Affianced By Force

CHAPTER THIRTY - SIX - Okay, But I am Coming With You.

That night, after the day’s events, Umamah and Mayeesha sat in the living room, playing a game of chess. Umamah was shocked to discover that Mayeesha was quite skilled at the game.

“That’s the queen,” Mayeesha exclaimed with excitement as she made her move. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Umamah was taken aback, and they exchanged words, their chess game turning into a chess challenge. Umamah said something, and Mayeesha responded with equal wit. They played on, and just when Umamah was close to winning with her final move, she glanced at Mayeesha who nearly sulked, so she deliberately refrained from making that move, and instead made a wrong one.  Mayeesha couldn’t believe her luck. Quickly, she moved her hand swiftly and exclaimed, “Checkmate!”

As Mayeesha shouted with glee, Faisal walked into the room, having just finished showering. He watched the two of them and shook his head, wondering if Umamah would ever have time for him with Mayeesha’s presence in the house. He observed them for a while in the living room, noticing Umamah looking like she was sulking. “You only won at the last minute,” she complained.

Faisal watched their interaction and interrupted, saying, “That’s enough, everyone. Let’s have dinner.”

Mayeesha assured Umamah, “Don’t worry, I’ll let you win the next one,” and then, excitedly, she headed to the dining area for dinner. As Umamah smiled and tried to join her, Faisal pulled her back into the living room.
He had worry lines across his face as Umamah asked, “What is it, Faisal?”

Faisal sighed knowing  it was inevitable “You know, Mayeesha will have to go back to her mother soon.”

Umamah’s eyes darted to the dinning area and the girl who was pulling out her chair to sit, and then she turned back to her husband, skeptical and worried. “But she hasn’t even come for her since she dumped her here without as much as a word. Who does that to a child?”

Faisal sighed and replied, “Even so we’ll still have to return Mayeesha to her. The girl must have school to return to. And I am working on custody. I can’t have her have a reason to fight back.”

Umamah’s skepticism increased. She looked at the dining area again where Mayeesha was already seated quietly, waiting for the two of them. Then she looked back at Faisal. "I don't know if... This doesn't feel right," she would say. "I mean, she just dropped her daughter and hasn't even reached out to you or me or anybody. Does she even know what's happening here? What if I'm some wicked stepmother who's treating the girl real badly?”

Faisal raised a brow. “I thought we already established that Rasheeda is not okay"

"All we need to do is return Mayeesha to her," Umamah said

"Exactly," Faisal would agree. "The more reason I'm scared. You just admitted that she is not okay. How do we return Mayeesha to her in then?"

Faisal placed both hands on either side of Umamah's face, pulling her close to him. "Listen, we will get Mayeesha, I promise, In shaa Allah, but we must go through the legal means."

"What is illegal about this?" Umamah asked.  "You didn't go to steal her or kidnap her. She dropped Mayeesha by your doorstep. If anything, that alone should entitle her to losing custody of Mayeesha."

Faisal thought for a while that Umamah was right, partially. But then, they would have a court faceoff for something like that before the court could make such a declaration. "Okay, let's do this” he declared. “It's Saturday tomorrow. In shaa Allah, I'll go over to her house."

Instead of saying, "Let's go over to her house," Faisal said, "I'll go over to her house." Before he could finish, Umamah  interrupted in a slightly raised tone. "You're going nowhere."