Muhibbah stared at Mom that was flashing her a motherly smile. The kind of smile she had longed to see on her mother's face but couldn't remember ever seeing it. Yes, she did smile that way, but it was never directed at Muhibbah.

"Are you sure you'll be fine, Muhibbah? I can ask Daddy to go and escort you back to the house, really." She said empathetically and Muhibbah smiled while she shook her head.

"It's fine, Mom. Sareena told me she's at the house, I'm sure nothing will happen. And she knew I only come here whenever something like this happen, so she won't think I've gone elsewhere."

"I told her you were here too yesterday, that shouldn't be a bother," Mom said, sighing deeply. Muhibbah knew there were tons of questions she had for her but she just couldn't bring herself to ask her because it was either too personal or didn't seem appropriate.

Because which mother would send her daughter out at night simply because she denied getting married to a man who she couldn't guarantee his characters herself? It was in those moments that Muhibbah wished she could call her father and beg him to take her away from here. But she knew that him being Mama's sworn enemy, if she ever tried to do that, Mama would really disown her forever.

And no matter how bad her mother was, Muhibbah loved her with everything she got. And in her own ways, she wasn't an entirely and person.

She wiped at the lone tear that stubbornly rolled down to her cheeks before she got to her feet. "I'll be leaving now, Mom. Thank you so much for letting me stay here for the night, I really can never repay you for all that you've been doing for me."

"Look at you," Mom said as she tried to smack her lovingly. "If I ever hear the word Thank you from you, I'll deal with you myself." They both smiled at each other. "I'm a call away incase you need something, okay? Don't hesitate to call me."

Muhibbah only nodded her head before she bade her goodbye and left the house. In her mind, she thought of the reason she saw Bilaal in that house. Even though Amir had told her he was that cousin of his that he never got tired of telling her about, she still wondered why she had never seen him the house but yesterday.

Her heart lost a beat when she saw that she was already at the house. She painfully realized that she wasn't ready to meet her mother but it wasn't like she could postpone meeting her. She had to go back home since she can't continue to stay at other people's house, right?

She gulped down a lump in her throat, brushed her sweaty palms before she turned the doorknob and entered. She only saw Bilkisu in the living room as she watched the TV. Muhibbah wasn't expecting her to greet her or acknowledge her presence and she didn't. She only glanced her way once before she took her eyes off her and continued chatting while the TV spoke to itself.

She gulped down the bitterness in her throat and walked into her room, where she was sure Sareena would be waiting for her. And indeed, she was. The moment she saw her, Sareena instantly got to her feet and gave her a bone crushing hug that forced tears out of Muhibbah's eyes.

"Addah, you'll be fine, okay? One day, all this will be a story to tell, bi'iznillah." Sareena comforted her with her words that always felt as though she had a balm applied to her aching heart.

"I know, Sareena. It just gets too hard sometimes." She said, wiping at her tears as she guided them to the bed so they could speak some more. "Where are my babies?"

"Today is Sunday, Tahfeez. I didn't get the chance to bring them over on Friday, but next week, you'd definitely see them." Before she was able to answer, Sareena held her two hands and clasped them with hers. "What happened, Addah? She told me a lot of things but I want to hear everything from you."

"She called Alhaji Nasir yesterday at night. Even though I've spent the entire day trying to tell her how bad of an idea that was. I told her all I've heard about him, Sareena. And it's not like the person has a reason to lie about his reputation. Even from some of my female colleagues, I've heard bad things about him. The female students that have friends where he lectures. There isn't a single good thing about him..."

"I know, Addah. I've done my research about him too. One of my neighbors is his ex-wife's cousin and they're basically best friends, she knew everything about him. I've told Mama everything even before she spoke to you about it. I don't even know why she's being so adamant on this issue."

"She says I'm a spinster and she can't wait for me to get out of her sight. I wish there's a way to get out of her sight apart from getting married." Muhibbah sighed, pushing away all the things Mama had said to her yesterday because if she let them come back to her mind, she was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight just like she had an all-nighter yesterday.

"I'm not against getting married, Sareena. I'd love to settle down too as well. I really want to get married, if not for anything, then for Mama to stop hating me as if it's my fault that I'm not married yet." She didn't stop her tears when they threatened to fall down now.

"I know I can't afford the luxury of love right now, I'm not even looking forward to that because I know I can never get someone that'd love me. I mean..."

Sareena cut her off by hugging her and silently breaking into tears.

"You're lovable, Addah. Have you looked into the mirror lately? When was the last time someone told you you're beautiful? Because you're one hell gorgeous of a woman and any man would kill to have you right now. Stop thinking that love is a luxury you can't afford. Damn those guys for making you go through what you did."

Sareena was crying heavily when she pulled away from the hug and placed both hands on Muhibbah's shoulders. "You know what, Addah?" Muhibbah could only shake her head, because she didn't know what to tell her.

"I can feel it that you're going to marry someone no one has ever thought of you marrying. A young guy that's rich, classy, handsome, and so in love with you that he's obsessed. Someone those people saying you're a spinster and won't end up with a good man and because of that you have to manage whatever trash comes your way will envy and wish it's one of their daughters that get that lucky..."

Muhibbah had to chuckle even though her heart was in a turmoil. "You mean, a young guy that has never married? Stop being delusional, Sareena. I should be lucky to at least get a decent guy that has just one wife, I'd be happy for that. And he doesn't have to be rich or someone reputable."

"Wait and see, you'd get the kind of man I mentioned and even more. Even you will be surprised at how you're able to get him. And guess what? You aren't the one that will be thankful for getting him, he's the one that will be over the moon for having you as a wife, I'm speaking this into existence, Insha Allah."

Muhibbah could only nod her head as she chuckled. She knew how adamant Sareena could get and if she tried to argue with her about this, she would get tired and at the end and then will just have to let it go.

"Now about Mama, how can we get her to stop all this Alhaji Nasir's talk, Sareena? I may badly want to get married, but I'm not desperate enough to fall into a wrong hand knowingly. Had it been Allah had concealed his habits for me, then I'd consider that as part of my destiny. But everything is out in the open, I really can't get married to him."

"I've spoken to her about this, Addah, even before you came back but she's so adamant on it. I think I'd have Baba speak to her about it. But for now, will you forget about everything and be yourself for a moment, please?"

Muhibbah smiled, nodded her head at her and Sareena hugged her warmly again.

Sareena was the best gift she had in her life. She didn't know how she would've been able to handle all that she did if Sareena wasn't in her life. After Asr, Muhibbah got ready and they both went together to Mama's room so she could bade her goodbye.

Mama threw her a heated look that was filled with what Muhibbah had come to terms to be hatred. She hung her head low and began to fidget with her fingers.

"I'm going to leave now, Mama," and didn't wait for Mama's response when she added, "I want to ask you if I can please take my car with me because wallah it's very stressful for me over there without a car. There are times I have to trek for more than thirty minutes before I get a tricycle that will take me to the school, please."

"What have I said about you leaving with your car? So apart from saying you aren't getting married to Alhaji Nasir, you're now trying to go against my every word, Muhibbah? What kind of a woman are you? So I should allow you to take your car so you can be roaming around anyhow you like and then I'd be getting calls from people about your waywardness..."

"Mama, it's not like you don't know who Addah is. Haba, she'd never do that. And if we were to think about what people will say, none of us would've lived in this world. People will always talk, Mama, good or bad." Sareena cut Mama off, her voice showing how displeased she was at Mama's words.

"People will always talk, but considering her situation, everyone is saying I've left my spinster daughter to move to Dutsinma under the pretense of lecturing. It's causing a friction between Bilkisu and Mujaheed because his family are saying a lot of things. So just because I want to make her happy, I should allow her to destroy your sister's home? Since she's not married no one should be?"

Muhibbah was no longer fighting her tears because with every word that left Mama's mouth, it felt like an avalanche to her heart. Sareena opened her mouth to speak when Mama cut her off angrily.

"You that you're trying to cover for her, wait until your husband's family start talking about it too, then you'd come to me crying and what not." Mama hissed and looked away from them. "Please, get out of my sight. You're not going to die if you use public transport. It's better you leave before I changed my mind about the job itself."

Sareena was about to speak again when Muhibbah pulled at her wrist and they walked out of the room. She could endure everything but losing her job. Not because she was financially dependent on it, but because it was the only thing keeping her sane. She could run mad if not for her job. And how it gave her the chance to be a bit away from her mother was the best thing that came from the job.

"It's okay, Sareena. I should've known that it's a bad time to talk about the car knowing what she thinks of me using it. Let's go."

"Baban Intisar dropped me here, so I didn't come out with my car. How can you get to the park now? And Muhammad isn't home, he would've taken you there, Addah." Sareena said worriedly, at the verge of breaking into tears.

"Just escort me to the main road, I can take a tricycle there, no problem." Muhibbah said, trying all she could to stay strong because she was even tired of crying at this point.

They were walking silently, with Sareena trying all she could to make her chat with her but Muhibbah was gone with her thoughts. She felt like screaming so loud that her voice would fade and her chest will feel less heavy. She didn't know what was happening until Sareena touched her arm and she turned to look at her, noticing the car that had stopped beside them.

"Addah, it's Amir. He asked if you were going back to Dutsinma and I told him yes. Apparently, he too is taking his cousin back to school, so you should just join them, right?"

Muhibbah turned between Sareena that was smiling happily, Amir that was standing by his door and Bilaal that was looking at her earnestly as if he was trying to find out something. She wished she could tell him to stop looking at her. Because she was sure her face gave away to the amount of tears she had shed and the ones she was trying with all her might to stop.

"Amir, thank you for stopping but I'll just go the park, no problem."

"Come on, Addah. We aren't fighting, right? You'll have the whole back seat to yourself, I promise to be silent because it's obvious you want to be alone and not speak a word. Let's go together, please."

"Amir..." She was trying to deny his invitation yet again when Sareena pulled her bag from her hand and handed it to Amir. She opened the backdoor and gently pushed her inside.

"Call me when you've arrived, Addah. Be safe, okay?" She said with a cheeky smile as she closed the door for her.

Amir chuckled before they bade each other goodbye with Sareena and he got back into the car. The moment everything settled and they got back to the road, she heard his voice.

"Good evening, ma'am." He greeted and Muhibbah took a few seconds, feeling the way his voice was resonating through her mind before she looked up at him and their eyes met though the rear view mirror.

"Good evening to you too, Bilaal, right?" His name always felt somehow on her lips and she had no idea why. She just found it kind of weird calling his name.

"Yes, Ma'am. Or should I call you Addah too?" He said, smiling softly at her.

Since the first eye contact they had, Muhibbah took her eyes off him and she only shook her head when he asked that question. "Stick with the ma'am, please."

Because hearing him call her Addah will have him on her personal lane of people and she'd love to consider him anything but. And she truly disliked the guy. It could be because of the way he stared at her. Or how his gaze made her feel. Or just...the way she randomly thought of him. Whatever it is, Muhibbah wanted nothing like she wanted to one day reprimand him for always staring at her and how creepy it made her feel.

I forgot to update yesterday. So, double update for una😍