The Avenue

Chapter 2 - Back When Everything Started To Change (part 2)

Hey okay just a quick message; this is dedicated to WetWater2 because I love that she's so perceptive and enjoying this story and also I'm sorry this is a little late (lol) and un-edited but I recently had a coupla issues in the family plus I was unable to go online so I sincerely hope this makes up for it and after this chapter the story will kick in :) ...promise :)...so hang in there lol and I promise my updates will be a lot more regular now that I’m settled :)

Thank you so much if you're reading this, even if you don't want to comment or anything just thank you :) if you've come past the past two chapters it makes me feel happy just to know you carried on so yeah :) thanks xx

Mkimi xx

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She knew and there was nothing she could do about it.

It was nearing the afternoon when Sofia and Sarah had arrived. Sofia was dressed in a deep purple, full sleeved maxi dress, designed intricately just above her ribs, along the neckline and down the back of the dress. Her grey-blue eyes and fair skin contrasting with the honey toned skin and light brown eyes of her sister Sarah.

Sarah was younger than Zabina and Sofia but she was the first of the girls to ever get married. She handed her baby boy of six months over to Malika as she turned to Zabina and started to fuss over her, her murmurings fading into background noise as Malika's eyes focused in on the little things around the room that seemed so out of place.

The broken photo frame, an old portrait of ten of the eleven cousins when they first moved into the Avenue, the way her suitcase, still open, was missing her Asian outfits and her the fact that her belongings hadn't been taken away by her soon to be husband. Wasn't the fact that she was still living at home just part of tradition? Or that's how she perceived it; she was too young to know for sure and didn't want to come across as immature to her older cousins if she asked.

But as naive as she was she knew that there was something not right but then, at the end of the day if the guy was that bad Zee would not have followed through with the wedding. She had already completely two out the four traditional ceremonies’ and this was the official one, the Baraat, that would be followed by a very formal close family only registry first thing in the morning and then the Walima in three days time.

The problem, Malika deduced, must lie within the fragile relationship 'The Godfather' shared with his three children and with Zee being the first to get married out of the three, that was understandable. She probably wanted a real relationship, a real show of affection. She knew that many of her relative envied the relationship Malika had with her parents.

What Malika could not understand though was the cold air Zee was suddenly emitting. It didn't fit. It was not just in her body language and mannerisms, but her speech and most shockingly to Malika, her eyes. Eyes so full of icy resentment, when before they had only been full of love. Eyes so cold she could even rival her father on a good day.

"God what do you think you're doing? Can't you sit still for more than five seconds? You're ruining your whole outfit, Zee." Sarah snapped, her stress-filled voice successfully bringing Malika out of her disturbing thoughts.

"You know what Sarah? I don't think the outfit is really up there with major concerns right now," Zee retaliated, her expression suddenly darker than usual and her perfectly made up face contorting in disgust as she looked at herself and then at Sarah through the full length mirror in front of her.

"I think I'll work at making sure my marriage can last, if you know what I mean." she continued, watching as Sarah's face fell, the pain of a fresh wound on her face before becoming masked in a cold aloof manner not much dissimilar to the one her older cousin held.