A Match Made In Jannah

Chapter 49

HUSNA'S POV

"Nabeel's the father," Maariah sobs. I comfort her for a moment, and tell her that it will be okay. Then, suddenly, mid-hug, reality sets in. I push Maariah away and she slams against a wall; not hard enough to hurt her but enough to shock her. She looks up at me with large, puppy dog eyes and memories flood back to me.

"I broke your new Barbie doll that Dadi gave you," Maariah whines.
I'm about to scream but Maariah's puppy dog eyes stop me. I tell her that it's okay and that I know it was a mistake.

"I'm sorry, Husna. It was an accident. I swear I didn't mean to hurt you!" she apologises. We had been quarrelling and Maariah had slapped me so hard across my cheek that her hand print was visible. I want to slap her back and tear her hair out but she gives me her cute puppy dog eyes and all my anger melts away.

"Oh come on, Husna. You didn't even like Zaid that much. I just had a short conversation with him about soccer okay? It was nothing more." I told her that I loved Zaid and that I hated her for what she did. I would have ended our relationship there had it not been for her puppy dog eyes that glanced at me with such sweet innocence that I instantly forgave her.

She knew very well that she could escape anything with her puppy dog eyes. I had a soft spot for anything that resembled innocence, and the look was present in her eyes now.

"Maybe she was innocent. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it wasn't her fault. She's your best friend. She wouldn't do that," A voice in my head whispered.

"She is guilty! Are you blind?! She's carrying your fiancé's baby, for Allah's sake!" another voice retorted.

Not this time, Maariah, I thought. She was never going to be allowed to leave guilt-free from this room. On second thought, I'd make sure she never left the room.

I knew that I wouldn't stoop so low. Instead, I shocked myself and everyone around me by letting out a long, ear-splitting scream. I screamed and screamed and screamed until there was no air left in my lungs. I screamed until all the frustration I had contained within my heart flowed to my very fingertips and my head and every other limb. I screamed until my voice was hoarse and I felt like the burning in my chest would be the cause of my death.

"I HATE YOU MAARIAH!" I screamed. "YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU WOULD GET AWAY WITH THIS, DIDN'T YOU? YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU COULD FORCE YOURSELF ONTO MY HUSBAND OR SEDUCE HIM WITHOUT ANY REPERCUSSIONS? Well, look at you now, all pregnant and happy! ARE YOU EVEN HAPPY? DID YOU FIND HAPPINESS IN STEALING MINE?" I screamed.

"I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU!"

In the silence that followed, my words rang in everybody's ears. Maariah shrank back and leaned against the wall, until I had full dominance over her.

"How could you betray me? How could he betray me? Why, Maariah? Was this your way of showing me that you will always have the upper hand?" I asked angrily.

"It wasn't only my fault, Husna. Please. Ask Nabeel too. I'm carrying his child," Maariah pleaded.

"Nabeel will be dealt with too, that double-crossing son of a gun. He deserves the worst!" I retorted.

Danyaal's face flushed with anger and guilt.

"Don't bring Nabeel into this, Maariah," he said, his voice quiet.

"DON'T BRING NABEEL INTO THIS! DON'T BRING THE MAN WHO CAUSED ALL OF THIS INTO THE ISSUE? NABEEL WILL PAY FOR THIS!" My voice had reached a shrill peak and I didn't know how much longer I could keep it up.

"Nabeel wasn't at fault, Husna. Maariah drugged him in order to get her way. He told her no; he pushed her away, but she was persistent," said Danyaal.

I screamed again. This time, my scream was louder and more ear-piercing than ever before, as I lunged onto Maariah and attempted to beat her senseless. The strength, however, seemed to have drained from my fists and seeped into my throat because all I could do was yell a jumbled chorus of words.

With every ounce of strength that Maariah had in her, she pushed me off and nailed me to the floor. "Please, Husna, let me explain," she begged. "It wasn't what I wanted. I drugged him for a kiss. Nothing more. The drug didn't wear off. I think Nabeel wanted more internally too. Please, Husna. I would never do that with your fiancé if it were up to me."

"NEVER DO THAT WITH MY FIANCÉ?" I retorted. "YOU WOULDN'T HAVE INTIMATE RELATIONS WITH MY FIANCÉ BUT YOU WERE FINE TO TOUCH AND KISS HIM?" "Does it make it okay now that you confessed that you intended to seduce him in a 'less haraam way?' rather than what actually happened, Maariah?"

Maariah froze. Her tongue was dry and her grip loosened. I stood up with such speed that she staggered backwards and landed on the floor herself.

"Get up, Maariah," a rough voice growled. "Leave, now!" Before she could react, her father picked her up by her collar and flung her towards the staircase. "LEAVE!" he commanded.

Maariah and I had always understood this command to be that she should retreat to her room and think about what she had done. This time, he followed her instead. "You can come upstairs too," he told me. I tagged along obligingly.

Maariah entered her room and when her father halted at the door, me besides him, she sat down softly on her bed.

"I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO SIT, DID I? I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!" her father barked.

"I am, Abba. I'm thinking about what I did," she replied, her voice quivering.

"When I said leave, I meant leave. Not to your room. From this house," he said, his voice soft, but shaking with anger.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

OMA GUYS!  What do you think is going to happen next? Get this chapter to ten likes and you can find out 😉