This chapter is for you guys ...thank you !

Simran put to bed a bouncing baby boy and he was named Abubakar Sadik , our joy knew no bounds and I secretly hope that simran will grow up and start behaving like a mother not the crazy psychopath. Her labour was as exactly as I had imagined and worst , she kept cussing , calling Ameer all sorts of names, telling him she hates him and what not .Taseer was rattled, pleading with me not behave like simran , I smiled at him shaking my head,saying I have no control over such issues he should just make himself scarce when the time comes ." I will not abandon you ,I will be right there with you even if you're going to kill me " that melts my heart and I awwed at him .

Lantana had to come back since am approaching my EDD and Ammy is afraid that I might start labour when Taseer is not at home and now that am too heavy am finding it hard to work around the house , so having lantana around is a blessing to me .

" Hajia am done with the work any other thing ?" She asked I was slouched on the dinning table hunger pangs making me uncomfortable waiting for her to bring the food .

" No just go and rest , please serve me am exhausted " just then Taseer came into the house with his signature smile gracing his lips ." Welcome home zawjee " I said smiling back at him ,lantana greeted him and scurried to the kitchen .

" I see that you're tired, hope everything is okay with you " he asked dropping his bag and unbuttoning the first three buttons of his shirt .

" Yeah ,just hungry now that you're here, we should eat together, I miss you " he sat beside me , brought out the cutleries and fed me without saying anything, from his expression ,the way his brow creases I know that something is wrong. Considering the fact that he didn't even call to tell me that he's coming home early .

" what's wrong Noory " I asked

" You won't believe what happened today, but promise me that you're not going to get angry if I tell you " I nodded and he continued .

" I was in the office earlier when some men came into my office ,telling me all sorts of nonsense, that you have me wrapped around Your fingers , you've bewitched me blah blah blah, when I asked from where they are coming from ,they told me modibbo sent them to me that he's angry at me for treating him badly when he came and not bothering to come and apologise that I have to go see him before he marry me off to the girl of his choice .Can you believe it ?and then I send them away saying I will go and meet modibbo in shaa Allah , I told Al amin and the idiot was laughing at me I just have to come home and see you ,I'm going through a lot of pressures lately and this old man wants to add to my list " he ruffled his hair in agitation.

" Be patient dear, I know you're but add more to it, it will come to pass in shaa Allah , now call Hajia and tell her to go and meet modibbo maybe he will reason with her " his eyes lit up and he high fived me saying it's a good idea.The moment he told Hajia she told him that she will be on her way since she planned on going to see her parents, she will just leave today before he did something we will regret.

" now that you're home ,what should we do? "

" let us just sleep Hayatee, I might go crazy thinking of the worst scenario that will happen " he picked me up and we prayed asr before going to bed .We didn't wake up till past 9pm .Taseer rubbed his eyes and I glared at him " What have I done kuma ?" He asked innocently .

" It was your fault that we slept this much now see what you've caused "

"Relax babe Allah will not punish us for it now get up let's pray " we prayed maghrib and ishaa, I made an attempt to get up and look for what we will eat for dinner knowing that lantana didn't cook anything cuz I didn't tell her to before going to sleep .

" where do you think you're going to ?" Taseer asked looking up from his phone ,he was typing a message to only God knows who .

" dinner Noory "

"I've already made an order just wait ,the food will be here soon "

" awwn aren't you a sweetheart? " I cooed removing the hijab I wore .

" I need a bath " I stated .

" Lemme help you then "

" No, I can manage "

"But I want to and I've miss doing that lately " I have to oblige and Taser smirked evilly at me . Dinner was brought after we finished bathing or lemme say playing with water and wearing a fresh set of PJ's Taseer fed me and we cuddled to watch everything everything a movie based on a debut bestseller by Nicola Yoon.

" I am craving milkshake "

" Thank God we have it in the freezer "

" Not that one , I want the one specially made by you with a pinch of love in it "

" You'll be the death of me , always making me make things for you at midnight using your pregnancy to blackmail me , what kind of a wife are you sweetheart ?" he asked with amusement.

" I'm the kind of wife that loves her hubby so much she can die for him and the kind of wife that want to spend forever with him "

" let's go the kitchen is creepy without having you around ,saura kimin juju ki tafi ki barni "

" That's a promise hunny "

" Sorry , I take back my words " we laughed at the same time and ambulated to the kitchen holding hands.

I sat on the island looking at Taseer ,giving him orders while he kept grumbling .

" Here " he passed a mug filled with milkshake .

" What about you ? "

" When did we stop sharing cups " he asked arms akimbo with a deathly expression

" My baby , ana asif, come and take a sip " we drank to our fill before washing the used plates and cups in companionable silence.

" Are you sleepy ?"

" Nope what about you "

" Same,let's recite some hizb of the Qur'an then ,it has been long since we do it together "

" Alright, let's do it "

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Hajia didn't take it easy on modibbo considering what he has done to them years back , she told him that she won't let him make her son's life miserable as he had made hers and that of late Abba so he either back off or she will do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening , she went to the prospective brides's home and informed her parents that her son is not interested and if they give their daughter off it's as good as they have given her out to a ghost. They showed her the gifts modibbo used to bring in the guise that it's from Taseer, she told them the truth and left feeling proud that she stood for her son , I am proud of her too like I felt like giving her a bone crushing hug and a high five, she made me love her more if that is even possible .The way some people think is so absurd.

" Hajia has always been both my father and mother and I am so proud of the strong woman my momma is " Taseer said while massaging my swollen and aching legs.

" Alhamdulillah for the gift of parents like Hajia , I thought she is going to beg him fah not knowing that she will rain down hell on him "

" He deserves it, the thing that annoy me most is the gifts he used to send , so all the money I've been sending for his upkeep he's using to ruin my life "

"In his defence he's using it to make you more of a man than the type wrapped around the fingers of one woman " I winked.

" I wonder what he's going to say , if he see us like this , maybe he will call malams to pray for me" we cracked up laughing so hard .

" Am done mi lady now is my turn " .

" Aswear am tired hun, but what to do ?I have to, come and sit here " I patted a space beside me .He sat and put his head on my laps and I massaged his curls with coconut oil .

" I miss you doing this in the hospital " He sighed .

" You have no idea, I wish we can turn back time and spend more days there ,the difference should be that you're hale and hearty "

" Remember the time you kissed me under the moonlight in the balcony "

" Remember the time we played with cake and made a mess and the cleaners expression " I said .

" Ahh I can still hear her screams, that woman has a loud voice " he squeezed his face .He started tracing lines on my face while I closed my eyes ,enjoying the warmth of his touch .

" I love you "he said huskily .

" I love you too ,more than life itself " I whispered

" Allah ya saukeki lafiya " he said putting his head directly to my tummy and just then the baby kicked ,it wasn't the first time so we laughed it off saying that even the little unborn cutie knows that momma and dadda are so much in love .

I called simran a while later to check up on Sadiq and the poor thing burst into tears .

" ha'an what is it ,don't tell me you're crying because Abu won't stop crying ,I can't hear any sound apart from your sniffs "

" This baby will be the end of me manalie , I just managed to put him to sleep, he has been wailing endlessly and I don't know what to do, I didn't even sleep a wink yesterday and now this , Ameer should come and carry his son aswear he will make me go crazy if care is not taken " the way she's explaining as if it's the worst predicament made me laugh out loud to her annoyance ." For Allah's sake chill simran ,maybe something is wrong with him and that's exactly the way Mama battled with you , Jiddah had warned you didn't she ?so welcome to the club " I said in between laughter .

" God will punish you Manal, dadin abun kema koh yau ko gobe, then I will laugh till I laugh tire "

" oho dai ,Ammy said I was a good baby and it's kama tudinu tudan " She hissed and cut the call making me laugh more.

I was at home in the living room sipping tea when I felt a dull ache in my abdomen , I tried to ignore it but before I knew it ,it escalated and I didn't know when I shouted for Ammy .I heard her faintly when she was calling for the driver ,and Taseer came in just in time to pick me up repeating prayers I can't decipher .I was in so much pain while Ammy kept saying Sannu and repeating du'as the only thing I was able to wail is la'ilaha illallahu muhammadur rasulillah inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. It was that time that I value Ammy most, so this is what she went through while bringing me into this world ? I was wheeled into the emergency with Taseer and Ammy following closely behind .

Those two hours in the waiting room were the worst hours of my life ,darn the stupid hospital policy I wasn't allowed to go into the delivery room with Manal, I promised to be with her and right in front of her they made me break that promise , It was Allah's will that we managed to arrive the hospital on time and safely, I wasn't even thinking well ,all I can think and concentrate on is her cries for help .

" Muntaseer, take a seat ,in shaa Allah all will be well " Ammy said even though I can see right through her she's also nervous .

Hajia rushed in trailing behind her was Aminah followed by Abby.

" How's she ?" They asked in unison and Ammy shrugged saying we don't know anything yet .I kept praying inwardly , asking Allah azza wa jaal to grant her safe delivery ,to keep them both cuz by Allah I can't bear to loose any of them .After what seemed like forever ,the Dr came out removing his gloves with a smile gracing his lips .Congratulations It's a boy ,you can go in after the nurses clean them up . I bowed down in sujood unable to hide my excitement, sweet tears of gratitude trailed down my cheeks , Abby, Ammy , Hajia and Aminah all said Alhamdulillah congratulating me and each other , I felt like barging into the room, I just want to see the best gift and the woman who gave birth to it . The nurse came out smiling and before she opened her mouth to say anything ,I barged into the room while the elders waited outside maybe to give us some privacy , whatever it is. I don't care I just have to see them then I will feel shy later .

I saw the most beautiful sight in front of me , Manal holding our baby ,looking at the little bundle of blessings with awe and so much love which made something swell in my heart, I can swear that it is the happiest moment in my life .

" Assalamu Alaikum umm-muhammad " I greeted with a smile.

" Wa'alaikassalam Abu- Muhammad " she answered weakly .

" Thank you ,Thank you so much Manal for this gift ,may Allah grant you with a home in jannah, you make me the happiest, Allah albarkaci rayuwan Muhammad and ya bamu ikon bashi tarbiyyah in accordance with the teachings of Islam " I said taking the fragile little champ from her arms .She said Amin inaudibly maybe it's the drugs that are taking a toll on her or the exhaustion. I went out with the baby in my arms and Abby gave me the dates and zam zam. I did the khutbah according to the dictates of Islam and passed the baby to them. All of them awwing and cooing at how cute the baby is, Hajia cried thanking Allah over and over again .

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