Not edited.

Nana curled herself up in a ball and cried her eyes out when Isuhu raped her just a few minutes ago before going out of the room and to his gambling and smoking place. He is using the money her parents are sending to her since he has her credit card with him. He gets any amount he wants and go to the gambling place where everyone around the street will see him and some will even curse him because the name of his family is a big one. Everyone around Zaria knew the name since their great grandfather was once a King in Zaria. The Magama's family was once a name to be proud of but not anymore.
The women in the family changed the whole house since they are no other males in the house and Isuhu is the oldest. When the oldest is as useless as an unborn baby, there is nothing important that could come out of it. He'd gamble, smoke and then come back to rape his wives before moving on to talking back and forth with his mother.

"Subhan'Allah! Wear this and go take a hot bathe. I heard your screams so I decided to put hot water for you in the general pot. You can go have bathe now, stop crying please." Maajida hysterically mumbled around, taking a long maxi dress and passing it to her.

When Nana didn't bother taking the dress and she's still naked, Maajida helped her wrestle into it and accompany her to the bathroom. She pushed her gently inside before keeping a wrapper by the door for her and then walking back to her room to make something nice for her. She saw the jar of coffee and milk and decided to make something creamy for her. She sent a small girl to buy bread, the softest one with her money and then kept the huge cups of creamy coffee by the side to get Nana from the bathroom.

"Stop crying now! Don't let them see you in tears because trust me, they'll mock you instead of helping you. Be that brave girl I know." Maajida continue to encourage her all the way back to her bedroom.

Nana would've bothered about coming out with only a wrapper, the dress draped around her shoulder and her little more than shoulder length black hair went down to her back, she didn't care today. She'd never come out of the bathroom without a hijab around her body but today, if not for Maajida, she wouldn't even bother draping the maxi dress around her shoulders.

"I made you the best coffee I can since I don't know how you guys do it but from the instructions, I think this is it. It can't be that bad!" She mumbled the last sentence to herself before settling Nana on the bed, she could see so many purple marks around her body with handprints.

"It won't be." Nana's first words came with a small smile which brought a huger one to Maajida's face.

"I know right, I'm Jumaimah after all. I know everything, now take a sip and tell me what you think." Maajida sat herself down beside Nana after bringing out an ankle length Burgundy dress with black leggings.

"This is perfect, you can do it more than I can." Nana praised and she's right. It's not like she knows how to cook but when it comes to small things like tea, coffee, sandwich and toasts, she can do those but No cooking in her list.

"What do you mean by Jumaimah? Isn't that a woman companion?" Nana pursed her lips together, looking at Khattume -the girl Maajida sent to buy bread- as she walked in with two small breads in her hand with twenty naira change.

"My real name is Jumaimah." Maajida shyly answered, collecting the bread and asking the girl to hold the change.

"No, she should take ten naira and come back for ten naira tomorrow. She's just five and giving her so much money is not good." Nana reasoned out with Maajida who agreed and took ten naira from the girl.

"You're right! You'll be a great mother, you know." Maajida commended, looking like a proud sister at Nana.

"Stop talking about that." Nana shyly thwarted away from the topic before settling in another. "What do you mean you real name is Jumaimah though?" She scrunched her brows further.

"Yup, my real name is Jumaimah. The one my mother gave me but my father said it was hard and he'll just call me Maajida. Like one mortar!" She rolled her eyes at the last part, making Nana laugh hard.

"The name is beautiful though. I'll be calling you Jumaimah from now on or short it to Juma." Nana beamed, already happy that she can use another name for her new sister.

"I'll only let you do that. Those old women spoilt my name to Jummanah and I don't want to hear that again please. It's already hard that the small kids started calling me Jummianu. This one looks like they're calling me someone with genie." She looks irritated now but it didn't stop Nana from laughing.

"God, the people here are very funny sometimes. Thank God my name is not hard." She dramatically sighed, earning a hit on the arm from Maajida.

"Seriously though, it's only you and Mu'ayyad that got it right." Maajida sighed heavily, thinking about her small chat with Mu'ayyad earlier, the guy is handsome and very nice just like Nana told her.

"Mu'ayyad?" Nana teasingly raised a brow at Maajida even though she felt a little tug at her heart. It's like she's jealous that Maajida talked to Mu'ayyad like she did and she thought she could leave that memory to treasure it since he's the first male who has ever being nice to her.

"Yes, I met him earlier when I went to buy bean dumplings for Inna Larai. He asked me about you and together we went to buy it. He was very nice and polite, unlike other city boys that like hitting on girls all the time." Maajida sighed at the last part because she's almost been raped by them.

"He is." Was Nana's curt reply. Yes, she's jealous that Maajida is having the dreamy look she had when she thought about him yesterday.

"It's time for your strolling. Let's go before those weirdos start yelling your name." Maajida stood up and took two hijabs from Nana's drawer.

The girls strolled around the streets even though the roads are bad and they have to move away from the small small rocks. She almost fell down but someone's strong arms hold her up protectively to which she was awfully thankful to. She can't afford to let anything happen to her baby, she'll take all the punishments but not when it comes to her baby. After saying a long supplications underneath her breath, she finally look up at her saviour and jumped when she saw that it was a man.

"Careful there." Mu'ayyad's deep voice resonated in her ears before she could see him with her eyes.

"T-thank you." Nanan stuttered slightly, moving away from him to create space. He's not her mehram and she's a married woman with a huge belly in front of her.

"Where are you going to?" He asked the question rhetorically, but he's looking at only Nana who looks like she's praying for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

"Just strolling around." Maajida answered, chirping into the conversation after noticing Nana's weird behaviour about wanting to leave.

"Can I join?" He charmingly asked to which Nana wanted to drool at but looks away to avoid his gaze only to hear Maajida agreeing with him to join them. Nana wants to avoid it.

She doesn't want another repeat of yesterday with Isuhu. If that keeps happening, then she sure as hell is going to lost her baby or give an early birth which will only kill the baby or herself. Nana clutched her stomach dramatically, slightly squatting down to straighten her message. She wants to leave this place as soon as possible because she can't wait to not see Mu'ayyad again. He's trouble and the stupid feelings that are starting to develop which she doesn't know of, is not helping so the best thing to do is escape.

"We should go home." Maajida said with wide eyes and took Nana's hand to assist her, not bothering to say bye to Mu'ayyad who looks utterly worried and concerned.

"I'm fine now." Nana said for the nth time when they sat down in her room and Maajida doesn't want to leave her alone even for a minute. She's afraid that she'll be giving birth any moment.

"You're not!" Maajida repeated.

"It was just a charade, Juma. I had to do that before someone sees us and report to Isuhu again. I can't take another beating and don't want to lose this baby." Nana almost yelled in frustration.

"Oh?!" Maajida said, making it look more like a question because she didn't quite catch what she said.

"I hope no one sees us because I hate to think about losing my baby, Juma." Nana sighed, squashing her face in between her two hands.

"No harm will come to the baby inshaa'Allah." Maajida encouraged, feeling very bad for her sister and friend.

Later that day around Maghrib, Nana just finished praying when Isuhu stumbled in, laughing and cheering. She smiled, her husband's happiness is her happiness so she turned around to ask him what has him cheering and smiling but found another woman with him. They were groping and touching each other while the woman shamelessly purred to her husband's ears. Nana felt utterly shattered!

She wants to talk, yell, stand up and run away but somehow, she couldn't stand up nor do anything. She kept looking like a gaping fish as they continue to touch each other without caring that she's sitting right in her room. She knows that he brought the girl here because her bed is larger and finer than Maajida's so he brought the filthy woman there. She's not in love with Isuhu, nowhere near that but this is humiliation! How can he do that to her in her own room? Why is no one saying anything about it?

Angry at everything, she stood up and pushed the two of them out of her way and went to Maajida's room so that they could share their sorrow together since she's the only one who will understand her problem. She knocked on the door and Maajida opened it for her, she already saw her husband with another woman and she's in tears when Nana knocked. She's in love with Isuhu, unlike Nana. They both curl themselves in a ball on Maajida old metal bed. Nana wasn't crying, she's just bawling because of the humiliation and how her life changed so badly.