"Do you want anything for dinner?"

Dinner? "Dinner?" She voiced her thought as her upper body rose from the bed, her hands clutching the covers to her chest. "It's dinner time?"

Nurain's crossed arms dropped, his eyes squinting in question. "No, but for reservation i mean. It's almost 7."

"7?" Laila exclaimed, her heart picking up pace as she yanked the covers off her and picked her jumpsuit from the floor with shaky hands. Laila wiggled into the jumpsuit at the same time glancing at Nurains confused build. "And you didn't tell me? I have to be home before 7 as long as I'm not doing shit in school!"

Raising a brow, his palms flew into the air. "And? You were not in school since 2 Laila."

"Which is why you should've told me how much I'd lost track of time!" She snapped, using her shaky hands to zip up before placing her palms on her chest to calm herself down. The heart pounds, her heavy and fast pounding had to slow down or she'd slip into an attack.

There weren't going to until she was out, so with a hiss, she reached into her backpack in search of her phone to find the device on 5% with missed calls from Sudais, Maya, and Naimat.

Naimat, that was understandable. But Sudais and Maya? What had happened? Did someone give them intel? Did they know where she was? Did someone see her leaving with Nurain? Did someone know she cheated?

"NO." She let out, shaking her head as she brought a hand over her mouth. She needed to get out and she needed to do it soon.

"Wha-what's wrong?"

"WE ARE WHAT'S WRONG. ME AND YOU!"

Brows creasing in, the man in a T-shirt and shorts let his mouth hang open at her sudden outburst. "I-you..." he then shook his head, following her hasty movements as she shoved her phone back and searched the room frantically. He then let out a humorlessly chuckle, "Of course. Of course, we're what's wrong with us." His laughter died as he stared at her and rose an index. "For a second...wallahi i thought you were changing. I thought you don't go around baselessly accusing people because of your stupid paranoia. I thought you had stopped manipulating things for yourself, but no. Once again, i let you use me!"

Despite her inner turmoil, she smiled, "Oh right. Tell me how that feels?" The heated duo stood in a fierce staring contest for what felt like forever before Laila hissed and clutched the strap of her backpack tighter while sidestepping him and letting the walls rattle after the door as her departing gift.

Over her stupid duplicitous blurry eyes, she held a cab and sat at the edge of the seat as she clasped her shaky hands, unclasped them, bury her face in her palms, and repeat.

But wait, why was she even stressing? For all she knew those weeks Sudais spent in Lagos were used boning different women at different events, right? He had admitted to wanting sex and only sex from her on incalculable occasions, right? And now that she had stupidly let him have his filthy ways with her, he was going to toss her, right? She cheated once and he, even though she didn't have proof, she was sure he cheated numerous times, right?

Mostly right.

So, why the hell was she dreading seeing him?

He hurt her. She was supposed to be the one hurting him.

She wasn't supposed to be moved by him or his stupidly bewitching smile or tired voice. She wasn't supposed to feel her pulse quicken and feel pins and needles in her stomach whenever he said something genuine like; 'You're so beautiful,' Or, 'You're so smart,' Or small things like getting her apples, or switching the lights off and gathering her lecture notes off the bed after she had spontaneously fallen asleep.

She wasn't supposed to.

She was supposed to make his life a living hell. Not the other way around.

With freshly found energy, Laila wiped off her hypocritical tears and got off the cab toward her house.

The door clicked behind Laila as she let out a loud breath and threw her backpack on a table with a vase and scented flowers. She proceeded to throw off her sandals.

Somewhere in the dark room, someone cleared their throat. "Sadiya."

Laila visibly jumped, she frantically searched the dark room to find no one and ran to the lights switch to switch them on. After joltingly searching for the intruder, she relaxed and tried to catch her composure with her palms grabbing her knees as she bent forward.

Oh lord, you have got to be kidding me.

With her caught attention, his voice although soft, crystal clear started. "I do not regret this," she hung midway, staring at Sudais wide-eyed and fingers up in question.

What the hell was he talking about?

Her expression and silent question went answered with his next words. "Sadiya, I do not regret what happened between us...I am just angry...I am angry-"

"All i want to do is take a shower and sleep, Sudais. I don't have time f-"

"-at the fact that i wanted to do this to lose interest in you because that's what happens when i have sex. But, i—"

Laila's mouth widened, her earlier thoughts confirmed and the anger she felt resurfacing. The audacity of this man. "Your audacity is just something I can't compre—"

"—no. I do not want to toss you like the voices in your head are already telling you," he gestured at the door and stood. Their shallow breathing mirrored one another as he inched dangerously closer to her with each passing word. "And you already know by now that i like you but you drive me insane. You defy me and you're strong and I'm not used to that," He found himself gripping Laila's shoulders when she had stood up straight, "I'm angry because we're going to be fighting more. After all, now i'm not going to allow any man access to you," You must be crazy Mister man. "I'm angry because i have possession issues, anger issues, trust issues, and every issue that you're going to be ruffling and making me want to kill you and then kill myself. But i want to beg something from you, Sadiya." Laila's face twisted to the side and he wasted no time in gripping her chin and twisting her to look at him again. He needed to stare into her eyes, sync their heartbeats. He needed it like he needed air to survive.

Her lips set into a tight line that revealed a much tighter version of her dimples although she wasn't interested in his fake-ass words. "I'm listening."

The corners of his mouth twisted a little as his eyes fell down her body until he found her interlaced hands in front of her. He caught each in his hands and brought them up his face. "Please, don't fight me. Even if it is just for today. Can you do that?"

Laila's ogle fell to his chest for a moment, hating the fact that she wanted to believe he was faking everything, but her guts were telling her otherwise. If there was one thing she learned even as a kid, it was to trust her gut feeling, it never was wrong.

Besides, it coincided with her plan to hurt him. Nothing better than giving something good to someone only to yank it away when they've grown attached to it. Laila rose her head, then spread her lips. "Yes, sure, i can do that."

"Thank you."

They held each other's gazes for less than 5 seconds and Laila dropped hers to his chest as she felt her heart thumping louder and faster than usual. Mind you, the pins and needles down at the pit of her stomach surfacing were not part of the plan. It was just something that came with keeping eye contact with him. And only him.

She shifted her weight from one leg to the other as she bit the inside of her cheeks in flush.

He was staring too much and if she let the bastard, they could stand there forever. She cleared her throat stepping back and attempting to wiggle her fingers out of his grasp. Which went graciously futile, "I have to shower. I smell like —"

"The janitor." Straight from his heart, he completed for her.

She took another step back, this time completely detaching her fingers from his and punching his chest. "And you just begged me not to fight you right?"

A sick smile spread further on his lips as he stepped back in surrender. "Sorry, I'm kidding. You smell like heaven."

Her fist came down harder on the side of his stomach as she grumbled, "And now you're lying to me, Wallahi i will fight you."

He stomped his feet like a child and took a step back. He wouldn't admit it if it was meant to save his life but her punch actually hurt. Stomach punches always did anyways. "Yi haquri ranki shi dade."

Just for that day, she won't be a witch. She stretched an arm at the corridor, "Oya, go and pray."

He ignored her gesture by dropping his arm around her shoulder. She struggled for a second but realized he was too heavy to get rid of and he wiggled his thick eyes brows at her realization. "No. En juldu. (Let's pray together.)"

As they tiredly walked to the room, Laila gasped, remembering something. She twisted her head to him as much as his heavy arm on her shoulder allowed her, "I need your blood."

He halted, eyes going wide in mock shock. "So it's true? You're a witch?"

She shook her head, laughing. "Yes, i dey suck blood. Abeg I need to test our compatibility."

"Oh," he dragged, side eying her and wiggling his brows. "You planning on being my baby mama?"

She snickered, pulling him with her. "You wish. I need to check our RH compatibility and a few more tests just to be on the safe side."

"I am AA if that's what you're wondering."

She nodded, pushing the door open. "Daddy told me. I need to be sure of the rest."

"Okay," he said, then added under his breath, "Witch."

Laila and Sudais continued their routine for a week or so; fighting, fighting, and more fighting.

Sudais was Sudais. Losing his temper ten times fold more than he already does, especially towards Laila. There was this saying; no one pisses a man off more than a woman he wants but can't control. And he couldn't agree more.

And well, Laila was Laila. Finding pleasure in ruffling his senses knowing how much of an effect she had on him. Only that she made sure it hurt as she had promised. Even if it was only verbal.

She was bitter and would not stop winning.

For the little guilty part of her that she suppressed by reminding herself that he had probably cheated more times than he could count and what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, she made sure he didn't quite catch her unconscious acts of guilt like; cooking for him when she had time and her anxious thoughts were consuming her, or zoning out, or scratching the nape of her neck or the lump gathered in her throat, or picking his clothes and dumping them in the laundry after he had tossed them and she had resisted the urge to bash his head into the wall, or ignoring him when he was loud in the morning.

At the threshold between the study and the living room, Sudais crossed his arms and rested his pounding head by the wall he was leaning upon.

Straight up was the sight of Laila struggling between la la land and the land of the living. Like always, books, study cards, and highlighters were splattered all around the couch she occupied and on the coffee table while she narrowed her eyes both in concentration and frustration.

"Ugh!" She whined, throwing her head back. Her head slowly came down and stopped when she was peering directly at Sudais in an armless basketball jersey and a holiday short.

She sighed, dropping her head to her left in exhaustion.

He did the same, lifting his head from the wall and dropping it to his right despite every cell in his body screaming at him not to.

Hoarse and deep from exhaustion and lack of sleep, his voice came forth. "Catch."

Laila didn't know what the man was throwing, but thanks to instincts, her hands widened toward the flying thing. She was so sure she was going to miss it until she was almost off the couch and was successful in catching it.

From the feel of it, the anger towards the fact that he threw her something instead of bringing it over dissolved. Agape, she reached for her phone on her side and when the screen lighted up, she gasped. "What? It's 1 Am already?"

He nodded, freezing to realize his head didn't pound as long as he wasn't speaking, moving, or breathing. "It is...and I'm not even done..."

Laila tossed the phone and took a bite off the apple.

She wasn't interested, it was just her twisted way of saying thank you. "What are you working on?"

She watched him stomp to the side of the wall, punched the button his fingers caressed and the whole room went dark except for the lights dimming through the windows. The light was piercing right through his eyes into his skull.

"I'm not done reading."

"You are," He said, retrieving his phone from his knickers pocket and dimming his route to her. To answer her question, he made sure to be sat comfortably on the rug beneath her, then proceeded to limply lay his head on her folded legs. "My project-our project we're working on a device. It's supposed to go big. And...I've been making mistakes creating our router and I haven't completed our code because I'm under pressure which is not good because we'll be easily compromised." He wasn't sure that Laila understood his case. Quite frankly, he didn't need her to. He was just appreciative of the listening ear. Over the loud sounds of her biting into the apple, he lifted his head to stare into blank-to stare into her. "What about you?"

Laila took her time chewing the remnants of the large bite of the apple before her disembodied voice breezed in. "Pediatrics is giving me problems. I just don't like the course..." or the fellow in our team-even if i let him inside me-. "And...i just. Just..." she breathed hard and deep, throwing her hand into the air which only occurred to Sudais that she did because a puff of air hit his face.

He hummed, resting his head back and breathing slowly. His head was about to explode, he couldn't risk more pounding. Or at least, not through vigorous activities. Talking to Laila was a different case. "What even possessed you to pursue medicine?" He rose an unconscious arm up. "Why-why not something simpler? Like...microbiology, biotechnology, pharmacy?"

Laila let out a loud maniacal laugh, vibrating as she slapped her thigh. In the process, mistakenly hitting Sudais' head who winced and reached for his throbbing head.

"You...you think pharmacy-is easier? You're crazy."

"Really?"

Laila nodded, her mirth dying down. "I mean it. Medicine is simpler...ish. I don't know how to explain it. Yes, we're under a lot more pressure, it's 6 years, and we have to be more dedicated and ready to sacrifice. But...to be honest, hats off to these pharmacists. Doctors wouldn't be here without them."

All that talk, it flew through his ears. It wasn't what he was seeking for. Okay, with all her points, agreed. Pharmacy is tougher than medicine. But still, why did she choose it?

"So...you chose it thinking it was easy?"

If not for the lights out, he would've burst out laughing at her frantic nod.

"Ehen naw. Me I thought this medicine they'll just come and tell us paracetamol for headache, morphine to inhibit pain receptors. What's all this nonsense pediatrics sef?"

Sudais chuckled, closing his eyes as the warmth in his chest didn't just spread there but to his entire body. His head was throbbing but he was still on cloud nine by just being there.

It was little. Stupid even. Their conversation. But those moments when they weren't at each other's throats, he'd sell his dad's entire asset just to keep it like that. Don't tell the old man though.

It might seem otherwise to Laila and he might have a hard time expressing himself by sending mixed signals but it didn't mean he was a prick who enjoyed scuffling 247 with her.