"Thank you, babe." Sudais showed gratitude by nodding and gripping the plate of sandwiches before placing it on his lap. A hand stretched towards him with a can of chilled Schweppes and he took his gaze off his phone to the figure and rose a brow. "Cup?" The closed can was released and it went tumbling down his white kaftan-covered chest to the floor.

"I was going to bring it but now that you asked, you can go get it yourself." The woman in brown lace Buba seethed, walking away.

Sudais glanced at Tahir who was trying hard to conceal his laughter and hissed. He set the plate aside to tail the woman who had walked out on him and found her in the melted butter-scented kitchen along with another woman: Aisha, Tahir's girl, sorting out platters and cups.

Aisha got the memo and picked up two platters on her way out.

He stepped further while his gaze followed the woman out before he turned. "Simi, you know I don't appreciate you defying me, especially in front of people."

The clanks of ceramic against the marble surface hitched. She gripped the edges of the marble and took a deep breath. "I don't appreciate un-appreciative people too." She turned around, only to grip the marble behind her to at least have something to hold onto so she did get into a fight with him while they were at his friend's place.

His hard expression fluttered, palms rising as he walked to her. "I...am sorry about that."

She shrugged, turning to the platters. "You better be."

He placed his chin atop of her head and encircled his arms under her bosom. "You look so good today."

Simi paused, twisting to find the corners of his lips lifted. She lifted her hand until it found a home on his sideburns down his low-cut beard. "You're going to be boasting in just a few seconds, but you look good too."

His shoulders rose, his smile broadening. "I know, i look good. I always do. I mean-" the back of Simi's elbow hit his chest and he let out a mock wince.

She shook her head, resuming work. "See?"

He went to protest but his ringtone cut him. He brought his hand up and slightly narrowed his eyes at the caller Id. His eyes had to be lying. To prove them right or wrong, he excused himself from the kitchen and swiped the FaceTime call to answer.

"Ha'an ango ba! Kaga se wani kyau ma kakeyi, duk auren nen hakan?"

He scoffed, shaking his head at the ridiculousness. "Auren da ko matar ban gani ba, wani kyau zan qara. Spare me." He slumped on the couch opposite Tahir.

His eyes widened when the FaceTime camera from the other side was rolled out, "Mama! I didn't know you guys were together. Yaushe kikaje Yola, Maijidda?" The phone was rolled back to the front camera and handed to his mum who gave him a tired smile. They proceeded with pleasantries and went on about how they were in Borno, Maiduguri, his mum's hometown for condolences.

The door to the kitchen banged close, compelling him to snap in the direction to see Simi emerging from it.

"Who's there with you? Are you not home?"

Sudais shook his head, moving his phone to his left hand. "I'm at Tahir's place, we're hanging out."

"Oh! Where is he?"

Sudais rolled his camera at Tahir. The man waved a hand at the camera and Sudais made the mistake of surveying the room and it caught Simi on the couch adjacent to him.

"Q hunak? (Who's there?)"

Sudais returned to the front camera and scrunched up his face. "Who's what?"

Despite the server being shaky, he could see his mum's eyes narrow.

He palmed his forehead in mock realization. "Oh. It's my friend. Her name is Simi," He turned the phone to Simi. "It's my mum."

"Ohhh, your friend?" Queen Baraka dragged dramatically as she waved at the screen. Simi sat up straight and returned the gesture. In a string, the woman accosted. "Ohh. Hello, Simi. How are you dear? Laein walidik aladhi 'ataa bik 'iilaa hadha alaelam wa'abika Sudais. (Damn your dad and his dad who brought you into this world Sudais.)"

Simi not knowing what the hell his mum was talking about, answered the question she could understand. "I'm doing fine, ma. It's so nice to see you."

Sudais closed his eyes in embarrassment at his mothers the next fast strings of words in a happy voice. "Ohh it's so nice to see you too! Wallahi alkhwaf alyawm aladhi satuqabil fih Allah. (Wallahi fear the day you'll meet Allah.) It's so good to see you, Simi."

"Thank you, Ma!" Simi waved at the phone before Sudais excused himself. Once out, he muted the call and threw his head back to let out a loud laugh before composing himself and un-muting the call.

"Haba mama. Ina cikin mutane fa."

The woman with the camera too close to her face shook her head, and her fake smile expired. "Ai baka jin tsoron Allah ne. Wallahi Abba kanajin tsoron Allah. Hanging out in banza da wofi, uwar me mace takeyi a gidan Tahir?"

Sudais threw his head and let out a groan. "Mama please, let's not do this...Why did Maijidda call me on FaceTime nema? That's Mima's thing."

"Well...Baba Alhaji gave us news before he went on for his nap and we know he didn't tell you. The man won't until he has gotten his sleep so i asked her to call you. They found your wife and she's currently back in her hometown."

Sudais's breath hitched, his eyes scanning his back for nothing in particular. He stepped down the stairs of the porch and lifted the back of his kaftan top to sit on one of the stairs. As if he didn't believe it, he questioned. "She's back?"

"Yes. Your dad wants you to go get her tomorrow."

His distant eyes hiked to the 5'oclock sky of Lagos.

"You didn't say anything. You don't look happy."

Happy? Sudais let out a scoff. He spread his barefooted legs and returned his attention to the phone. He answered, honestly. "I don't know what to look like Mama... The only thing i am sure of is that i am surprised...i-i thought she'd put up more fight or something de."

The woman on the other end hummed, "Hmm. She shouldn't be fighting it anymore. Haba, yarinya ta wa kowa hankali."

Sudais nodded at that, "Yeah..." he shook himself out of his daze and managed a smile. "It's okay, Mama. Everything will be fine."

Or at least he hoped it would.

***

Here we go again.

Fourth time in dear In-laws home town. But this time, it was at least for a brighter course. Or so he hoped.

He had arrived and finished pleasantries with people necessary. Now, as he sat in one of the living rooms, he had decided to crack and improvise a code on his Microsoft Surface book.

One thing was sure about wifey, she was a Tidsoptimist. A habitual late comer.

He usually didn't appreciate those kinds of people but oh well, was there any going back now? Nope.

In a while, a knock on the double doors came. His hand that held his surface book pen paused, his eyes rising to look at the door just in time to hear a throat clear and a salam come. Over the sound of someone pushing the door and walking in with faint footsteps, Sudais's attention was dragged to the new system alert on his book. The screen lighted up in black and red, indicating his route was being tampered. He swiped out of the web with a frown before lifting his head to answer her salam.

Sudais trailed the woman's figure with his eyes to check her out and did nothing to hide it. He managed to take note of her appearance-although she was a bit taller than he expected-but didn't get much of her face as she had it hung low. Decked in a maroon lace, the lady's upper limbs were veiled in a matching color. She made herself comfortable on the rug across from him.

"Ina yini."

He took notice of her skin-the first thing he was attracted to when he saw her picture. Although she was younger, and darker in the picture, he was sure it didn't do her much justice. Although lighter now, her exposed chin gave off a deep brown mahogany hue. Her wrist though, was at least 2 shades lighter-he could even compare it to his face and they'd be little to no difference.

At the notice of her palms rubbing on her thighs back and forth, he realized he was freaking the girl out by not responding. In a clear, light, and pleasant voice, he addressed. "Lafiya." She shifted, visibly uncomfortable and he pushed. "How are you feeling?" He had no idea what she had gone through in those 7 days she had gone MIA, but she neither deserved to be married off like that despite what had happened. Which didn't even seem like it was her fault to him.

In a confused trance, she rose her eyes to meet his narrowed ones. "Huh?" Brows slightly raised, her lips coiled down in a frown and oval hollows in the form of dimples appeared. Wow, those weren't there in the picture.

Eyes not straining from her, He gestured at the space between them. "How do you feel about all this?" Her spec-covered eyes left his figure and hiked to the ceiling. He didn't quite like the fact that he couldn't see the intriguing dot he saw in one of her eyes in the picture.

He'll get to see—

"I...feel-i feel this is a disaster and it'll end in tragedy. You also seem like an assho—"

"Shhhh—" he smiled and placed an index over his lips.

Her eyes slipped down to him, her full upper lips and slightly thinner lower lips didn't look as adverse as they looked when he examined her picture, although not as normal as everyone's, it wasn't bad as she pursed them forward in a pout-or was that a frown?

At the thought, his sick smile grew wider. Her frown deepened at that, her large, round-alluring eyes pulled her lids halfway to narrow at him, her expression turning to a pissed one.

She looked kinda...cute. Pissed off meaning.

"Shh-come here." She tilted her head to the side in question and he mirrored her action as he placed his surface book aside. He caught her hesitation and reassured her by nodding. She opposed his gesture by shaking her head.

Well, then. He inched forward and whispered as he flicked his eyes to the door and then back to her. "Don't say anything. They can hear us."

Her eyes lids widened, slightly pink now that he had noticed. Her eyeballs rolled to the edges of her eyes as she tried to look at the door, without looking at the door. She lifted her palms and whispered, "Who?" Her parted lips made a perfect o shape and she held them in position.

He pointed at the door opposite the one she came in through. "Your mum and dad." She trailed his eyes to the door and when she was there, she let out a quiet breath. Of course, they'd be there trying to listen to her first conversation with her so-called husband.

Her muscles relaxed when she slumped her side to the couch again just in time for a knock to come. Laila jerked forward, her body whipping to the sound, same as Sudais.

That was her cue.

"I got it." She stood, marching barefoot to the door. Poking her head, a man in casuals gripped the handle of the food troll which she nodded at before taking it from there, pushing the trunk into the room. She kicked the door close with her foot and Sudais couldn't help but chuckle. She stopped adjacent to the man, gathered the tray in her hands to place it on a glass table, and picked it up. She placed it in front of Sudais who immediately shook his head.

"All this...i just want tea and bread."

Before Laila could stop herself, she snapped. "You're a guest. You're supposed to take anything offered." She had an issue with un-appreciative people and, she also had this inherited issue called: anger issues.

He feigned hurt, dragging the sides of his lips down. "I'm not a guest. I'm now a son in this house, or didn't they tell you?"

She stood akimbo, breathing deeply and sharply. "They didn't. But since you are, i guess you won't have a problem finding the kitchen, son."

His fingers rose as he peeked at the content of the plates, humming. "Hmm. Your brothers did mention you have your dad's straightforwardness."

She added to it, "And his temper too, so you better watch it."

Sudais rose an amused-narrowed eye at her as his fingers hovered over the platter of chicken soup. What was she going to do? Flog him? The thought made his lips stretch before he slumped into the couch, deciding to play her game and matching her stare. "Well then, we wouldn't want him to hear us at each other's throats less than 10 minutes—" his voice dropped to a whisper "—on our first meeting while he listened right?"

Laila's smirk dropped to a frown as she turned to the door he had mentioned her parents stood behind.

He nodded. "Yes, so, let's try this again," He outstretched his hand and stood up, "My name is Sudais Abba Idris Mamman, and I'd like tea and bread."

She matched his energy, meeting his warm palm and squeezing it as menacingly as she could. "My name is Halimatu's Sadiya Amin Sunusi, and I'd like for you to jump into the lagoon."

He threw his head back and laughed out loud, to give her parents a good impression, she laughed along with him, "But you people do not seem to have lagoons in Gombe. There's plenty where we're going though." Laila's fake smile dropped, she yanked her palm out of his and took cautious steps back until she found herself sitting on the couch.

Long minutes passed and he didn't attempt to touch the food which riled Laila further. She motioned at the food, "Are you not going to eat?"

He shook his head, his surface pen not halting it as he glanced at her, then went back to his screen. "No, Sadiya, i am not."

Oh, first name basis huh? She stood up, nose flaring, placed the tray back, and gripped the food trunk. "I hope you starve to death, Sudais." Then she maneuvered the trunk as she headed for the door.

"I'll save that for after I've taken you to the lagoon. Jam waala! (Good night!)" Laila hardly caught that as she had banged the door over the sound of him speaking.

***

"What about you and Daddy's divorce?"

Mami chuckled, "Your dad never divorced me. We agreed to tell your siblings because we believed one of them was helping you and we were right. I also needed to go and see my family."

Why was Laila not surprised? It was typical of her parents to use reverse manipulation on them like they always did.

Not wanting the sour topic to keep lingering in the air, Mami proceeded. "You asked me yesterday, how did i survive 32 years of a loveless marriage, right?"

Laila's body shook violently with tears as she frantically nodded.

Her mum did the same as she clasped her palms. "The truth is...I don't even know..." she let out a laugh and sniffled her tears back. "I think...no, i know...it's just the little things, Laila." She placed a firm hand on Laila's shoulder who knelt on the floor beneath the bed. "You find small things you love and they add up to become whole. It can be anything. For me," the woman's warm fingers pulled her daughter's wet chin up, Laila's sticky face meeting her mum's half-wet face. Mami smiled a happy-sad smile. "For me, it was you...all of you kids. It was the days your dad was in a good mood-he is not as bad as you think he is, Laila. Please, remember that." Laila frantically nodded and attempted to cast her head down. It went futile. Her mum's firm fingers kept her face up. "I have kids i love, i have happy days, i have days where I spend time with the people i love, i have days i sit in the greens with the fresh air...i have a lot of things i love that sum up to fill the void of this loveless marriage. And you know what?"

Laila shook her head, sniffling back mucus and trying to breathe through her slightly parted lips. "Love is not what keeps a marriage going. Wallahi whoever tells you it's the only thing and you know it- it's not. It's patience. Kiyi haquri. Kiyi haquri." Laila kept nodding, hiccuping with tears.

In a smaller voice, her mum went on. "Remember, even the person that Allah created this world because of was tested in so many ways. Don Allah, na roqe ki, kiyi haquri. Listen to your husband, he knows what's best for you. Allah united you two for a reason. Your dad chose him for a reason, even if it seems like he did it for himself. No parent wants to hurt their kid except if they know something good will come out of it. Take care of yourself. Take care of your husband. Take care of his family. Treat his parents right. Get under their skin, and work out a good relationship with them. Kinajina?"

As if Mami remembered something, she nodded and gripped Laila's ear. "Your pills. Ki tausaya mini ki tausaya wa kanki, and take them as prescribed. Na hada ki da Allah. Take your pills! Wannan guntun zuciyartaki ba in da ze kaiki. Work on your anger issues and know what to say, when to say to your husband. Do not be stubborn to your husband, i know you are, but please, this your strong-headedness shouldn't be shown to your husband. Submit to your husband." To emphasize her warning, she gripped Laila's ear harder until the girl squirmed and winced. "Yi nayi, bari na bari. Yi nayi, bari na bari. Yi nayi, bari na bari. Yi nayi—"

"Yi nayi, bari na bari. Kina jina de ko black?" Modibbo who was clad in a white kaftan with silver embroidery similar to that of Muslim walked into their mother's room and sang after his mum. They made a stop at the bed and Modibbo didn't waste another second in holding Laila's forehead in place with his hand. He repeated, humor lacing his tone. "Black, yi nayi, bari na bari. Laila, yi nayi fa, bari fa na bari fa, kina jina ko?"

Despite her struggle, Laila managed to snatch her head from his grasp and hit him, croaking in between heavy-forced breaths. "Qan...qannen ubanka!"

"Ya isa." Mami intercepted, rolling out some tissue and gently dabbing Laila's sticky face. "Go wash your face and let's go." With difficulty, Laila found herself grabbing anything possible for support as she made her way into her mum's bathroom. She found herself staring at a version of herself in a white and silver material with stones sewn into a long sleeve V-neck fitted dress that splayed-mermaid style from the knees down. Jewelry lightly adorned her ears, neck, fingers, and wrist. Her face, devoid of any makeup made way for her bolt and after-bolt bruises which were just a slight swelling from her right temple and a cut from Daddy's belt on the side of her chin. Most of the bruises were on her body.

Laila continuously splashed cold water on her face until she felt satisfied. She gripped the edge of the sink hard so hard she was sure she could break it as she stared at the water dripping down from her chin. Her eyes were bright pink, her nose flared and her teeth grit against each other.

The woman who stared back at her was weak, pathetic, and needed to get the hell out of Laila's face. She swirled to catch sight of a face towel. She dabbed her face dry and took a few more minutes to calm her ragging heart. She wiped her, sweaty hands on the same face towel before tossing it and standing up straight. She rolled her shoulders- back and forth, then her head in circles.

Holding her breath, she counted down to 10 while biting the insides of her cheek.

Taking a deep breath, Laila kicked the empty bucket beside her and mustered a fake smile before pushing the door open to find her mum slashing up transparent leathers.

Laila stood before her mum who wasted no time in draping the black and silver Alkyabba over her. The woman gripped her sides and turned her around to fix any imperfections. While dragging the cloak hood back a bit, Mami announced. "Your dad got you a car. He said not to tell you, but you'll find it in your new home in Abuja."

Laila's eyes widened. "A car?" Was that her consolation price? Please.

"Eh. Ya siya mana wata jahilar benz ba!" Modibbo added, punching his fist into the air.

"Ni i don't even get it, she already has a car and she doesn't drive, he should've given you the money naw."

"Ya siya mana? Kana hauka," then she turned to Muslim, "Kai!" Laila inched to her brother, aiming for a high-five. "Muslim your head get oil!" She exclaimed, meeting his palm in the air. "I will sell it sef."

Laila felt a smack on her shoulder and she stepped back to wince. "Don't even think about it. We'll be flying in soon, i want to see that car in your house and not a car parlor, kina jina?" She didn't wait for an answer as she wrapped her veil around herself. "Let's go."

Now that Laila wasn't a crying mess, holding her was not considered. Mami interlaced their fingers as the family of 4 made their long journey over to her dad's side of the house.

At the old man's side, Laila yet again listened to her step mum's rants-or was it lessons they called it about all the things she was tired of hearing. Next, was her dad. Laila found herself slumping to her knees on the rug in front of the man and broke into hysteric tears. He whispered nothing to her and gripped her shoulders in his egotistical way of consoling her.

Sudais who stood by the side in the color of the day: white and silver Babban riga watched the scene keenly.

The bride's old man gestured for the groom to walk over and the man did by kneeling beside his wife in front of her father.

Daddy stretched his hand out and Sudais got the memo. He lifted his hand and the old man did the same to his daughter's sweaty left hand. He placed the red henna-ed hand into a larger and much rougher hand. The old man then sandwiched the hands into his warm one and leaned toward the man and woman. "Amanah, fid dunya wa bil akhirah. Amanah." The need for any other word wasn't needed as Laila's sob turned into a wail.

They stayed in their position until their feet started to hurt and someone announced the jet was ready.

At the car, when Mami and Sudais managed to get a trembling Laila into the back seat of the Prado car, Mami placed her daughter's palm into her son-in-law. "This is coming from a mother who is entrusting you with her daughter's life, take care of this amanah. And please, force her pills down her throat if you have to." Despite the tears, Laila chuckled alongside Daddy, Mami, Sudais, Mama Adda, Modibbo and Muslim.

The family stepped back to close the door and Laila kept waving until they were out of sight.

A few minutes to the airport, Laila gathered herself. She close her eyes hard and opened them. Then sniffled one last time before wiping her face with a tissue.

She looked down at her and Sudais' interlaced fingers before wiggling her fingers out of his.

All that had been said went in through her right ear and flew out left.

Submission can fuck off right about now.

Spare me, i do not in any way support arranged marriage. Do not let this deceive you, they mostly do not work out!!!!!
It just coincides with the story line, fenk you😗