6~Cold as ice
"Hanan? You're back already?" Nanny Ann asked in surprise as Hanan hurried into the house.
"We weren't expecting you this soon. We only just got home ourselves." She walked toward Hanan, only to stop when she noticed the look in her eyes.
"I knew she wouldn't stay out late. Where's Faruk?" Abdul asked.
Hanan didn't answer.
She stood motionless, staring into space as though she hadn't heard a single word. All she wanted was for someone to tell her why it still hurt this much.
"Hanan?" Nanny Ann called softly, cupping her cheek. "Are you... crying?"
Her fingertips brushed Hanan's tears.
"What happened?"
Silence.
"Hanan, talk to us." Abdul's voice grew anxiously. "Did someone hurt you? Was it Faruk? Tell me what happened."
She tried to speak, but her throat tightened.
Her tears rushed even faster.
Seeing the fear across their faces, she finally forced the words out.
"I... saw him."
Barely above a whisper.
Before either of them could stop her, she turned and ran upstairs.
She slammed her bedroom door shut before sinking onto the floor, her back pressed against it.
Pulling her knees tightly against her chest, she buried her face in her arms.
The tears she had been fighting finally won.
Her entire body shook as she cried.
It felt as though the three years she spent rebuilding herself had collapsed in a single moment.
Why?
Why does it still hurt?
Why can't I let go?
Why does seeing him make me feel like I'm right back where it all began?
She crawled toward her wardrobe and reached for an old, rusted box tucked away in the corner.
A box that held every piece of the life she desperately tried to leave behind.
Her trembling fingers lifted the lid.
The first thing she picked up shattered whatever strength she had left.
A tiny knitted baby jacket.
She hugged it tightly against her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Little me..."
"My baby..."
The little soul she loved before ever getting the chance to hold.
The only hope she clung to when her entire world had fallen apart.
The reason she forced herself to keep living.
Yet even that hope had been stolen from her.
All she has left now were memories...
...and this tiny piece of clothing.
She lay on the cold floor, clutching it as though it were the child she never had the chance to meet.
Time passed.
Yet she never moved.
She laid there with a tear stained blank face.
The moment Hanan whispered. "I saw him." Abdul knew exactly who she meant.
Not after the message he received only few minutes earlier.
When Abdul read the message, his heart sank.
The day he dreaded had finally arrived.
He had always known their paths would cross again the moment Hanan returned to Nigeria.
He simply didn't expect it to happen so soon.
Now that it had...
He felt completely helpless.
Standing outside her bedroom door, he listened to her heartbreaking sobs.
Every instinct urged him to walk in and comfort her.
But how?
How was he supposed to comfort wounds he couldn't heal?
Would telling her the truth make anything better...
Or only reopen scars that had barely begun to close?
Nanny Ann paced the hallway anxiously before turning to him.
"Abdul... please go and check on her. She's gone quiet."
"I think she just needs..."
"If you won't go, then I will!" She snapped. "I'm worried something might be wrong."
"She won't hurt herself." Abdul replied gently. "She just needs a little space."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded before walking to Hanan's room.
He knocked repeatedly.
No response.
Slowly, he pushed the door open.
His heart clenched.
Hanan had cried herself to sleep on the floor.
Scattered around her were tiny baby clothes she took out from the old box.
He quietly gathered every piece, placing them back where they belonged before gently looking at her tear stained face.
She looked exhausted.
Broken.
Carefully, he lifted her into bed and tucked the blanket over her.
"I'm sorry..." He whispered, though she couldn't hear him.
She was deep asleep.
When he stepped back into the hallway, he found Faruk waiting with worry written all over his face.
"Faruk? You're here?"
"He came to know if Hanan got home safely." Nanny Ann explained.
Abdul nodded.
"Thank you for checking on her. But before you leave... I would like to know exactly what happened."
They walked into the sitting room.
"Can I get you anything?" Abdul offered.
Faruk shook his head. "No, thank you."
Abdul sat opposite him.
"Then tell me... why did my sister come home in tears?"
Faruk frowned. "In tears?"
"Yes." He sighed heavily.
"I honestly don't know what happened. We went to a bar to unwind. She accidentally got wine spilled on her dress, so she went to the restroom to clean it. That's the last time I saw her."
He paused.
"When she didn't come back, I searched everywhere. Security later told me she already left in a taxi. I tracked her phone just to make sure she got home safely."
Abdul remained silent.
"Did she meet anyone there?" He finally asked.
"I don't think so."
Faruk hesitated.
"I wanted to introduce her to my cousin, the owner of the bar I took at her to, but I'm certain she never met Najib."
Abdul stiffened. "...Najib?"
"Najib Aminu Garba?"
Faruk looked puzzled. "You know him, don't you? Everyone in Lagos does."
Abdul slowly looked away. "So... It was Najib's new bar?"
"Yes."
A long silence followed.
Then Abdul clenched his fist.
"That means... she definitely saw him."
Faruk blinked. "What do you mean?"
Abdul closed his eyes.
"Thank you for checking on her. It's late. You should head home."
Faruk didn't move. "One question."
Abdul nodded.
"Do Hanan and Najib know each other?"
Another silence.
"They do." Abdul answered quietly.
"But that's in the past."
Faruk swallowed. "...Is she Habibti?"
Abdul remained silent for several seconds.
Then he exhaled.
"...Yes."
Faruk stared at him.
"So... she's the woman he's been looking for?"
"Yes, but keep this between us." Abdul said firmly. "And please... keep Najib away from her."
"They must never meet again."
Faruk slowly nodded. "I understand."
Faruk rose to his feet. "Can I come back tomorrow to check on her?"
"You are welcome, any time."
"Thank you, goodnight."
"Safe drive." Abdul forced a smile.
As Faruk walked out, questions flooded his mind.
Who exactly was Hanan?
And what had happened between her... and his cousin?
There had to be more to Hanan and Najib's story than a simple lost love.
If they had only been ex lovers, why would Abdul be so desperate to keep them apart?
The questions refused to leave Faruk's mind.
The moment he got home, he opened his laptop and began searching.
If there was one thing he knew about his cousin, it was that Najib Aminu Garba was never far from the media's spotlight.
Every achievement, every controversy, every public appearance seemed to find its way onto blogs and news sites.
Even while Faruk had been studying in America, Najib's car accident and his recovery three years back had made headlines overseas.
Surely the internet held answers.
One article became two.
Two became ten.
Blog after blog.
Interview after interview.
He clicked every headline related to Najib, carefully piecing together fragments of a story that seemed far more complicated than he had imagined.
Some articles portrayed Habiba as a manipulative criminal.
Others sympathized with her.
None of them told the complete story.
Then his eyes landed on a wedding photograph.
Faruk froze.
"Habiba..." He murmured.
He leaned closer to the screen.
"So... Habiba is her real name."
He picked up his phone, comparing the woman in the article to the Hanan he knew.
"They're the same person..."
His brows furrowed.
"His Habibti... his lost love... his ex wife?"
He slowly shut his laptop, unable to process everything he just read.
"If she's really the woman they accused..." He muttered to himself, "Then why does Abdul seem so determined to protect her?"
He glanced once more at their wedding photograph.
"Is she truly the villain everyone claims she is..."
"...or is there a side of the story the world never got to hear?"
The following morning, Hanan had absolutely no desire to leave her bed.
She lay curled beneath her blanket, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Nanny Ann knocked several times, pleading with her to come downstairs for breakfast.
She ignored every call.
Even Abdul had tried convincing her, but she refused to move.
Another knock sounded on the door.
For what felt like the fifth time.
"Nanny Ann." Hanan groaned from beneath the blanket, "I'll eat when I'm ready. I'm not hungry."
"It's Faruk."
His voice instantly made her sit upright.
He stood at the doorway, balancing a breakfast tray with a smile bright enough to make her forget her own thoughts.
"What is he doing here?" She wondered while rubbing her eyes to be sure if he's really the one.
"How did he even find my house?" She muttered staring at his smiling face.
"So..." Faruk chuckled. "Are you going to keep staring at me, or are you going to invite me in?"
"H... how did you get here?"
"Can I come in first?"
"You've already invaded my room. Asking now is pointless."
He laughed and walked in, placing the breakfast tray on the bedside table.
"I heard you've been refusing to eat."
"So they sent you as their messenger?"
"No."
He casually looked around the room.
"I volunteered."
"You seem to like my room."
"It's beautiful."
His gaze swept across the neatly arranged furniture before settling on one.
"Just like its owner."
She rolled her eyes. "Flattery won't answer my question."
"So..." She folded her arms.
"How do you know where I live?"
"I came because..."
"Wait." She narrowed her eyes.
"Are you really stalking me?"
Faruk blinked.
"What? No."
"I find you everywhere I go. And now you somehow found my house less than twenty four hours after meeting my family."
He sighed.
"I tracked your location after you disappeared from the bar."