CHAPTER 58

Najiba called her husband and told him that there is something that she will like to discuss with him  urgently. She told Zahid that it is very important so she will like to see him in person and not just talk on the phone. After Zahid looked at the pile of papers on his table and imagined the amount of work he had to do, he felt like denying her that meeting but he couldn't help it because Najiba has a way of getting to him sometimes. He told her that what she has to tell him had better be worth it for her own good else she wouldn't see him again for the next one year.

After Zahid agreed to meet up with his wife and hear what she has to say, she smiled to herself and said, "when you see me this evening, what I have to tell you will blow your mind. You will see that I was the best choice that you ever made." 

Najiba decided to look her best because her husband will be coming over that evening. She went to the spa and really pampered her body before coming back to check if the maids have prepared what she asked them to prepare and also did it in the right way because today is going to be really special for her and she doesn't want any mistakes to ruin the moment.

She laughed when she remembered how a few months back, she and her mother thought that Zahid cannot father a child. There were also times when she had been forced to confront him but she decided to restrain herself and right now, she is really happy that she never confronted him on that matter. The patient dog they say, really do eat the fatest meat.

Initially, Najiba came into this marriage with an ulterior motive and she told herself that she will marry Zahid for his money and connections while she continues to live her life the way she was when she was single, but after the marriage, many things changed as she began to take her marriage more seriously. Since the day she got married to her husband, she has never looked at another man and admired him or even felt like having sex with him. She promised herself that she would rather stay and fight for her husband's attention with the other wives than leave this marriage for another one. She has looked at even her parent's marriage and discovered that there is no perfect marriage anywhere and she doesn't feel like she has taken someone else's husband away from them because her religion permits her to get married the way she did.

There are times when Najiba has felt like making peace with Na'ima but the only thing that stops her from doing that is the fact that she knows who Na'ima is and she knows that Na'ima will spread the news everywhere that she came to beg her and that is one thing that Najiba does not want because it can hurt her career.

Most times, the reason why Najiba troubles her husband's third wife is either because she is bored or she wants to get back at her for something that she has done to her in the past. Najiba is not as bad as she seems most times and the person who is pushing her into the dark side, is her mother because anytime that her mother goes quiet on her case, she also goes quiet and stop resenting the other wives until her mother comes up again with her hate speech.

Zahid knows each of his wives to an extent and he likes the fact that they are not as innocent as they seem because when you push them to the wall, you will see the serpent in them. Even though he behaves like he doesn't care about his wives most times, he actually does but his only problem is the fact that he is a Casanova. There are many times that he has tried staying away from women but women will just not stay away from him and he really can't resist them a lot so it seems like every time you see the him, you see him with a new woman.

Najiba's mother called her and ask if she has been able to reach her husband and convince him to see her. Before she called her daughter, she had shared the news with her husband already and although her husband was happy, he still doesn't seem to trust his wife and daughter as he began to ask himself why it is that Zahid's other wives have not seem to be pregnant all these years but his daughter married him and within a few months, she is pregnant already. He looked at his wife seriously and asked her "I hope your daughter has dropped her dirty habits after getting married because if it turns out that her baby is not for her husband, I will not accept her back in this house if she is thrown out. And you should also pray that you are not involved in any of her schemes because I will throw both of you out of my house. All these years that Zahid has been married to his three wives, none of them have ever come out to say that they're pregnant but the moment he marries your daughter, boom! She is sharing the news that she is pregnant already. Is she the most fertile amongst all the wives? I am sorry to say this but I can smell a rat in this story and I think that you should ask your daughter properly to be sure that her pregnancy is for her husband because I believe that even you will not want to be embarrassed as the mother of the promiscuous daughter who got pregnant for another man while married to one of the richest men. Marrying Zahid has really upgraded our family's status and I am grateful for that so you and your daughter should be very careful not to ruin that status because it will really not affect me but you." 

Even though Najiba's mother knows that her husband is telling the truth about what he is saying, she couldn't help but still get angry at him. Every time that Najiba's mother gets angry, it seems that she swells up and doubles her size. She had a lot to say to her husband while he was talking but she decided to patiently hold on and let him finish before she will dish out what she has in her mind to him. With Najiba's mother, every conversation with her husband is a competition that she must win as she never lets the man have his say without her telling him how she feels also.

She could remember when her mother was still alive and she always watch her parents quarrel. Her mother walked up to her one day and told her that any day you let a man rule over your life that is the day you start to become unfortunate. She grew up with that notion and after she got married, she began to give her husband hell on Earth. Everyone who knows her, knows that her husband is not the head of the house, rather she is.

It is not like her husband cannot force her to do what he wants, but he is just a peace loving person who doesn't see the need of creating a scene because he wants to prove his authority. He told himself that he has married wrongly and he will have to live with it that way as long as there is no domestic violence involved.

The wrong advice that Najiba's mother got from her mother has been passed down to Najiba also but unfortunately for Najiba, she married a man who she can not play all those games on except she wants to be divorced on the spot. This sometimes make her feel like she is unfortunate in marriage because she never got the kind of man that her mother got, a man who she can exert all her authority on without getting a backlash from him. The only thing she uses to compensate herself is the fact that she would rather marry a man who will control her and give her everything that she wants than marry a poor man who will lord over her life and will still not be able to provide her needs and wants 

When Najiba was younger, her mother has always told her that it is a sin to be broke and heartbroken and Najiba grew up with that notion as she never got herself entangled with a man who seems to have no money or achievements. There are many men who have wanted to married her in the past and would have never dared to cheat on her like her husband Zahid does. There were men who were willing to worship her like a goddess but Najiba still prefers Zahid because he is wealthy and famous.

When people say that a person's parents and circle has a lot of influence on them, it is always true because Najiba's mother has a great influence on her life and her father knows that too, which is the reason why he always blames her mother for every bad thing that she does because he knows that his daughter's greatest role model is her mother.

When Najiba's father was done talking, he was about walking out of the room when his wife walked in front of him and blocked his exit "every time that the girl does something bad, you call her my daughter but the day she got married, you were very happy to call her your daughter. You always call me a two-faced woman but you are worse than me because you a wolf in sheep's skin. If you claim so much to be a saint, then what are you doing with a two-faced person like me? The fact that you and I are still married only proves that we are the same kind of people because like attracts. You cannot claim to be good while your wife is bad. I think you are ashamed of thinking that your daughter is cheating on her husband? If you were ever a good father to her, do you think that you would have been suspecting her for things like that? If our daughter goes out there and disgraces us, she has not only disgraced me, but she has disgraced you also and her character is a reflection of our upbringing. So, for your own sake, you had better pray that she is telling the truth because I am not the only one who will be ashamed or laughed at."

Najiba's mother hissed and walked out on her husband. As she was walking away, she kept thinking about the words that her husband has said as she kept telling herself that if her daughter is lying to them and it is true that she has a lover who she is pregnant for instead of her husband, it will really be catastrophic for the family. She took out her phone and dialed her daughter's number as she has decided to ask her daughter about it but not directly so that she doesn't get her daughter upset because she knows who Najiba is.

"Hi baby, have you been able to reach your husband so far?" 

Yes mom, I have and he will come over this evening. This is not something that I should just tell him over the phone so I want him to be here in person so that I can look into his eyes and see his facial expression, when I tell him the good news.

"I was just thinking that maybe you should hold on for now and not tell him anything, but I can't force you if you insist because it is your decision to make. I have one question to ask you and I hope I do not offend you with that question but it is a question that I really need to ask you for your own good and mine." 

When Najiba heard her mother talking about asking her certain questions, she knew that there was nothing good coming out of that question. She just told herself that her mother is at it again because her mother can never be her mother if she doesn't try to do something to ruin a happy moment. So she said "Mum, you can ask your questions, I am listening."

Despite the fact that she was talking to her daughter, she still felt nervous because with Najiba, you don't know what you will say that will make her not to talk to you for the next five months. So she cleared her throat before saying "forgive me if I am wrong or if you think that I am doubting your loyalty towards your husband. Listen Najiba, it is not that I do not trust you but sometimes, there are certain matters that we need to handle with care so that we do not end up shooting ourselves in the foot. Are you sure that since you got married to your husband you have not had any sexual intercourse with any other man? I am just trying to be careful so that we can know if the baby is truly Zahid's or not." 

Najiba got angry after hearing what her mum just said because she told herself that if others will doubt her loyalty, she does not expect her own mother to do that. "Mum, I know that you told me before I got married that I can marry Zahid and still continue to live my life the way I was by having different kinds of men to myself. Do you think that I ever paid heed to that advice after my marriage? Mum we are meant to listen to everything that people say but be wise enough to pick the ones that benefits us. I know that I have done certain things that I am not so proud of in the past but I am not stupid enough to be married to a person like my husband and still go ahead to cheat on him. Do you know that some people are not after my beauty or anything but want to have sex with me so that they can shout it out to the world that they have had sex with the wife of Zahid? I feel terrible that you asked me a question like this. So if a person walks up to you tomorrow and tells you that your daughter is cheating on her husband, you wouldn't refute the person's claims rather you will wait to ask me first before you do anything right? So much for trusting your daughter. For your information, I have not had sexual intercourse with any man since I got married to Zahid and I am very sure that the baby I am carrying is his."