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She gave the kitchen a quick clean-up but left the dishes in the sink, so she could return to Jâsim and keep him entertained. Fareed would most definitely complain about that if he saw—just like everything else—but he wouldn't bother to watch Jâsim while she finished clean-up. When she entered the room, Jâsim was was stacking his blocks into a tower.

She sat beside him and watched. "What are you making, habîbî?"

"The Empire State building," he said proudly to her amusement. It was quite an ambitious goal for a four-year-old to achieve with building blocks.

Fareed's voice interrupted them. "We need to talk."

She glanced up. His tall, broad-shouldered frame stood in the doorway of the den, eyes locked on her. His tone of voice and the set expression on his dark face gave her a bad premonition. She tamped it down. He probably had something new to complain about—maybe the way she'd organized something in their bedroom.

She inwardly sighed as she mentally prepared herself for more criticism. As much as she loved her husband, he was extremely nitpicky over just about everything. It was becoming increasingly hard to be around him.

She glanced at Jâsim. "Mâmâ has to talk to Bâbâ for a little while. You stay here and play, okay?"

"Okay, Mâmâ," he responded.

When she turned toward the exit of the den, Fareed was already gone. He hadn't even waited for her. With a mixture of worry and dread, she rose and left her son to go in search of her husband. She went to their bedroom first, but when she got there, the sight before her was so shocking that she froze in place. Fareed had placed a large suitcase on the bed. In it, he was throwing what looked like most of the clothes he owned.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. He had no plausible reason for it. He was a law office clerk—he would have no reason to travel anywhere that she knew of. "What are you doing?" she asked. She tried to keep the tremble of fear out of her voice, but she still heard it.

He turned toward her. She couldn't help noticing that his dark eyes didn't soften with warmth and affection like they had when they'd first married. They seemed cold and distant. It wasn't the first time she'd noticed, but observing that detail when he was packing a suitcase was not reassuring. She felt even more frightened now.

"I'm leaving," he said simply. "This isn't working for me anymore."