Yusuf strode into his room and plopped down in the middle of his bed; his hands folded underneath his head.

His mind sojourned to Larai's face at the dining room. Despite how hard he tried, he could not bring himself to look away from her. She was like a magnet, constantly attracting him to her. The way her eyes shimmered, as she conversed with Yusrah was pure gold-exquisite.

His smile broadened at the thought of being married to her someday. So far, he knew his family already had a soft spot for her and with more time, when they get to know her better, he believed they would love, just the way he did.

When you feel all alone in this world...

And there's nobody to count your tears,

Just remember no matter where you are,

Allah knows...

Allah knows...

No matter what's inside or out,

There's one thing of which there is no doubt,

Allah kno-

Yusuf picked up his cellphone from the nightstand before the incoming call would end.

His brows furrowed at the sight of the caller. ID. "Adam, what do you want?" Yusuf didn't bother to conceal the irritation in his voice. Of all times, his buddy chose to ruin the moment he was having with his thoughts.

"Hey, man! Chill, will ya? What's got you so riled up?"

"It's nothing. Tell me, why are you calling at this ungodly hour?" Yusuf mentally hit himself on the head for spurting the first thing that came to his mind. What was he thinking? It was morning already.

"Ungodly hour? Huh? Hey, Yusuf, are you sure you're not down with malaria?"

"Abeg, just go straight to the point. What's up?"

"I'm going to ignore this for now, because I have good news. You're going to be so happy when you hear it."

"Really?" He feigned enthusiasm. "What's this good news you have for me?"

"You know my client's case I have been battling with for the past four months? The one about domestic abuse and divorce?"

"Yes. You won?" Yusuf's asked, enthusiastically.

"Yes, I did. I did!"

"Wow! I'm so happy for you. Once again Barr. Adam has won another case. It's no surprise. I actually expected this. Congratulations, buddy."

"Say that again." His chuckle reverberated through the phone.
"Thanks, buddy. It hasn't been easy oh. Not at all. I suffer ehn. Thank God it's all over. I can finally get the case off my chest and sleep peacefully."

"True that. Because of that particular case, we haven't had the chance to hang out for over two months. Once again, congratulations. I'm happy for you and your client as well. How you wan wash am for us na?"

"I'm coming over to your house later. I just need to get some work done here at the office. Expect me in about..." He paused for a while, probably to take a glance at his watch. "Five hours."

"Alright, bud. Later."

Yusuf tossed the phone aside and smiled. His friend had worked hard in ensuring he emerged victorious in the court case. He was glad his hardworking finally paid off.
Adam was a childhood friend of Yusuf's. They grew up together and did everything together. Due to how close and inseparable they were, they chose to attend the same university. While Adam studied law, he went for business administration instead, because he knew he wouldn't succeed if he decided to follow the same path. Argument was not something he enjoyed doing-it had never been his forte. In fact, he disliked arguments and always tried to stay away from stuff that may trigger it.

He was that simple.

"Yusuf?" Yumnah's high-pitched voice echoed and filled his ear.

"That was quick." He mumbled to himself. It was atypical of Yumnah and Yusrah. Normally, the duo would take almost two hours to get ready for an occasion. "Coming?" He yelled back.

•

"Hmm...do I really have to wear this?" Larai looked down at the brown-colored abaya she was clad in-Yusrah's. "I can just wear one of my-"

"For the umpteenth time, Larai," Yusrah groaned. "It's totally fine by me. I have many more in my closet, so don't worry about it."

Larai suppressed the urge to smile. Yusrah had been nothing, but kind to her. She even insisted on her wearing one of her clothes. Yusrah had also offered to apply some make-up on her face, but she refused-not that she disliked make-up, she did like make-up to some certain extent, but the light one she was used to back in her village. She just didn't want her actions to paint a bad image of her. The last thing she wanted, was to be tagged an opportunist.

"Look into the mirror. You look dashing." Yusrah grabbed her hand and pulled her towards their dressing mirror.

Larai's eyes broadened at the sight of her reflection, staring right back at her. She couldn't help admire her new look. The brown, loose abaya and the red scarf wrapped around her head made her look even more beautiful than she formerly was.

"I told you it'd look nice. Do you like it?" Yusrah's reflection appeared behind hers in the mirror.

Larai turned around and smiled. "I do. Thank you for lending this to me."

"What do you mean lend?" Yusrah narrowed her eyes at her. "I just gave that to you. You don't have to return it to me. It's yours now."

"I..." Lost of words, Larai's voice trailed. She had no idea how she was supposed to start appreciating the favor. Yusrah had proven to be an awesome person. "Thank you."

"Aren't you guys done yet?" Yumnah ventured into the room and paused; her gaze fixated on Larai. "Yusie's abaya looks beautiful on you."

Confused on what reply to give, Larai fiddled with her fingers and lowered her gaze.

"Let's get going, please. Yusuf is already waiting for us in the living room." Yumnah informed and strode out of the room.

Yusrah and Larai followed suit.

•

Yusuf was busy laughing at something on his phone when the girls walked into the living room.

"Took you guys long enough. Yumnah, you told me you people were ready, but when I came here, I discovered it was just a lie." He commented, his stare still glued to the screen of his phone.

"Sorry, big bro." Yumnah plopped on the sofa beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Can we go now?"

"Of course." Yusuf rose to his feet and slipped his phone into his pocket. "I think it'd be-" he abruptly stopped as his eyes landed and lingered on Larai, who looked effortlessly beautiful.

Though Larai's head was lowered, she could feel Yusuf's eyes on her. As a result, she became self-conscious.

"She looks beautiful, right?" Yusrah bumped her brother's shoulder and wiggled her brows.

"Gorgeous." He remarked, his eyes not wavering from her face.

Heat rushed to Larai's cheeks and another smile graced her lips. She wanted to thank him and tell him he didn't look bad himself, but because the twins were present there, she wouldn't be able to do it, even if she tried.

"Did you hear that?" Yusrah asked, wiping nonexistent dust from her face. "Everyone thinks you look amazing."

Larai looked his way and smiled.

•

Yusuf halted the car in front of a mall and turned off the engine. "Here." He stretched out his hand to the passenger's seat beside him and handed his credit card to Yumnah.

''Aren't you coming with us?" A scowl etched Yumnah's face, as she readjusted her posture.

"No." He shook his head, curtly.

"Why?" From the backseat, Yusrah chipped in.

Larai also had the same question but decided to keep it to herself and allow the twins to do the talking instead.

"You guys should go ahead. I'll be here, waiting for you. Don't take too long and don't spend all of my money."

"Okay." Yumnah giggled. "We will try not to spend all of your money."

"I'm serious, Yumnah, don't spend all of my money." He repeated in a somewhat stern voice.

"Yes, boss," Yumnah responded in a low, guttural voice and opened the door. "It's not as if we can spend all of your money in a day, except if we want to buy cars and houses of course." With that said, she alighted from the car and shut the door a little too harshly.

"We won't keep you waiting for too long," Yusrah promised. "We will just get the necessary things we want, then head back."

"I'm not in a rush to go somewhere. Take your time." Yusuf's eyes were fixated on Larai as he spoke.

For some reason, in spite of how unrealistic it may sound, Larai couldn't help, but think the whole shopping arrangement was made special because of her.

"Are you guys coming or not?" Yumnah's high-pitched voice rang in the car.

"Let's go," Yusrah said to Larai, before opening the door by her side and alighting.

Larai was about to alight as well, when Yusuf spoke, making her flinch a little.

"I decided to bring you guys here, mainly because of you, so please don't hesitate to pick whatever you like, okay?"

A knowing smile crept up Larai's face. "Okay." She jumped off the car and shut the door very slowly, afraid of causing yet another damage.

While the twins were busy picking stuff they liked, Larai couldn't stop herself from staring at places with her eyes and mouth dilated. The mall oozed elegance.

Yumnah had also mentioned to her that the clothes there were all top-notch, as she picked some for Larai.

In all of the eighteen years Larai had lived, she had always wanted to wear such fanciful clothes, but she never thought she'd actually get the chance, but there she was-it was a lesson to never give up on hope. Miracles do happen when we least expect them.

In about two hours, the girls were done shopping. They walked up to the counter and handed the credit card to the lady in charge.

"Thanks for shopping with us." She smiled and handed the credit card back to Yumnah.

Yusuf was so engrossed speaking to someone over the phone, he didn't notice the girls had returned.

"We already talked about this, so please just leave me alone. I'm done trying to understand you and please don't try to call me again, otherwise, I'm going to blacklist your number and I mean it!" He took the phone off his ear and tossed it to the side.

Larai's brows wrinkled in incomprehension. Asides from the time he got into a fight with Zakari, it was actually the first time she had heard and seen Yusuf so distressed about something. A deep frown was etched on his forehead; he looked almost in pain.

Larai felt a familiar pang in her heart. Without even knowing what the cause of his angst was, she wished there was something she could do to calm him down.

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

Who do you think Yusuf was talking to?

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