Chapter 18: A Violent Temper

She looks at both her parents as she made the effort to say the words that were bottled up inside her. 'Baba…" she began but the words failed to come out. He heaved a sigh out of frustration. It has been more than thirty minutes and he has been asking her the same question that she failed to answer.
'Bushra, you asked me to send Sadiq out, I did – now, are you going to tell me what's happening?" He spoke softly. Bushra felt at ease by his soothing voice. 'Baba, that was Mahir… he's the one I…" how was she going to put it in words?
'He's your boyfriend or what?" Aunty questioned her. She had just arrived home to encounter with the incident. Bushra nodded slightly. 'I've been wanting to tell you guys but I didn't know how," she spoke diffidently because of the way she was petrified. What if they say no?
'Who is this Mahir you're talking about? Why didn't you tell us about him before? You had someone but you were making things difficult for all of us?" Baba flooded her with interrogations.
'I had to make sure he's the one before I introduced him to you," she said innocuously, her head ducked. Her heart was beating so hard that it felt like it would escape from her chest. She kept fiddling with her fingers to calm the panic but it way only making her fingers sweaty and she was finding it hard to breath or think straight.
Baba stared at her for a moment. He didn't know how to react exactly. It was something to be thunderstruck about. Bushra had found a suitor – by herself? It was something he could say that he was happy about. The only thing left way to make sure that she loves the man she chose and he was right for his daughter. 'And when you did your own research, are you satisfied with him?" He asked her after a while.
Bushra raised her head and immediately lowered her gaze when she realized they were both looking at her. She smiled sheepishly and nodded her head. Baba nodded his head. 'What's his name you say?" He questioned.
'Hi.. his name is Mahir – Mahir Adam Dan-Musa," she answered in a frightful way.
'Mahir Adam Dan-Musa? This name sounds familiar. Adam Dan-Musa?" He knew Dan-Musa Global Trust because he had worked with the company before, but he wasn't certain if Bushra was referring to the same Alhaji Adam Sani Dan-Musa's son.
'Are you talking about Alhaji Adam that owns Dan-Musa Global Trust? The same man that only has one son?" He enquired and Bushra unhurriedly nodded, her head was still bent to avoid meeting their gaze.
'Bushra where did you find this man? Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Aunty questioned her. She was astounded and puzzled about where Bushra met someone like Mahir Dan-Musa. If someone had told her that Mahir was interested in her daughter, she would've laughed in their face and called them outrageous, but now her own daughter was here, sitting before her and announcing that he's the one she has chosen and he wants to marry her.
Aunty wasn't demining their daughter because of someone like Mahir—it was utterly surprising to her for Bushra to pull off someone like him.
'Why are you making it sound like it's a big deal? Just because his father is one of the top five richest men, that doesn't make him any better than any human being. And your daughter is even worth more than that," he spoke unsympathetically. He couldn't comprehend why she was downgrading their daughter because of a rich man. Yes, Mahir came from a wealthy home and he's kind of a man that you don't just get to see on the street passing by or just at a random place – it still doesn't prove that he was any better.
'You can leave now, and inform him that I want to see him within this week," he told her and she nodded promptly before getting to her feet and hurrying out. She lets out a long and relieving sigh, her heart rate slowly coming back to normal.
She enters her room and collapsed on the bed. Her eyes vacantly staring at the ceiling – today was a definition of a stressful day and a pleasing day for her. She met Mahir's parents and they look like nice people—they are nice people, she admits. They were nothing like Mahir – nice, welcoming and jovial. She was reassured by how they accepted her and welcomed her into their family without hesitation. It was her number one fear after her parents accepting Mahir as her spouse or not, but they've proven to her that she was one of them. Everything was going well for her until Sadiq made up stories and fed it to her father – what exactly did he told him, she doesn't know. She doesn't bother to know. As long as her parents accept the one she had brought home, she was okay with whatever he was going to tell them now. It was relaxing to know that she wasn't going to marry him – yet. But she was sure, whatever the case may be, Sadiq was never an option in her list. And he would never be!
Bushra got to her feet and sauntered into the bathroom. She came out shortly, face washed and had performed ablution to pray asr. After she prayed, she fetched for her phone to FaceTimeYasmin first. She hadn't spoken to her that day and she hasn't seen any new baby pictures that Yasmin usually sends every day. They had finally gone back home after the unplanned few months they spent at home because Mubarak had traveled and Yasmin repudiated to go back to her house until he was back.
'Where's Adila? Why didn't you send me any new pictures of her today? What kind of a cruel human being are you, coming between a mother and her baby?" Bushra spoke the moment Yasmin picked up. Yasmin couldn't help but laugh at her sister's eerie statement. 'I'm so sorry, it skipped my mind. And we went to the hospital to for Adila's immunization, I told you yesterday, remember? And she has been crying non-stop ever since we came back home. She had finally fallen asleep not long ago – see?" She turned the camera towards Adila sleeping peacefully, as though she wasn't the one that had been crying ceaseless for hours.
'Oh Ya Rabb, my baby," Bushra slurred, her eyes getting teary. 'Are you seriously going to cry over this?" Yasmin asked and rolled her eyes. She knew Bushra was capable of crying over Adila crying – she had done it before and she wasn't going to be staggered if Bushra cried now.
'If not because I know Baba won't allow me to go out, I would've come over right now to see her." She heaved a sigh out of hindrance. She wouldn't want to see him again also. She was embarrassed for getting caught coming down a man's car without their permission. It was something she had never done. She didn't plan it to happen that was– but they just had to find out about Mahir that way and she couldn't fight it.
'Why? What did you do, Adda?" Yasmin asked, her brows raising up. She stared at her sister keenly through the phone. Bushra scoffed tautly. 'What? I did not… I just…" she scoffed again out of self-reproach. 'Why would you think that I did something?"
'I don't know… perhaps as of the incident that had happened more than a week ago?" Yasmin reminded her and she rolled her eyes. 'No! That's not it… okay, you know Mahir proposed, right?"
'He proposed?! When?!" Yasmin squealed but then gasped when she remembered Adila was sleeping. She quickly moved out of the room to avoid waking her up. 'Why didn't you tell me about it, Adda Bushra? Oh Allah, I'm so happy. Did you say yes?" She asked, her eyes wide open out of excitement. She could feel her blood rushing.
'No… Well…Yes, I did…"
'Oh My God! Yes! She said yes!! Did you tell Aunty yet? Does baba know yet? Why didn't you freaking tell me before? I have to tell Mubarak after this phone call…" Yasmin kept talking breathlessly until Bushra cuts in.
'Will you just keep calm and breathe for a minute?" Bushra laughed heartily. She loves it whenever Yasmin was jovial because she starts to turn red like a strawberry when she gets excited about something or angry. It depends on the mood she was in.
'Yes, baba knows about it and Yes Aunty also knows and she couldn't even believe it just because he comes from a rich and famous family. That woman was skeptical about my ability of getting someone like Mahir Dan-Musa." She ended her words with scoff out of annoyance.
'What did baba say? I know how he's hell-bent about you getting married to Hamma Sadiq," Yasmin said worriedly. Bushra was also worried about that. His expression before dismissing her didn't tell her whether he had approved of Mahir or not. Maybe he has to do his own investigations first before he decides on whether she marries Mahir or that jerk. She would be broken if he still insists she marries Sadiq.
'It's so unfair that I don't have the right to choose whom I want to marry. What would be more unfair is if he chooses Sadiq – I will never recover from that if I somehow end up with that creep," Bushra stated, her eyes wear getting glassy the more she spoke and thought about it.
'Baba promised he'd let you marry whomever you want, it does not have to be Hamma Sadiq. And Hamma Sadiq is only an option because he's close to baba, and it's the reason why he moved into the house, to get to you and lure baba into urging you to marry him."
Bushra nodded, not because she was convinced – she wanted Yasmin to stop talking about it. The more she thought about it, it made her mind to churn. 'Baba asked to see him, anyways. So, maybe after they talk, we'll hear Baba's decision after that."
'I pray and wish you the best, sis. Always stay positive, okay?" Yasmin gave her an assuring smile. Bushra smiled back, her heart melting. Yasmin is an angel that lifts her up when her wings forget how to fly. She's a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.
'Oh no, Adila is up. I must go now, Adda. Call me whenever there's an update." She hurried ended the call before Bushra got the chance to reply.
She tossed her phone across the bed and sighed. At the moment, she wanted to call Mahir and inform him about her father's request, but whenever she remembers about what he had said to her. He always leaves her in shudder of how confident uncouth he was whenever he says something absurd. Does he ever think before speaking? Does he even care about anybody's feelings when he says something spiteful? Or he was just using his power, his good-looking face and money to do whatever he wanted. She was different from the people that sit and take his garbage – she'd never allow him to contempt her, that – she vows.
The door opens rowdily and Sadiq bursts in. He balled his fingers to a fist and drove them through the wall, then slammed the door behind him. Bushra sat up right and got off the bed quickly when he started to approach her. Terror sucked the very breath from her mouth as she shifts backward.
'If you come any closer, I will scream and you know my parents are home…" her threat didn't stop him from grabbing her by the neck and pushing her to the wall. She gasped, the sudden shock making her tense her muscles. He stares at her avidly, the color quickly drains from his face.
'Do you know how long I have been waiting to have you? Do you know how long I have been patient just to have you all to myself? This is how you'll repay me for anticipating patiently to be intimate with you after we get married? Why did you have to do this to me, huh? Why did you have to choose that imprudent man over me… your brother?"
'At least he'll never lay his hands on me." She slapped him with her open left hand full across the face. It rocked him and he took a step back and then steadied himself, blinking his eyes and staring at her. 'You slapped me… again?" He asked, his voice shaking. A boiling fury swelled up inside of him. He stares at her, veins bulging out of his head. He could almost feel his blood boiling in his veins.
'What do you want from me please? Why do you keep tormenting my life? I'm not the only girl in this world – so, why me?" She was on the verge of spewing the tears. She has had enough of him, but it seemed like he was just starting.
'I want you and I want us together. That's what I want." His voice was loud and thunderous that she had to take few steps back. 'I was this close to having you but you imprudently decided to ruin it by bringing that idiotic man into the picture. What does he have that I don't, huh? Money, power, good looks?" His eyes twitched – he was fuming with anger as he tried to calm his temper, but nothing was working.
'He has common sense – he doesn't act like an animal," she spilled out the words. He deserved it and she was never going to regret her words.
His eyes flashed with anger as he stood unmoved. She called him an animal? And she thinks she'd get away with it? Not this time. 'I will prove to you that I'm the animal you're referring me to!" He tottered towards her.
'What's going on here? Sadiq, what are you doing in her room?"
He stood still, unable to answer or turn to look at the intruder. Bushra hurriedly walked past him and rushed to Aunty. 'Wha—what's going on?" Aunty asked in a low tone. She looked at Bushra and then to Sadiq that refused to turn and look at her. 'Please, get out of my daughter's room – right now before I call her father," she told him in an inauspicious way.
Without disinclination, he marched out of the room quickly.