CONTRACT MARRIAGE

16-ACCEPTANCE

OMNISCIENT

"She's the daughter of the devil who ruined our relationship, Engineer Muhammad Babangida!"

That sentence kept ringing in Maheer's head, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and several emotions clouded his mind. Soon after, his knees gave up and he slumped on the couch. Tahira thought that her attempt to provoke him was successful so she continued.

"He's the mastermind behind that incident five years ago. Don't tell me he also sent his daughter to destroy you! Why not deal with her first? And also that snobbish son of his! Their mother and grandmother are witches! They killed my uncle and stole all of his money and property and registered it as theirs..." She was about to continue when Maheer muttered a sentence that rendered not only Tahira but also Sumaira speechless.

"You... You're Aarif sister?" He ignored Tahira and turned to Sumaira who kept opening her mouth and closing it, unable to utter a single word. A series of emotions flashed through her eyes but she soon blinked and just like that, they disappeared. Before anyone could speak, the continuous buzz of Sumaira's phone jolted them out of their reverie.

The said girl quickly pulled out her phone from her bag and when she saw the caller ID, her heart started palpitating wildly against her ribcage. A part of her knew it wouldn't do her good to accept it but the call came at the perfect time. With trembling hands, she answered the call and mistakenly put it on speaker. However, it was too late as the man's grave voice came through.

"Aira, hurry to Mom's hospital. I just heard from Anty H that Mom has been hospitalised and that man forbade anyone from informing us. He confiscated their phones but fortunately, Anty H managed to retrieve hers by going against him," Aarif reported.

"What?"

Sumaira slumped to her knees. One could've thought that the sound came from her but rather, it was a sonorous voice that further shocked her. The girl couldn't bring herself to reply, she felt as though she got hit by a colossal truck that desensitized her entire hormonal and nervous systems, making her inactive.

"Whose voice is that, Aira? Have you met with him?" Aarif was very sure he heard his best friend's voice, something he could recognize even in a dream. He thought Sumaira erroneously crossed paths with Maheer while he was searching for her husband to silence him for good.

"Who's he? I'm at a cafe right now so you must've heard wrong. I'll go check up on Mom, bye," She ended the call without waiting for his reply. Sumaira closed her eyes for what felt like forever. When she opened them, the venomous glint with which she looked at Tahira had the woman recoiling. She quickly retreated to Maheer's side, obviously afraid of the murderous look of the girl.

"She is a witch! Send her out, Maheer," Tahira frantically spoke.

"A witch?" He released a chuckle, the sound reverberating through every wall in the living room. At that moment, Tahira shivered due to the chilliness she felt around her. Her whole body shook with trepidation as she looked at the man she once thought she knew. She retreated a few steps back and knelt.

With a toe-curling smile playing on his lips, he stood up and walked to where Sumaira was emotionlessly sprawled. No warning or even something like that was heard, before the girl could process it, she felt a tingling sensation that forced her to pry her lips open as his moist red lips came in contact with her subtle pink ones.