Newfound Destination

~ 31 ~

Mustapha's POV

I knocked on the front door and the door is opened by Yusuf.

I smiled down at the boy which he gladly returned as he threw his arms around my waist.

I lifted him off the ground and played with him for a while before asking my question.

I asked him, "Okay now I need to know, where is Karimah, your sister?"

The reply he gave me made my heart sink, "Ya Karimah is at the hospital."

"W-what? How?" I asked in shock.

"She got in a car accident some days ago but she's getting better now and I'm happy." He responded.

I managed to smile at him before dropping him.

I then squatted down to his level, "Yusuf, do you know the name of the hos-"

The voice of a woman called out, "Yusufa! Where are you?! This boy-"

She trailed off as she spotted her son standing next to me.

The middle-aged woman looked just like Karimah. No surprise she was her mother.

"Ina wuni, Mama." I greeted her still squatting down.

"Lafiya. Who-"

"His name is Ya Mustapha! He's Ya Karimah's friend from work!" Yusuf chirped.

A smile appeared on her face, "Oh, please come in."

I nodded and rose up before walking into the house.

She served me with a drink and permitted me to sit down.

I got seated, "My name is Mustapha Sani. I'm actually Karimah's boss from work. She worked for me as my secretary."

"Oh, she worked?" She questioned.

I nodded, "Unfortunately, she resigned a few days ago. According to her, she needed to focus more on her studies."

Her mother nodded with squinted eyes before she smiled, "Pardon my daughter. That must have caused some damage."

Damage to my heart, if that's what you mean.

I shook my head, "Not at all. I completely understood her reason and it was a pleasure having her work for me while she did."

"I thank Allah for giving my daughter such a kind man as a boss. You're very good-looking too." She pointed out.

I felt my heart swell with joy. I liked her mother already. This charm must be in their genes.

I smiled proudly, "Thank you, Mama. You're just as beautiful as your daughter too."

Oops...

"Oh, you think my daughter is beautiful?" She smirked.

I cleared my throat, "Only a blind man would deny that."

I just had to be honest with the woman.

She chuckled, "Please, don't make me smile too much. My cheeks would hurt."

"I apologize." I played along.

We both laughed and then there was a moment of silence.

Then I brought up another topic, "I heard that Karimah was involved in a car accident. I'm so sorry to hear that. Please, how is she doing?"

There was a hint of sadness behind her smile. She sighed, "She's getting better. The doctor says she would discharged in a few days."

"Oh, then MashaAllah. I would like to visit her, just to see how she's doing. Can you tell me which hospital she got admitted to?" I asked her politely.

"Oh, how caring! You are a very nice man, Mustapha. Of course I'll tell you the name, It's Nizamiye hospital. Are you familiar with it or do you need more details for directions?"

I shook my head and stood up, "Thank you very much for inviting me in, Mama. I'll be sure to visit another time."

"Oh well, you're welcome. Thanks for visiting. It was a pleasure meeting you." She smiled.

I smiled back, "It was a pleasure meeting you as well, Mama. Until next time."

She nodded and I walked out of their living room.

I walked out the front door to find Yusuf playing with his toys in the compound.

I waved at him as a goodbye but he ran over to me and hugged me once again. I patted his head.

"I'll see you again soon, my boy." I told him as he let go.

He waved at me as I walked back to my car and got inside.

On my way to the hospital, I couldn't shake off the confusion I was feeling as to why she blocked my number.

Maybe someone had her phone? But why would anyone do that?

I asked to see her as I arrived at the hospital and I was led to her hospital room.

Surprisingly, she was wide awake but she still had her neck support on and her left leg was still bandaged.

She couldn't turn her head to look at me but she did notice someone came into the room.

She asked, "Who's there? Khalil? Is that you?"

Khalil?

"No? It's me, Mustapha. Who's Kha-"

I was cut off by the sound of the door opening. I turned to see who it was and to my confirmation, it was the Khalil Mahmood I knew.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" He barked at me.

"I'd like to ask you the same." I said smirking, though I was not so happy at the moment.

"Khalil, Mustapha..." Karimah's quiet voice spoke.

I turned to her and saw sitting up.

She tried to turn her body to us but couldn't, she grunted in pain and laid back down.

I rushed to her but just as I did, Khalil made a quick move too.

I immediately understood the whole thing.

I wasn't letting it work, not this time.

"Khalil, back off." I hissed spitefully as I tried to block him from getting any closer to the bed.

"Who do you think you are to tell me to back off? You better back off now before I lose it. I don't want Karimah seeing the ugly side of me." He spat.

I tsked, "Oh but you're already showing it, look at you being all possessive and crazy. She's probably had enough of you."

He clutched the collar of my shirt harshly and looked me straight in the eyes, "I'm trying to protect her from you. You killed my first love but I'm not letting you come close to the next one."

"Oh no, I didn't kill Faridah. You killed her. She commited suicide because she was fed up with your sick obsession!" I yelled in his face.

"Wasn't it actually the other way round? Weren't you the one who stalked her like it was your duty? You wouldn't let her be! And that's what led to her death! Leave Karimah alone!" He shot back.

"You-"

"Both of you...Get out of my room." Karimah's gentle voice cut me off.

I looked at her with a pained expression, "You don't-"

"Yes I do! I want the both of you to stay away from me! Get out!" She yelled.

I didn't want her to waste any more of her energy speaking to me so I quietly walked out of the room and Khalil followed behind me.

I watched him walk past me with nothing but hate in my heart.

I wanted to crush him so bad. I needed to get him away from my Karimah and the best way to do that was to end him.