THE NARCISSIST'S WIFE

Chapter Eleven: Weirdo

"Zahra!" He called out.

Zahra was a good sign.

"Na'am." She answered from
behind the curtains and walked in.

"Zahra, what's going on?"

"I saw the pictures and I don't like her, so I tore them!" she answered flatly.

He made towards the couch and sat at the same place Zahra sat when she tore the pictures.

"Come closer," he commanded.
She wobbled to him.

"Don't you like me too?" he questioned, looking puzzled.

Zahra shrugged. I sure don't like the you in this picture. She thought, not daring to say it out loud. She detested how Sharif held the girl tightly by the waist in most of the pictures.

"But you had to cut my head. Come on, Habibty! Come on!" He laughed.

She couldn't believe it. Was he just going to joke about it like it never happened?
"I'm sorry I cut your head," she said, feeling better about the whole thing.

"You see," he began, "She is Toutou. Her cousin introduced her to me some time back, but it didn't work out. These pictures were snapped when we met during Hamza's wedding. You know, Safeena's husband. You still remember them, right?" She nodded but she wasn't sure if she did.

She knew where this was heading. She detested the feelings he left her with after relating the stories of his gorgeous women.

"Hmmm," Zahra, whose chin was cupped in both hands, listened attentively, already too grateful that her daring act did not backfire. So, even though she wanted to ask what the pictures were doing there, she stilled herself.
Earlier, when she had returned to cleaning, she had wanted to strangle the girl in the picture, to send insulting messages to her through his phone... She very much wanted to do things that weren't like her.

"She got married in Mali. Yes, she is from Mali, and she even has a baby now." Her husband was saying.

Zahra was still silent.

"Hamza actually hooked us up. Everybody hoped that it would work out. Perhaps because of her beauty... Well, I don't know, but she was too dumb for my liking. I like intelligent women," He paused and smiled. "But she is nothing like you." He ran his hand across her face, "Truth is, I've never loved anyone the way I love you. I've never felt so lucky in my life."
Zahra smiled.

"You know, there are plenty of them, a lot of them Zahra. You will never understand. I even wanted to marry an Igbo woman, but my mom forbade it." He let out a shrill laughter.

"You should have seen the shock on her face when I broke the news to her. And luckily for me, she decided to hook me up with you, hoping that she will save me. Well, I think she did. Very well.

I initially refused to marry you, but after I was forced to take a glance at your picture, I was left breathless. Those eyes and those deep dimples are what drove me crazy. And then to make it more interesting, when I met you in person, I just realized how not photogenic you are because you are more beautiful in person." He chuckled.

The most important thing now is that I can't believe that I wake up every morning seeing you sleep peacefully beside me. Alhamdulillah for marriage.

In my mother's heart, you'll always be my savior. Maybe in mine too. He said, stood up and hugged her from behind, kissing her neck.
Come, let's see some movies on my laptop. This is merlin. It's a new series. I think I would like us to watch it together." That was the time she noticed the CD plate on their center table.
She was not allowed to touch the TV in his absence. Nobody did.

"Before that, I have some good news for you; feel free to destroy this. I want to be free from them too," he smiled, nodding at the torn pictures.

Zahra returned his smile, picked up the remains of the picture and dumped them angrily in the bin.

This ended well, but the next time she tried something like that, she regretted it for the rest of her life...