ABUJA, NIGERIA.

Mahnoor got a call from the hospital that her husband has met with an accident, blood pumping throughout her body with extra liter, she rushed out of their home and straight to the hospital. Running inside the reception, she asked the receptionist about the recent patient they've admitted caused by accident.

"He is currently in the operation theatre, Ma'am. The doctors are with him so if you can sit there and wait for them." The receptionist explained after checking the computer in front of her with nimble fingers.

Overwrought, she sat down at the waiting area on a chair the receptionist gestured with her hand. Her heart beating so loud that she could barely hear anything or keep focus on what is going on around her. She's been paranoid the whole day, not knowing what is going to happen but deep inside she knew things are not good which was why she called Asad earlier. But what caused the accident? Why did he bother thinking about coming back home because she's fell down and hit her bum? She should've known not to do something like that with Asad, he is always scared that something bad might happen to her.

Fretfully biting her lower lip, she waited for what seems to be the longest thirty minutes of her life. A doctor walked out shaking his head to the other friend who gave a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. Mahnoor furrowed her brows and went to them in a hurry, her sandals almost throwing her off but she steadied herself and stood in front of them. The men stared at her first with something close to admiration to her beauty then raise brows at the same time, it's almost comical. If not for the situation at hand, she would've laughed.

Swallowing a thick gob of sputum, she opened her mouth to talk feeling her throat strangulated and parched. "The man that was brought it? Is he alright?"

The men looked at each other before one of them spoke. "You are Mahnoor then?" She nodded hastily waiting for him to continue, not even wondering how he knew her name. "He just woke up and wants to see you now but I'm sorry, he is in a bad condition and... Well, don't keep him waiting." He gave a tight lipped smile and gestured to the door. Looking at him suspiciously, she accelerated to the door without turning back to give them another second glance.

"They are a young couple." One of them commented with a shake of his head, sadness glinting in his tone even though he is used to seeing such heartbreaking scenes in the hospital but that never stopped him from sympathizing time and time again.

The other one that's still looking at where Mahnoor disappeared to said. "You don't remember her?" He asked and his colleague shook his head negatively. "She is Aman's wife, Aman Ajuji. Oh, she was. Now she is married to his twin brother, Asad. She lost her son last year and can you believe who killed him? His own father was batshit drunk and killed his own son."

"Don't tell me she was the one shown all around the television few months ago from Bauchi?" His eyes are wide, looking at the door to Asad is in as if waiting for her to come out so he can confirm it. "Damn, this woman will really have to be strong. Such traumatic experience one step to the other, strong tawakkul is needed."

"That was why I did my absolute best to try something but there is no going back. We all know, even he knows that there is no much time." Both shoulders sagged with congeniality, the doctors left the premises muttering to themselves.

Mahnoor's eyes were on nothing but the man lying down on the bed with his head raise high on a pillow as he stared up at the pale ceiling. She could think of nothing, smell nothing or see anything other than her husband looking so wrecked, like he's been thrown beneath a trailer. Her eyes filled up with tears, she took several small steps closer to the bed before he acknowledged her presence and he looked down with a small smile gracing his lips. She tried returning one of her own but she couldn't, not with the way her heart is pounding in her ears, lurching itself to her throat in need for escape.

"Hey." He grimaced after muttering the word, even his face is unrecognizable and had it not being that she knows him in and out, she wouldn't have agreed this is Asad. Her Asad, her husband.

Finally arriving at the bed, she used her shaky finger to touch his forehead only for him to flinch and she hastily took her hand back. "How did this happen?" Was all she could manage to choke out, her eyes are blurry with new set of tears since the older ones had rolled down to her veil.

Asad patted the space in front of him, right where his stomach is. Looking down at the place, she hesitated but then sat down, her hand moving to his broken arm. He is so battered. Three broken ribs, a bad hit on the head, broken arm and spinal cord injury. After noticing all the places that are damaged, it takes all the strength and power within her not to let out a loud sob so she used her palm to close her mouth. She won't keep crying like a baby when she is not the one injured but her husband who is clearly battling to even open his mouth to answer her question. Why did she ask that anyway?

His eyes are so brightly dazzling, eye brows aristocratically sitting above them, lashes sparse, face and body fairer in complexion. There is this new glow radiating off his face. She watched his eyelashes flutter in a gentle sweep, her heart swelled because that particular movement of his eyes made her feel things.

"I heard you crying out in pain, I wanted to come back home to check on you but a lorry came out of nowhere. I don't know what had happened after that only woke up in this room." He looked around with his eyes, the pale walls of a hospital room, the basin with sanitizer, a long couch by the end of it, another door that leads to an ensuite and so on. He hates hospitals.

"Why did you rush out of the office like that? I was not injured. I just fell down and hit my bum, nothing too painful that I cannot handle but look what you did! Will you even stand from this or not? No one knows. I've told you time and time again to not be too concerned about me, I can handle myself but you won't listen." She cried, the tears now rolling down so hard that she left the bed, went to the window and turn her back against him.

Her shoulders racked as she cried, her chin trembling. She watched people walking around, laughing and cheering at each other from the window but all she could do is continue to cry quietly while sobbing. Asad said nothing from behind her and he better not because one more word from him will trigger her to choke him to death. Why did he do that? She knew this is all part of qadr but the way he is so concerned about her after her son's death is not something she likes, she never complained but bathed in the attention but this time around, no. She won't take it no more.

He needs to know that she is not a small baby that cannot take care of herself, she's done that for a long time and survived. There is no rushing to her aid now, he should allow her to thrive on her own and fight her own fucking troubles herself. See what that has gotten him. Lying hopelessly on the bed, half alive and half dead. She can see how much he is trying to enshroud his pain and sheathe them away from her but she is no fool. She's been a victim of mental pain to know what it feels like to be physically hurt and not react to it.

"Babe, can you come here? I want to tell you something very important." She didn't move from her spot even after hearing the emphasis he put on the important, she does not wish to hear a thing.

He called her four times, she made a quiet promise to go on the fifth one but the minute he opened his mouth to call her, a nurse walked in with an apologetic smile on her face.

"We need to take him to the recovery room, Ma'am." She explained, her eyes leveled on the floor feeling the tension in the room. The couple are both not happy with her presence but oh well, she needs to work and do her job. They can solve their trouble later on.

Mahnoor nodded and watched as she unplug so many plugs away from Asad, arranged them neatly, another nurse walked in to help her and Asad was sent away from the PACU to recovery room. Mahnoor followed them closely behind and didn't notice when they injected him with anesthesia because he needs more rest, he shouldn't exact his energy like that. Noticing that he is sleeping, she told the nurses she was going to go and get her stuff then come back to stay with him, they agreed. She left the hospital to her home.

Packing all she needs from change of clothing, food, fruits, duvet and pillow, her laptop and other necessities. She went to a restaurant to get some more food just in case he doesn't like the one she's brought from home, she reheated it and he hates when food is reheated. When she arrived back at the hospital, he still isn't awake so she arranged everything in the room, set the fruits in the fridge and place her suitcase underneath the bed.

He woke up much later into the night while Mahnoor was watching a movie on Netflix. She paused it and went to him, adjusting his head tentatively to push water down his throat. Done with that task, she managed to help him sit a little up so she can feed him but the broken ribs and injured spinal cord kvetched truculently so they had to do it another way. It was such a hard task feeding someone while he is lying down but Mahnoor managed to pull that off in no time, getting him to eat the food she cooked wasn't hard. Whenever he tried talking, she narrowed her eyes to slits and that is enough command for him to not talk.

"Babe, it's not my fault that what I feel for you is way deeper than you think. You might think you love me but you don't know how it feels when I say I love you. It hurts me to know that my feelings for you are more raw but I always manage all you could give because I know you are growing and learning after all you've endured. I love you so much that it hurts, it makes me want to go crazy all the damn time. I hate to see you in distress, desolation or pain. That was why I couldn't just sit idly in the office waiting for business while you are at home hurt and alone. God knows, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate throughout the meeting." He opened out his heart, not stopping even for a second to breath afraid she might stop him from talking again.

Stunned, her breath caught in her throat, an almost electrical feeling lingering beneath her palms that are touching his forehead. Her body flushed, temperature rising higher, and her belly kept fluttering in jitters. She licked her lips, not knowing what to say. She is utterly speechless.

Not that he's never told her he loved her, countless of times but this time around, he is gladly pouring out his heart and shredding his heart open for her to see his fears and deep feelings. Knowing that he loves her like that makes her nauseous and lightheaded, finally the feeling of belonging cloaked her like a shield against the world. It's taking all of her not to fall on him and clung to him like a koala, she wants to feel his warmth and the length of his body on hers. Oh, dear God, she is being oppressed and tormented because of these wounds.

She sniffed, yawing her face away from his so he won't see how quickly she is softening. She must stop him so she croaked out in a choked voice. "I-I understand what you mean and what you are saying but still, you need to stop. I can take care of myself, I'm fit for that anyway. I don't want you to ever worry about my well-being, I'll always be alright. Understand?"

Asad rolled his eyes, she doesn't get it but he won't try explaining further, it's baseless with that defiance in her eyes. He knew her well enough to know when something enters her head and when it doesn't and this is the time where it doesn't so he held back his tongue from commenting about the matter again. Mahnoor will always be stubborn and immature but that prepubescence is making her feel too mature.

Looking at her now, he tried solving out the mystery that merged her family and his. His father would never have brought someone like Mahnoor for his sons to marry no matter how beautiful. He is more into marriage where he knew he can gain something from the other family and not the other way around. Be it fame, power, connection or even more wealth, he is always there for it but never beauty or love. Same thing he's done to his female children, he expected the same thing.

He's talked about getting him married to a princess from some state, he never stopped to listen about the rest of the story and said no. Why not? He was already costively started falling for Mahnoor with utter fierceness that's passed his own power, he couldn't stop himself even if he wanted to. Falling in love with Mahnoor was never his plan even though when he first saw her, he regretted never agreeing to marry her. He would've been in Aman's place and so many things wouldn't have happened but fate is just how it is, it plays with everyone's head.

And when he realized he's fallen in love with her, it was too late to turn back time and he also realized that he enjoyed the way he is feeling and the new feelings developing within him. They were nurtured to be fierce, raw and blinding and that is exactly how he feels. When it comes to Mahnoor, everything is perfect and well pictured from the start.

A conversation, the very last one he's had with his father fell back in his ears.

Asad was getting too curious to let things drop so he called his father last week to find out the reasons behind Mahnoor and Aman's marriage. He wants to know everything about Mahnoor but she also doesn't know the secret and the mystery they are hiding. The man picked the call after the third ring as though he was waiting for his call, Asad almost chuckled at the irony. Had it been months ago, the man wouldn't have answered the call, his secretary would've done so. Things have changed, he should've rebelled when Aman did.

They exchanged awkward stiff pleasantries, each of them with pride shining in their skulls to trample down and let the other rein. They have the same blood running through their veins after all. Living for almost thirty years together is not a joke so each one of them knew the others mood of reaction and the two merged together won't give a good result. The reactant won't react to give perfect product in this case.

"I- I've been meaning to ask you about something, Sir." He paused, feeling his father's curiosity rolling off of him in waves. Asad could already picture the look of triumph in his fathers face, thinking he was going to ask about something related to money. Ugh, the man will never learn or change. Not everything is about riches, this is about his wife's wellbeing and his undying curiosity. Both Mahnoor and Aman know nothing about this, only his parents and hers do.

Zubairu Ajuji couldn't handle the tension so he pressed in a gruff tone. "Go on."

Smirking at the perked interest in his father's voice, he took his time. "It's about... Mahnoor and Aman's marriage. I cannot help wondering what the reason behind their marriage is. I'm afraid both my wife and I are too pressed to know what the entire story is about, we would've flown to Agadez."

Silence, his father wouldn't say a thing. It took him two good solid minutes before he replied. "You can book the flight to Agadez, that's less than an hour flight. Is that all you called to ask?"

His father clearly wanted him to crawl back to his manor and beg for forgiveness which won't be given to him easily,Asad won't go back to that manor even with a knife around his neck.

"Oh, alright. Maybe it's too important for a phone so I'll just book the flight. I hope this is not another obsidian secret of yours that you've hidden away from the world, I'll hatch it out for everyone to see." He hung up the phone knowing the next thing from his father is an insult that will probably make the Angels mad at him.

Much deeper into the night, Mahnoor awoke with a start when she heard the sounds of Shahadah coming from the bed, it was so loud that she thought a loudspeaker was turned on in the middle of the night. She turned on her phone's flashlight and adjusted to the darkness, tiptoed to the bed to find Asad trashing and sweating on the bed. Her eyes blinked against the sleepy blurriness that is making her see things in mosaic.

Aghast at the sight and permeated with intense dread, she ran out of the room calling out doctors and nurses on night duty, they came bounding into the room in hysterics too just like she. She was asked to stay outside while they check on him, her legs wouldn't move. They were too jellylike to hold her weight, she almost granulated on the tiled floor in consternation. What is going on?

"Ma'am, you are wasting our time and we need to check up on him and you being here won't help matters." One of the nurses tried saying tactfully.

Mahnoor realized that being in the room means Asad being checked more delayed so she left wearing only a robe and head tie. She sat outside the room and waited for them to stop whatever it is that is wrong with her husband.

Exactly twenty three minutes later, all of them walked out of the room looking morose and dampened, her heart dipped to her belly. None could look her in the eye, she frowned and stopped them by standing right in front of the three doctors that went to check on her husband. There is a change in the air, she could feel it enveloping her but she just disregarded it because why not? It's not important whether the air is more chillier now or her robe is just too flimsy and she feels irked wearing it in front of bunch of non-mahrams.

Subdued and vanquished, one decided to explain. "I'm sorry, we couldn't save him. I don't think it has anything to do with his injuries, it's just his time."

A nurse came forward with sky blue hospital paper and handed it to her, more like forced her to hold it. Her eyes went straight to the bottom of it. Time of death, 04:23...Friday.

Mahnoor fell to her knees, her hands dropping beside her, her whole posture trough and her neck bent forward as though she is submitting herself. Lightheaded, her breath coming out in sharp tugs, the nurses scattered around her to help stabilize her breathing. They realized with much dismay that she is having a panic attack. One of the doctors carried her in his arms, place her leisurely on one of the long waiting chairs and ordered the nurses to help her breath.

She kept wrenching away from them while mumbling to herself. "No! That is not true. It cannot be true." At the same time shaking her head paroxysmally. Her eyes filled and brimmed with misery, dolor and tribulation.