She couldn’t speak. She bent down and lifted Hafcy up. Hafcy stood up crying intensely, clutching the hand she had fallen on.
About an hour later, Haj Surayya arrived. She was the younger sister of the late Rukayya and Laura’s elder sister. She was much older than Bilki — about the same age as Yaya Salaha.
She was a well-built, fair-complexioned woman who worked with the Transport Authority in Abuja. She lived with her husband and children near her workplace. It was Alti who informed her that Bilki had taken all the children to her own house.
Alti was deeply worried. She understood that Hafcy’s hand was seriously injured, and whatever would follow this incident would not be simple.
As for Bilki, she had already grown used to seeing different forms of tension in her life. She was simply waiting for him to return so she could tell him and lighten her heart. She would not allow them to burden her with emotional pain.
Alti, however, boldly scolded her as if she were not her employer. She said:
“Why did you even chase after them? You’ve already run far ahead of them whether they like it or not, since you’re the one sharing their father’s bed while their mother is gone. If they respect you, respect their mother. If they trouble you, trouble their parents — but now their mother is no longer here, so you must be patient, especially since they are girls. Very soon each of them will be in her own husband’s house facing her own struggles. But because of this impatience you’ve just learned, you grabbed a young girl and beat her terribly like that. That’s not right. Think of their father — if her hand is broken, what will we do?”
Softly, Bilki replied, “Then he can divorce me.”
Alti shook her head, shocked at how hardened Bilki had become.
---
Late in the evening, he arrived home, unaware the house was in turmoil. He came out of the bathroom drying himself with a towel.
“I only see Farha. Where are the others?” he asked.
In a low voice she replied, “They’re not here. Their mother’s sister came and took them.”
He stopped putting on his shirt. “Why didn’t you tell me before they left? Or at least call me?”
She remained silent.
He sighed. “Why didn’t they take Farha too? I never stopped you from letting her stay among them.”
Her eyes filled with tears. She lowered her head.
He dressed, sprayed perfume, and headed toward the door. Then he stopped, closed it, and returned angrily.
“You’re not doing what you’re supposed to do, Bilkisu! You’ve folded your hands and left the children entirely to me. You refuse to relax with them — since you don’t love me.”
Tears streamed down her face as he walked out.
That night they barely ate. Only she and Farha had some water; no one had a proper meal.
After Isha prayer, Haj Surayya called him. She said they were coming with the children and that there was a serious issue to discuss. He told her he would wait at home.
---
Around nine o’clock they arrived. Hafcy’s hand was heavily bandaged. She had a fever, and marks from the lashes were visible. Aysha was crying intensely.
Seeing them like that shook him deeply. Bilki’s heart pounded — not because she feared divorce, but because she didn’t want to be humiliated before them.
He greeted Haj Surayya but went straight to Hafcy, touching her forehead and noticing the fever and thick bandage.
“What happened? Who did this to you?” he asked anxiously.
Hafcy couldn’t speak — only tears flowed.
He turned to Aysha, who was sobbing.
Haj Surayya answered sharply, “They were beaten mercilessly.”
“Beaten? Who beat them like this?”
Laura said, “Aunt Maigado.”
Shock overwhelmed him. He looked at Bilki carefully, searching her face to see whether this was true or a false accusation. He realized it was true — she showed no surprise or panic.
The room fell silent. His anger boiled, but he struggled to speak.
Haj Surayya said she came because she could not accept that grown girls were beaten so severely.
He raised his voice: “Surayya, leave this matter in my hands. This is my house. She is my wife, and they are my children. All of them are under my authority.”
Surayya grew more upset. “I stand in place of their mother. She must explain why she humiliated them like this. She knows the pain of childbirth — if someone beat her own child this way, she wouldn’t accept it.”
Calmly, Bilki looked her in the eyes.
“The reason you came to defend them as their mother’s sister is the same reason I disciplined them as their father’s sister. If I don’t have the right as their stepmother, then I did it as their aunt. And if they follow me into my room again to insult me, I will beat them again. This house is a house of discipline.”
Surayya was furious. She had never seen Bilki speak this boldly before.
She warned that if not for respect for him, the matter could have gone to court or the media. Then she left with Laura. The girls remained seated.
---
He told Bilkisu Junior and the younger children to go to bed.
Then he asked Aysha, “What did you do to her for her to beat you?”
Aysha burst into tears — she had expected him to scold Bilki harshly.
Hafcy explained that Farha had been rude, so she followed her into Bilki’s room to discipline her, and Bilki beat them both.
Aysha said she went to rescue Hafcy and was lashed as well.
“So you were beaten inside her room?” he asked.
They couldn’t answer.
He said firmly, “This is the last time any of you will enter Maigado’s room to beat her children. And I forbid you from beating Farha or any of the children.”
He looked at Aysha.
“Maigado is my sister. Even if I hadn’t married her, she would still be your aunt. Now that I have married her, she is even more your mother. I did not like that she beat you — especially Hafcy — but since she says she did it as my sister, I cannot challenge that. You must respect her because she is my wife.”
They cried, believing he was protecting her out of love.
Laura was stunned — he had not reacted harshly like he once did when their late mother disciplined them.
Afterward, he asked Bilki to prepare tea and bring it upstairs.
Later in bed, he spoke quietly:
“Let me speak as your elder brother, not your husband. If the children misbehave, discipline them without hurting them. My children are your children. Don’t differentiate between them and Farha.”
Then he said as her husband:
“Never beat them again. Whatever they do, tell me — I will handle it. Today is the last day you raise your hand against them. I don’t want it — not even against your precious daughter Farha.”
He turned his back to her and slept.
For the first time since she married him, he did not embrace her.
Regret filled her heart.
She reflected on how different this marriage was from her first. Now she lacked nothing materially. She was praised and valued. Yet here she faced the pain of stepchildren’s conflict.
She raised her hands in prayer:
“Lord, help me with these children. Guide them and soften their hearts. Grant me patience and a good outcome.”
Tears fell as she prayed for her parents’ mercy.
---
The next day he took the girls shopping, giving Hafcy his main ATM card as compensation. Bilki realized he did it to soothe Hafcy’s pain.
When Laura stylishly said goodbye, a flicker of jealousy pierced Bilki.
After they left, he sat watching TRT news — journalist Halima Umar Saleh was discussing Africa’s economic challenges.
Bilki walked quietly and sat beside him. She held his hand gently.
“Baban Bilkisu… how far?” she asked softly.
“Fine,” he replied without looking at her.
She felt it clearly — he was still upset about the beating.
She couldn’t speak. She bent down and lifted Hafcy up. Hafcy stood up crying intensely, clutching the hand she had fallen on.
About an hour later, Haj Surayya arrived. She was the younger sister of the late Rukayya and Laura’s elder sister. She was much older than Bilki — about the same age as Yaya Salaha.
She was a well-built, fair-complexioned woman who worked with the Transport Authority in Abuja. She lived with her husband and children near her workplace. It was Alti who informed her that Bilki had taken all the children to her own house.
Alti was deeply worried. She understood that Hafcy’s hand was seriously injured, and whatever would follow this incident would not be simple.
As for Bilki, she had already grown used to seeing different forms of tension in her life. She was simply waiting for him to return so she could tell him and lighten her heart. She would not allow them to burden her with emotional pain.
Alti, however, boldly scolded her as if she were not her employer. She said:
“Why did you even chase after them? You’ve already run far ahead of them whether they like it or not, since you’re the one sharing their father’s bed while their mother is gone. If they respect you, respect their mother. If they trouble you, trouble their parents — but now their mother is no longer here, so you must be patient, especially since they are girls. Very soon each of them will be in her own husband’s house facing her own struggles. But because of this impatience you’ve just learned, you grabbed a young girl and beat her terribly like that. That’s not right. Think of their father — if her hand is broken, what will we do?”
Softly, Bilki replied, “Then he can divorce me.”
Alti shook her head, shocked at how hardened Bilki had become.
---
Late in the evening, he arrived home, unaware the house was in turmoil. He came out of the bathroom drying himself with a towel.
“I only see Farha. Where are the others?” he asked.
In a low voice she replied, “They’re not here. Their mother’s sister came and took them.”
He stopped putting on his shirt. “Why didn’t you tell me before they left? Or at least call me?”
She remained silent.
He sighed. “Why didn’t they take Farha too? I never stopped you from letting her stay among them.”
Her eyes filled with tears. She lowered her head.
He dressed, sprayed perfume, and headed toward the door. Then he stopped, closed it, and returned angrily.
“You’re not doing what you’re supposed to do, Bilkisu! You’ve folded your hands and left the children entirely to me. You refuse to relax with them — since you don’t love me.”
Tears streamed down her face as he walked out.
That night they barely ate. Only she and Farha had some water; no one had a proper meal.
After Isha prayer, Haj Surayya called him. She said they were coming with the children and that there was a serious issue to discuss. He told her he would wait at home.
---
Around nine o’clock they arrived. Hafcy’s hand was heavily bandaged. She had a fever, and marks from the lashes were visible. Aysha was crying intensely.
Seeing them like that shook him deeply. Bilki’s heart pounded — not because she feared divorce, but because she didn’t want to be humiliated before them.
He greeted Haj Surayya but went straight to Hafcy, touching her forehead and noticing the fever and thick bandage.
“What happened? Who did this to you?” he asked anxiously.
Hafcy couldn’t speak — only tears flowed.
He turned to Aysha, who was sobbing.
Haj Surayya answered sharply, “They were beaten mercilessly.”
“Beaten? Who beat them like this?”
Laura said, “Aunt Maigado.”
Shock overwhelmed him. He looked at Bilki carefully, searching her face to see whether this was true or a false accusation. He realized it was true — she showed no surprise or panic.
The room fell silent. His anger boiled, but he struggled to speak.
Haj Surayya said she came because she could not accept that grown girls were beaten so severely.
He raised his voice: “Surayya, leave this matter in my hands. This is my house. She is my wife, and they are my children. All of them are under my authority.”
Surayya grew more upset. “I stand in place of their mother. She must explain why she humiliated them like this. She knows the pain of childbirth — if someone beat her own child this way, she wouldn’t accept it.”
Calmly, Bilki looked her in the eyes.
“The reason you came to defend them as their mother’s sister is the same reason I disciplined them as their father’s sister. If I don’t have the right as their stepmother, then I did it as their aunt. And if they follow me into my room again to insult me, I will beat them again. This house is a house of discipline.”
Surayya was furious. She had never seen Bilki speak this boldly before.
She warned that if not for respect for him, the matter could have gone to court or the media. Then she left with Laura. The girls remained seated.
---
He told Bilkisu Junior and the younger children to go to bed.
Then he asked Aysha, “What did you do to her for her to beat you?”
Aysha burst into tears — she had expected him to scold Bilki harshly.
Hafcy explained that Farha had been rude, so she followed her into Bilki’s room to discipline her, and Bilki beat them both.
Aysha said she went to rescue Hafcy and was lashed as well.
“So you were beaten inside her room?” he asked.
They couldn’t answer.
He said firmly, “This is the last time any of you will enter Maigado’s room to beat her children. And I forbid you from beating Farha or any of the children.”
He looked at Aysha.
“Maigado is my sister. Even if I hadn’t married her, she would still be your aunt. Now that I have married her, she is even more your mother. I did not like that she beat you — especially Hafcy — but since she says she did it as my sister, I cannot challenge that. You must respect her because she is my wife.”
They cried, believing he was protecting her out of love.
Laura was stunned — he had not reacted harshly like he once did when their late mother disciplined them.
Afterward, he asked Bilki to prepare tea and bring it upstairs.
Later in bed, he spoke quietly:
“Let me speak as your elder brother, not your husband. If the children misbehave, discipline them without hurting them. My children are your children. Don’t differentiate between them and Farha.”
Then he said as her husband:
“Never beat them again. Whatever they do, tell me — I will handle it. Today is the last day you raise your hand against them. I don’t want it — not even against your precious daughter Farha.”
He turned his back to her and slept.
For the first time since she married him, he did not embrace her.
Regret filled her heart.
She reflected on how different this marriage was from her first. Now she lacked nothing materially. She was praised and valued. Yet here she faced the pain of stepchildren’s conflict.
She raised her hands in prayer:
“Lord, help me with these children. Guide them and soften their hearts. Grant me patience and a good outcome.”
Tears fell as she prayed for her parents’ mercy.
---
The next day he took the girls shopping, giving Hafcy his main ATM card as compensation. Bilki realized he did it to soothe Hafcy’s pain.
When Laura stylishly said goodbye, a flicker of jealousy pierced Bilki.
After they left, he sat watching TRT news — journalist Halima Umar Saleh was discussing Africa’s economic challenges.
Bilki walked quietly and sat beside him. She held his hand gently.
“Baban Bilkisu… how far?” she asked softly.
“Fine,” he replied without looking at her.
She felt it clearly — he was still upset about the beating.
She gathered courage and began to speak….