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Sultan Amin Sunusi II was a man of his word. Whether good or bad.

His daughter, Halima Amin Sunusi knew the only person that could make him crack was someone on the far end of the palace. His mother-Hajiya Halima Sunusi.

Tough and all, the woman could draw a line an inch from his toes and he'd never, ever, step over it.

Laila found herself in the old woman's chamber, smiling, laughing, and all before she got down to business.

Laila planned to lay down her desire to turn her dad's head around. The woman could do that. After laying down her worries, crying at a point, she listened to the old woman's tales and lessons about life. Like always, the woman promised to do something with her son, but she made sure to remind Laila that; if a parent insists on not doing something, don't. If you do, pray for the best.

Laila didn't quite believe it then but it was true. In a few months, she'd come to be a living example of it.

The woman's words were like magic, Laila was summoned to her mum's room the following evening. She had made sure to sit on the rug at a safe distance from her rigid parents, who were against everything-against her.

"You really want to marry that Hausa boy? Hausa boy?" The hatred he harbored for the tribe was something she could never comprehend.

Lightly, almost invincibly, she nodded.

The mother and father shared a look, it was all they needed. They had made their decision before she had even been summoned.

Raising a finger, the king nodded. "Sawun giwa ya taka na raqumi. Ni, Halima, ni ubanki kika kai qarata wajen uwata ko?"

Laila's eyes flew up, her mouth agape as she rose her hands, "Daddy nifa-"

He hoist a palm to stop her, "No. yayi. It's okay. I'll let you marry the Hausa boy. But...If he does anything to you, don't even think me," he stabbed a finger into his chest, then motioned at her mother, "Or your mum will help you because we won't. You love him? Ok, he's all you got now.' With that, he left the room. It felt like he had stormed out of her life too.

Daddy, Mami, Mama Adda, Umar, Shehu, Raihan, even Khalil-her practically non-existent brother that hated their dad and stayed far away from them, Modibbo, Muslim, Maya and everyone close to her didn't want her and the 'Hausa boy' but kept their differences aside or at least kept a little and decided to let her fall into her doom.

Some lessons could only be learned the hard way, they had concluded.

Daddy though, different case. The Gombe emirate had no idea a princess of theirs had been married off. Why? The Sultan had refused to let the wedding knot be tied in his central masjid. Instead, in anger, Mami pulled the strings and had Laila's nuptials invincibly in Bauchi Emirate-her home.

Sultan El-Amin didn't attend the wedding, and so as Shehu and Muslim. Only Modibbo, Umar, Raihan, Maya and Mami were present. Everyone-including the newlyweds quietly dispersed back to their state of location a day after the wedding.

All seemed well, at least to Laila until only 3 weeks into marriage night shifts became morning shifts, day shifts.

It didn't matter, residency was a bitch and Nurain was trying, he was a hard worker. She could picture herself in the same agonizing situation a few years to come. They'd get through this.

Although Laila found the three words, 'I love you.' cringy and clingy, she did love Nurain with all her heart. His previous drug issues aside, he was a good guy. Trauma was what put him on the path of drugs. Losing your parents at an age you couldn't even remember wasn't something anyone wanted. Then, tossed around relatives that gave little to no shit about him really did him damage. Especially around the age of 11-17 when he was with his uncle and had to endure the visible maltreatment between him and his cousin brother. A nonchalant uncle, and a cunning aunt, not a good combination.

By the time the medical Director of Bawa Teaching Hospital had taken custody of him, he was deep in drugs, drowning his misery in clouds of marijuana, face coated in coke, lips dry and burnt with weed. His uncle and his wife had been married for over 15 years without a kid, so imagine how much love and attention he got when he moved in with them.

Love and attention after years of rejection, self-resentment, mental abuse, abandonment, betrayal, and injustice didn't make it all ok at once. In fact, in some cases, a person will most likely repel against it. All your life, you've been through hell, then all of a sudden, you're loved and given attention? No. It couldn't be real.

It went on, years later, drugs on and off, he met a girl, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes as she tried to cram what she absolutely didn't need to at the library.

She was just a kid, probably around 16-17, struggling, and although it wasn't with her emotions or drugs or self-assurance, he saw a segment of him in her. The frustration was torture. Maybe she didn't notice, but he had glanced at her more times than he was reading out the pdf they were studying with.

He didn't stop drugs because he wanted to, but because when Laila found out, he had never wanted to wipe a memory off his eyes more than her terrified, pink eyes. Right then, he promised to change. Not for himself, but for her. For so long, she had friend-zoned him when all he craved was her, and when she had finally let him in, he couldn't lose her over stupid drugs.

Back and forth, he came clean, then relapsed. Came clean, and relapsed. Repeat. Until he came to a stop. Until he was able to push his anxiety and temptation with a single smoke. That too, at a point, Laila managed to snatch his cigarettes and stomp on them on incalculable events until she was pushing the cigarettes out of his life.

They complimented each other. Laila helping with his issues. And Nurain, helping with hers. Mostly school. Despite drugs, the guy was mad sharp. Took it from his parents or so he heard. Could listen to a lecture once and never feel the need to revise as it'd be stuck in his head, Permanently. No issue with why he was the best graduating student of his set.

He had his baggage, Laila had more. And for the first time, someone wanted her, all of her. Baggage included. Why couldn't her family understand that after years of breaking her, someone wanted to pick her up piece by piece and she wanted to do the same for him? Why?

Were they against her finding happiness?

Enough was enough. She had had enough. Nurain was hers, and she wasn't going to stay and end up with someone like her dad. Worse, in a mentally abusive and manipulative relationship like that of her father and mother.

So yeah, she went against them. Against every warning from everyone close to her. Everyone had ganged up on her, but she was sure. Very sure.

Until a day she had gotten into a fight with Nurain a month into marriage. The library on non-scheduled hours was her best friend. At the extreme, by the window where no one sat, Laila stretched her numb limbs before sighing loudly and slouching back into the cushion seat. Using the Pomodoro method, she tuned off the soft murmurs of students and the air conditioner, picked her phone up and decided to spend her break time watching stories on Instagram.

A particular one caught her attention. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't, but a bitch was paranoid. She swiped back, took a quick screenshot, and zoomed into the picture. The photo seemed to be from a restaurant. By the side was a man sitting opposite a woman she couldn't make out. Even without her glasses, she could see the man clearly and perfectly. Nurain, her husband dressed in casuals was having ice cream with another woman? What? 3  hours after they had fought in his office over stupid apples?

Nurain had always been an attention whore. Maybe because he lacked it growing up. But, give the man the tiniest bit of attention or affection and he was going to stay forever.

Maybe she was being too paranoid, she had concluded as of then. It was okay, she might've been a colleague, a family friend. It was nothing.

If it was nothing, why was it bugging her all week, even after they had made up? Okay, many reasons; one, he was a sucker for eye contact, then all of the sudden, he couldn't look into her eyes for long without scratching his neck, clearing his throat, or looking away. It couldn't be, he wasn't shy, he must've sinned against her. Two, he was always on the phone. Which wasn't normal, he was supposed to be engrossed in work or her, the love of his life. Three, he was a final year pediatrics resident and was supposed to be less worked up, so, why were his shifts getting longer? Reason with her. Four, he started to answer calls privately and even passworded his phone. That was pure criminal behavior, what was the man hiding?

Questions swirled in her head and deprived her of sleep. She might not have as much feelings as she had for him in the beginning, to be honest, it all comes to fade-but, she still had remnants and was scared the man was doing drugs again.

With no choice, she went on a stalking spree. His activities, who he spoke to, when his shift ended-which he was lying about by the way. Instead of drugs like she expected, on a faithful Tuesday, Laila trailed her husband from the clinic down to a hotel. She watched the man with tears disappear into the lobby with a woman. She needed no more explanations.

5 five weeks into marriage?

What had she done? What had she gotten herself into? A disrespectful marriage?

With little to no energy, she retired home and cried herself to sleep. She woke up the next day roped in Nurain's arms and warmth. When he had come home from his ungodly acts, she didn't know.

Although she had taken a picture while crying in the car over the sound of Maya cursing his entire generation out, she wasn't going to say anything. Maya's advice, not hers. She couldn't confront him without a lot of proof that he couldn't deny.

So, Laila sucked it up, wishing for the day to dive in.

Like a crybaby, Laila cried her eyes out during their operation find-who-Nurain-was-cheating with and gather proof.

A week into it, Laila was ready to sweep everything under the rug and pretend to be clueless because of so many reasons; one, everyone was right and she wasn't going to let them have the satisfaction of that, two, Daddy and her family were not going to take it lightly, and finally, she had accepted defeat, she wasn't bob the builder, she couldn't fix everyone and everything like she thought. She was a fool to ignore the red flags from the start and was going to spend the rest of her life regretting it, in silence.

UNTIL, Laila, Maya, and even Shehu's investigation went too deep. After finding every detail of the woman he was cheating on her with, another came up; his baby mama. He wasn't cheating with her anymore, but he had a kid with her during his final year of medical school.

That was Laila's limit, she had yelled at Maya to drive her home; hers and Nurain's. Laila had jumped off the car and told Maya to go home, then locked the door before Maya could catch up.

Maya's protest went on deaf ears until the sensible part of her decided to let Laila clear her head and left.

Laila had sat on the couch in the dark living room swirling a knife in her hands in mimic to her emotions and the tornado forming inside of her. After hours and hours of sitting, she finally got to take everything off her chest when she heard the door to the front room open and closed.

He didn't bother turning on the lights as he walked with fatigue.

"Who is Maryam Yusuf?"

He froze, breath halting before it came back full force.

Laila reached for the light switch from the wall and watched the room light up. At the piercing light, he dropped his briefcase as he slowly turned his horrified figure to face her.

She humorlessly chuckled. It sounded brutal as if coming from a choked person still laughing. She dipped the tip of the sharp knife into her index and sucked in a breath as it sank in and was producing blood the next second. She nodded, dimpling up. "Cheating confirmed. How's our baby mama? Susan Jacobs?" She brought the bloodied knife to her lips and sucked the blood off. She was crazy, and he knew it. Why then did he do what he did?

She sucked the blood off her stinging finger and went as far as deep-throating the finger until her gag reflexes almost kicked in. She fisted the hand still holding the knife until the gag reflex ceased. Her eyes dilated in mock happiness as she took her glazed gaze off of her fisted hand to his figure kneeling on the floor. Already? When had he fallen to his knees? The poor man. "How's Moses? Or is it Musa? Our...kid?"

"Baby..."

"ITS HALIMA FOR YOU!" Her act faltered, her voice rose till the walls shook with it before it died and she replaced it with a smile as she stood up. "I don't like kids, but I like him. He's cute. He has our nose," she motioned between their faces with the knife. "Short and pointy." she stopped in front of him and watched as he gently shook his head. She then ran the blunt side of the knife on her exposed skin, "He has my complexion, Susan's complexion...and, he looks bubbly from across the street of his school."

"Baby, plea—"

"Shhh—" she cooed, padding his lips with the sharp edge of the knife. "No babe...no, baby. You need to shut up. You know I don't like being interrupted, right?" She kept nodding until he started to nod too and she widened the sides of her lips, her dimples pulling up as she dropped to her knees in front of him. She stared up. "You see...when i first found out 2 weeks back that you were cheating, i was going to let it slide. You know? My Nurain...the love of my life was an attention whore..." Laila's hand moved slowly until the knife was almost stabbing into her chest, "And i...it-it was my fault, really. School, everything. I don't give him attention and he's a broken little boy trapped in an adult's body who defines his happiness by people's attention. So what Laila? He cheated four weeks after marriage, the marriage Daddy-everyone warned you about. It's no big deal right? He is a man, and a man has..." she trailed off, dropping her empty hand down to his legs.

She smiled at his teary eyes, taking a 1080p picture of it to store before grabbing him by the balls and squeezing the living daylights out of them, literally. "Needs..." she added, over the sound of him groaning and his eyes rolling to the back of his head in agony.

Suddenly, she released them and he came tumbling forward, his head resting on her shoulder as he breathed heavily. "But then this morning, I didn't just find out you were cheating, you also had a kid," she yanked his head off her shoulder, her voice brittle, raucous, and tremulous. "THAT YOU DIDN'T THINK I YOUR WIFE, DESERVED TO KNOW, KNOWING I ACCEPTED YOU. WHAT'S AN INNOCENT KID THAT I CAN'T MAKE PEACE WITH?"

Instantly, the man let out a sob and started to stumble upon his words as he explained. "It-it isn't...that wasn't. Baby, please listen...i didn't te-tell you or anyone because i-i wasn't ready. No one-no one at all was going to accept my-my child. I ha-"

"SO YOU CHOSE TO BE A HORRIBLE FATHER WHEN THAT'S ALL YOU'VE BEEN RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR WHOLE LIFE? CONGRATS! YOU HAVE BECOME THE MONSTER YOU HAVE ALWAYS FEARED!"

"NO!" He shouted, maniacally shaking his head. His voice softened. "No, baby. Me-me and you were broken off that time. Su-susan she um...she didn't want to get rid of the child and i...i was too scared to mess up being a father, i never had a good example, so i told her I'd sponsor her and my kid but i...I didn't know how to be a father and my uncle will never let me marry a non-muslim...or keep a non-muslim kid. And," he rose his butt from the heel of his legs as he knelt up straight and brought a hand to caress Laila's cheeks. She shoved it away and he dropped his head, carrying on. "I was in love with you...i could only marry you and...and...I'm sorry..."

"What about Maryam, huh?"

He rose pink eyes at her as she started to stand up. He instantly wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his cheek against her abdomen. Voice throaty, he remorsed. "Nothing, baby...she meant nothing to me...it's you-it's all you. You're all that i need. i want..."

Laila had thrown her head back, head shaking and tears gliding in agony as she resisted the urge to shout. Instead, she clenched the knife harder.

Okay. It was okay. She was going to be okay, like always. You're born alone, you die alone, anyway. Life just throws stupid rules at you. You don't have to follow them. She didn't have to follow them. She didn't have to stay in a shitty marriage to avoid people's insults. They were going to insult her anyway.

She let go of her muscles and held the back of his head to pull his face off her abdomen and went on her knees in front of him. She clasped the steel of the knife between her fingers and rose her hands to gently hold his red face. His eyes mimicked the skin on his face, red with a glossy appearance as he softened them and begged her wordlessly with it.

She shook her head, cooing as a tear slipped past her eye. "It's okay, baby. You're the love of my life, i forgive you..."

He jerked his head back, glossy eyes squinting. "You do?"

She shrugged and nodded. She sighed when she realized he wasn't buying her act, instead, she decided to back her words up by kissing his wet lips. At first, his eyes widened, expecting to feel a sharp pain as the knife sank into his body-he knew Laila, she was that crazy, especially when jealous and hurt- instead, he didn't feel it. Which left him the option he wasted no time in picking, kissing her back.

She pulled back only when they were out of breath before aligning their noses. "I need you to do something for me..."

In a heartbeat; "Anything, Baby."

She sucked in a breath, pulling back as she untangled the knife from between her fingers. "I need you to divorce me. 3 times. Right now."

His mouth went agape, breath and world stopping for a minute before he vigorously shook his head. "No."

"YES!"

He let out a quiet sob, the sound mixing with their deep, shallow breaths. "No, please, Baby no."

"YES, NURAIN, YES. Divorce me right now," she placed a daring hand on his neck, then slowly dropped it to his chest, a sick smile growing on her face. "Or you know what will happen?"

He shook his head, not knowing and not wanting to know.

"Moses-no, sorry, i like Musa better. He is going to learn who his father is. I...I'm going to kidnap him from school and I'm going to-"

"You won't."

"YOU KNOW ME, YOU KNOW DAMN WELL I WILL! OR ARE YOU CHALLENGING ME?"

"No! No!"

She sighed, her smile widening, her knife aimlessly drawing gibberish on his chest as she made use of the mental torture lessons she took from watching too much Hollywood. "Then I'll find his mum and you, get some really...really bad men to tie you guys up and make you watch as they carve his ears out...then, they'll carve Susan's ears off as you watch...they'll go on and gauge out the kid's eyes as you watch. And then, it'll be Susan's right boob coming right off. Puff! And then bob! They carve it out and throw it to the floor as you watch and then-"

"Laila! God damn it, you are crazy!"

"Are you going to divorce me?"

Adamant as ever, he shook his head.

Laila's hard expression faltered as her shoulders slumped and her arms weakly came up. "Then Baba it is. I like the man, but he's going to be implicated at work and get his medical license permanently banned. Umma? I don't know what'll happen to her...Maybe have someone paralyze her so Baba has no sort of comfort whatsoever. I'm going to turn Daddy against you more and he is going to have men—"

"Stop! Stop!" He yelled, clutching his head with one hand and defending his eyes with the other arm. "Please. Just stop this torture please..."

"Are you a cheater Nurain?"

Defeatedly, he nodded. "Yes..."

"Are you a coward?"

"YES!" He roared.

She roared back. "ARE YOU AN ATTENTION WHORE?"

"YES!"

"ARE YOU NOT WORTHLESS LIKE EVERYONE SAID?"

"YES! YES! I AM!"

"AREN'T YOU A LOW LIFE?"

"YES!"

"ARE YOU GOING TO DIVORCE ME?"

"YES!"

Laila's smile fluttered back. "Then do it. Please," she hiked the knife and watched it glister under the lights before shaking her head and breaking into a sobbing mess, "You have to...please Nurain...I don't want to go to ja-jail...i want to be this doctor...all the voices in my head a-are telling me to stick this steel into your neck...less than 60 seconds, you're history...they're strong-" she continuously hit the end of her palm into the side of her head as if demonstrating where her demons were. "They're really...strong. I'm scared they'll take over-they can take over. Please, divorce me. Save us both the trouble...don't let them win..."

He nodded. He wasn't going to, but he was also tired of the mental torture.

To make things easier for him, she nuzzled her chin towards his pocket. "I know you're a coward and you can't say it out loud, text it to me. I'll be waiting on that text, or else, Musa will tell you the tales." She concluded, standing up as she dropped the knife. She took the veil off the couch along with her phone pouch bag before she halted, lifting a finger and turning to him. "Don't be home by 11 tomorrow. I'm coming to get my stuff."

And then she left, hailed a cab, and headed to the clinic; hostel was her best idea. Just before she could get off the cab, her heart leaped a thousand feet as her screen lighted up with Nurain's text.

Oh lord. Finally.

She jumped into the app, letting her finger hover over the name as a volcano from within her stirred. Her palm flew to cover her sob as she clicked the select button, she let her finger hover over the delete all texts before she closed her eyes and did the needful.

There it was, gone. Forever.

Laila's threats had gotten to Nurain. Or at least she thought it did.

Life went on. Routine, crying over her pathetic life all day every day, avoiding Nurain at the clinic, avoiding her parents and everyone.

Finally, fate smiled down at her, Doctors of Bawa teaching hospital were sick of the hospital's board of directors' lack of meeting their demands and went on an indefinite strike.

Laila used that as an opportunity to leap unto the nearest flight to Malaysia to her best friend-Maya.

Somehow, Daddy got intel. Laila was divorced, she had packed her shit and wasn't seen with Nurain ever again.

He had people feed her rumors about him capturing her favorite brother until he gave up her location as he was the only one who knew everything and that had her flying the next plane back to Nigeria.

Baba Alhaji's proposal, her and Sudais' impromptu marriage, history...

Pin drop, those were the most suitable words to describe the room. Silence for almost 5 minutes and then;

"Are you okay?"

Was that even a question? "No, i am not."

He groaned, flying up from the bed over the sound of Laila's protests. "No, Sudais. No-no-no-no. That won't do any good." Whatever it was in his head, she knew it wasn't good. The man was as crazy as her, maybe even crazier, and might actually go ahead with what she couldn't do 8 months back.

She caught up to him at the door, grabbing his wrist. "Please."

He turned, glancing between her and her hand around his wrist. She released him, taking a step back. "Sorry."

With a cold voice that resembled his cold eyes, he pointed at the rug, "Sit down."

Her entire life depended on what he was about to do now. With no hesitation, she did as she was told.

He sighed, holding his pounding head for a minute before returning to his position on the edge of the bed.

He took a deep breath and released a shaky one. "So, you know how much cheating hurts, yet you cheated on me with the same low life that gave you pain and everything in between?"

"I uh-"

He mounted a palm. "That was rhetorical, Halima."

She gulped, drawing her head down and wiping her tears with her hijab.

"The fact that we're not together aside, You know I can't forgive you right away ko?"

Laila sniffled her tears back. "Eey."

"And separation is out of the way. So we have to pretend we're married, right?"

She nodded.

"Right," he clasped his palms, swiping the front of his upper lips with his tongue as he thought long and hard.

When he gathered himself, he commenced. "That was unfair...to you, i mean."

She agreed by nodding.

"My dad chose you-Allah chose you for me for a reason. I don't know what...i also know I'm too obsessed with you to let you go. But, if you want your ex-do you want to go back to your ex?"

Laila's head flew to his scrutiny in an instant. Unconsciously, her hand came up to motion at herself, "Me? Nurain? Never, ever, again! I've learned my lesson." Hard lesson. She'd listen to her parents next time.

Sudais nodded, tightening his palms against each other. "Great. I would've killed you myself if you said you wanted to go back." Despite the awaiting storm, they both chuckled until it died down. "So, what do you plan on doing?"

In a heartbeat, she didn't stutter. "Get myself divorced."

"And?" He wanted her to say it. She didn't. She met his view and quickly drew her head down, pride still clouding her judgment, like the true royal she was.

He nodded, the side of his lip lifting in an invincible smile. Okay then, "Get yourself divorced because if i have to, I'm going to jail and i prefer this life of mine."

"Okay."

"And then, get back to me. Tell no one. Sadiya," he called out and she answered by picking her head up. "Tell no one."

"I won't."

He didn't need to make her repeat it. She was the one who'll be doomed if it ever got out, not him. Daddy would do what she knew he had always wanted to do; kill her.

She waited for something, some action, but didn't get any. Hoisting her head up, she met his icy stare. "Aren't you...aren't you going to hit-hit me or something?"

His brows creased. "Why-why the hell would i hit you?"

Laila wrapped her still-shaky arms around herself for some closure as she started. "I don't know...cause you want to cool off and you'll use me as an outlet?" It sounded like a question even to herself. Why didn't he do it? She then added in a small voice that he caught, barely. "Cause that's what everyone does..."

He gaped at her, eyes almost popping out of their sockets as he rose his palms towards her. "What? Kai! You are so fucked up, Sadiya...who hurt you this much? Who did this to you?" When she gave him no answer, only shook her head as a new set of tears-surprisingly happy tears- glided down her cheeks and she clutched her palm over her mouth to stop herself from sobbing out loud, He shook his head, his body following the gesture.

"Look, I am sorry I hit you that day. Those were reflexes. You were fighting me and you didn't care where you hit as long as you hurt me and i was blinded and I don't spend a single day without regretting why i hit you back even if it was only my reflexes kicking...You're not a punching bag, stop believing that you are," He sighed, dropping his heaving chest and head down as his voice softened and his mind wondered what events in her life had turned her into such a sad person who covers it everything with anger.

"I know you've seen me hit Mima but Mima is my sister when she's grown she's going to understand why i did it. Although I regret most of it now that I've seen how much damage I've done to the kid. And i promise you, I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to her. And you," he rose an arm, then angled a finger at her sobbing figure, "I am begging you, free your mind. I am not a good guy, but i know I'm trying to be better. So, it'll be nice if stop thinking so low of me."

He got no answer, just sobs.

Still, Seeing points from her perspective didn't mean he didn't want air, he still didn't want to leave to clear his head. In fact, he wanted to leave more. Not her, but the baggage.

At this point, he was overwhelmed. And he needed an outlet, a distraction, anything.

Taking a commercial flight within Nigeria was something he hadn't done in a while. But well, jet fuel was expensive and scarce to get ahold of. With no other choice, he ditched his project and flew to Lagos the next day.

Bumping and hanging out with Simi 2 days later and maybe even getting into her pants was not part of the plan, but oh well, Sudais needed someone used to his aggression, sexual aggression and he...he also needed someone to vent on, and guess who was his ride or die when it came to that? Yeah, Dear old Simi.

Now that he had finally had the chance to slip past Laila's pants, his body was recovering. In the sense that he was able to get aroused past her. Or maybe it was just his anger fueling him.

Who cared at this point, though?

They weren't married and when they thought they were, she cheated. Not that he hadn't too but at least he had cheated when they had formed no attachment. He had every right to be angry now.

Almost a week in Lagos, he might've accidentally let it slip that he had been sleeping with Simi for the past 4 days to Tahir who had concluded his project and was back in Lagos. And Tahir being the saint he wasn't, was starting his holy lectures.

"Wait, Tahir. When did you stop cheating on Aisha that you're even preaching to me?"

Tahir's fingers halted, his keen hiked from his phone to Sudais before returning it to conclude the text he was typing.

When he was done, he placed the phone screen down on the couch and grabbed the remote to turn off the Tv. "Since i decided i was going to marry her. And you know when i decided that? Over a year ago."

Sudais' nose wrinkled, his lips pushing forward -almost in disgust at the TV screen and then back to Tahir. "That does not mean you also get to decide to turn off the match I'm watching. Turn it back."

Tahir set his lips into a straight line, "Baba Alhaji's efforts have gone down the drain since he has married you off to a beautiful princess he thinks you're worthy of, but you're still here, fornicating. Sinning against her and painting your family's name black."

Sudais found humor in the man's words, he threw his head back and convulsed with laughter. Tahir had no idea.

His eyes flew to a buzzing sound, shaking his head, his laugh cut down in half as he lifted an index and signaled his phone at his best friend. "Hold that thought, Baba Alhaji's wife is calling me."

With a smile, he swiped the green circle to bring the phone to his ear and let his ecstatic voice spread throughout the room. "Mama! I and Tahir were just talking about Baba Alhaji."

The incoherent and disturbing sounds from the other end didn't sound ecstatic about speaking to him. Now that he gave it a thought, he spoke to his mother before noon and she didn't sound as radiant as she always did. Why was she calling him now?

He rose, all trace of lark dropping from his face as he listened to the next strings of words.

"Wha-what?" Was all he could make out, he withdrew the phone from his ear and stared at it, then glanced at Tahir who looked worried at his friend's sudden seriousness.

"What's wrong?" Tahir queried, shoving the remote to the side as he stood up and motioned with his palm out.

Sudais brought the phone back to his ear and let the next strings of repeated words knock the breath out of him.

IT CAN NOT BE. WHAT THE HELL?