Six hours passed and Larai had not slept a wink. Thoughts of Baaba, Nna, and Azumi occupied her mind. Instead of being happy, for she was finally free from Zakari and all the bad things he had in stock for her, a little part of her regretted her action, but it was too late to turn around now. She was left with no choice, but to take responsibility.

"We're here," Yusuf announced. "We're in Ilorin now."

In an instant, Larai's heartbeat increased. She had no idea why the thought of meeting Yusuf's family scared her so much. "Okay." She responded, fiddling with her fingers.

"Are you nervous?" Yusuf inquired, glancing at her.

She remained silent and continued fiddling with her fingers.

"Don't be. My parents are very nice people. I'm sure you will get along with my sisters as well. They are about the same age as you."

"Both of them?"

"They are twins."

"Oh!"

"So you don't have to worry about them not liking you. Just like I do, I'm sure they all will as well. We share the same taste and besides, you're an amiable person. No one can dislike you."

Even though Larai knew he only said that to make her feel less apprehensive, it still worked. Had she been a likable person, the girls at the village would not have hated her so much and she would have had many friends. She had none, which proved to her she wasn't as likable as Yusuf thought. "How many minutes left before we reach your house?"

"Approximately thirty minutes." He yawned. "I'm so tired. I can't wait to get home."

Larai stole a glance at him and noticed how tired he indeed looked.

She felt sad.

•

Yusuf's car screeched to a halt in front of a mansion—an enormous duplex and began to honk his horn.

Soon, the gates were opened.

Yusuf drove into the compound and pulled over in the parking space. "We're finally here." He announced, unbuckling his seatbelt.

From inside the car, Larai allowed her to gaze trailed to the building in front of her. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened like saucers.

Yusuf walked to the other side of the car to open the door for her. He then went ahead to unfasten her seatbelt.

Larai shrunk farther into her seat and waited anxiously for him to move back. His closeness was making her insides tingle.

"Come on, let's go in," Yusuf spoke.

She hesitated for a while, before stepping out of the car.

Despite how hard she tried not to embarrass herself more, she could not control herself from gaping at the building. Her gaze darted around the house in absolute wonder.

The building oozed elegance.

In all the years she had lived, it was the first time she had seen something as eye-catching as that.

"Let's go?" Yusuf's voice snapped her out of her trance and began to walk towards the entrance of the building.
She recoiled in embarrassment and mentally facepalmed for acting like a typical peasant, even though it wasn't her fault—the feeling was spontaneous.

With calculated steps, she walked behind him.

She thought she had seen it all until she stepped a foot into the living room. She removed her slippers and clutched them against her chest.

Her hand instantly flew over her mouth in astonishment. Being surprised was an understatement. The interior was incomparable to the exterior. The room was spacious and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling illuminated the room, beautifying it even more.

Larai had always heard of televisions in school. She had seen a quite number of televisions in the principal's office, but the one hanging on the wall was nothing like the ones she had seen before—the ones with small screens and huge rear ends. The one she was staring at, was huge and flat-screened.

"Have a seat," Yusuf motioned to the settees. "I will go and get my mother."

He then turned around and walked away.

Timid as a mouse, Larai walked towards the sofa, but instead of sitting on it, she sat on the ground—by the foot of the couch instead and clutched her slippers tighter against her chest.

The coolness of the room had goosebumps rising in her arms. She felt sick and tired.

Not long later, Yusuf returned walked back into the living room, alongside a middle-aged woman. Like Yusuf, she was fair-skinned. The royal blue gown she wore, complimented her looks. But she gave off an aura of sternness.

Larai instantly went on her knees to greet her. "Good evening, ma." She lowered her head.

Yusuf walked closer to her. He opened his mouth to speak, but his mother beat him to it.

"Larai, right?" Just like her appearance, her voice sounded equally as strict.

With her head still lowered, she nodded.

"Please get up." Mrs. Hadiza started. "You don't have to kneel to greet me and..." Her voice trailed. "Why are you holding your slippers in your hands. Put them on."

Larai shook her head. "I don't want to get your floor dirty." She voiced out.

The older woman laughed. "That shouldn't be a problem. We have maids to do the cleaning up. See, we're both wearing our shoes. You should as well."

"Do as my mother said, otherwise she is going to get angry," Yusuf whispered to her.

Without hesitation, she let down the slippers and slipped her feet in them.

"That's better." Mrs. Hadiza smiled. "Get up."

Again, she didn't hesitate before doing just that.

Mrs. Hadiza sat beside her on the sofa and stared intently at her.

Larai's head was lowered, but she could feel the woman staring at her. She clutched the hem of her wrapper tightly and fought hard to stabilize her breath.

"How was the journey?" She asked Larai. "Exhausting, right?"

"Very," Yusuf responded on Larai's behalf and plopped into the couch nearest to him.

"Did I ask you?" His mother frowned.
"I was speaking to Larai, not to you."

Yusuf shrugged and reclined his arm on the armrest of the couch.

"It was fine." Larai quickly responded; her head still lowered.

"Yusuf has already told me about how your parents wanted to force you into an unwanted marriage. I honestly didn't know such parents still exist. It's so saddening to even think about it and the victims of such circumstances. When Yusuf asked for our permission to take you away from there and bring you here, I accepted immediately, because I strongly am not in support of things like that. While you're here with us, I want you to feel at home. You will be well taken care of here."

Initially, Larai had thought Mrs. Hadiza would be a hard nut to crack, but the few minutes she had spent in her presence, proved to her what a marshmallow she was. "Thank you, ma."

Yusuf watched and smiled at the scene in front of him. "Where are those hooligans?" His question was directed to his mother.

"Haven't I told you to stop referring to your sisters as hooligans?" Mrs. Hadiza scorned.

"But isn't that what they are?" Yusuf chuckled. "The only thing they know how to do best is to trouble me and ma—"

"Yusuf?" A feminine voice filled the air and soon enough, a girl about the same age as Larai pounced on Yusuf. She pulled back and sat on the armrest. "When did you return? Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" She pouted and turned to look at her mother. Her brows furrowed when she sighted Larai seated beside her mother on the sofa. "I didn't know we have a new maid." She remarked.

Larai swallowed a painful lump in her throat, the feeling of inferiority seeping in. 

"She's not a maid, Yumnah" Yusuf groaned, disapprovingly. "She's Larai."

"Oh!" Yumnah's mouth formed an 'O'. "I'm so sorry." She apologized, walking up to Larai. "I didn't know you were the one, because—" she abruptly cut herself off and extended a hand for a handshake. "Forgive my manners. I'm Yumnah, Yusuf's favorite sister."

Instead of shaking her, Larai bowed her head a little and greeted; Good evening, ma."

Yumnah stifled a laugh. "Did you just bow and call me 'ma'? Me?" Her eyes dilated in surprise. "I'm a small girl fah."

Larai hummed, awkwardly.

"Call me Yumnah instead." She smiled, then walked back to her brother. "Why does she look so tense?"

"That's normal." Yusuf defended. "She's in a place she has never been before and is surrounded by strangers. What do you expect? If you were in her shoes, I bet you'd be as tensed as she is."

"That's a big fat lie! I have confidence—"

"Where is Yusrah?" He asked, cutting her off.

"I don't know." Yumnah shrugged. "She's probably stuck in a corner, reading a book."

"Yumnah, go and get set the table for your brother and Larai. I'm sure they are both famished right now." Mrs. Hadiza ordered and stood to leave.

"Make yourself comfortable, Larai. After you've eaten, Yumnah will show you to your room, so you can freshen up and have a rest."

"Okay." She responded in a low-pitched voice. "Thank you, ma."

"I will be in my room." Mrs. Hadiza said to Yusuf. "Come and see me after you've eaten."

"Alright, Ammi." Yusuf nodded and watched as his mother walked away. He then looked at Yumnah. "What are you waiting for? Go ahead. We're hungry."

"I'm going." She huffed and stormed to the kitchen.

Immediately she left, Yusuf left his sofa for Larai's.

She moved to the edge, uncomfortably.

"Are you okay?" Yusuf inquired, earnestly. His gaze was fixated on her.

"It's nothing to be worried about." She responded, avoiding his gaze. "I'm just not used to this environment and your family. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you by my actions earl—"

"You didn't." He reassured. "I'm glad you're here. It seems surreal. I told you my mother is a nice person, didn't I? She's the warmest person I have ever seen and believe me, I'm not just saying this, because she's my mother. It's the truth. You saw that for yourself, right?"

Larai smiled. Indeed she was. She found no atom of a lie in Yusuf's words. "Yes, she is."

"Yumnah is a nice person as well. Just like Azumi, she's a garrulous person." Yusuf chuckled. "She always says whatever comes to her mind. She never thinks before speaking, but when you get to know her better, you will realize what a wonderful person she is."

"Okay."

"Yusrah is the other twin. She's totally different from Yumnah. Sometimes I sit and wonder if they are really twins. There was this time I went to Ammi and asked her if she was sure one of the twins wasn't switched at birth."

For the first time since Larai arrived at the mansion, she chortled. "You asked her that?"

"I did." Yusuf chuckled. "She got mad and said I was the one that got switched instead. It was really hilarious."

"Is Yusrah that different from Yumnah?" Larai asked.

"They practically have nothing in common. Yusrah is a reserved person. She likes to be alone, with her thoughts. She doesn't talk too much and when she does, it's always about something reasonable. She never speaks rubbish like Yumnah. And yes, she's a bibliophile. She has a thousand books on her shelves. She's an unpublished writer as well."

"Really?" A shimmering luster appeared in her eyes. Yusrah had so many things in common with her. She hadn't met her yet, but she already liked her so much. Indisputably, she knew they were going to get along well. She could no longer wait to meet the gem of a person.

Yusuf nodded. "You're definitely going to like Yusrah."

"I already like Yusrah." Larai smiled.

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

So Yusuf didn't kidnap Larai after all 😁 but we're still not sure if he's intentions are pure, are we? 🧐

What do you think about Yumnah? 😄

Do you love twins? I absolutely do 🥰

Please don't forget to vote, comment and share 🙏

deey_jah
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