He didn't know her, but if she was related to Anas, there was nothing he couldn't do for her. And upholding her honor included. He didn't know the kind of upbringing she had, but it was evident that she thought so low of herself and found herself so worthless that even the worst of men was doing her a favor by simply being in the sacred bind of marriage with her.

She looked up at him with her tears strained face and wiped at the strands before she spoke. "I don't know you, I've only seen you today, but please...don't break my marriage. This is the last thread I'm holding onto in being sane, okay? Please drop the charges and let go of this case."

He knew he had seen her smile few hours ago, but now that he was seeing this sheer pain glistening from her eyes, Zaid knew that she was simply faking that smile. Yes, she might've been happy that she had seen Anas, who was basically the only friend she had in her life, but there was still sadness lingering in her eyes.

"Your life will be so much better without this marriage, Sabeeha, can't you see the way you're living?" He didn't know how the words came out as softly as they did even though in his heart, all he wanted was to punch some senses into her worthless husband and make sure he didn't leave Damaturu without him divorcing her.

She shook her head, her eyes getting more filled with tears. "This is my safe haven, no matter how hellish it might be for me. Please, I beg of you to drop the charges and ask these officers to leave." She lifted her hands up in a begging manner and Zaid didn't know when he crouched down to her level and lifted both his hands, stopping himself from holding her hands in his.

"What are you doing to yourself?" She was only shaking her head, meaning he wouldn't understand her predicament and he would've loved it if he could. But there was no way he was going to leave her with this man, he might end up killing her someday. And for what he felt for her, even though confusing, he would never let that happen.

"Look at your son." He pointed at Waleed that was now cradled in Anas's arms as he cried profusely. She turned and her eyes watered even more. "Can't you see the damage you're doing to him? You think that this is the best life you could give him. I mean, I don't know your story but it's pretty obvious that you've had it pretty bad. Being a divorcee isn't the end of the world. He might kill you someday, and what would happen to your son then? Would you still be able to protect him?"

She was silent, just her tears flowing from her eyes as she stared at Waleed that cried while his entire body shook in Anas's arms. Zaid took his eyes off her and turned back to the officer. "Please, I'd love for this case to be taken to court. He's to be charged with domestic violence, child maltreatment and kidnapping of a minor. And also, he should divorce her with three talaqs." He got back to his feet and fished for his phone. "I shouldn't even be telling you all this, the lawyer will be there first thing tomorrow morning."

Sabeeha turned to look at him with her eyes the shade of blood as she continued to shake her head at him. "Don't break my marriage. I'd rather live in this hell than the one you're trying to push me back into, please." She whimpered. Zaid knew that he couldn't keep on looking into her eyes and not feel heartbroken over her helplessness, so, he turned away from her sight.

"Please, take him to the police station. We'd be there with the lawyer tomorrow." He informed the police and they dragged Dahiru to his feet.

"If you let them take me out of this room, you'd never know peace in your life." He threatened and her body shook as she couldn't muster the courage to look at him in the eyes.

"Anas, please tell them to let him go." She begged, her entire energy drained out of her body as she pleaded.

"This is the best thing to do, Beeha. I can't ask Zaid for that when he's doing it for me, for us. I know why you're like this, but I promise to protect you this time, okay?" Anas responded lovingly and she shook her head. They wouldn't understand. No one will ever understand what she's going through and what she'd go through if she let Dahiru divorced her.

"You're divorced. You're divorced. You're divorced! You worthless woman! And you'd never be able to find peace in your life and no man would ever marry you ever again in your life. You'd end up alone and miserable and guess what? I'd haunt you until you take your last breath. Wait until all this is over, and you'd regret this very moment."

She slumped breathless on the floor upon hearing those words as the officers dragged Dahiru out of the room and the hospital at large. Zaid watched as Anas rushed to call the nurses to come and help her and even after she had been laid on the bed and the IV plugged back into her vein, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

She looked lifeless. And he bet if she were to choose between life and death, with the absence of Waleed in her life, whom he was sure she fought to take every breath for, then she'd chose death. Her chest heaved heavily while she breathed and her face, smudged with tears and sheer pain, looked so pale that if he wasn't staring at her chest, he'd think that she was lifeless.

"My Ammi isn't moving," Waleed spoke with a teary voice as he too, fixed his eyes on her petite frame. No one would tell that she had a son like him. It looked as though he were her brother or something.

"She's sleeping Waleed, okay? She'd wake up tomorrow and then we'd go back to Adamawa, do you want that?" Anas answered him with the fakest smile Zaid had ever seen him painted.

"Ammi said she doesn't want to live in Adamawa, she told me that life there is more painful than here. I don't want to leave, I want to stay here with her." He said, wiping his tears with his little hands and Anas smiled at him again.

"That's because I'm not there. You see, both you and Ammi will live in my house and I'd make sure you two are happy, okay? No one will harm you or your Ammi, I promise." As Zaid watched the encounter, something moved in his soul. Something bitter and painful.

She had infused her mentality into the young boy. She had made him believe that whatever hardship he was experiencing then he had to keep up with it because the one he'd get into would be much more than that. And his heart was bleeding for them. Whatever her story was, she had had it pretty bad, and it was an unvoiced promise to himself to make sure the life she lived didn't repeat itself, ever again.

∞

Sabeeha woke up with a heavy heart and her lungs threatening to stop working any minute from now. She heaved a sigh as she tried to sit upright but the searing pain that shot up to her head reminded her of what had happened and where she was now. But most importantly, the kind of life that awaited her.

Her tears came even before she opened her eyes and when she did that, she found Waleed sleeping peacefully beside her. She placed her hand on his head as she fumbled with his hair, feeling as her heart wanted to burst out of her chest. This was too much for her. Yet again, she had lost another husband and now, she'd live the life she had lived before. Maybe even worse.

Again, her name had been changed from Sabeeha to Bazawara, because that's what she was now.

A hiccup of tears rushed out of her mouth but she quickly placed her palm to stop it from getting out. She had to act strong, even though she didn't even know where to start from or what to do. Dahiru had divorced her. With three talaqs and there was no space for reconciliation. What would she do now?

She was silently crying that she didn't even notice that Waleed had woken up until she felt his hand on her cheeks, clearing her tears away. "It's okay, Ammi. Uncle Anas promised me that I'd be happy if we go to Adamawa."

Hmmm. Anas knew nothing about the life she lived in Adamawa. Yes, she lived in his home, but he had no idea about the intensity of what she had went through in the hands of his family. And she knew that he couldn't protect her the way he thought he could. She smiled, wiping at her tears as she nodded her head.

"Yes, Waleed. We're now going back to Adamawa, and we'd be happy, okay?" What else could she tell the boy she had practically killed the life of? Waleed knew no joy ever since he graced this world. No, she'd rephrase that, since when he was in her womb. And right now, she wanted to do her best in giving him the best life she could.

There was a knock on the door and when Anas walked into the room, she watched as he smiled and waved enthusiastically at Waleed before he set the nylons on the nightstand. "I brought you food, boy, are you hungry?" He asked, not glancing her way and Waleed nodded his head vehemently.

"Go to the bathroom and rinse your mouth, then you can eat. We're leaving for Adamawa today, okay?" They both watched as Waleed went to the bathroom adjoined with the room and his attention roamed back to her.

"Beeha," he called out, but she quickly looked away from him. She had no word to say to him. He knew the kind of life she lived. Okay, he didn't know all of it but at least he had an idea of even the fraction of the life she lived in Adamawa, yet he supported his friend until they broke her only string of hope? She had thought she could always count on Anas whenever she was in a dilemma, but right now, she regretted calling him yesterday night.

"Are you angry at me?" He asked, pulling the chair until he fixed it beside her on the bed. She didn't budge, instead, she laid down on the bed and covered her face with her hijab. "Oh my Allah, Beeha, you can't be angry at me. What have I done?"

He was the only person that called her Beeha. And it started since when he was a little boy. When she was officially brought into his home to stay with his family. She was around eleven years old and by then, he was an only one year old baby that loved playing with her. He couldn't pronounce her name properly and it started from then. Till date, even when he was now a grown up-wait, maybe he wasn't grown up entirely. But what was his age again?

The first question to ask was how old she was, and she only needed to minus ten years old from hers and voila, Anas's age! And she was thirty three years old, making him twenty three years old. Pretty how fast the world moved. It felt like yesterday how she had played with him when he was a baby. How they fought, how he cried and complained. And now, he was all grown up, making decisions upon her life even though they were life destructive to her.

She heard as he conversed with Waleed while he fed him and no matter how she didn't want to, her tears came back. She couldn't believe that she now had a child of her own. And that child was at the age where her life changed entirely for her. From good to worse. The kind of life she had never imagined she'd live, not even in her dreams. And her child is that age too, she sincerely prayed that his life wouldn't go from worse to terrible. She hoped that with Waleed, she could help change this painful narrative.

Somehow, amidst her tears and agony, sleep overtook her soul and she only woke up to the sound of the voice she now hated more than anything in this world. What was his name again? Zaid. She clenched her eyes shut, feeling the searing pain threatening to break every wall she had in her heart. It was so painful that even breathing was proving to be a difficult task for her.

She steadied her breathing, because all she wanted to do was strangle him to death. For putting her back into the life she thought she'd never have to experience again. Yes, Anas's family were more affluent than Dahiru, it wasn't even comparable. She had a nicer room, more delicious food in his house, but this, she could tolerate it much more than what she was going through in that house.

She could tolerate staying in Damaturu more than Adamawa, she had more peace of mind than ever. She heard as they spoke about how he had gone to the police station and how the matter had already been issued to court. And now, whatever was going on, he'd be hearing from the lawyer he had hired.

And she wondered, who asked him to do all that? Did he have so much money in abundance that he could so lavishly spend while destroying the lives of other people? She heard as Dahiru's voice while he divorced her kept resonating through her ears and she didn't know when her tears began to cascade on her cheeks, albeit with her eyes closed.

"Ammi is crying while she's sleeping." She heard Waleed's voice from where he was and was certain all their attentions were on her.

"Come, Waleed. Let's go and buy you and Ammi some clothes, we're leaving Damaturu today." She heard his voice and waited until they walked out of the room before she began to wipe at her tears.

Anas moved closer to her and stared at her face until she was done and she opened her eyes to his solemn face. "That's too much tears for the day, Beeha. You should be glad that you're no longer chained to that horrible man, Zaid will make sure he rots in jail."

"And who asked him to do that, huh?" She didn't know when anger blared in her. "Just who asked him to do that, Anas? I was managing fine before that, I would've walked out of this unscathed, too. I endure staying with him, what's with y'all that you had to break off my marriage?"

Anas stared at her with his mouth slightly agape. He was about to speak when she cut him off, so much pain and anger dripping with each word she had uttered. "I'd never forgive him for making me a divorcee again." And when she said she'd never forgive someone, she meant it from the bottom of her heart.

"Sabeeha..." Anas began, but she lifted her hand to stop him and pointed at the door for him.

"You're so much younger than me, Anas. You're still so young to know what life is all about and what one has to endure in life just so he or she could live. I don't know if he's your age mate or even younger than you are, but all I know is, a young boy has foolishly bought me a ticket to start living in hell. He took me from frying pan to fire, that's it."

"Beeha..." She cut him off again, because she didn't even want to hear another word from him.

"Get out. And I'm not leaving Damaturu just because the two of you have said so. I'd rather die here than go back to Adamawa. Now, call him and ask him to bring my son back." Her words were barely audible due to the amount of pain she had to gulp down with each breath she took, but she could do this.

She had just made this decision now, she'd never go to back to Adamawa. Yes, she knew that living in Damaturu when there was a risk of meeting Dahiru and she knew how unforgiving he was, but she'd rather take that risk. Because this time, she didn't know what life had in store for her if she went back to the Barkindo's mansion.

"You know there's no way I'd leave you here knowing you have nowhere and no one to go to, right? You have to go back to Adamawa, Sabeeha. And yes, I may be ten years younger than you, but I believe there are decisions I could take that will be far better than the ones you will." The kind of glare she threw at him nearly made him smile.

"I believe living with my family might to might be harder than staying married to that monster, but I promise that I'd protect you this time around, even if I'd have to give up on my life, Beeha, I'd make sure you live happily from now on, I promise."

"You haven't even started life to know that you can give up on it. Get out of my sight, Anas."

"We've been best friends since when I was in my diaper and you expect me to leave you like this just because you're throwing this tantrum? Think again, Beeha. And yes, I may not have had it hard the way you did, but in my own way, I've seen and known what life means and I'm willing to sacrifice mine for you." He got to his feet, putting both hands in his pockets. She had never seen Anas so serious and a bit scary like today. "And going back to Adamawa, you shall."