"Alhamdulillah! She's carrying Isuhu's child. Treat her like a queen for she has what we always wanted in her womb." The woman who is Isuhu's mother as Nana came to know announced to the people standing there.

She checked her eyes and her palm, a smile playing in her lips and Nana could swear on her life that that was the first time she saw her smiling ever since she settled her feet in the house. She doesn't know whether she should be relieved about been treated like an egg or angry for getting pregnant for that cruel man. She hates him so much that it hurt beyond words and tears. She is tired of balling her eyes at the corner after praying because no one visited her among her family and she felt abandoned and lonely.

Isuhu collected her phone on their first night and went to sell it saying she doesn't need a phone. Nana was furious but didn't oppose, he has every right. Instead of wasting her time crying, a week after the wedding, she started reading a few more of her brand new hadiths that her mother's friend gave her as her wedding gift. Nana is so grateful that she wanted to meet the woman but everything was going on so fast for her liking and didn't get the time to do so.

"I hope the baby is Isuhu's." Her cowife, Maajida mocked, leaving the door with angry strides.

"At least she's not a barren." One of the teenagers yelled after her to which she flipped and continued her journey to her room.

Nana is not friendly with them as she doesn't like new people and now that she's looking at them, they're too many for her liking and she knows none other than her co wife and mother in-law. They are so many that she can't count and seeing them standing by the door to her room made her heart thump loudly in her chest, they can beat her to pulp if she doesn't control herself around them. Some are looking at her with I don't care face whilst the others are just trying to mind their business but can't help wandering their eyes around her room.

"Leave and give her some fresh air." Another older woman said, walking out of the room with the others.

"You're having my grandchild in there and I want you to be extra careful now, are you hearing me?" Isuhu's mother, Larai sternly yelled at puzzled Nana.

She's still not out of her reverie, that she's pregnant with Isuhu's child! This is very bad. Now her mother in-law has the guts to be yelling at her that she should be extra careful when they are the ones not giving her enough food to eat. The audacity?! She kept her temper because talking back to this woman will do her no good except more trouble from her husband and the whole people in the house, she can't deal with them.

"Y-yes." She replied, unconsciously rubbing her hand on her stomach. A human being is living in there, Allah is great!

The woman left and brought some local different concoction which has her cringing but took it nonetheless. She kept four different cups by the side of her bed with something covering them all after she tasted each. They all taste bitter except one which has no taste at all. She smiled at the older woman and lie down on the bed, waiting for her husband to come and drop the dread news.

No she's more than happy that she's having a baby inside of her but she doesn't know what he'll feel about it and they never talked about it. No, they never really talked about anything except food and when he wants her. She just hopes that he will be happy about it since after all, he married her because he wants someone to give a baby to him and now their wish is coming true. She will be baring a baby for him in less than eight months and then that's all.

"You are pregnant?!" Her husband's voice woke her out of her light sleep. She jumped away from his thunderous eyes as they glare at her hotly.

"Y-y-yes." She breathed out, moving to the edge of the bed, her back hitting the drawer behind her.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're not a barren and I should give you medicine? Why?!" He charged towards her, yanking her hair.

She yelped in pain, closing her eyes tightly because of the unbearable pain that's coming up from her skull, it hurts. Tears begin to roughly slide down her cheeks and he's just there yanking her hair backwards. She doesn't know when the head tie she was tying around her head fell, maybe when she was sleeping or when he charged after her.

"Y-yo-you wanted a-a chi-child righ-t?" She stuttered, more tears streaming down because of how her scalp hurts and how she could feel some hairs coming off their roots.

"No you useless girl. That was just an excuse to have another wife and my other wife is perfectly okay. I just don't want children!" He slapped her hard across the face.

She paled from shock and the stings she felt. Her face vibrating because of the slap and she could feel the place bruising, sending electric shivers straight to her skull that she almost lost consciousness. It hurts so much. She never thought he was against her having his child, she wouldn't have married him in the first place and would've told her father.

"I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry, please stop hurting me." She cried loudly, hoping for someone to hear her and come to her rescue.

"Shut up you filthy woman! Shut it." He pulled her on the bed by yanking her hair and started removing her clothes, almost tearing them.

"Don't do this please. You're angry, calm down and let's talk please." She begged, knowing where this is going since she's just in her under wears now and he's removing his clothes.

"Shut up!" He slapped her thighs and it jiggled, hurting her to the core.

He started by slapping her naked thighs again, then her arms, the side of her stomach which made her yell; "Don't hurt the baby. It's innocent!" She wailed, anticipating where he'll hit her again which happens to be her face. He spit on her face castigating her by taking her more brutally. He raped her.

She never really got used to his new self. He'll come back home, eat, beat her when he felt like and then rape her before sleeping back. Nana stopped sleeping for she can't, the nightmares are like punishments and if not that she has accepted this as qadr, she would've ran away because both inner and her outer self are tired and everything hurts. Are all marriages like this? She already hate the idea of marriage and it won't change a thing from her heart.

She's curled now in a ball, crying her heart out. The people in the house are heartless and beasts just like her husband. There is no way that they're not hearing her wails of anguish in the night they just don't want to help. Knowing that she's pregnant, the smallest thing they could do is help her out of this person.

Clutching her stomach, she kept weeping her eyes out, shuddering and snorting back snot back in her nose. She looks like a mad woman but she doesn't care about it. She changed into something simple, just a gown she found and didn't bother wearing anything under, it's already dark outside.

She shut her eyes tight before slowly standing up and walking outside where she saw everyone chatting around like nothing is happening and she knew they heard him beating and raping her. Why are they heartless? They said she has what they'd wanted for years but now they're acting blind and deaf, her blood boiled but she didn't talk.

"You think getting pregnant will make him love you most? I knew about him not liking children that's why I'm taking pills. I love my husband and don't want anything to separate us." She heard Maajida said from behind her.

"I didn't know." Nana whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks as she look at her also helpless co-wife. She looks at her with empathy which Nana hated.

"They don't care about your feelings and they know what is happening in your room. They like acting deaf and blind. They're pure evil." Maajida sighed, looking down at Nana stomach as if she wants to see the baby.

Maajida always wanted to have so many children with her sweetheart but the man hates the idea of having his own children. He said having children will make him look old to other women outside. He said that right on her face, she just shook her head and started taking the pills he gave her so she won't fall pregnant. One time, he asked her to abort or he divorce her and she did. She hate that she did, seeing that her co-wife is not even thinking about it. She has more sense than she will ever have but she's just in love.

Maybe he didn't even think about asking her to abort because she is a city girl and from a very rich family. Isuhu's parents are all hungry for some money and even because of that, they'll ask him to let her keep the child. They lied about her not able to conceive because they want Nana's parents to agree with the arrangement, if only she had helped before the wedding. She can't do anything right now, she herself is helpless and in need of help so they'll just have to help each other.

"I can see that. They're extremely wicked, how can people live like this?" Nana sobbed, sliding down the red blocks that serve as a wall around the whole house.

They're sitting at a secluded place where people can walk past them and they won't notice that they are sitting there.

Maajida hugged her which took her by surprise but she let the woman comfort her, she needed that. If only her friend, Rukayyah was here with her, nothing will be able to happen to her no matter what. Rukayyah has always been there even without her parents.