Audu walks in and goes over to Halima who is sitting on the bed with a far away look in her eyes. He caresses her cheeks making all her worries fade away. She hugs him and let it all out, soaking his track suit.  " Subhanallah! Leema baby why are you crying?" Audu shrieks worriedly.  " Daddy, how I've missed you. Please take me with you." Halima sniffs making Audu chuckle.  "Leema baby you're married now so even if I wanted to take you with me I can't. It's just one month after your marriage fah." Audu chuckles. "Daddy please, I don't want to be married to him again." Halima cries.  " Halima stop being a big baby Dan Allah. You're married now." Hajjo says sitting beside her daughter and husband.  "Mummy." Halima hugs her mother, how she misses her parents.  "Halima how are you?" Hajjo asks soothingly. 

"No matter the circumstances, never raise your voice at your husband."  Halima remembers her mother's statement and closes her eyes willing herself to calm down. She slowly unclenches her fists and opens her eyes then puts on a sweet smile on her face.  "Sweetheart I'm sorry, i didn't mean to raise my voice at you." Halima apologizes going over to hold Sa'eed's hand.  "It's okay, i expected a worse reaction from you. Anyways, please don't speak, i need you to listen to me quietly." Halima nods, gulping. The way Sa'eed is speaking is giving her bad goosebumps. She feels as if something is about to go horribly wrong, or maybe it's just the medications.  "Aleesha's parents threw her out." Sa'eed pauses, waiting for a reaction from Halima. When she doesn't give any, he continues.  "Her friend, I'm sure you've heard of her, Humylash, the famous chef and blogge

Halima makes her way inside the house, walking with what can be recognized as power, radiance and also.....pride? Setting her feet in her room, she's met with the most agonizing sight she has ever seen in all of her twenty four years of life.  Aleesha is leaning on Sa'eed's shoulders laughing at a ridiculous picture of Cardi B that has been leaked. Probably just the normal photoshops jobless Nigerians engage in, nothing new or baffling there.  Wanting to show of her new found confidence, Halima takes small lady like steps towards Sa'eed and pecks him on the cheek. The smell is still there but it isn't as strong as it was in the morning, Sa'eed muses. It's already quarter past six, where has Halima been?  "Hey, weren't you taught not to enter a woman's matrimonial room without her permission or are you simply deranged?" Halima snaps at Aleesha.  Aleesha gulps at the way Halima is l

"Halima for crying out loud stop dragging Aleesha into this!"  "Oh so now I'm not Habeebtee, instead I'm Halima. Just plain old Halima. Your younger sister's best friend who you married to cook for you..I'm just Halima, plain old smelly Halima who you expect to cook for you despite the fact that you prefer one of your useless friends to her." Halima isn't going to budge abd Sa'eed is getting late for work so he just goes back up, picks hie car keys, phones, wallet and everything he needs.  With one last apologetic look at Halima - which she ignores -, Sa'eed rushes out for work. Halima finally let the tears fall. After all the times they spent together, this is what her thinks of her - a mere chef. How absurd!  This is all Aleesha's fault! They juat had their first official fight and it's all her fault. Halima decides that she won't keep beef with Sa'eed. She'll ask for his permission and go to the hospita

Halima wakes up, slowly prying Sa'eed's arm off her stark naked self. She can't believe she's naked, on the floor in the parlor with her equally half naked husband. Ya Allah! Thank goodness Sa'eed used his shirt to cover her, only God knows how she would've gone upstairs today because she knows she can't stand naked to save her life. Even right now, if a gun is set to her head and she's asked to explain how she got naked, she'll definitely die as she has no idea how. It's all Sa'eed.  Dragging her huge head tie from Sa'eed's grasp, he ties at around her waist and Alhamdulillah it goes lower than her knee just a little above her ankle. She adjusts Sa'eed's shirt on her and tries to walk only for a harp pain to shoot up her middle. She's sore. She shoots Sa'eed a deathly glare and continues walking qhile wincing at intervals.  She set the bath to very hot and adds some of her chocolate-y scented bath soap. Sitting in it, a lone tear