20~Habiba is back
"Najib?" Grandma called. Concern expressed all over her face as she watched him walk past the dining room looking exhausted.
"Yes, Grandma?" He stopped and walked over to her with a weary smile.
He bent to kiss her frail hand before greeting her.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, dear." She studied him carefully. "Did you spend the night at the office again? You're still wearing yesterday's clothes."
Najib scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I... slept in my car."
"Oh, Najib." She sighed, brushing a hand through his hair before suddenly grabbing one of his twists.
"Ouch! Grandma!" Najib winced, clutching her wrist. "That hurts!"
"I won't let go until you promise to stop braiding your hair." She clicked her tongue. "Haven't I warned you enough?"
He laughed despite the pain.
"But I didn't braid it this time. Look closely, it's twists."
Grandma narrowed her eyes before finally releasing his hair.
"Hmm... still nonsense."
She lifted her hand again as if to smack his head, but Najib quickly dodged, laughing.
The sight made him remember why he had changed his hairstyle in the first place.
The day before the dinner at Faruk's house, he had gone to the salon hoping for a fresh look. He had gotten a clean shave and twisted his hair for only one reason, to impress Habiba.
Unfortunately...
It had been completely pointless.
"Why are you smiling like a man who just saw his crush?" Grandma teased knowingly.
"Grandma..." Najib chuckled, shaking his head.
"Enough laughing. Sit down and eat. After breakfast, go upstairs and get some proper sleep. You work too much."
She served him a generous portion before the rest of the family gradually joined them at the table.
"Good morning, everyone." Hajiya greeted warmly as she settled beside Alhaji Aminu.
"Morning."
"Good morning."
Najib merely nodded before returning to his food.
"You got a new hairstyle." Hajiya smiled. "It actually suits you."
Najib simply gave her a polite smile without responding.
"You shouldn't encourage him." Alhaji Aminu muttered. "You're his mother."
That made Najib frowned.
"What can I do?" Hajiya laughed lightly. "Our children have minds of their own."
She glanced around the table.
"Oh, that reminds me... Amir and Amina are returning from their honeymoon today. Amina asked what everyone would like as souvenirs."
"A great grandchild."
Grandma and Alhaji Aminu answered in perfect unison.
Laughter erupted around the table.
Even Najib couldn't suppress his smile.
Despite the passing years, one thing remained unchanged...
The distance between him and his father.
"In sha Allah." Hajiya said with a smile. "But I'll be happier if Najib gives you your first great grandchild."
Silence instantly fell over the table.
Everyone turned to look at her.
She blinked in confusion.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" She asked innocently. "I know a wonderful girl who would make him a good wife if he finally decides to settle down."
Grandma sighed. "A child is a child. Whether it's from Najib or Amina, what difference does it make?"
"I was only saying..."
"You don't get a say in my life." Najib's cold interruption cut through the room.
The atmosphere immediately turned tense.
Just then, Emma hurried into the dining room.
"Good morning, everyone." She bowed respectfully. "Please... may I say something?"
Grandma nodded.
"Go ahead."
Emma hesitated before speaking.
"Ma'am... Habiba is back."
"What?!"
Grandma shot to her feet, her eyes widening with disbelief.
She looked around the table.
No one else appeared surprised.
Realization slowly dawned on her.
"You all knew?" She whispered.
Her eyes settled on Najib.
"When did you find out? Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Tears welled in her eyes.
"You should have brought her home."
She held his hand tightly.
"I will." Najib replied gently. "I promise... but not yet."
"Why not now?" Grandma cried. "I want to see her immediately!"
"I know where she lives." Emma blurted out. "I can take you there."
Every head snapped toward her.
"You foolish girl!" Hajiya barked. "Do you speak without thinking? Didn't it occur to you that we've kept this from her for a reason?"
"I... I'm sorry, Ma." Emma lowered her head, trembling.
"And how do you even know she's back?" Hajiya narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Have you been meeting her behind our backs?"
Emma froze.
If she admitted the truth, she would only make things worse.
"N...No... I haven't."
She quickly forced a smile.
"I only saw her online. She was trending after Ma'am Amina's wedding."
Grandma's heart sank.
"She attended Amina's wedding too?"
She looked around the table in disappointment.
"How could all of you keep this from me when you know how desperate I've been to see her?"
She grabbed Emma's hand.
"Come. You're taking me to her."
Before she could leave, Najib gently stopped her.
"You won't find her there anymore."
Grandma frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"She moved out."
"Moved where?"
"I don't know."
Grandma's eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Grandma..." Najib said softly, wiping them away.
"Please trust me."
"I'll bring her back."
Hajiya's expression stiffened. "You intend to bring her back into this house?"
"Yes."
Najib met her gaze without hesitation.
"But first, I need to find Musa... my former secretary."
He paused.
"A reliable source confirmed he played a major role in what happened to Habiba three years ago."
His eyes never left Hajiya's.
"You remember Musa... don't you?"
"Oh... really?"
Hajiya forced a smile, but all color had already drained from her face.
From the moment Nanny Ann suggested that Hajiya might have been involved in everything that happened three years ago, Najib hasn't been able to shake the suspicion.
Now, after watching her reaction, his instincts only grew stronger.
The fear.
The discomfort.
The tension in her eyes.
She was hiding something.
And if she was guilty...
He would never let her get away with it.
A slow smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
He decided to push her further.
"Tell me something..." He said calmly, fixing his eyes on her.
"Did you know Habiba was pregnant before our divorce?"
"What?!" Everyone exclaimed at once.
The dining room fell silent.
Grandma slowly rose to her feet, her trembling eyes fixed on him.
"Come again..." She whispered.
"Did I hear you correctly?"
"Habiba... was pregnant?"
Najib nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"I only found out last night."
Grandma staggered backward, covering her mouth with both hands.
"Ya Allah..."
Then Najib shifted his gaze to Hajiya.
"What about you?" He asked quietly.
"Did you know?"
"Me?" Hajiya forced out a laugh.
"How could I possibly know?"
"Really?" Najib asked with a faint smile.
"Of course." She reached for a glass of water.
"I'm not a doctor, am I?"
She laughed again, but her trembling fingers betrayed her as she gulped down the water.
Najib watched every movement.
"Okay." He murmured.
"Time always reveals the truth."
Hajiya forced another smile. "Why do I feel like you're interrogating me?"
"I'm not."
He turned back to Grandma.
She was still crying.
"My child..." She whispered.
"The baby..."
She grabbed his hand tightly.
"If she was pregnant before the divorce... then my great grandchild should be about three years old now."
Her eyes sparkled with hope.
"Is it a boy... or a girl?"
Najib lowered his head.
His jaw tightened.
"The child never came into this world."
Silence.
"He was killed."
"Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un..." Grandma's legs almost gave way.
"No..."
"No..."
"You're lying..."
"I wish I were." Najib's voice cracked.
"But that's the truth."
"And now Habiba hates me because she believes I murdered our child."
Grandma burst into tears.
"My poor Habiba..."
"My poor innocent child..."
"She went through all of that alone?"
"Why didn't she come home?"
She collapsed into Najib's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.
He wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry, Grandma."
"I promise..."
"You'll see her again."
As he spoke, his eyes settled on Hajiya.
Despite the cold air from the air conditioner, beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
His suspicion deepened.
"I swear..." He said coldly.
"I will find every single person responsible for killing my child."
"And when I do..."
"I will destroy them."
Hajiya swallowed.
"Only Zaitun would know anything about that."
"Unfortunately, she has disappeared."
"So stop digging into the past."
"Focus on your present."
Najib let out a dry chuckle.
Without warning, he grabbed his glass of water and...
Splash!
The water struck Hajiya across the face.
"Lailah!"
She shot to her feet in shock, water dripping from her clothes.
The entire dining room froze.
"Najib!"
Grandma gasped.
His father sprang up from his seat slamming his hand against the table.
"What nonsense is this?!"
"Have you lost your senses?!"
"How dare you throw water at your mother!"
Najib's eyes burned.
"She is NOT my mother!"
His voice echoed across the room.
"She is your wife... Alhaji Aminu."
"My mother is lying peacefully in her grave."
He pointed at Hajiya.
"She rests where there are no lies."
"No betrayal."
"No deceit."
"Najib, don't..."
Grandma reached for him.
"Please..."
He gently removed her hand.
"No, Grandma."
"Let me speak."
He faced his father.
"You know..."
"I always obeyed my mother."
"Even on her deathbed..."
"She begged me not to hate you."
He laughed bitterly.
"But I couldn't."
"I tried..."
"God knows I tried..."
"But I couldn't, it was unbelievably difficult not to hate you."
His voice shook with years of buried pain.
"I could never understand how a man abandons his dying wife."
"How he ignores his grieving son."
"Then brings another woman into the house as though nothing ever happened."
Alhaji Aminu lowered his head.
He had no defence.
Only regret.
Years of regret.
Najib continued.
"That's why I left for London."
"I wanted to be as far away from you as possible."
"I hated you."
His father remained silent.
Every word pierced his heart.
For the first time...
He truly understood the damage he had done...
Not just to his marriage...
But to his son.
Najib inhaled deeply.
"But... I finally understood why you did it, why you were so cruel."
Everyone looked at him.
"I only understood after I truly fell in love."
He laughed bitterly.
"You were in love too."
"So in your eyes..."
"Your dying wife didn't matter."
"Your broken son didn't matter."
"The only person who mattered... was the woman you loved."
"That's the cruelty of love."
"It blinds you."
"It makes morality meaningless."
"It makes family disposable."
"It convinces you that hurting everyone else is acceptable... as long as the one you love is happy."
He looked directly at Hajiya.
"I kept telling myself that."
"I endured living under the same roof with both of you because I wanted to understand."
"But I'm done."
His eyes hardened.
"And I swear before God..."
"If your wife is guilty..."
"I will make her suffer."
He glanced at his father one last time.
"After all... Isn't that what people do for love?"
"They make those they don't love suffer... For the ones they truly love."
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
He wiped them away angrily and stormed out of the dining room.
"Najib!"
Grandma hurried after him.
Before she could reach the door...
Thud.
Alhaji Aminu collapsed back into his chair.
"Alhaji!"
Hajiya screamed in horror.
"Help!"
.
.
.
***