HUSNA

Chapter47

Behind every successful man is a proud wife and a surprised mother-in-law.

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VICTORIA ISLAND 1004 ESTATE, LAGOS
"Hey, sleepyhead! Wake up  we've arrived," Faiza announced, turning to Husna, who was fast asleep in her aunt's arms.

Her aunt tapped her lightly. "Husna, wake up."

She  forced her eyes open, blinking away the fogginess. "Aunts, we've arrived already?" she asked, visibly startled. "That was fast."

Adda Jamila scoffed lightly. "Fast? You slept like someone in a coma."

"Wallahi, even if they honked inside your ear, you wouldn't know," Faiza added, laughing. She still remembered the scene Husna made at the airport, crying that she didn't want to board the plane. In the end, they had slipped a sleeping pill into her bottled water.

Husna shot Faiza a murderous glare, but before she could say anything, her aunts adjusted the hood of her alkyabba back over her face and helped her out of the car.

One aunt held her left arm, another held her right, escorting her carefully to the entrance.

They entered the building and took the elevator to the fourth floor. Husna's heartbeat quickened with every upward motion, nerves tightening her throat.

She had been instructed in advance: Right foot first. So when they reached the apartment door, she inhaled deeply, whispered Bismillah, and stepped inside with her right foot.

Inside the parlour, the room was filled with Hameed's relatives  aunties in rich lace, elderly women seated on prayer mats, and a few Relatives conversing quietly on the other side.

Pleasantries were exchanged softly.

She  lowered herself to sit on the carpeted floor, and one of the elderly women immediately supported her elbow so she wouldn't topple as the heavy alkyabba restricted her movement.

She kept her head bowed, hands trembling slightly inside her lap.

A new reality  and her husband's family surrounded her now.

A middle-aged woman, dressed in a stunning peach lace gown embellished with silver florals and intricate stones, walked gracefully into the room.

She  recognized her instantly  that is his mother. She had only seen her twice in pictures, yet now, face to face, she looked even more dignified.

Her makeup was soft and elegant, her movements calculated and calm. Gold jewelry glittered across her ears, her neck, and both wrists  a quiet display of class.

Hameed doesn't resemble his mother, she  thought, studying her features from under her lowered hood. But maybe he got her eyes...

Despite the warm reception from the rest of the family, she  felt a flicker of nervousness coil inside her chest at the sight of her mother-in-law. This woman would play a defining role in her new life.

Her  aunt cleared her throat and spoke respectfully:
"Gatanan mun kawo ta amana," she said softly, placing a gentle hand on Husna's shoulder.