"Nafisa?" Sa'eed asked and in a split second, the vehicle screeched to an abrupt halt.

"Nafisa? Where is she?" Maryam asked, her voice laced with surprise.

Zainab's gaze was fixed on Sa'eed obliviously. She must have been wondering why he react that way. "What's wrong? Who is this person?" 

"Did you see her, baby? Where is she?" Sa'eed asked his daughter, ignoring both the ladies in the car.

Manal opened her mouth to speak, but ended up closing it back — as if she was afraid to speak up.

"Did you see her?" He asked. "Come on, tell me." He impelled.

"There." Manal replied, pointing outside the window.

All gazes averted to the direction she was pointing at and no one was seen.

"But, baby, no one is there. Are you sure you saw her?" Sa'eed asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yes. She was standing over there, glaring at me." She replied.

Maryam heaved a sigh and turned to Sa'eed. "I think she's only hallucinating. Nafisa can't possibly be here. Otherwise, she'd have came in to say hello. She's probably somewhere in the village right now."

Saeed looked on agnostically. If Manal had said she saw her, then she definitely did. He didn't know his daughter as a liar. In fact, she didn't know how to lie. But why was she around their environment? Was she perhaps stalking them? But why would she even do that? — questions without answers kept invading his mind. He needed to disentangle what her real motive was and soon — only then would his mind be able to be at peace.

Wordlessly, he turned the key in the ignition and when the car roared to life, he began driving. Inaudibly, he promised himself to have a talk with Manal after their outing.

"Will someone please answer me?" Zainab sighed. "Who's this Nafisa that got you all worked up by the mere mention of her name?"

"She's no one special to us." Maryam replied. "She was previously working for us."

"I see." She seemed to be in deep thoughts. "Why is Manal so afraid of her?"

"Don't mind her, Zainab. She had one humorous nightmare that Nafisa wanted to kill her and now, she sees her everywhere. Can you imagine?" She shook her head in disbelief.

Zainab turned to Manal. "It isn't real, baby. It was just a dream — a nightmare. Why'd someone want to harm a beautiful, innocent girl like you? Huh?" She asked, raising her chin. She smiled reassuringly at her.

~~~~

Walking back into the mansion after their little outing, Manal went straight to her room, gloomily. Anyone could tell she was deeply affected by Nafisa.

Zainab couldn't stop asking questions about Nafisa. She found it weird for Manal to be that scared of her.

Maryam waved the topic away, while Saeed's hunch about Nafisa grew bigger.

"I'm very tired right now. I will be in the room." Maryam excused herself.

Zainab's gaze trailed behind Maryam. "I think something is fishy." She voiced.

"What do you mean?" Sa'eed inquired.

"I noticed the way Manal was shaking visibly when she called out the name. Are you sure she wasn't maltreating her when she was here? I have heard of such stories many times than I can count."

"I really don't know, but I have a hunch. She doesn't look innocent either and that was one of the reasons I sent her away." He replied.

"Have you talked to Manal about it? I mean, have you tried to persuade her into telling you if she was indeed maltreating her?"

"I have tried severally. Her answer remains the same, but not to worry, I will have another talk with her today."

"I think you should do that." Zainab agreed.

"Alright. I will do that later." He smiled and turned to leave.

"Wait..." Zainab called after him.

He stopped abruptly and turned around. "What is it?"

"I have something very important to speak to you about. Let's sit." She motioned, sitting down.

Sa'eed took a seat beside her. "Is everything alright?"

"That's the same question I was about to ask you; is everything alright?" She returned his question.

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Of course." He replied.

"Are you sure? You can tell me anything. I promise not to judge. I have noticed the tense atmosphere since I arrived. Is everything alright between Maryam and you?" She asked finally. 

Sa'eed sighed. He really didn't know the right thing to do at that moment. Should he tell his sister all about the problems they were facing or should he lie to her instead — to avoid more problems. He was in a deep dilemma. It was no wonder to him she noticed for he knew her as an observant person. She would stop at nothing to make him blurt out the truth to her. He didn't really try hard to hard how disheartened he was though — he couldn't do it as it was too much for him to take. What more did he ask from her other than to quit her job and take care of their daughter who was in dire need of a mother's upbringing and care? Was it too much to ask for? — he asked himself. All he wanted for for his child to have all the love she deserved and for his wife to bring up their daughter instead of some stranger. He wanted her to be the one to instill morals in her, but distinctively, her job was much more important to her — for it was time demanding and all. She didn't even stop to consider that. 

"Are you listening to me?" Only when she spoke loudly, did she succeed in breaking him out of his trance.

"What were you saying?" Asked Saeed.

"I asked if everything is alright between you and Manal's mum." She repeated.

"What do you think?" He questioned,  wanting to hear what she had to say.

"I think everything isn't alright." She replied, looking right into his eyes.

"What makes you think things aren't fine between us." He inquired.

"Because this is not how I know the both of you to be. Things have changed." She voiced.

"Nothing has changed." He denied. Though he might be a little angry with his wife for still being adamant about working, he would never allow things get out of hand. He would never allow his marriage fall — same mindset he had before and now. Definitely, nothing had changed for him. It's only the mind that gets angry, but never the heart — he smiled at the thought. His Maryam would surely have a rational thought and change her mind soon — his heart whispered to him.

"A lot has change." Zainab argued. "You barely talk to her these days. Why? What offence has she committed to warrant such treatment from her? You've really changed Ya Sa'eed and sincerely speaking, I'm disappointed in you. I never knew you are the type of man who keeps malice with his OWN wife." She laid strong emphasis on the word 'own'. "Have you forgotten she's pregnant? If you don't want me to interfere in your affairs, then you should solve it before people start noticing! She's very stressed. I can see it in her eyes, even though she isn't mentioning it. I wonder what mum would think of you when she comes to know all about this. If you continue acting this way towards her, then anything can happen to her at her condition. She may—"

"Enough, Zainab. Enough." Sa'eed cut her off. "Take a deep breath and relax. There's always two sides to a story. Keep quiet and listen to mine before you can jump into conclusion." Sa'eed heaved a fatigued sigh. He couldn't blame his sister for the way she spoke to him though. She all of people knee the mind of relationship he shared with his wife. How much he loved and cared for her. And one day, she walked into their home and witnessed  an entirely different attitude — she was bound to react. She had the right to. Maryam was her sister in law after all. "Maryam is the cause of the problem we're having right now, not me." He blurted and felt a huge load being lifted off his chest. He was tired of bottling things up. It wasn't healthy at all.

"What did she do?" She asked.

Sa'eed hesitated.

"Please tell me what she did. I want to be able to resolve the problem between the both of you. I can't bear the tension in this house anymore."

"Alright. I will tell you everything."

~~~~~

Maryam was seated on the prayer mat. She had just finished praying asr obligatory prayer, when Sa'eed sauntered in. He went straight to the bathroom and performed his wudhu.

Emerging from the bathroom, he took another prayer mat that was folded neatly on the nightstand and began to pray the four rakah prayer. After he was done with both prayers and supplications, he called for Maryam to come closer. "I want to have a word with you."

She ambled towards him and stood in front of him.

"Please sit down." He propelled.

She did as she was told and sat in front of him.

He began. "I don't know how you're going to take this, but I still have to tell you. I don't like hiding things from you."

"I'm listening. What is it, habibi?" She inquired with a straight face.

"Promise me you won't take it the wrong way." He smiled nervously.

That little act of his, ignited a wave of fear in her. "Why are talking like this, habibi." She asked, her voice slightly quivering.

"Just promise me." He continued.

"I can't promise you without knowing what you have in mind." She jolted up.

"I... How am I even going to say this without it coming out wrong?" He asked himself audibly. "I—"

"It's okay, habibi." Maryam interjected. "I don't want to hear it anymore. Please don't tell me. I will just let it pass and besides I w—"

"I'm getting remarried." He deadpanned, looking right into her glassy eyes.