It's been two weeks since they all came back from india, she couldn't even say what her relationship is with Ayman is anymore, it was all too complicated. They talked more often than they usaully did before but the worst part about those talks is Ayman was always talking about Aisha. Now she knew the girl's favourite colour, favourite food and her favourite everything, Ayman never missed any opportunity to talk about how amazing Aisha is. The glimmer in his eyes whenever he talked about Aisha was what made Maha weaken her resolve, even without him speaking she could see the unyielding love he had for Aisha. He is still loyal to her even when she isn't here, had she not been in love with him then his love for Aisha would have been the most beautiful yet so heart breaking. The admiration in his voice and eyes couldn't go unnoticed whenever he spoke about her, the burning inferno of his love for her was still there, he still loved her! Maha was more like a best friend to him, she had always tried to hide her feelings for him whenever he told her about Aisha, it was so heart breaking but there was nothing she could do, she just wanted to do anything to support him. Maybe one day, just maybe he would finally fall inlove with her.
"A penny for your thought." Ayman said and his handsome and otherwordly face suddenly appeared in front of her beautiful green eyes. Maha feigned annoyance and she turned her face towards the other side of the pot, a wide grin was plastered on her face because of his reaction. Maybe there was hope for them afterall, now she could make him sad, happy and angry. His face was no longer blank and aloof though he still pulled on that calm facade when he was in the eyes of the public. If he is infront of her, he let's out his vunerable part and she had always been there to support him. He never hid his vulnerability from her anymore and she was clinging unto it that maybe there was a little hope for them.
"I told you to wait for me it isn't my fault, it ya Ummita's fault." Ayman said glaring at something or someone beside her, Maha whipped her head around to see what he was glaring at and she saw his elder sister Ummita, the woman could easily be recongnised as his sister but she didn't have have the beautiful and other wordly features Ayman had, it was Fattu that had those kind of features. Tessie and Ummita could be passed for twins if not for Tessie's dark skin but the were also beautuful and unique in their own way.
"How is it my fault i told you i couldn't make it." Ummita said and then she rolled her eyes. Ayman began to tell her that he had left the house and went to Ummita's house to ask her to prepare the rice meal, she had also told him she didn't know how to make it because her husband didn't eat it and even when they wanted to eat, it was usaully one if the househelp that prepared it. Ayman had insisted that she make it because he didn't want hajiya babba to know they had ordered it instead of Maha to make it, she had attempted to make it and she failed woefully, her workers were on leave that day and so they ended up with the option Ayman didn't like which was to order from a resturant. Maha looked at Ayman and then Ummita and then her eyes settled on Ayman again, she crossed her arms over her torso and then shook her head slowly like an old nagging mother preparing to scold her annoying and dumb son.
"You are at fault Ayman, you should have just gone with the first plan, then i wouldn't have suffered." Maha said as she point at the messed up kitchen and at the rice meal that looked burnt on some part and uncooked on some other parts.
"Hajiya babba won't know we ordered it unless you tell, we are just going to put it on a warmer and i will tell her ya ummita helped me with it since she knew i couldn't come up with something this good." Maha said as she gave Ayman an accusing look, Ayman turned to Ummita for support but she was also giving him that same accusing look.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Ayman said as he raised both his hands in surrender and and left the kitchen while complaining about how annoying women could be and how he was so unlucky to be the only male among three females. He looked so adorable as he complained and Maha and Ummita looked at each other and giggled. With the help of Ummita, Maha cleared up the kitchen and transfered the rice meal into a black warmer and set the food on the dinning table, just as Maha was about to leave, Ummita held her hand and made her sit down again.
"Are you okay?" Ummita asked, her voice and eyes were filled with concern as she looked directly into Maha's green eyes so she would be able to read her expressions and know if she was lying to her. Because of how close she and Ummita had become she told her whatever had happened between she and Ayman. It did help alot because Ummita would always give her a good advice, she was like the elder sister she never had.
"I'm fi-"
"Don't even think about telling me you are fine when i know you are not." Ummita said sternly  and then she squeezed her hand softly and a beautiful smile graced her face. The tears Maha had been trying so hard to hold back gushed out like a water fall and she immediately hugged Ummita who also hugged her back, she used her palm to cover her mouth but she couldn't stop her tears.
"If it's hurting too much, you can always choose to leave." Ummita said as she patted her back softly. Maha stilled when she heard what Ummita said, she didn't want to leave without at least trying.
"Maybe leaving will be the answer you have been looking for, people only realize the worth of things when it is no longer their's."
"You have no idea how much he loves that Aisha." Maha said and Ummita gave her a bitter smile.
"I know but you know it will take time. She died three years ago and they have been together for 23 years. They have spent almost everytime together so it's going to be hard letting go." Maha nodded her head as she cleaned her eyes, her eyes were already puffy and her cheeks and nose were red.
"Good, now juat hang in there." Ummita said and then she patted her shoulder and left.
She was also about to leave when Ayman came out wearing a plain white shirt and a blue jeans, she didn't know why but he looked even more attractive whenever he wore casual clothes and not those suits and kaftan.
"Umma and haiya babba are here." Ayman said, Maha nodded her head and she immediately turned her face so he wouldn't notice her red and swollen face but Ayman had already seen it. He cupped her chin and he made her look at him, his black eyes surveyed her face before they finally settled on her green eyes,
"You cried." Ugh! Maha wanted to scream her lungs out, why is it that he was always noticing every little details about her? Even if she had cried or slept an hour ago he still would have known. If something was about her then it never escaped his notice. Maha turned her face around, trying to avoid looking at him but this time he placed his palms on her cheek and made her look at him.
"What happened?" He asked, his voice was a whisper so smooth and soothing to the ears, urging her to say the truth. His eyes were like a charm on her own eyes squeezing the truth out of her mouth but she kept her ground.
"Nothing." She said as she averted her eyes from his gaze. Ayman chuckled softly, his laughter was so soothing that it made her racing heart calm down and at the same time made her knees go weak.
"We will talk about this later." Ayman said and Maha pouted. When he said later he meant it, the first time he told her they would talk later she thought he would forget but he didn't. He would always come back and ask her why she cried and every day she had to come up with an excuse.
     Taking a deep breath Maha walked towards the living room, she was really nervous. This is the first time she was meeting her in-laws again after marriage. To be more precise this is the first time she would be meeting hajiya babba and from what she heard, the woman is not someone you would want to get on her bad books. With the way Ayman and all the other Shugabas' were ignoring her like a plague she knew the woman is bad news!
         A sweet smile was on her face as she entered the living room. Ayman and Ummita were sitting beside their mother while an old woman whom she assumed was hajiya babba was sitting across them with a displeased expression her face, another dark skin lady was sitting beside her. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the lady, she was just a normal person, she didn't have an special features but she also couldn't be called ugly. The way her dark skin shone like a black gem and her nose made her realize the lady was also a Shugaba. She had the signature look of the Shugabas' which is their beautiful dark skin and their nose. When her eyes met the lady's black eyes, the lady glared at her before she hissed softly as though her mere presence displeased her. Maha ignored her and instead went towards hajiya babba, Ayman had told her that she had to greet hajiya babba before greeting anyone in the family or else hajiya babba would be upset and she would start complaining to Aminu about her. Hajiya babba wasn't that welcoming though she had a smile that obviously looked forced, she uttered a 'welcome' to the other lady and she gave her a small smile but the lady ignored her. Maha rolled her eyes and also walked away, walking towards Samira, the tall and beautiful shuwa arab stood up and embraced her with a sweet smile on her face making her look even more beautiful. Every action she made was with grace, she carried herself like the true queen she is.
"Umm." Maha uttered softly and the woman gave her a warm smile, Ayman nudged her and then whispered furiously,
"Umma." Maha glared at him and pretended as though she didn't hear him.
"Call her umma." Ayman said when Maha ignored him.
"Make me."
"You-" Samira's soft chuckle brought them both back to reality.
"You can call me whatever you want. Umm or umma, it still means mother." Samira said and Maha smiled shyly at her before nodding her head, she turned and looked at Ayman and gave him a triumphant smirk which he retorted with a scowl.
    Samira was really happy, she could see the geniune happiness in her son after 3 good years and it was a happiness she prayed would be there for the rest of his life, they really made the right choice by forcing him into this marriage. Seeing him happy like this filled her with utter joy and bliss.
...........

       Hajiya babba had a triumphant smile as she was about to taste the rice meal, she knew clearly that the girl couldn't make a nigerian meal and that is the reason why she chose this particular food so she would have a reason to scold the girl, thereby strengthen her point as to why Ayman should marry Asma'u who is a nigerian. She had noticed the way Samira was eating her food as though it tasted good but she knew there was nothing that sly woman wouldn't do to cover up for her daughter in-law.
        However, her smile soon faded when she tasted the food, it was unexpectedly.... delicious.
"Is it good?" Ummita asked, she had this annoying smile on her face and she knew the girl was trying to mock her that what she expected did not happen, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes and turned to face Maha who was sitting nervously beside Samira.
"Yes, it is unexpectedly delicious. I didn't know you could cook nigerian food." She was waiting for the girl to say she could cook nigerian food and then she would confirm that the food had been ordered from a resturant but what the girl said silenced her,
"No, actually ya Ummita helped me out." Hajiya babba looked at Ummita before she managed to force out a smile and continued eating her food.
"Oh thank you for the compliment but you did all the work, i only showed you what to do." Ummita said and Maha chuckled. Samira looked at Ummita before she elegantly raised one her eyebrows, she knew they had ordered the food since she knew Ummita couldn't cook local nigerian foods but the fact that they made their lie so believable was what amazed her.
"Uhmm... excuse me." The dark skinned lady that had been sitting quietly said and she immediately stood up from her seat and left in a hurry as though she had been sitting on hot coals.
        Maha and Ummita looked at each other and each raised an eybrow to the other with a look that said, 'she's definately up to something.' Maha didn't trust the lady because of the way she glared at her. Not just her but it would sound suspicious to anyone, why would you glare at someone you just met? Sneakily Maha left the dining table and waited for Ummita in the living room, a few minutes later Ummita walked out of the dinning hall. They walked towards the direction they had seen the lady passed and it lead them to Ayman's bedroom. Both Maha and Ummita stood at the door, Maha was feeling restless but Ummita gave her a smile that said all was well. With trembling hands Maha reached for the door knob and opened the door, what she saw froze her in shock and she almost tumbled to the ground but she held her ground, she couldn't show her weakness to this lady.
             Ayman stood in the middle of his bedroom, holding the lady's arm while she was cluctching his shirt. Ayman immediately released her arm when his eyes met Maha's, the lady also released his shirt but she had a triumphant smirk on her face.
"Asmau?!" Ummita called out angrily.

So who remembers Asma'u😁?
The relationship btwn Maha and Ummita dey ginger me💃.
And did i forget to mention how much i loveee Samira? She is my favourite character, what about you guys?
Do share in the comment section who your favourite character is.
Why can't hajiya babba let people live in peace🙄.

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