Our Break is over....now for the finale
Comment on each paragraph if you're excited and maybe an earlier update 🌚

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‎تَقَبَّلَ اللّهُ مِنَّ وَ مِنْكُمْ

Eid Mubarak.
May Allah accept our ibadah,
supplications and efforts during the month of Ramadan. May Allah give us steadfastness on the path of righteousness, elevate our Imaan, cleanse our sins and bestow His blessings and mercy in the world and in the hereafter.
May we all withness a better one next year in sha Allah

Ameen

•••••••

A car ride has never felt so awkward for Fahad and he was sure Khadijah would say the same too, expect well, she didn’t seem to be in touch with reality.

The first moments he’d thought to just let her deal with it her own way, he didn’t want to intrude.

It was going well, until she started picking at her fingers, he’d winced two or three times on her behalf which went missed by her.

She was assaulting her fingers, at least not in a way that would injure her but she was turning her ring in different ways. He was sure it was grazing her skin and would probably peel soon enough.

Mind your business.

He told himself, forcing his eyes back on the road, needing them to stay there because he keeps glancing at her.

He didn’t last five minutes before turning back, he let out a small resigned sigh and reached for her hand, peeling it from the other. He felt her stiffen before she loosened up and looked up at him in question.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice low.

“Nothing.” He said the truth, it was nothing he could say because he actually did not know what to say to her to make her feel better.

He didn’t get why she was so worked up, though what Sadiya had gave a lot room for worry and seeing how much she adored her father, her fear was understandable. Being let down by the person you look up to more than anyone would destroy you, not that he knew firsthand what that felt like but just the thought of it made his heart sink.

He squeezed her hands gently, hoping it would offer her a little comfort.

“You’ll be fine.” He muttered in a whisper, he wasn’t so sure she heard.

Instead of heading to her parents’ house that he knew by heart, he turned going towards his own parents’ house.

“You’re going the wrong way.” She said in a little above a whisper.

“I’m not,” she wanted to argue but he didn’t let her get a word in. “I know where I’m going, don’t worry.”

Khadijah stared at him for a few seconds before nodding.

He wasn’t crazy like Suleiman, he wasn’t going to hurt her. She had to keep telling herself that to calm herself down and maybe the assurance worked, or maybe it was his hand that was stroking the back of hers gently that did the job but either way, she was calm and her mind stopped running with multiple possibilities of what exactly Sadiya had meant.

She really hoped it was her sister just being her over dramatic self and just jumped into conclusions.

Her father never fancied polygamy, she had to say umma was a handful she didn’t see why he would want to multiply that. Her simple father.

She shook her head no, it wasn’t possible, it didn’t even sound like him.

Somehow she convinced herself it was all good as Fahad took a familiar turn, she raised her eyes to look at him.

“A little diversion for you to calm down, they are not back.” He added when he saw the question in her eyes.

The house wasn’t empty per se, just the main house but that was the safest place he could bring her with the threats on his wellbeing and hers.

Huda always believed in comfort food but after seeing what he had seen at Dahlia’s restaurant, that wasn’t a safe space either which left only the Aliero’s or his parents place. The latter was the obvious option seeing they had privacy there and Khadijah looked like she was going to have a breakdown.

A much needed one, even he had to say.

He used his key and opened the main door, the security was available 24/7 and since the family was actually coming everywhere was pristine.

Fahad urged her in and went to the kitchen to get her something to drink, feeling grateful when he saw the pantry restocked though the fridge was still empty, he picked a bottle of water and searched for a glass before walking back out to meet her.

He met her reclined on the chair, her eyes closed though he wouldn’t say she was sleeping, he didn’t want to interrupt her momentary rest so he walked back to the kitchen and followed the back door to the storage so he could fix the lights in the main house, it had been switched off to avoid accidents since there weren’t people inside unless the cleaners were working.

“Do you want anything else?” Fahad asked softly, handing Khadijah the water with a grateful nod.

She looked slightly better, and that being her eyes weren’t turned over in worry.

He may not have known her that long but he had to say he was sadly familiar with that look. He didn’t want to see her looking like that again, he balled his fists and moved to an empty seat to avoid doing something they both didn’t want.

His body seemed to have a mind of its own because even seated he found himself leaning towards her direction, she was swirling the remaining water in the cup and again he told himself to look away, not only because he looked like a creepy stalker watching her like that but to stop from reaching for her.

Fahad brushed his hand over his face and said a silent prayer, hoping that would ease his own nerves that seemed haywire. It wouldn’t do them good if he lost it too because he knew what that meant and it is never good.

“Fahad,” Khadijah’s soft voice pulled him from his trance and he was at a risk of falling into another one when he heard her call him again, he has never heard her call him, or it probably never sounded like that, maybe he just never noticed the way his name rolled off her tongue, it sounded enticing and that made him realize just how beautiful the name actually is.

He had to shake his head to stop from asking her to try Muhammad, his actual name.

“Fahad, your phone.” That did it because he reached for the device that was presently the bane of his existence.

If the caller surprised him, he didn’t show it and slid the answer button.

“Fahad? Fahad are you there?” his eyes widened on their own accord at Dahlia’s tone.

“Yes, is everything okay?” he asked pulling the phone from his ear as he did so, he wanted to make sure it was actually her.

“Fahad, tell me where you ar—“there a static sound cut off what she wanted to say. He called her name twice but she didn’t answer so he hung up and called her again, it didn’t go through.

“What is wrong?” Khadijah asked her eyes slightly widened seeing how his whole demeanor changed.

“I don’t know, she ended the call.” He was already trying her again as he spoke.

Dahlia wouldn’t just call him out of the blue, maybe a few months ago it might’ve been normal but she avoids calling unnecessarily since he got married but her voice, it didn’t sound like it was something trivial, heck she had called him by his name and not Barkindo like all the guys did.

He hated the thought that came to his mind but it was the truth. Something is wrong.

Not feeling comfortable with everything, he got to his feet and excused himself to go and try calling her again outside to see if there would be much luck there. Not that something like that has ever happened but he wanted to at least try.

Images of Nai’a kept coming to the forefront of his mind and he had to control how his fingers were trembling to be able to call Jawad and ask him to go and see if she is okay.

Like it did with her phone, it disconnected even before it started ringing and after it happened thrice his heart sank when he realized who was actually in danger.

Fahad could’ve sworn his feet were flowing on air when he rushed back to the front door, praying with everything in him for Khadijah to be fine.

His heart stopped when he found the place she was sitting earlier empty but that soon changed when he saw her walking out of the kitchen, she gave him a questioning look seeing how disheveled he looked.

“Fahad, are you okay?” Khadijah knew her question was dumb seeing as he didn’t exactly look okay but she didn’t know what to do, he didn’t look like he was breathing to be honest.

Toughing it out, she walked the few steps in between them and touched his arm, that seemed to do it because he blinked multiple times before telling her to follow him, she did so wordlessly.

“Give me your phone please,” he spoke in a rush and she handed him the device immediately, thankful she had picked it because she’d considered leaving it at home.

Fahad opened the passenger side’s door for her and when he was sure she was securely inside, he walked back to the other side after typing in Jawad’s number that he knew by heart, it didn’t go through.

“Please, please, please.” He muttered to himself climbing in and sitting behind the wheel, this time he dialed Zayn though he wasn’t the smartest option but he wanted to reach someone whose phone was always reliable.

When it didn’t go through, he only prayed to Allah to protect Khadijah because he knew he needed it.

He started the car and drove out of the house looking behind him to make sure no one was following him, there was no car in the street but it didn’t make him feel any better.

He knew right at that moment the only thing that would let him breathe well is when he couldn’t feel Khadijah beside him, he needed to know she was safe then he would go and deal with his mess, although as much as he wanted to be with her he needed her away from him because he wasn’t good for her and especially right at that moment.

He hated that Shaheed was right, he had no right to include her in his problems when he knew firsthand the kind of people that wanted to get their hands on him.

Khadijah glanced at Fahad again, seeing how his hand was gripping the steering wheel, she pitied the object. She was surprised his obvious agitation didn’t scare her, with Suleiman, even his breathing changing scared the living daylights out of her and she told herself that was the difference between them.

She trusted Fahad, she trusted his upbringing because it honestly leads back to that.

Her mind and fears were at war, the former wanting her to reach out to him like he did for her moments ago but her fear was holding her back, and after a mental debate she breathed in slowly and leaned back into her seat, calling herself coward as she did so.

Fahad who missed her mental debate desperately tried to reach to every emergency contact he could, he tried the one in his car and soon realized it had been tampered with. He regretted going out with Khadijah because whatever happened was on him.

He stopped at a red light, his eyes looking around to see if anything looked suspicious. Nothing was out, save for him that he was letting the paranoia in again.

His phone pinged with an incoming message and he muttered Alhamdulillah in his mind.

The service was back and he was probably over reacting, it should mean something since it wasn’t only his phone.

He reached for the device and let out a shaky breath when he saw a message from a private number, he didn’t tap on it, he knew that but whatever the person sent started playing and the scream of agony gained Khadijah’s attention, he was frozen in shock to do anything.

Her eyes moved between his and the image on the screen and he saw her flinch before turning away, he didn’t know where or how she gained the courage but she pulled the phone from his hand and tossed it towards the backseat.

“Fahad?” her voice was shaky when she spoke and she was sure his name sounded choked on her lips but she didn’t care, what she had seen would be imprinted in her mind for a very long while.

She didn’t blame him for freezing, any sensible person would do so.

It had been a single glance but she saw enough to keep her up at night, she didn’t even want to think of who and why they did whatever they did in the video but she hoped Fahad wasn’t a part of it.

“Please, snap out of it.” She pleaded, this time not thinking twice before she held his hand. That gained his attention and he turned to her then she saw his lips part as though he wanted to talk.

She didn’t hear the sound, they both didn’t but the feel of her body losing its weight and her name being called at a distance and was the one thing she could hear.

Fahad’s hand tightened in hers and that was the only part of her body that she felt, that and the unbearable pain in her lower abdomen. It was like nothing she has ever felt before and even miscarriage was a dull ache compared to that, there was a static ringing in her ears blocking out everything and even the echoes of her name disappeared and it was just nothing.

Blood rushed to her head and she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore, she heard it though, her name as a whisper, then everything went black.

*****

The soft whirring of the standing fan and gentle hum of the air condition was the only sound in the room, the occupants both deep in thought.

Sadiya had been the only calm one which surprised malam Sadeeq because she was most likely the one to blow things out of proportion but she seemed to have left that to Baraka who was doing a marvelous job at it.

Malam Sadeeq’s eyes roved towards the grandfather clock above the TV and saw it was a few minutes past one, the only thing his mind could register was that Khadijah was supposed to be there. He was dreading her arrival in equal fervor if he was being honest because as much as Batool deserved to be free of the lies he’d interwoven simply because of his cowardice, he didn’t think he could handle whatever emotions she would feel when she finds out.

“Her phone isn’t going through,” Fatimah Batool stated tapping her phone furiously.

She looked anxious and offered her a assuring smile but she looked away, it wasn’t going to work.

He too was worried about Khadijah because it was unlike her, sure she left her phone everywhere and sometimes forgot its existence but if she was told it was an emergency then she would be there, even before he’d breathed after delivering the message.

“Call her husband then,” he said lowly and the glare he received from Batool told him she had tried.

He wanted to say something but there heard a voice at the door and Sadiya walked in with a small smile.

“Baba, we just finished lunch. Should I bring it for erm, ammi?” Fatimah Batool didn’t know when her lips lifted in a smile at that and she told her to go ahead.

“That one is more like you,” she joked and he chuckled.

“You have to see her when she wants to wreak havoc, it is just the face she has.” She waved his comment off with a small laugh because contrary to what he says she believed Sadiya was calm and it wasn’t just for that, she remembered her when they were children.

While Baraka and Farhan would fight whenever they were playing she would much rather sit with her in the room and watching something or sometimes sleeping, even then they had a silent understanding and she could see nothing has changed.

She reached for her phone that was ringing, the bitter taste in her mouth returned full force when she saw the caller ID, she turned it towards malam Sadeeq and he too looked panicked.

“What could he want?” he asked and she shrugged. “You know it is never good news with him.” he muttered under his breath and again she only shrugged.

“Hassan what is it?” she was taken by surprise when he didn’t chastise her for calling him by his given name, rather his breathy voice came.

“Batool I need you to come to the hospital right now, please.” His tone was urgent and she got to her feet, slightly scaring malam Sadeeq who asked her what’s wrong.

“What is it Hassan? What happened?” she asked frantically, trying and failing to stop her heart from going into overdrive.

“Just come, I—you’ll, just come please.”

“Listen to me, tell me what happened and who the hell is in the hospital before I—“

“Khadijah. Khadijah was just in an accident and she was rushed—“Malam Sadeeq took the phone from her hand when he saw how she was hyperventilating.

“What happened?” he heard the slight pause when his brother heard his voice but he recovered soon enough.

“It is not that bad and she is already at the hospital you just need to get here, her husband looks like he is losing his mind.” He said the last part softly.

He hung up and turned to Batool whom he helped to sit then handed her a cup of water, her hands trembled and he had to help her take the cup to her lips.

“Ammi, it—it’s Khadijah. Ummi just called me—“he stopped mid-sentence when he saw how she was.

He’d refused to sit with his father when they arrived and went to his siblings because one, his father wasn’t there and two Kamla was there. Somewhere deep in conversation with Farhana in his hand Ummi had called and he’d wanted to start telling her about Farhana but stopped when he heard how she sounded panicked and only said two words, Khadijah and hospital.

He walked out of the house after informing his parents with only a head nod at Kamla, he was not sure he could speak.

Multiple thoughts ran through his mind and none was good, he pressed the gas on the car telling himself he wasn’t going to lose his sister, not when he just found her.

Her anger aside, Umma had been the first to snap them out of their trance before they headed out of the house, she’d even reached out and squeezed Batool’s hand when she saw just how shaken the woman was.

She didn’t like her of course but she could understand what she was going through, she may not have given birth to the girl but she was the only mother she knew. She was putting up a strong front because they all looked like they needed someone to anchor them and she was going to be that.

Whatever happens she only hoped her daughter would be fine, biological child or not.

****

HSM stared at his phone bewildered before tapping on the message icon again, to be sure it wasn’t a photo. Sadly, it wasn’t and he felt something crawl over his skin.

He dialed the number at the top of the screen and when it went through, he could’ve sworn he heard when his heart fell.

“Fratello,” he didn’t let him finish.

“What have you done?” he shook his head. “Whatever you think you’re doing, please do not do it. I am begging you.” he heard a sharp intake of breath.

“This is the problem with you Hassan, I tell you to do things and you don’t do it, I come to do it myself and you want to beg me?” he said the ‘beg’ with disgust.

“I said I would handle it.” He said through gritted teeth, trying desperately to get himself to calm down.

“And you haven’t, it been more than five years. If not now then when”

“Sadeeq, Khadijah is in that car, whatever you do will affect her. She is your niece for fucks sake!” the man huffed and when he spoke his voice was tinged with annoyance.

“Her father said we aren’t his family, she is not related to me.”

“Not for that, what is her fault in this? Just, please think this through. You know he wouldn’t want her to be a part of it, let him drop her off somewhere safe first and you can do whatever you want.”

“Hassan you