"What!" Sa'eed howled. His demeanour contorted in infuriation and he could feel the veins in his forehead tickling. He spoke through gnashed teeth. "She did what?"
Instead of giving a reply, the little frightened girl began to cry.
Sa'eed knelt down in front of her and took her face between his palms, wiping her tears away in the process. He couldn't fathom the amount of ire that overwhelmed him - it was immeasurable. Visualising what he just learnt alone was enough to drive him to insanity - his baby was being maltreated in his own house. Under his very nose!
"She's going to kill me now." She cried. "She made me promise not to say a word to anyone."
Sa'eed's blood boiled. The nerve of that good for nothing girl! After mistreating his daughter, she had the nerve to threaten her. To threaten a child. To threaten his daughter. There and then, he vowed to make her pay immensely for what she did. He was going to hand her over to the cops whenever he lays his eyes on her next. "Don't worry, baby. She won't be able to do anything to you now. Abee is here. She will never be able to get close to you now." He promised.
He couldn't imagine the torture Nafisa must have given to his daughter to make her that scared of her in spite of her absence. She dared lay a hand on his daughter - a thing he had never done ever since she was birthed. Who was she to that to his daughter? He had never allowed even Maryam - her mother do that to her.
He felt a lone tear running down his cheek. He swiftly got rid of it before his daughter could see it. "Tell me everything." He demanded. "RIGHT NOW!" he added hoarsely when he felt her hesitating. He was blinded by rage - so much that he didn't realise he was scaring the little girl beyond imagination. She had never seen her father that angry before and definitely not towards her. "How many times did she hit you? Was it more than once?"
She nodded.
Sa'eed swallowed a huge lump in his troat. It was more than once. His fingers began to tremble violently. "What else did she do to you?" In as much as he didn't want to hear worse - what could be even worse? He had to know everything since he had succeeded in making her speak up. "What else did she do to you?"
Manal remained silent and averted her gaze away from him.
"Manal." He called a bit sternly. "You will have to speak up today and don't you dare omit a thing."
"She used to make me sweep the parlor, the kitchen and the balconies..."
"Go on." Sa'eed probed, balling a fist. He just wished he could use it on someone. Something. Anything. Perchance, it would lessen the amount of vexation in him.
"She doesn't prepare my favorite foods for me and... She also made me take ummi's jewelries and money from the drawer in the room. I didn't want to do it. My teacher says it's a sin to take someone's property without their knowledge. I'm sorry, abee." She cried.
"Why?" He asked through his teeth. "Why didn't you inform me? Why didn't you inform any of us? Tell me!!" He yelled. And for the first time, he made his daughter scared of him. He saw the fear in her glistening eyes. He instantly regretted his action though it wasn't him aim or fault - he was hurting too much. He had had his doubts about her for so long, but he never imagined her cruelty would get to the extent of making her steal things. Was it her aim to turn his daughter into a thief at that tender age of hers?!
He snapped out of his trance and was about to hush Manal, when Maryam appeared in the midst of the tumultuous scene.
Her gaze traveled between Sa'eed and Manal before it finally settled on sa'eed. "What's going on here? Why are you yelling at her? You've decided what you want to do to me and now Manal? What has she done to you?" She asked.
أنت تقرأ
All For What!
الروحانية"Start packing your belongings, you're leaving right before my husband leaves for work. I'm sorry." Maryam said and sauntered back to their room, leaving an enraged and psyched up Nafisa behind. With a flagitious look on her face, she gnashed her t...
