MAKESHIFT HUSBAND (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I feel the ending is a bit rushed. Do you guys feel the same? I will come back to make some edits in sha Allah.  Enjoy!

As soon as Zainab got a considerable distance away from the restaurant, she flagged down a taxi and told him to drive her to the bank.

At first, she was shocked by the queue in access bank, eager to get away but then decided being on her feet for a while would clear her head and give her enough time to heal.

Declining a man's offer to jump the line, she settled in behind a young lady who was texting away on her phone, the smile on her face so bright that it hurt.

Zainab closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Ameer was awake and quiet, perhaps even he had sensed his mother's downcast mood and busier himself with playing with the stones on her hijab.

As much as she wanted to run, Zainab knew she couldn't. Where would she go to if she ran? Running wouldn't change the truth of things.

Kamal wouldn't turn unmarried, the other woman wouldn't disappear and neither would the child she was carrying.

Zainab sniffed and faced the sky, blinking rapidly to push back the tears that threatened to spill.

She was angry. Angry at herself for believing Kamal and not trusting him at the same thing.

She believed that he was truly a makeshift husband but didn't trust him enough to keep to his word.

She understood now that some of her actions had pushed him away.

By the time Zainab made it to the atm, she had come to a decision and determined, she made her way home.

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"Divorce you?"

For the second time in one day, Alhaji and Kamal said the same words at the same time.

Kamal quickly stood up and went to her. He stretched his hand to pull her to him but she took a step back.

A very small step but in Kamal's heart, it was a giant leap.  Zainab was walking away from him.

As if on cue, Ameer woke and rubbed his eye with a little fist. When he noticed his dad, his face lit up and his lips split in a wide smile.

He stretched towards his father, bubbly and bouncy.

Kamal's heart softened as he took the boy in his embrace. A part of him that had been raging calmed down instantly.

"Zainab" he started. "We need to talk"

"There's nothing to talk about. I want a divorce and that's that"

"Kina hauka ne?" Alhaji thundered, standing from where he was sitting. "Are you crazy Zainab?"

Hajiya bintu and husna came into the living room, attracted by Alhaji's roar.

"Alhaji what ha..." her voice faltered as her gaze rested on zainab.

"Auta"

Hajiya bintu gave Zainab no time before sweeping her in her arms for a tight hug. She let go of her and searched her from head to toe for any signs of injuries.

"Mama I'm fine. I just needed to take a few hours to clear my head" Zainab lowered her head. "I'm sorry"

Though she was talking to hajiya bintu, she seemed to be directing her words to husna who remained at the side.

Husna clenched and unclenched her fists, her eyes pooling with tears she was holding back with sheer resolve.

With her head hanging low, Zainab couldn't bring herself to look at her sister as she shuffled towards her.

She held her ears in apology like she used to do when they were kids.

Alhaji tapped his foot in an unsteady rhythm, waiting for his females to be done with their tear story.

"Ke Zainab zo" he called and husna released her.

One look from their father and she walked away, leaving the couple and their parents in the leaving room.

"What were you saying about a divorce earlier Zainab? I am your father and I supported against your mother's will in the past. Are you trying to throw some sand in my eyes?"

Zainab lowered her eyes but her chin remained high and her face straight in a determined manner.

Kamal recognised that look and stepped in.

"I am not divorcing you"

"Then I will take you to court"

Hajiya bintu cleared her throat. She could see Alhaji's anger was building up at his daughter's stubbornness.

"Auta. You already have a son with this man and you want to leave him simply because he has married another woman? Polygamy is sunnah and Kamal can very well take care of the two of you comfortably. You don't even see her so what exactly is your problem? Will you go against the Lord?"

"I know I have a son with him mama" for the first time since she returned, she looked at him in the face and uttered each word carefully.

"I am divorcing him because I can no longer trust him."

Silence descended on the  room, each person to their thoughts. Alhaji folded his arms and stared at Zainab thoughtfully.

Hajiya bintu gave a rueful laughter and cast a side glance at Alhaji.

"There are few couples who are still together with trust. You have always been a brilliant girl except when it comes to the man you love;then you're a bumbling idiot. If women were to divorce their men simply because they can't trust them, then I fear the world would be filled with divorcees. A man's heart isn't your mother's heart. It won't stretch to all extent for you, it won't exert itself for you. Auta you can't leave your home simply because you don't trust your husband. In this world we live in, your husband is your identity"

"And your son? Are you prepared to give him up or raise him all alone?" Alhaji chipped in. "What will you him when he asks about his father?"

Kamal tightened his hold on Ameer feeling as if the boy was his last lifeline which in a way, he was.

"Alhaji, Hajiya. I'd like to speak with Zainab alone for 5 minutes if you please."

Alhaji got up almost immediately, eager for the young people to resolve their issues. He didn't like prying and poking his nose into his daughter's marital lives and tried as much as he could to stay away.

Hajiya bintu excused them a bit reluctantly, throwing untrusting looks at Kamal every now and then.

"My dear" he called as soon as they were alone.

"I still want a divorce and I'm not changing my mind."