“What? Marry again? What kind of idea is that?” asked Albi, clearly furious.
“Listen to me first, son. I only want you to know what it feels like to be a father. Am I wrong?” Laila put on an extremely sorrowful expression.
“Mom, Albi really appreciates your concern. But as for marrying again, I won’t do it because I already have a wife. I chose Nayra as my wife and properly asked her parents for her hand. I also promised never to hurt her. So this time, I won’t do what you want,” Albi replied as he stared at his mother.
“Albi, everything can be arranged. You can marry again without Nayra knowing. Having more than one wife isn’t wrong. You can support both of them—you have everything. So I’m sure any woman would agree to become your second wife, Bi. I’m absolutely certain of it,” Laila chuckled.
“Mom, I don’t want to hurt Nayra. All this time, I stayed quiet when Nayra was belittled for not being pregnant because I didn’t want to cause a scene. But now, why do you want to hurt her even more?” Albi asked, unable to understand his mother’s idea.
“Albi, I’ve never felt that I was putting your wife down. Everything I said was the truth, and even our entire family knows it. So I don’t feel that I was belittling her. You’re overreacting to all of this, son,” Laila argued.
“Do whatever you want, Mom. But when it comes to your idea of asking me to marry again, I disagree and I won’t do it. I don’t want to hurt the woman I cherish and love. It was incredibly difficult for me to win Nayra, Mom. Now that I have her, I will never let her go.”
Albi immediately left his parents’ house. He felt that his mother’s wish was too much—something he absolutely did not want. He didn’t even want to look at another woman, let alone marry again. Any of that would surely hurt Nayra, and he would never do that to her. Albi simply couldn’t understand his mother’s request. It had never once crossed his mind to do such a thing.
“Mom, it looks like Albi doesn’t want to do what you asked. So what should we do now?” Aninda asked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll arrange everything again. I’m certain Albi will do exactly what I say. It will all happen, and everything will come true,” Laila replied with complete confidence.
“You really are the best.” Aninda smiled with satisfaction at what her mother-in-law had done. It was obvious that Aninda truly disliked Nayra.
“Arrange for them to meet. I want Albi to know whom I’m asking him to marry. That way, he’ll surely reconsider his decision.”
Laila looked completely confident in her decision. She was also absolutely certain that her son would accept what she had planned. The woman she had already prepared made Laila more convinced than ever. Aninda smiled along when her mother-in-law smiled with satisfaction.
“I hope you’ll be ruined, Nayra!” Aninda thought.
Laila had tried every possible method. Her plan to introduce Albi to the woman she had chosen failed again. Laila kept trying, but failed over and over, while Albi remained firm in refusing what his mother wanted. Laila didn’t give up there. Aninda’s constant support kept Laila convinced that she was doing the right thing. What Laila didn’t know was that Aninda had a mission of her own—one Laila knew nothing about.
“Are you coming home late, or not?” Nayra asked as she walked her husband to the front door.
“Probably. I have several meetings today. Is that okay?” Albi asked as he gently stroked his wife’s cheek.
“If that’s how it is, then it’s okay. But remember, don’t forget to eat, and always take care of your health. I don’t want you neglecting yourself. Working hard is fine, but you need to balance it with enough rest and meals, too.”
“All right, my wife.” Albi gently pinched his wife’s chubby cheek.
“You do that all the time!” Nayra pouted.
“You’re just too cute.” Albi rubbed the cheek he had pinched. “All right, I’ll get going.”
Nayra nodded. After kissing her on the forehead, Albi left. Nayra kept watching him leave until the car he was riding in disappeared from sight. She quickly went back inside.
Albi drove somewhere other than the office. He headed to his mother’s house instead. He was truly annoyed that his mother kept hounding him to meet the woman she had chosen for him. It wasn’t that Albi wanted to lie to Nayra; he simply didn’t want to give her any more negative thoughts about his mother.
“Finally, you’re here, son. I’m always waiting for you. Why did you only come today?” Laila asked.
“Mom, why do you keep insisting that I marry again?”
“Of course, because I want you to have children,” Laila replied casually.
“Oh, Mom! Do you want to destroy your own son’s marriage? I love Nayra so much. There’s no way I could divide my love and affection between her and someone else. Please understand, Mom!” he exclaimed firmly.
“You have to meet the woman I chose for you first. I’m sure you’ll agree, Albi.”
Tired of his mother’s words, Albi finally nodded. “Fine. Introduce me to the woman you chose. But remember, don’t let my wife find out that I met another woman. I don’t want to hurt Nayra.”
A smile immediately spread across the middle-aged woman’s lips. Laila was satisfied with Albi’s answer. “All right, I’ll contact her this afternoon. You’ll meet during lunch. I’m sure you’ll be happy to see her.”
Not wanting to argue with his mother, Albi decided to go to the bedroom he had once used—the room where he always rested whenever he visited his parents’ house. Albi threw himself onto the bed and closed his eyes. Nayra’s smiling face kept appearing in his mind.
“Forgive me, sweetheart. I just want to make Mom stop and quit hounding me. Take it easy. I would never betray you, much less leave you,” Albi whispered.
“Albi, Mom’s calling you!” Aninda called as she knocked on Albi’s bedroom door several times.
“Oh, no. I fell asleep and just realized it’s already lunchtime,” Albi muttered.
After washing his face, Albi went downstairs and walked toward the dining table. His mother was talking to someone. Albi was sure that the woman speaking with Laila was the one his mother had chosen for him. He approached, curious to see her face, but the woman had her back turned to him.
“You’re awake, son. Sit down, and let’s have lunch together,” Laila said.
The woman stood up and turned toward Albi, who was still behind her. Albi was shocked when he saw who was standing before him. They stared at each other. The woman smiled sweetly and extended her hand.
“Hi. How are you?”