9/10
REPLACEMENT GIRL
CHAPTER 9
*HUMAIRAH POV*
Today, the weather was stone cold and it was due to the heavy precipitation that took place throu-ghout last night.
I oversle-pt and the time wasn’t by my side so I quic-kly put on my sweater and got myself prepared for work. Ahmad’s driver, Faisal would soon come for me so I quic-kly took my breakfast – which was a h0t tea and bre-ad – and bade my uncle and his wife a warm goodbye.
As I stood outside the gate waiting for Faisal to come, the early morning trade wind turned me into a sail as it suddenly began bashing me from all corners.
“What’s taking Faisal long?” I wondered as I checked my wristwatch, the time was quarter past six alre-ady and I supposed to be in Ahmad’s house by six dot. What if they woke up and found out I hadn’t arrive yet? Would they reduce my salary? I mulled over.
Phurrnn!
Phurrrnnn!!
The idiot Faisal nearly blew away my eardrums as soon as he arrived with his reckless driving and parked in front of me.
“Faisal, are you mad?” I squealed.
“Yes, I am mad” He sm-irked.
“No wonder!” I rolled my eyes.
“So, are you coming in or what?” He said as he wrinkled one of his brows.
“Do I have any choice?” I hissed at him.
The song that was booming in the car was – Kill Me With Love – by one of the influential musicians in the country.
So,
Be with me!
Yes,
Be with me!
With all the love,
I nee-d that too!
I mimicked as I stormed into the back pas-s£nger seat with my purse.
“So you can’t greet, huh?” I lightly knocked Faisal’s head. “Don’t you know I am your boss?”
“Och!” He screamed. “You are not my boss” He said as he ru-bbe-d his head – the sp©t I knocked. I loved knocking his big head.
“You said what?” I queried as I gave him another knock. This time around he accelerated the car ma-king motion to pu-ll me back. “Kai (hey), are you stupid?” I yelled at him as I fastened my seatbelt.
“That serves you right” He sm-irked.
“Huh?” I wrinkled my brows.
“Yes!” She uttered.
Ever since I knew Faisal we had been this way. We always pl@yaround, poke fun at each other and even call each other strange names. He was a very funny guy.
I sat comfortably in the back pas-s£nger seat while enjoying one of my favourite songs as he drove us to our destination. The feeling of me being my boss’ wife was allover me. Maybe I was only dreaming but I had that feeling that I would one day become Ahmad’s wife God’s Willing.
Oh my baby,
That is true!
The love I have for you!
And the feelings,
together with all the care!
So…
Be with me!
Yes…
Be with me!
With all the love…
I nee-d that too!
…
“Good morning, Humairah” Mubarak said as soon as Faisal pu-ll-ed over in Ahmad Jaafar’s parking lot. It was another day and my working hours had began.
“Morning, Mubarak!” I replied as I ran to the main house. Both Ahmad and his wife were slee-ping in their room upstairs as usual, so I ran to the kitchen and began ma-king breakfast for them.
I was frying egg when Ahmad walked into the kitchen island wearing only singlet and that thing that men used to call bo-xers. To say I was puzzled was an un-derstatement. How could he…
“Are you waiting for me to greet you?”
His sudden utterance brou-ght me back to reality. Thus, I cleared my throat and greeted him while looking away. “Good morning, sir” I said as I gulped so ha-rd .
“Morning” He huffed and continued. “Can I get a glas-s of something plea-se?”
“Oh, yeah!” I lowered the cooker, took a glas-s cu-p from the wall cabinet, walked to the freezer and brou-ght out a chilled Zaki Apple jui-ce for him.
“No!” He rejected it.
“Huh?” I wrinkled my brows.
“I would rather drink water than that thing. In fact, get anything Zaki out of that freezer later, okay?” He ordered.
“Okay, sir” I nodded as I changed the Zaki Apple jui-ce to a Can Coke for him.
“Now you are talking, Humairah!” He said as he left the kitchen Island…
Uhmmmmm!
I heaved a sigh of relief as I went back to what I was doing. Immediately I was done cooking I served Ahmad and his wife their breakfast in the dining area.
…
“Humairah, we are going out so try and do the chores and make sure everything is in order before we come back” Naziha said as soon as she summoned me after they were done eating breakfast.
“Alright ma” I said while clearing the dining table. Naziha couldn’t finish her own breakfast, but Ahmad? Hmmm, you know what I mean!
“And again” Naziha cleared her throat and continued. “These days I really won’t be doing any work in this house so everything is now on you. Cleaning, mopping, cooking, and even washing our cloths. The washing machines are perfectly fine so you won’t have any problem with that. I hope you get it?”
“Yes, ma” I managed to say knowing the fact that it would not be easy for me. The house was big and even the unoccu-pied rooms were meant to be maintained at all cost. It wasn’t easy!
I packed the tableware to the kitchen, and just as I was washing them Ahmad salaamed in and leaned on the wall with his two hands in his pockets. He had changed into a caftan and was wearing a remarkable northern (arewa) cap. He was super handsome. My Ahmad Jaafar!
“Hi” He waved with a smile.
“Hi” I coyly replied.
“Are you sure you are okay with what my wife said?” He wrinkled his right brow.
“Yeah!” I abs£ntmindedly said.
“Uhmmm!” He huffed and continued. “If you are not okay I can hire someone to come and be helping you. I know it’s not easy, that’s why I am saying this”
Well, if that should be the case then I think I should let him hire a helping hand for me. But what if the person ended up having the same de-sire as mine? The de-sire of marrying him?
“Yeah, it’s not easy sir” I heaved a sigh and continued. “Can you hire Sarah?”
Sarah was undeniably one of the best chefs in Kumbashi restaurant. She was a married woman and was no way a problem for me. He could hire her!
“Sarah?” He wrinkled one of his brows.
“Yeah, one of Kumbashi’s best chefs” I uttered.
“Alright then, I will do that” He said.
“Thank you, sir” I beamed.
Thus, he left.
…
Ahmad Jaafar was the caring type. He was always ma-king sure everyone was fine. from Faisal – the driver, Mubarak – the gateman, down to ME – the cook, cleaner, and the one who takes care of everything that concerned the house. He was really the friendly type!
During my few days in Ahmad’s house, I learnt that he never had a child in his life and that he wasn’t in a good relationsh!pwith his parents. That was really sad, I wish I could make things better for him if I had the power to do that. Good people deserve good life!
There were fifteen beverages in the freezer with the name “zaki”, so I took them out as ordered by Ahmad. Five for Faisal, Five for Mubarak and Five for me, that was how I justly shared them.
“plea-se, keep that of Faisal for him till he comes back. Don’t drink them!” I said to Mubarak immediately I handed him theirs which was ten in number.
“Hhhhh” He busted into laughter. “Why should I drink your b©yfri£nd’s drinks? As if mine won’t be enough for me?”
“Don’t you ever call him my b©yfri£ndagain, else someone’s blood would be shed!” I glared at him with a threat.
“Like seriously?” He laughed out louder.
“Ni dai na g@ya ma (Don’t say I didn’t warn you)!” I hissed at him as I quic-kly turned to return back to the main house. He was bored staying with.
I didn’t know why he used to call Faisal my b©yfri£ndand I couldn’t st©p him from doing that. Although Faisal was handsome but not as handsome as my prince charming, Ahmad Jaafar Zaki!
“Okay, I am so sorry Humairah!” I heard Mubarak squealed as I was walking away.
Well I didn’t bother replying him, I went back and continued with my chores. If he ever tried what he did today I would make sure I starve him in this house. Didn’t he know I was one way ahead of him? I could even get him fired! I sm-irked at myself. Get him fired? As if I was the boss’ wife? I shook my head.
CHAPTER 10
*AHMAD POV*
Today, the weather wasn’t just cold but also perfect. I had the best night with Naziha and I was practically satisfied.
One thing I liked about her these days was, even though she was aloof to me she never for once deprived me of my marital right. Whenever I nee-ded her, she would make herself available to me.
“Damn!” I muttered as soon as I saw the time in the wall clock. I had oversle-pt today probably because of the perfect moment I had with Naziha. She was still slee-ping so I gently pe-cked her on her shoulder and withdrew from the be-d.
The time was 6:40am, meaning I had missed fajr. I disliked missing fajr with the congregation because of the hvge reward. Just as I was about performing a spiritual bath (Jannaba), I heard the sound of a horn. It was Faisal, the driver. He had drove in with Humairah.
She arrived a little bit late today. Her normal time was 6:00am to 6:30am (rarely), but reverse was today’s case. Did something bad happened to the car while on their way or what? I should go and ask her! I mulled over as I walked out of the room with just an un-dershi-t and shorts. After all, I was even dehydrated!
…
The entire sitting room downstairs was saturated with the marvelous aroma of what Humairah had just began cooking. I gulped as I walked into the kitchen without Salaam. I deliberately did that to see how her reaction would be. As soon as she saw me, she quic-kly turned concentrating on what she was doing.
“Are you waiting for me to greet you?” I uttered and that made her to jo-lt, she was surprised to see me.
“Good morning, sir” She greeted.
“Morning” I huffed almost asking about their drive when I changed my mind. If there was anything I nee-ded to know about it I should ask Faisal instead since he was the driver.
“Can I get a glas-s of something plea-se?” I wrinkled a brow.
“Oh, yeah!” She lowered the cooker and took a glas-s cu-p from the wall cabinet thus, walked to the freezer and brou-ght out a chilled Zaki Apple jui-ce for me.
“No!” I quic-kly rejected it the fact that I was beginning to hate my father. In fact, I shouldn’t be seeing anything that had to do with him or his damn company in my house henceforth. I thought.
“Huh?” She wrinkled her brows.
“I would rather drink water than that thing. In fact, get anything Zaki out of that freezer later, okay?” I ordered.
“Okay, sir” She nodded and quic-kly changed the Zaki jui-ce to a Can Coke.
“Now you are talking, Humairah!” I said as I unhesitatingly gr@bb£d it and left.
…
Naziha was still slee-ping soundly in the be-d so I gently woke her up after having performed my own spiritual bath (Jannaba).
“My love, plea-se don’t go back to sleep again. You nee-d to go and take your bath, okay?” I said as I walked to the closet with a towel wra-pped around my w@!st and changed into a jalabiya and a blue jeans trou-sers.
“You do not nee-d to tell me what to do, Ahmad” She said as she lazily withdrew from the be-d and headed towards the bathroom. “By the way, I hope you haven’t forgotten about our trip?”
“Actually, no but…” I was saying when Humairah knocked our door gently.
“Food is re-ady, sir and ma” She said.
“Alright!” I said and gently turned to Naziha and continued. “The thing is…”
“We will talk about it in the dining room” She cut in as she walked into the bathroom. Time wasn’t by her side.
I did my fajr prayer, after that I went straight to the dining area. Humairah had alre-ady arranged everything, she was the type of girl that does her things perfectly. I loved how she fried the eggs and Irish potatoes, and also how she made the tea so very thick. My mouth was alre-ady watery. I couldn’t even wait for Naziha when I began eating. After all, I was a well known glutton.
“Hey!” Naziha said as she arrived soon later. She was in a uniS-x bathrobe.
“Hi” I smiled.
“So, what were you saying?” She said as she sat down and sipped her tea. “I am listening”
“Actually,” I cleared my throat and continued. “It is about our trip to that clergyman’s house, do you think it is a good idea?” I wrinkled one of my brows.
“Unless if you don’t want us to have children, it is a good idea!” She said.
“Don’t get it wrong Naziha, I just…”
“Ahmad dan Allah ka barni in huta (plea-se let me be). If you are not coming with me I will go alone. After all, it is for the betterment of us and the Zaki family overall. If we can produce an heir for the family, baba will once again be happy with us and the company will be un-der our watch and control” She said as she wore a mischievous smile on her face.
“Okay” I muttered.
As soon as we were done eating, Naziha summoned Humairah. The girl appeared shortly with a smile.
“Humairah, we are going out so try and do the chores and make sure everything is in order before we come back” Naziha said in a command tone.
“Alright ma” Humairah said as she began clearing the dining table.
“And again” Naziha cleared her throat and continued. “These days I really won’t be doing any work in this house so everything is now on you. Cleaning, mopping, cooking, and even washing our cloths. The washing machines are perfectly fine so you won’t have any problem with that. I hope you get it?”
I watched Naziha as she spoke out those words, she had in the past few days told me she was tired of doing even the simplest chore in the house. She was actually changing day by day and I couldn’t st©p her. Can you object the woman you outrightly love? I really couldn’t.
“Yes, ma” Humairah said in what seemed like a whisper. Her smile was gone alre-ady. I could tell she didn’t like the new system. I also didn’t like it too but what could I do? I should think.
The girl packed the tableware and left to the kitchen. Thus, Naziha and I went back to our room upstairs. I changed into my new caftan and wore a marched cap for it. Naziha was still glamouring herself in the mirror so I told her to meet me downstairs whenever she’s done.
…
While walking downstairs, my mind had concluded that I should look for another house help, someone to as-sist Humairah in chores. So I went straight to the kitchen to talk to her about it. She was washing the dishes when I salaamed in and leaned on the wall close to the door with my two hands in my pockets. She was surprised to see me even though I salaamed this time around. I loved how she used to drop her jaw in astonishment.
“Hi” I waved at her with a smile.
“Hi” She replied without a wave and turned her face away from me to continue with what she was doing.
“Are you sure you are okay with what my wife said?” I wrinkled a brow.
“Yeah!” She said.
“Uhmmm!” I huffed and continued. “If you are not okay I can hire someone to come and be helping you. I know it’s not easy, that’s why I am saying this”
“Yeah, it’s not easy sir” She heaved a sigh and continued. “Can you hire Sarah?”
“Sarah?” I asked wondering if it was the Sarah I knew but it wasn’t her.
“Yeah, one of Kumbashi’s best chefs” She said as she gave me a glance.
“Alright then, I will do that” I said.
“Thank you, sir” she beamed.
I left the kitchen to the sitting room, and in less than ten mintutes Naziha met me downstairs and then we embarked on our journey.
It was a very long journey to Suleja. I pu-ll-ed over as soon as we reached our destination which was a mud house. We salaamed inside and a boy ushered us to the clergyman we went there for. We amicably greeted the man and he asked us to sit down on a white dried ram skin.
“Sannun ku da zuwa (welcome)” He said with his kolanut stained teeth. He was wearing a dirty babban riga (known as the northern traditional attire).
“Yawwa, baba (thank you baba)…” Naziha was the one that knew him very much so I stayed mute while she talked to him.
“Toh, bari mugani (Okay, let’s see)” He said after hearing all her stories. He brou-ght out some beads and threw them on his mat. He asked her to pick one which she quic-kly did, thus he collected it from her and stared at it. “I am sorry” He said while shaking his head. “It is your destiny, Naziha. Nothing can change it”
“Haba (come on), baba!” Naziha exclaimed. “You are telling me there is nothing you can do? You’ve done more than this to my friend, Safiyah years back!”
“Yes, that was then. Now, I don’t go beyond my limit. Just continue praying, maybe Allah will…” He was saying when she thun-dered him.
“Dan Allah yimin shiru (keep quiet!), we c@m£ all our way from Minna and you are telling us nons-en-se? Just help us even if it means going against Allah” She said.
That moment, my heart began beating fast. What had Naziha turned herself into? A monster or what? She had changed totally and I was alre-ady getting scared.
“I can’t go against Allah, Naziha. I had done so much sins in the past just to help people, but now I really can’t do that anymore” He said.
“Ahmad lets go, if he won’t help us someone will!” She exclaimed as she left the room without waiting for me.
Just as I was about standing to follow her, the clergyman uttered something that baffled me. “Ahmad, your wife is really turning evil and you must st©p her even if it means divorcing her” He said.
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