My Schizophrenic Husband

Chapter Twenty Six

Everything began to move rapidly and within a week, they had secured a nearby apartment for Aliyah and she was treated like she had been in their lives all along.

Faiza trusted her so much, she told her everything that bothered her, the good things about her husband, her workplace, her childhood story; till she made the mistake of informing Aliyah that she was married to Farooq for seven years and her infertility caused their childlessness.

How naive she'd been.

Aliyah originally thought nothing of it but as the months went by, and she spent lots of time with them and she saw other families providing grandchildren for them, she began to crave a grandchild too, forgetting the immeasurable good Faiza did for her, and the kind of trust she had for her to tell her the thing that hurt her the most.

Yet, Faiza being the clueless one, still trusted her wholeheartedly and did everything she could to please her.

She asked her a couple months prior if Aliyah was truly Jamaican to which she laughed and shook her head as Faiza narrated the story of how she planned a full outing on the Jamaican national day.

"We're actually Nigerian, aren't you a Nigerian too?" Aliyah asked and Faiza shook her head and she made a mental note to learn how to make Nigerian dishes to impress Aliyah.

But unknown to her, Aliyah started to have a weird feeling in her heart.

Assuming her child married a Nigerian woman, she was sure there'd be at least ten children running around their apartment to call her grandma.

Six months after the reunion, Aliyah's bond with her son was unbreakable, he became a mummy's boy and he took his mother's advice and opinion on everything until it got between his relationship with his wife.

The power in Aliyah's hands considering how highly both Farooq and Faiza held her gave her the ability to react the way she did.

And she started with hints, occasionally taunting with her son's thinking and view of his wife by saying, "Farooq, why don't you have children?"

"Don't you want to have kids? I know a nice girl you can get married to,"

"If you're scared of your wife, then you don't have to tell her you're getting married, it'll be between you and I,"

Farooq was torn, he knew mothers weren't people to lead one astray, yet only he knows what his wife meant to him and how much she'd sacrificed for him.

And everytime his mother would hint at getting a second wife, he'd just wave her off thinking she'd back off after a while.

But she didn't, instead she even started to torment his wife slowly and it caused a dent in his relationship with his wife and made then argue constantly.

He wouldn't even be able to look her in her eyes, Faiza's face was always stained with tears and his mother would always be in their house, making sure she did everything to frustrate Faiza.

Faiza felt broken and betrayed at the behavior of her mother-in-law.

Is it the way she helped their reunion Aliyah forgot?
Or the apology Faiza made on behalf of her son?
Or the trust Faiza had for her?
Or the way she treated her and took her like her own mother.

Now, Faiza was singled out and treated like she was the odd one out, like she was a maid instead of a wife.

She would continue to try to please her mother-in-law but it all for nothing, if anything, Aliyah only hated her more.

Rose was Faiza's support at that point, she would run to her after work and cry out her heart, she would even stay at Rose's house till late in the evening before she returns home because she wouldn't know what to expect once she got home.

Faiza wiped her face quickly then got out of her car, she took very slow steps towards the front door and anxiously opened the door, she met her husband seated on the couch and he furious.

He turned his head towards her direction and frowned at her, she gulped as she stood in her spot scared of what he would say.

"Where are you coming from?" He asked angrily and she opened her mouth to talk.

"I'm coming from work," she replied meekly and he got angrier.

"By this time? Don't you leave your workplace by 6pm?" He questioned and her heart hammered hard against her chest.

"No... Yes... Um -I mean," she fearfully dropped her bag and she stepped back as he approached her.

"Where did you go? Huh? Seeing other men behind my back?" He asked and she gasped.

"Why would you say that?" She shouted at him.

"Oh am I wrong? If you were a responsible woman, wouldn't you know you'd have to come home to cook for your husband?" He asked.

"But Farooq, this isn't the first time I'd come in late, I went to Rose's house," she said as she made fists with her hands.

"I don't care, I didn't marry you so that you'll go to your friend's house every day, just because you don't have kids doesn't mean you should be totally useless," he said and her jaw dropped in bewilderment, tears started to rush down her cheeks effortlessly as she stared at her husband's retreating figure.

She stood in her spot heartbroken and confused then she saw Aliyah walk out of the kitchen with a smug look on her face.

She pretended like she didn't hear their loud argument, she even acted like she didn't see Faiza standing and drenched in tears. She faced her son, placed the food on the table and sat before him with a wide smile.

"I've told you before that you deserve better, my son needs a wife that would actually provide kids, not a person whose only use is to be a source of five minutes pleasure." Aliyah said as she put a spoonful of food in her mouth.

Faiza bursted into a tears again, and she grabbed her bag from the floor and rushed into her room before she would hear anymore depressive words.

From that day onward, Aliyah shamelessly brought different women as suitors for Farooq.

Faiza wasn't angry at Aliyah's concern for her son, all she wanted was for Aliyah to go about it the right way. Faiza herself was more concerned about her infertility when her mother-in-law came around because she knew Aliyah would question it.

She only wished Aliyah would have considered Faiza her own daughter as well and even if she would bring in a second wife, she'd talk to Faiza like a nother and explain her reasons.

After that night, Faiza left home earlier than she usually did and came back home later than she usually did, and although she would be insulted by her husband and taunted by her mother-in-law; the fact that she didn't see them most of the time gave her a little bit of peace.

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©Aisha A.
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