February 28

|15|

GARKI, ABUJA, NIGERIA.

It turned out she would just be grounded for a day. Her mother came into the room the following day when she least expected it and freed her without saying a word, returning all her gadgets and leaving the room. One thing Jaiyana noticed was the look of fright and a little sympathy in her mother's eyes when she saw the bruises she had created on her flesh. Even with that, her mother still didn't apologize or say a word, which didn't surprise Jaiyana at all. Her mother would forever be the same.

She cried out of pain while taking a bath due to the wounds and bruises on her body, and had to take some painkillers afterward to lessen the pain and soreness she was feeling. She only prayed and ate breakfast before succumbing to the beauty sleep that she had been deprived of for a day and slept from exhaustion.

It was 2 PM in the afternoon, and Jaiyana still hadn't woken up from her sleep. She had been sleeping for six hours straight. Jasmina knocked silently and came in, seeing her sister still not awake, she sighed and gently made her way to the bed before gently tapping her. The room was so cold due to the air conditioning that Jasmina started to shiver. She wondered how her sister always managed to sleep in an extremely cold room.

Staring at her sister's sleeping form, a tear escaped from Jasmina's eye. Jaiyana looked pale and tired, her dark skin showing bruises. She wore a cream lazy Sunday outfit, and Jasmina was able to see the bruises on her sister's soft velvety dark skin. She observed her face, pale and tear-streaked, with prominent redness due to crying and chapped lips. Jasmina chuckled amidst tears, her sister still managed to look beautiful despite all the torture she endured. Observing her whole frame, she realized Jaiyana had lost a lot of weight, understandably so, when dealing with an abusive mother.

Jasmina sighed and gently tapped her arm. "Ya Jay," she whispered. She had to whisper three more times before Jaiyana lazily opened her hazel eyes and set them on her sister.

"What now?" She groggily asked.

"I'm so sorry for waking you up; I had no other choice."

"A man named Captain Auwal showed up. He said he had been trying your cell phone since yesterday and couldn't reach you," Jasmina explained.

Jaiyana tried to sit up but groaned at her sore body, making her slump back into her laying position. Jasmina helped her and sat her up.

"Oh!" Jaiyana said, her mind drifting back to the handsome man she met at the tailor's shop.

"She brought back my phone in the morning, but I was too exhausted to even glance at it. Tell him I will be down shortly."

"Okay," Jasmina nodded and exited the room. Standing up with great difficulty, Jaiyana made her way to the ensuite to freshen up.

She came out shortly and prayed Zuhr before dressing herself in a simple but beautiful maxi dress to hide her bruised body. She rolled a matching veil and slipped on flip flops before limping slightly out of the room.

She met the handsome fellow outside their house, patiently waiting for her with his tall and muscular frame leaned against his 2018 Ford Edge. He felt her presence and immediately raised his head, flashing her a smile that melted her insides.

"Assalamu Alaikum," she greeted, returning the smile with a small one.

"Wa Alaikum Assalam, beautiful. How have you been?"

"Alhamdulillah, and you?"

"Great, Alhamdulillah. I've been trying to reach you, but couldn't. Had to use my supernatural powers to be here," he winked. It dawned on Jaiyana—how did he even know where she lives? She couldn't remember giving him her address.