Chapter Sixteen

Her veil slided off her head leaving her hair exposed and her slender fingers went up and dragged it back to her hair. She was beautiful, very much so and it irked Sabeerah to lengths.

Her smile was innocent and it displayed a fitting dimple and a perfect set of teeth, it was as if the sun focused on her skin leaving her melanin to glow. Her father said something that made her to laugh harder and Sabeerah knew her laugh would sound good and musical but still, she wished the lady would sound like a goat.

Islam Lawal, that was her name, her father's latest girlfriend and apparently his soon to be wife. A close friend of Islam's who was a cousin to Umama had revealed to her that Alhaji AbdulMalik of Shar'ib had asked Islam to be his second wife but everything was to be kept a secret for now, Umama had promised her cousin to keep the secret but she'd had to tell Sabeerah because what in Allah's name was happening?

Sabeerah had been shocked by the news, over the years he'd had numerous girlfriends but her mother had remained his only wife and whatever Haram relationships he was commiting with the ladies, his reward remained with Allah she didn't care. Now he was going to take on a second wife and she wanted to know why, Why now? Why her?

Matt had gotten her Islam's house address and she'd driven to the estate in his tinted car, she parked the car opposite Islam's apartment where she'd seen her father, escorted by his beloved Islam had walked out of her apartment and the rest of the scene that followed through. Sabeerah's phone was blaring with calls and texts from the office as she'd missed two important meetings because of this.

After the shock had passed, outrage came next. How dare her father do this to her Umma? She couldn't change his cheating habits but she could shield her mother from finding out, she could keep leaving in blissful ignorance as long as it made her exceptionally happy. A lot of people had agreed that polygyny was permitted by Allah but Sabeerah refused to fully accept that.

The Qur'an had specifically mentioned a condition for polygyny.

"... And if you fear you cannot do justice to them, then marry one."

Then in another verse, it had been stated, "... And you can't be just to them, even if that is your will."

The Qur'an didn't fully endorse polygyny and that was that! The most annoying of the whole scene was how happy her father looked, next to her Umma he was stiff and strict but with this Islam girl, he was laughing heartily. Wasn't her mother making him happy enough? Even after sacrificing her life for him?

He had asked her not to get a job after school and to remain a housewife, she had agreed. She was seventeen when they'd met and had given birth to Sabeerah at twenty, more than half of her life she'd spent with him and him alone but he'd had many other women. Her father got into his car and passed her as he drove off, she glared at him even though he couldn't see her.

Her attention turned back to Islam, she lingered outside before finally going back in. Sabeerah picked up her phone and checked Islam's Instagram page for the hundredth time, there was nothing new so she checked Twitter,

New post notification from Islam_L;

When you find someone who makes you happy and complete, nothing else matters.

The tweet was still counting in seconds and Sabeerah flung her phone to the passenger seat and drove out of the estate.

"Don't talk to me Matt!" She yelled at him as soon as she saw him walking towards her with purposeful stride.

He raised his hands in a surrendering manner. "I just want the car keys."

"I'll give you when I feel like." She walked past him and took the stairs up to her office.

Sarah and Tuya were seated in the small office before hers, both were focused on something on the computer screen.

"Both of you, my office! Now!" She didn't break her stride as she made her way into her office, the door banged behind her.

Sabeerah hated this feelings, she liked to describe it as an overflow of emotions.

Her stomach tightened as if in knots, her head hurt and all of a sudden, everywhere was hot. She collapsed on her office couch with a strangled cry.

"Are you feeling sick ma'am?" Sarah's timid voice asked.

"Why would I be feeling sick Sarah?" She asked in an irritated tone.

"I'm sorry for asking ma'am." Sarah apologized.

"The minister's secretary has postponed the meeting, she said something came up with the minister, I guess we could call that luck." Tuya said in her usual professional tone.

Sarah cleared her throat. "Mrs Oby called and she was very angry, she swore to never do business with the company again."

"Mr Sam just left, he said to reschedule the meeting when you were feeling better. I'd told him you were ill." Tuya continued.

Sarah; "The FCDA has refused to give the permission for the demolition of the building at Glaze plaza, they're requesting to see one of the bosses."

Tuya; "And lastly, the construction workers at the  Estate in Lagos stopped work this morning, they're demanding an increment in salary."

"And I was gone for just three hours." Sabeerah mumbled, some days it felt like she was the only one dealing with Shar'ib and it's problems.

She really was the only one and even the employees knew that so the bunch of idiots left every little issue for her to come and fix. Unlike her father and brother, they all must think she had no other life apart from the companies, not that they were far from the truth but she deserved a certain level of respect and peace greater than what she was receiving.

"I'll one day go crazy and my only regret is that I won't be sane enough to see if this company would crumble without my presence!" She yelled at the two women, Sarah flinched but Tuya remained stoic.

"Isn't Matt the construction manager? Why am I being told about a construction worker's strike? Are you Aakhil's secretary and PA? Am I Aakhil?" She was still yelling at the two women and Sarah whimpered.

"For fuck's sake Sarah, don't you dare cry! I should be the one crying because the both of you keep bringing unnecessary works to my desks that are threatening to suffocate me after leaving me crippled and I'm not even joking!" She turned to the secretary.

"Get Matt for me, I have so much questions that he better have answers to."

"The strike is being resolved as we speak, it's nothing serious, it's just the workers tantrummy coming to play this time." Matt said calmly, he swung the chair he was sitting on.

"Let it better not get more serious, that estate has to be completed this year..."

She stopped mid sentence, the door to her office opened and her father walked in. He was the most handsome man of his age she'd ever seen but right now, he looked ugly to her.

"Assalamualaikum Alhaji." She greeted still sitting down.

"Good afternoon sir." Matt greeted too.

"Mathew, how are you?" Her father asked making himself comfortable on the couch.

"I'm fine sir."

"You're always here, I thought you were hired as the construction manager?" He asked Matt but with a slight frown directed at Sabeerah.

Sabeerah shrugged. "He was and still is."

"Yes sir, my work is as much there as here." Matt said respectfully.

"Is it Matt because apparently the workers in Ikeja have gone on strike under your watch."

"And under Aakhil's watch too because he's as responsible for the construction company as Matt." Sabeerah interjected immediately.

He glared at her. "Aakhil has many other things to do unlike Matt who couldn't even do his one job properly. Where were you earlier?"

The abrupt change in topic didn't faze Sabeerah, rather she murmured, "I could ask you the same."

"What did you say?" He barked at her.

"I'll be outside sir." Matt said and slinked away.

"I was out looking for information about Islam Lawal Baba, seeing as she's to be my step mother even though she's only two years older than me." She said with a steadiness she didn't feel, inside she was a disarray.

Rather than shock, her father expressed anger. "You do the work I hired you too Sabeerah and stay out of my business!"

"I can't stay out of your business if it's going to hurt my Umma!" She matched his tone, Sabeerah had no idea where this audacity was coming from and it terrified her as much as it  was exhilarating.

"That is solely between me and your mother, you have no involvement in it and dare I assume you are not doing enough of your job which is giving you ample time to be a gossiper."

She stared at him wordlessly, her breathing was heavier.

"You don't get to talk to me in whatever tone you deem fit Sabeerah. I am your father and I own you so the next time you're going to open your mouth senselessly to yell at me, I'd like for you to make use of your brain first."

She gasped lightly and then bowed her head, when she spoke, her voice was small. "It won't happen again."

"Of course it won't because if it does again consider yourself unemployed, and you might think I'm bluffing but believe me they're a thousand people more qualified doing this than you are."

"I'm sorry."

"Good and I don't want to hear a word about Islam again, not to me and especially not to your mother, well for now."

He stood up and she did the same, she walked him out quietly.

Sabeerah watched him get into his car, then he turned to her,

"You're doing well, make sure you don't ruin that." He gave her a parting smile right before his driver drove off. She walked back into the office somberly.

"Hajra you are coming home late again." Her mother said, Sabeerah discarded her heels and sat on the couch next to her mother. It was two hours to midnight, she didn't expect her mother to stay up waiting for her but for the fact that she did, it meant she had something important to tell her.

She had intentionally came home late and she'd had plans to leave early tomorrow, that'll go on for days until she was ready to face her Umma but now she'd just have to suck up and keep pretending.

"Assalamualaikum Umma, why are you still awake?"

"Walaykumsalam and that's because I had some important news."

She knew it! "What happened?"

"It's about Suraj but apparently his name's actually Sufyan, we got it wrong."

"Yes, yes, what about him?"

Sabeerah remembered it'd been a week since she'd bumped into him at Khair's treats, she hadn't called him, not that she'd ever had plans to. She also hadn't told her mother that she had seen him, she was still hoping her mother would quit the whole thing.

"He's engaged to be married!"

She couldn't disguise the joy in her tone. "He is?" She asked with a smile, such luck!

"Well yes, that's the news I got back, they are yet to fix a date and all of that but he's unavailable."

"Oh Umma that's so sad and I really liked him." Her voice was exaggerating the sadness she was faking.

Her mother gave her a warning look. "I know you didn't but don't worry, I'll find you a perfect man that you can't refuse."

"How can you say something like that Umma? I just got my heart broken, the one person I was interested in is taken, at least let me nurse my wounds."

Her mother slapped her head. "don't do that with me, I am your mother and I know when you're lying."

She rolled her eyes and stood up. "No you don't."

"Really? How then do I I know you're actually happy Sufyan is unavailable?"

"I can't believe we thought his name was Suraj all this while." She said laughing, she picked up her phone and checked her contact, sure enough there was a number saved with Sufyan Khalid.

She'd been the one who saved the number after he'd typed his name and had handed it to her but she hadn't even paid attention to his name. It didn't matter now, she'd thankfully escaped being tied to that  one.

"And he was such a nice young man, even successful for his age."

"How broken my heart is that I missed an opportunity to have such great man as my husband. Oh Umma, I feel so sad my heart is bleeding."

Her mother's stink eye caused her to burst into laughter, she was still laughing as she made her way upstairs to her bedroom.