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Behind A Smile 107
A wave of nausea washed over Bilal as he stumbled out of his room, making him hold onto the wall for support. His vision blurred and his breath emerged in ragged pants. His attempts to steady his breath was futile. Zynah's gentle voice pierced through the fog of his distress."Are you alright?" she asked, her brows furrowed in concern. Bilal's smile was strained. "Yes," he managed to croak out. "I'm perfectly fine, don't worry." Zynah hummed, obviously not convinced by his words. "Are you sure?" she asked, her skeptical gaze lingering on him for a few more seconds. Wordlessly, Bilal nodded. Then, he retreated into his room and shut the door behind him. Alone, Bilal sank onto the bed, his body trembling uncontrollably. For some inexplicable reason, Zynah felt something was wrong with him. He didn't seem quite fine. He looked and sounded very weak. She reached for the handle, but stopped abruptly, her hand hovering over it. She was only concerned about him, because of
Behind A Smile 108
"You're such a homewrecker! Bilal is mine and mine alone. If you think you can come into my home and destroy it, then you're terribly mistaken!" Zaahida fumed. Zynah yanked Zaahida's hands off her shoulders. "Get your hands off me," she warned. "While I'm still being nice, I'm advising you run as far as possible. You don't know what I'm capable of doing to you," she threatened. "Most especially that son of yours." Zynah's heart thumped faster against her chest - Zaahida had hit her most sensitive spot. Her weakness. It was the last straw. She would be able to bear anything against her, but for the sake of her son, she would go to any and every extent to ensure his safety. "Don't drag my son in this!" Zynah's voice was laced with venom. "If you have a problem with me, let's deal with it. Face me! Don't involve my son." "This atmosphere reeks of..." She trailed off, placing a finger against her chin as if in thought. "Of fear. Tell me, sweetie," She derided. "Are you scare
Behind A Smile 109
"Please have something to eat. You haven't eaten for days now," Omar beseeched, bring the spoonful of jollof rice to Rashida's lips. Rashida turned her head to the other side. "I'm not hungry," she replied, adamantly. "Please leave me alone. Stop forcing me to eat. I don't have an appetite." "You're not going to heal this way," Omar tried to reason with her, his voice calm. "Have at least a little to eat so that you take your medicines. Please? Do it for me." "I said I'm not hungry!" she snapped. "Is it so hard to leave me alone? Please get out!" She yelled. "Please." "I'm going nowhere," Omar said, shaking his head. "Also, you're going to eat," he stated, his voice laced with finality. "Open your mouth." With glassy eyes, Rashida continued to stare at him. "Rashida," He called gently. 'Open up." "Omar, let's go home, please." She begged. "I don't want to stay here any longer." "You haven't healed completely, so we can't go home now. The doctor also advised we wa
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In less than a minute, Zaahida, as well as Nazmeera came barging into the room. Zaahida's hand flew over her mouth in shock. Nazmeera pushed Zynah out of her way and rushed towards her motionless brother. "What happened to him?" She asked in a high pitched voice. "Bilal! Please wake up! It's Nazmeera!" Due to the situation at hand, Zynah didn't react to being pushed. She simply stepped aside. Stunned, Zaahida watched the scene. Her lips trembled, unable to form words, her body frozen in place. "What the heck did you do to him?" Nazmeera pointed a finger at Zynah, accusingly. Zynah shook her head in disbelief - while trying to help, she was being accused? Thinking about it rationally now, she came to the conclusion that Bilal was poisoned by Zaahida. "If you care so much, why don't you ask Zaahida? You poisoned him, didn't y—" she abruptly cut herself off. "Oh! You two are even allies. Well, Nazmeera, you should know that she," she pointed to Zaahida. "Probably pois
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"Ibrahim..." Zynah's voice trailed. "How have you and Adnan been?" He inquired, his voice carrying the familiar warmth. "Surviving," She responded. "We have been fine, I guess. How are things over there?" "I had been expecting you'd call to check up on me, but you didn't," he voiced, his tone laced with disappointment. "I guess you've been extremely busy to do that." "I..." Momentarily, Zynah trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry about that, I have been preoccupied with things. It wasn't intentional at all." "I know," he said. "But at least you should have called to check on me. We're supposed to have each other's back, you know." He added, then paused for a while. "By the way, I want to know how the divorce process is going." Zynah heaved a sigh. "I haven't even spent a month here yet. Quite some time left before the divorce is finalized." Ibrahim's response was a low grunt. Then, a bombshell. "What if I told you that you don't have to wait for that
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Immediately Zynah had the sound of a car screeching to a halt in front of the house, the rate of her heartbeat increased. She couldn't help, but be worried about Bilal's health. Just as she walked into the living room, Bilal, Nazmeera and Zaahida walked him. Zynah's gaze fixed on Bilal - he had bags underneath his eyes and he looked pale. She wondered why he was discharged so soon. He looked far from recovered. "How..." She trailed off. "How are you?" "I'm—" Before Bilal could reply, Adnan raced into the living room, his arms outstretched. "Daddy!" Bilal scooped him up, a tender smile stretching his lips. Zaahida rolled her eyes and retreated to a corner. "Daddy, Mummy said you are sick and the doctor is going to give you an injection but if I pray for you, then the doctor is not going give you an injection anymore, so I prayed for you. Did you get an injection?" Bilal's gaze drifted to Zynah, his eyes conveying his silent gratitude before averting back to Adnan.
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Bilal pulled over in front of the house and alighted the car to get the door for Adnan, but before he could, Zynah had already done that. His gaze lingered on her for a little too long. He didn't fail to notice her foul mood. The urge to ask her about it was a huge one, but caution held him back. He didn't want her to feel like he was crossing a boundary. His lips parted, then closed, the unspoken question dying on his tongue. "When you're done, please give me a call, I'll come get you both," he began, his voice gentle. "Or...I could wait for you to get done and..." He trailed off as he sought the right words. Zynah could only hum in response. Her eyes filled with an emotion that couldn't quite be deciphered. Her eyes held his captive for a fleeting moment before she turned away, taking Adnan's hand. "Let's go Adnan." Instantly, Adnan wriggled out of Zynah's grasp and sprinted towards his father, his small hands wrapping around Bilal's legs. "Please don't go, Daddy," he ple
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"Ya Zynah!!!" Ramlah emerged from the kitchen, an apron tied around her waist, and threw her arms around Zynah. "Why didn't you inform me you were coming?" She disentangled her arms from around her and crouched down to Adnan's level. "I missed you so much, Adnan," She embraced him tightly. "How have you been? You've been taking care of mummy, like promised, rig-" abruptly, she cut herself off, as her gaze darted to Bilal who was standing behind Zynah. "I missed you too, Aunty Ramlah." Adnan replied, drawing back her attention. "Daddy brought a lot of toys for me at the mall. Where is granny?" "Aww! Adnan has really grown," Ramlah pointed out, her voice laced with amusement. "He talks very well now." "Of course." Zynah replied with a small smile, playing on her lips. "He's a big boy now. He's going to be four in less than a month." Ramlah's gaze darted to Bilal again, her eyes narrowed. "What's that man doing in our house?" she spat, her voice dripping with disapproval. "
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