55|a crescendo of heat.

6k+ words ahead.
...

Sadiq went through his morning routine with precision, wondering about the perfect way to tackle the issue he had at hand knowing in a few days or maximum, a week, the list of troops to be deployed to the two countries battling insurgents was going to be released in the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, alongside the superiors to lead the troops, men of his rank included. 

Last night after he'd gotten home, with his mind filled to the brim with thoughts after thoughts of the girl who made his chest burn with need, Sadiq wondered if he was being fair at all with both decisions he'd made; the first being the need to make her his wife, the second was the war he was sure to participate in.

He prayed into the night for Allah's guidance in their possible union,
prayed for the best for her and for himself, and most of all, he prayed for her love.

Today, after clothing himself in a crisp white kaftan, Sadiq went through the shelves housing his collection of caps and carefully selected one from the zanna bukar designs he favored before heading out of his apartment.

First, he drove to a gift shop where he'd dropped an order three days ago for custom made gifts in her name, in the arabic calligraphy. In the gift box was a gold jewellery set with a neckpiece and bracelet engraved in her full name, the earrings—he noticed she wore studs most of the time—had her initials and instead of A, he went for H for her Hafsah, there was also a plain anklet and a ring. His next stop was the flower shop he looked up two days ago and with gratitude on his lips, Sadiq accepted the single rose from the florist who was looking at him as though he had grown a second head. It was the second time he was there for a single rose.

It wasn't his fault, Sadiq decided. He could vividly recall the time during Abdullah and Imaan's wedding when Amaani's friend, Na'im, gifted her with a bouquet of roses, pink roses. During one of their talks in recent times, she'd also talked about her fascination for flowers and simplicity. It led to his decision to do something different and he opted for a deep shade of a single red rose instead of the whole bouquet, the same type he'd given her during their picnic before she had gotten trampled by the horse yesterday.

Sadiq settled in his car with his package in hand and his fingers holding a pen hovering over the white card attached to the flower trying to come up with the perfect words for his beautiful poet. He decided to go with the things she made him feel and in neat penmanship, Sadiq bared his heart out with the conviction that his love was returned. He made the last part concise and it read:

Be mine?
I love you.

Smiling like a fool in love to himself, he couldn't help the laughter that rumbled from the deepest part of his chest as he reread the last part, wondering what his friends, Abdullah specifically will do if he mistakenly hears a whiff of how smitten he was and the techniques he was using to woo a woman. At that moment, he didn't care one bit about their opinions, all that mattered rather, were hers, and that was the end of it.

Fixing the rose and its note over the gift-box, Sadiq rode to the restaurant he was scheduled to meet with Abdullah and one of their friends, Faisal at for lunch. For the first time in a long while, he was the last person to arrive at the destination and they pulled his legs over it.

"How come you're late? Does it seem like it's about to rain, Faisal is it cloudy outside?" Abdullah asked Faisal who was enjoying the ribbing because as opposed to this sole day, he had always been the one guilty of being late for a meet-up all the time and it was refreshing to not be on the receiving end.

They spent a few minutes making sure that Sadiq was perfectly okay before ordering their food. The trio ate in silence and after they were done, they discussed military matters.

Later on, Faisal excused himself to make a phone call leaving Sadiq and Abdullah alone.

"What's up with you?" Abdullah asked, turning to his friend with a critical eye, silently observing the way he kept taking perfunctory glances at his wristwatch.

Sadiq raised a brow up, "nothing is, why?"

"You look like you're in a hurry."

Sadiq shrugged, neither was he confirming his friend's observation nor was he declining it. It prompted Abdullah to whisk the cat out of the bag.

He made a show of bringing out his phone and turning it to Sadiq, the latter couldn't help the smile that took over his lips, soundlessly looking at the man holding the phone.

"Isn't this you?" Abdullah asked, pertaining to a picture of Sadiq astride Assad that Amaani took yesterday with the sun casting a warm glow over the sky.

Sadiq shrugged. "I think so."

Abdullah levelled him with a glare.

"Amaani and I went horse riding yesterday, thought you'd know by now, she had an accident and was treated at the hospital. I'm going to see her from here, you going?" Sadiq asked with a brow raised up.

Abdullah fought back his smile, pretending to be in deep thoughts, "I don't think I can join you now but Imaan and I could go see her later. I know about the accident, we even went to check up on her last night."

"Then you definitely know that we went out." Sadiq said, looking right into his friend's eyes.

Abdullah nodded. "She told me her brother taught her to ride a horse and even defended you, she said it wasn't your fault at all that she got injured. Tell me something, Sadiq." He said, his eyes squinting as he scrutinised the other man, deliberately trying to intimidate him.

Sadiq nodded, inclining his head to Abdullah, wordlessly urging him to go on, feeling in no way intimidated by the man he'd known all his life.

"Is there anything I'm supposed to know? Anything?" He asked, raising a brow up.

Sadiq recalled the day they had a similar conversation several months ago at Lina's wedding, when Abdullah was talking about his feelings for Imaan and it felt like deja vu. Although, in this case, Sadiq wasn't sure he was ready to talk to his friend until he had spoken with the person involved directly first.

"Why do you think there is?" He asked, running his tongue across his teeth.

Abdullah's snicker that followed after Sadiq's words was loud. "Don't beat around the bush Abubakar Sadiq. I know you, you know me. What's between you and Amaani?" He wore a stern expression as he came out in the open.

Sadiq focused his gaze on him, "are you sizing me up?" He asked, fighting back a smile.

Abdullah narrowed his eyes at his closest friend. "I've been watching you two kasani ko. Your lingering looks, your hostility towards her boyfriend—"

"He's not her boyfriend." Sadiq interrupted, narrowing his eyes at the other man. "She barely knows him and she doesn't like him that way."

"She said so herself?" Abdullah asked, then raised a hand to halt Sadiq, "does that mean you are the boyfriend instead?"

Sadiq's lips pressed into a thin line,
"Abdullah, do I honestly look like someone's boyfriend? If all goes to plan, I'm making Amaani my wife. Any objection to that?"

For a moment, Abdullah was stunned, rendered speechless by Sadiq's admission. He'd never thought a day would come when Sadiq would be vocal about his feelings for a woman. And for that woman to end up being Amaani, his little sister.

Abdullah shook his head in disbelief. "Who are you and what have you done to my friend?"

Sadiq shrugged.

"What do you mean if all goes to plan? What plan, Sadiq?"

The man being questioned released a deep breath, "Abdullah I've seen what happened to Yusuf, I don't want to subject anyone to that. Believe me, I want to get married, I want Amaani to be my wife more than anything." He paused, looking about the restaurant. "Abdullah, Amaani is a young girl, what if I don't return from this war?"

"You're drawing conclusions already, aren't you Sadiq? Well, picture this, what if you return and find her married to another person? Will that sit well with you?"

Sadiq's eyes shuttered close, Abdullah's words painting an ugly picture in his head. An image he tore off his mind as fast as it came.

"Let it sink fully into your head. Yes, there is the possibility of you dying on the battlefield, but there's also every possibility of you returning to the life you left, choose wisely Sadiq. Do not let the fear of the unknown decide for you. You have my blessings, by the way."

Sadiq sat silent for the next few minutes, letting his friend's words dawn fully into his mind with a resounding echo.

"Do not expect me to thank you for ringing sense into my head because I won't."

Abdullah raised both hands up in mock surrender, "Sadiq, do as you please. But know this, hurt my baby sister, you die."

They nodded at each other, a silent understanding passing between them in that moment.

"Have you told her about Yusra?" Abdullah broke the silence with his question.

Sadiq shook his head. "Not yet, but I am planning on it In Shaa Allah. Don't know when though. I'll decide on all of that tonight In Shaa Allah."

"May Allah guide you through all the decisions you're making."

"Ameen. Thank you Abdullah." Sadiq said, nodding to his friend.

"Don't thank me yet." Abdullah grinned, returning his gaze to the puzzle he was reshuffling. In his head he was commending his wife for seeing it coming. He had no idea until she'd hinted at it.

...

Amaani tore open a jewellery box, her eyes going through the neatly arranged pairs of earrings and ear cuffs that were sitting pretty in it. Her eyes caught a rose gold teardrop pair and her fingers picked it out with glee in her eyes.

She put everything in place whilst smiling in the mirror. The speech or suggestion she planned to make flowing around freely in her mind.

Earlier in the morning she couldn't help herself from calling Hammad and forcing words out of him. She needed to know what exactly he was coming for to brace herself ahead of time. After a lot of persistence he told her the main part and took half of her worries away. For formality's sake, they decided to meet up and discuss about it in person.

A smile lit up her face and with a deep inhale, she took her phone out of the pocket of her dress.

There, glaring on the screen was Hammad's text message notifying her of his arrival. Deftly sliding her lipstick once over her lips, she pursed them in the mirror and sent a wink to herself adjusting the veil she had on.

Because of the bandage wrapped around her dislocated arm, Amaani chose a stylish dress the colour of the skies in the early morning hours, its sleeves—round and wide—she believed, were perfect for the occasion because they freed her injured arm from the stress of being trapped beneath a tight sleeve or no sleeve at all.

Amaani hurried down the stairs to the parking lot where Hammad was waiting. She found him seated in his car wearing a grin and holding a bouquet of pink and white roses. The roses, he handed to her with a gallant smile on his face.

"This is so beautiful, thank you so much." She grinned at him, cooing and hugging the bouquet to her chest. A note attached to the stem had her raising it up to read.

Injuries do not befit a woman as pretty as you. Fend it off with your smiles and get well soon❤️.
-Hammad IM.

Her eyes glazed over as she read the short note once, then twice.

"Oh God. I don't know what to say! Thank you so much." She pressed the roses to her nose, inhaling deeply, a sense of peace and calm washed through her at the sweet scent that filled her soul.

She returned the bouquet to her chest, hugging it with her free arm.

"It's my pleasure. How are you feeling now?" He asked, looking concerned as he smiled at her.

"Very much better, Alhamdulillah." She replied, beaming brightly at her companion.

They spoke about her accident and Amaani who vowed to fish out how he found out was unsuccessful in her endeavor. Instead, he changed the topic completely to the other reason why he was visiting.

Hammad cleared his throat, "I know this isn't how my mom and Aunt Muneerah wanted it to be Amaani," he paused to look at her face, "my gut instincts tells me you're in love with another."

She moved her face to another side, wondering how on earth he got that idea. Earlier he'd only brushed the surface. "Why do you think that?"

"Instincts I tell you. I just feel it and this thing between us, I would've loved to push it further if only you were available even if we take baby steps first. But honestly Amaani, if we're moving forward I want to be the only man on your mind. I don't want to be sharing your attention with some other person." He explained. "I've told my mom already but she's asking for precise details and I promised to explain fully to her about whatever decision we make, after we come to a conclusion."

Amaani nodded, blew air out of her lips and smiled weakly at him. "Under other circumstances I would've been your lucky girl. You're a very good person Hammad." Her eyes moved to the flowers comfortably seated on her laps, "I'm sorry." She whispered, looking up at him.

He smiled at the guilty look on her face, shaking his head, he said his mind, "I'm not sorry, so you shouldn't be too. I'm glad I got the chance to meet a clever, intelligent and beautiful lady like you. But no matter what it is, we do not possess the power to force feelings and Alhamdulillah no one's getting his heart broken, mine's fractured though, it bled last night." He playfully placed a hand over the organ and winced at the expression on her face, the guilt on it had grown more pronounced. "I was kidding you know. I'm leaving the reins to you now, definitely game for whatever you decide."

Nodding twice, Amaani wrung her fingers together before mustering enough courage to speak. "Friends?" She asked in a meek tone, her face slanted sideways as she smiled softly.

Hammad nodded, accepting her terms. "Friends." He grinned, "now as your friend, tell me who this lucky guy is. The one who has your attention."

Amaani turned to him to reply but her words got cut off, her thoughts disappeared as a familiar black car pulled up in the driveway, parking directly beside Hammad's car to the left.

The car, heavily tinted was one Amaani could recognise anywhere, any day. It was Sadiq's.

Hammad followed her line of sight and released a deep breath. "You're going in? One of your brothers is here." He nodded, inclining his head towards the car.

"Yes, it's Ya Sadiq." She said, taking her eyes off the car, fully aware that he could clearly see them through the trasnparent windows of Hammad's car.

Hammad looked at her with keen eyes, trying to figure out the reason for her change in demeanor. She seemed anxious. "Or is your mystery man's identity better left a secret?" He asked, returning to their conversation.

Subconsciously, her eyes flickered to the car once more, no one was yet to come down and she could swear she felt his eyes on them.

Her silence made his own eyes follow her line of sight a second time, realisation dawned on Hammad making him nod twice. "No wonder he acted like we'd never met the first time I came here. You guys are dating or something?"

Amaani recovered a second too late, confirming his suspicions. "Sorry, me and who?" She giggled nervously, adjusting her perfectly wrapped veil. "It's all in your head, I'm not in love with anyone actually." She wracked through her brain for a subject change.

"C'mon Amaani, you just agreed now that we're friends, or are we not?" His brows dipped into a frown.

Her eyes fluttered close in resignation, "we're not dating." She denied.

He nodded in understanding, "but feelings are involved. Damn, I don't know how in the world I missed this." With an amused expression on his face, he turned to face her, "do you know that he has never smiled at me, I always fixed it to Abdullah being more accommodating and welcoming without knowing I got it all wrong. I don't blame him for despising me," he sent her a wink, "I'm at fault here for seeking his beloved's attention. I fucked up, big time." He said, ending his sentence with a grin.

Amaani shook her head so many times until she felt like she was literally being spun, "Hammad, I'm speaking the honest truth, the only relationship between us is—"

"Amaani," he interrupted, daring her to deny his next words with the look he'd fixed on her. "He loves you, you love him but no one's said a word yet. I got it right, did I not?" He guessed, pursing his lips and wondering how on earth the mothers who linked them up had no idea at all because if they did, they wouldn't have given him a taste of the sweetest honey in person of Hafsah Amaani Maleek.

Amaani, defeated, could only nod. "No one's said a word."

"He's looking at us." Hammad surmised, finding it interesting that he was caught in a love triangle. One he'd wisely slinked out of.

She shook her head, "I don't think so, he's probably on a call or something." She shrugged, denying the obvious even though her heart was thudding loudly in her chest, knowing he was looking at them.

Everything that happened the day before came rushing through her mind, his parting words resounding in her head with a reverberating echo. His promise to visit on the morrow and apprise her of what he had been keeping from her.

It totally skipped her mind, despite her anticipating it during the early hours of the morning, Hammad's visit and the reason for it took her mind temporarily off it.

"Well, to be honest with you, meeting you is the highlight of my year Amaani, and we're just in the fourth month but I doubt if anything could beat that. Once your wedding date is fixed, let me know, I need my schedule cleared in advance because I cannot afford to miss it."

Amaani laughed nervously, "who knows if that would be? I have plans for you though, you're single, aren't you?" She nearly hit her head with her own hand at her silly words.

"Very much so, you've got someone in mind for me?" He raised a brow playfully.

Amaani nodded, "I do, but that's for another day." She said, grateful for the tension that had slipped out of the car and freed her from its shackles.

"So all this while, I've been vying for your attention while it was busy elsewhere, trying to link me up with someone else just so you could make the rejection hurt less? Smooth Amaani, just smooth." He laughed wholeheartedly.

Amaani giggled, her nervousness over Sadiq's nearness temporarily shedding off, and him coming over while Hammad was around didn't mean she was supposed to jump out of Hammad's car to his. Hammad deserved the closure he was due.

"I honestly wasn't. The idea came to me a few days ago and my own gut tells me it's a splendid one. But let's let the rejection hush down first, which by the way, you rejected me and not the other way round." She reasoned, her lips pushing into a pout.

He nodded, staring at her face in admiration, realizing the gem that had just slipped out of his grasp. A gem he was never fully able to hold and Hammad felt a sense of loss wash over him, albeit brief, but it was still felt.

"Thank you Amaani, for everything. And, yes, I'm game for whatever your gut tells you." With a beam, Hammad wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a hug that lasted less than a second. Brief yet affectionate. "I'll miss you."

"We'll keep in touch, always. In Shaa Allah. " She promised, taking her eyes off him. "I'll miss you too and let me know when you're leaving, alright?"

Hammad nodded, he inhaled deeply, regarding Sadiq's car, "your man is still yet to come down, maybe he's waiting for you to get in first."

Her eyes moved to Sadiq's car and flitted back to Hammad instantly. "Maybe he is just busy." She shrugged.

He nodded, absentmindedly. "Yeah, a heads up though Amaani, whatever you end up dealing with today, take me out of it, let me not be the villain please. I can't lose you in every way possible." He chuckled at the expression that took over her face.

"I can't believe you Hammad." She used her bouquet to hit him square in the chest, laughing alongside him in abandon.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, seated in his car with only the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears, Sadiq watched the scene unfolding before him. The show the lovers were pulling in broad daylight.

A deep unsettling ache unfurled in his ribs making his fingers shiver, they trembled in unison to the beating in his chest, the hammering.

With narrowed eyes that refused to budge an inch from the couple comfortably seated within close distance, Sadiq felt every inch of his body heating up in anger. In rage at the man who dared to sit within close proximity to her, revelling in her scent and the sound of her voice, her laughter.

It rushed through every part of him and reached a boiling point when the man dared to make contact. The final straw was the sight of her laughing freely after the embrace.

His eyes shuttered close, he saw nothing but fire. It was an inferno that raged through every part of him.

The flames in his heart roared into a crescendo of heat as he tried every method—known to man—to calm himself, he tried hard to grasp onto the feeble remnants of the self-control he'd felt slipping away from him to no avail until it all went down the drain.

Sadiq, gritting hard on his teeth walked out of his car, his eyes focused on the entryway avoiding the direction of the other man's car and forcing himself into the house on heavy legs.

A house-help welcomed him in with a greeting that could not penetrate through his ears. His vision was clouded with the darkest sight he'd ever seen as he walked into the living room he always stops at when he visits. So was every other sense he possesses.

Pacing in the amply familiar room, the inferno of his emotions built, each step fueling the fire within him. It simmered to a climax, the tension palpable in the air until it tipped off in a resounding explosion that shook him with the velocity of an earthquake. The first step he took towards the door intending to bodily pull her out of the car was halted by the knob turning, her head appeared in view before her whole body did.

He tensed.

Amaani wore a sheepish expression on her face as she walked in.

"Ya Sadiq, good afternoon." She greeted, adjusting her veil and forcing a smile on her face. His eyes, normally intense yet filled with warmth stared at her with a darkness that had her on the brink of staggering.

Sadiq's face was blank as he acknowledged her presence. "Lock the door behind you." His words, the autocratic tone in them bore no room for argument, it was an order rather than a request.

His darkened orbs were focused and trained on her as he moved from his position by the wall towards her direction. Sadiq overstepped his boundaries by stopping only when the tip of his shoes met hers, one arm caged her against the wall and before she got to escape, he placed his other hand against the other side of her, effectively caging her to the hard surface. He took a deep breath, swallowing down a portion of his rage to form a lucid sentence.

"What was that?" He asked, his voice, the deep timbre was low, dark, menacing. "What the fuck was that?" He thundered, his face contorting with the rage burning his chest.

Amaani blinked her eyes at his words, not once had she ever heard him using a vulgar word. "What was what?" She asked, feigning ignorance.

"Do not play coy with me and tell me what the hell that was." His eyes bore straight into hers, sending shards of temper and icy fury into every part of her it touched, intensely.

Amaani made move to slink out of his cage drawing his attention to the bouquet in her grasp.

With a scoff, his lips curled into a sinister smile that had her sinking further into the wall. Following his line of sight, she saw the liquid fire his eyes shot at the bouquet before he calmly pried her slender fingers off the stem, taking hold of the flowers and flinging them away to the furthest chair in cruel disregard for the delicate petals.

"Why do you care?" She glared, watching the movement in his jaw intensifying. The rise and fall of his chest seeming more pronounced.

"Look at me." He ordered, his voice sinfully low. Her eyes rose to meet his, unblinking, and he continued, "that man touched you." He muttered, gritting hard, painfully on his teeth as he forced the words out of his mouth.

She looked away from his gaze, blinking twice. "That man...loves me." She whispered, pausing mid-sentence.

The room fell silent to the point where the drop of a pin could be heard. Sadiq's eyes moved from her head to her eyes, firmly clasping their orbs together.

He swallowed hard, feeling like a thousand spikes had been forced down his throat.

"Look into my eye and tell me that again. Make the biggest mistake of your life Amaani and repeat that to me again." He ground out, fisting his hands against the wall.

Burning with outrage, Amaani rebelliously parted her lips to speak. Rendered speechless by the action that followed after her impulsive decision she felt her heart drop to the floor.

In a move that was too swift to be true, Sadiq wrapped a hand around her throat, testing the softness of the skin there, pressing a finger to the hollow of her neck, where the pulse was beating erratically.

Heat burned through her jersey veil from his palms like a furnace as she swallowed, his reaction turning her to stone.

"Say it. I dare you."

Knowing he wouldn't hurt her compelled her to talk, "yes. He said—"

A pressure formed as his arm flexed, he rose her head to meet his. "Say it and I will kill him." He growled, his chest heaving with the gravity of his words. His eyes, like bits of onyx gleamed at her, peeling away every bit of resistance.

Amaani steeled her resolve, pushing against him with her uninjured arm. Shrugging his hold on her neck off her, she casually moved around the room, acutely aware of his eyes following every move she made.

"He touched you." He growled, the sound reverberating around the room. It was the first time Amaani was hearing him speaking in a tone that belied his calm. His usual demeanor and the air of nonchalance he portrays was gone. Not even when he was ordering her to change out of her black dress the other day did he lose his cool, he'd managed to use the low tone he favors, underlined with authority to get what he wanted.

Now, in contrast to all of that, his voice was raised. Lethal.

"Isn't it hypocritical of you to say that?" She asked, scoffing.

Her words refused to penetrate through his ears as he repeated his words. "He touched—"

"So what if he touched me?" Amaani laughed, a mirthless sound. "He loves me." She calculated the gap between them and it encouraged her to go on. "Why would you care if Hammad loves me? He does, I will learn to love him back even if I don't now."

Sadiq snickered, the sound echoing in the room. "You did not say that." He shook his head twice, facing her fully. Forcing her to look at him.

"I did, so what? You have your Yusra, don't you? I can take care of myself without needing your help." Her own rage was palpable, the tension in the room too. It could be fisted in a grip.

Stealthily, he walked to the spot she'd stopped, overlooking the window. He commended her bravado, the guts that propelled her to speak, to lash at him with the words that twisted painfully in his chest. His body sought an outlet for the overwhelming feelings coursing through him, but he wasn't done yet. 

He hadn't even started.

With a calm that rivaled anything she'd ever seen before, like a predator stalking its prey, he backed her into a corner on the wall. The glints of venom in his eyes had the retort forming on her lips dying in a hushed whisper. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest as he had her in a spot, just like earlier.

Sadiq lowered his head.

"You need me." He muttered against her face, his breath fanning the top of her head, his gaze absentmindedly trained on the window.

Amaani felt a spurt of anger burst its way through her body.

"You want me." The menacingly dark man whispered directly to her ear, causing an eruption of goosebumps scattering across her skin.

Defiantly, she forced her head away from his lowered head. Their breaths, heavy and enraged mingled.

With a finger, he rose her chin up, forcing her in a gentle yet dominating hold to meet his eyes. She did, with rebellion coursing through every inch of her, the need to deny his every word, the zeal to throw them back at him flowing through her veins.

"You love me." Sadiq held her gaze with his in a hold far stronger than anything she'd ever felt before.

Rage steamed from her ears and like the eruption of a volcano, she exploded, her fists pushing him away from her, her lips moving to speak.

"You don't know any of that. I don't need you, Ya Sadiq. Why do you care who I'm with when you have your Yusra," her voice was raised as she spoke, Amaani channelled all of her anger at him, at his refusal to deny the other girl's existence in his life. "You shouldn't be acting hot and cold if you like me and you shouldn't be trying to sabotage the relationship I have with someone else, someone who genuinely likes me. Not when you have your Yusra and I have my Ham—"

"Wallahi, I've never sworn to you about anything, but wallahi say his name again and you will regret it Amaani. I promise you this." He warned, his throat working at a furious pace at the hostility evident in her eyes.

His fingers flexed against his sides, regarding her with his fury boldly written on his face. His feelings blatantly echoed through the air. "What do you know about Yusra?" He asked, raising a brow up.

"Enough to tell me all I need to know. Go to her, she needs you, she wants you and she loves you but I do not." She vehemently denied, standing her ground, the emotions blending into her blood from deep within her veins made her body tremble.

Sadiq snickered. "Yes, she does. But so do you."

Amaani stared at him in bewilderment.

What the hell was he saying?

Her lips shook with both rage and despair at his callous words, his heartless disregard for her feelings. His need to trample the fluttering in her chest.

"You have no right to even demand an explanation from me, you have no right to decide anything for me. Leave me alone!" She screamed at him, her heart aching at his confirmation, how he boldly threw his words that he loved Yusra to her.

Amaani lashed out at him, she threw a throw pillow in his direction, deliberately avoiding him by an inch.

"I've never hated anyone more." She spat at him, making her way to the door in uneven steps.

"You're jealous of Yusra." The amused tone in his voice pedalled her anger, it rose up an octave and made her mutter obscenities beneath her breath when the door refused to budge.

"Do not call her name in my presence too. I hate you." She made move to escape, free herself from his presence and maybe fall to her bed and cry her rage away when she was finally able to turn the knob.

Sadiq followed closely behind her, paying no heed to her words and blocking her path, remorselessly. "We're not done yet. We've barely begun, you're coming with me." He instructed, urging her out of the house without forcing his hold on her.

He didn't have to. Despite her need to be out of his sight, she followed after him on her own will.

With the steady hum of simmering rage in his temper, Sadiq navigated his way towards the orphanage. The ride, fast and furiously silent filled Amaani with a foreboding feeling that settled over her like a wet cloak on a December morning.

"You're not taking me to your girlfriend. I hate you." She screamed at him when he parked at the space provided for guests.

His narrowed eyes met hers, caught the spikes in hers and he felt a tug in his heart wondering how his plans went to ashes.

This wasn't how he planned to confess everything to her; from the very emotion the sight of her inspires in him to his relationship with the name she kept hurling at him with defiance and rebellion in her voice. With hatred.

He stayed his eyes on her, reading her feelings like an open book. She'd not denied the fact that she was jealous which was wise of her, for it would've proven futile, baseless. Her attitude alone without her words gave away that fact.

"Take me home. I'm not going anywhere with you." Her body shook with anger.

He chuckled, the sound dark and low, "but you have already. Come here." He ordered, forcing her out and into the building.

Sadiq dumped Amaani at a receiving room and asked for Yusra to be brought to him. He paced around the room, waiting for the girl to enliven the dark space with her presence, a mechanism to explain to her how there was no one else in his heart but she, how no one had ever slipped past the barriers he'd erected until she, how no one was ever able to rouse feelings in him as she did, how nothing had ever inflamed him to consider harming another man outside his profession until she. A mild way to put the hurt he wanted to inflict on the other man.

The girl who escaped from the casual hold the staff had on her hand flung herself into his arms, screaming his title at the top of her little lungs causing the blood in Amaani's veins freeze to ice.

She stared as Sadiq hefted her into his arms, the girl wrapped her own arms around his neck in a familiar manner that Amaani noted. Stunned, questions flew into her head until she came to a staggering conclusion.

Ya Sadiq has a daughter? She asked herself, feeling her breath threatening to cut short.

He whispered something to the girl's ear that had her whipping her head around the room until the widened orbs stayed fixated on Amaani's frozen form.

"Be careful with her arm, she has an injury." He added, pointing at the injured arm.

Yusra wiggled in his arms, wordlessly demanding to be let down and he did without question. Confidently, without a hint of hesitation she flew to Amaani, the pressure of her embrace causing Amaani to sink deeper into her chair. The girls arms wrapped fiercely around her as she tackled the older woman with all of her limbs securely tied around her body.

"Amaani, meet Yusra, the other girl I love." He fixed her with a pointed stare and made his way to his favorite girls. The sight of them, with limbs entwined made him feel like a fist had wrapped hard around his heart.

His wish in one picture.

Amaani recovered from her shock a few moments later, she returned the younger girl's enthusiasm with tears brimming in her eyes and questions swirling in her mind. The questions, she decided would come later. For now, she had a very young girl clinging to her like her life depended on her entirely.

"I miss you." Yusra cried against Amaani's chest.

Sadiq and Amaani's eyes met from afar, compelling him to walk closer to them. He stopped by the couch they were occupying, sat on the available space and turned to the girls.

"How?" She mouthed, her chest heaving as she settled the girl into a comfortable position on her chest, the contact sending ropes of love streaming out of her body to the girl's. To Amaani, it was love at first sight, the same way it was for her and Sadiq.

...

Hello Assalamu Alaikum. It feels refreshing dropping an Author's Note after all this time.

Say your mind...

To my telegram girls, see ya Thursday!

❤️
Instagram: @ameenatou_