Friday, 21st June, 2019.

"My parents-everyone is insisting I become queen."

Sudais sighed, draped the face towel on his neck, and unplugged his phone from the charger. "And?" He knew there was always an 'And' or 'But' with Laila. To be honest, he wanted to give no attention to her but...the reasonable part of him kept reminding him that she wasn't the only cheater in the relationship, he was too. And they needed this to work. Their family's images just couldn't be tainted more.

"I don't want to."

"That is why i am remarrying."

Almost instantly, "They don't care! And you plan on depriving me of working after i graduate."

He twisted to glare at her figure by the vanity, dressing up, "What do you want me to do?"

"Convince them."

He ignored the vibration of a phone call and dropped his thick arms in frustration. "How will i even do that?"

Laila swiveled the vanity stool until she was facing his water-dripping anatomy. "You're their Lamido, they'll listen to whatever you say."

"Okay," his lips set into a tight straight line as he searched for less bitter words to start. "You come from a royal family, you know the king's wife is not allowed out. But for your sake, i am remarrying and trying to favor you. So, you just shut up and let me handle this the best way i know how. Do you trust me?"

Honestly, "I don't."

"Good," he nodded, "You're smart." Then disappeared into the closet.

Sudais was on short order as he stepped out of the closet less than 3 minutes later, decked in grey kaftan with a matching cap. Now being king came with uncomputable disservices, one of which was; Sudais must always dress formally regardless of where he was. His least formal attires are either Kaftan-yer shara, which was an oversized armless Kaftan, or a Jallabiyya.

As if waiting on him, he found Laila similarly decked up in stony Lace, slouching cross-legged into the rocking chair by the end of the lounge, rocking back and forth.

He couldn't help himself, "You sure know how to act like a pregnant woman."

Laila hummed, dropping her tablet unto her lap and peering at him. "I'm a doctor."

"Student," he corrected, the side of his lip lifting.

Laila shrugged, returning her attention to the tablet. "Mima and Hafsy are coming over, said they were going to take me out after school."

Sudais' brows drew in, his eyes squinting as he walked into the lounge but stayed a safe distance from Laila. "What'd you tell them?"

Laila cleared her throat, "What you told me. Intentionally-accidentally tell Mima that i am pregnant."

"Oh..." he shrugged and started to walk to the front door.

Just in time, the door was pushed open, almost forcefully before a loud and ringing voice salam-ed into the room.

"Hamma!!" The girls with a striking resemblance to the Fulani man sang happily, one-Mima searching for Laila while the other-Hafsy, raised her hand to her brother for a high-five.

Sudais chuckled, shaking his head before bringing his hand up for a high five. She then held his hand in a tight handshake, "Congrats."

"Thank you," his eyes traveled to Mima, and Laila's hands clasped, Mima crouched down as they whispered to themselves.

Whatever it was they were whispering, he didn't care, all that worried him was the fact that his sisters were genuinely happy about a non-existent theory. To be honest, his smile and laughter weren't fake. But his mind though was all jumbled up knowing this was a charade that'd be ended soon.

He pushed everything to the back of his mind and directed his words at Mima. "Nikuma i am invincible ko?"

The girl threw him a glance before nodding at Laila who stood up and Mima turned to him, spreading her arms. "Hamma na! Congratulations, Mama is going to be so happy."

Instead of a handshake like that of Hafsy, Laila watched with a smile as Mima wrapped ecstatic hands around her brother and squeezed him while adding, "I'm going to be an aunt again. But this one, I'll be the Godmother."

Hafsy intercepted. "No, get out. You're Ya Maijidda's and Ya Mino's kids Godmother, I'll take this position for Hamma's kids."

Mima pulled away from her brother with a fake vicious visage. "Babu ruwanki."

"Kema babu ruwanki."

"I shouldn't have even told you!"

"I would've found out."

"Yes but not-"

"Girls! Please!" Sudais broke the fight that was about to burst forth by raising his arms. "Let's not fight."

Sweetly, Mima turned to him, patting his chest before stepping back and grabbing Laila's arm to hold before bringing them in front of him.

While Laila cast her head down, Mima did the looking and talking. "We are just on time. We need you to give us money for our day out."

Sudais' finger pointed from Laila to Mima and Hafsy, his voice serious. "Aren't you girls supposed to be in school?"

Mima nodded, "Yes, everyone will finish whatever it is they have in school by 4 and then we can go out."

"Where to?"

"To get Ice cream!" Mima added, almost in frustration as she stomped her feet. "But, we don't have money."

Sudais shrugged, picking out his empty top pocket for them to see, "Money finito, nima I don't have money." He attempted to step aside only for Hafsy and Mima to put an arm in front of him, shaking their heads. He took a step back, "Me haka?"

"Money," Hafsy said.

Mima added, "Money, money, money, money."

He folded his arms, his smile hidden behind his tight lips. "How much?"

Hafsy started. "20k."

Mima finished, "50k."

"Innalillahi Wa'inna'ilaihir Raji'un." Laila couldn't help, she had to exclaim alongside Hafsy and Sudais who proceeded to gape at the girl.

"Ice cream 50k?" Sudais queried, mouth agape.

"Ehen naw, this is Abuja fa. To breathe sef na 5k."

Before Sudais could reply, Hafsy beat him to it. "Wallahi Mima bakyajin tsoron Allah."

Sudais felt Hafsy's words and stretched an arm to her, she shook his hand almost pitifully before they turned to their sister.

"I'm with Mima, 50k." Now, it was time for Mima to squeal and pull Laila into a hug as the duo opposite them stared at them in disbelief.

Mima clapped her hands, "Great! Hamma, our queen, and your baby Mama has spoken, 50k it is."

Sudais twisted his mouth, "25k."

Laila shook her head, "50k."

Mima backed her up, "50k."

"35k." He hiked up.

"Um-um," Laila shook her head, "50k."

"40k."

"50k, Hamma!"

"40, or no K at all."

Laila turned to Mima, they shared a look and Sudais wondered when they had gotten so close but shoved the thought. He was glad.

Laila knew the look, it meant let's do this, she turned to her hus-oh, Sudais, and his sister before nodding, "Mun daga ma kafa this time."

Mima out-stretched a palm. "Your card?"

He shook his head, "Ai koda wasa."

Mima revived, raising the palm in surrender.

"Sadiya," he called out, turning on his heels back to the corridor he appeared from.

Laila untangled Mima's arm from hers and trailed him back to the bedroom.

She stood by the door, patiently until he slammed close the wall built-in safe and headed to her.

"I didn't know you loved money."

Laila's nose wrinkled, who didn't? "I don't just love money, I am a gold digger."

Genuinely, he let out a loud snicker, "Really?"

She nodded, "Yes. I mean i love enjoyment," then lifted an index, "Sponsored enjoyment. People call it gold digging."

He nodded, stretching the 500naira bundle, "Happy digging."

She took hold of the cash, slanting it to notice it was in full, he was bluffing. "Thank you."

He nodded, "It's a good distraction for the girls. They need it. Be back before 7."

***

Tuesday, 25th June, 2019.

Laila stared at the white aircon by the end of the chilly room, eye location definitive, but mentally somewhere else.

Deep dive, if someone was bad, no matter how many times you tell them, they would stay bad until it resonates with them that what they're doing was wrong. People will choose to be bad until they choose not to be. The same applied to turning a blind eye to red flags. Which Laila did.

You know how people always say everything works out for the best? Yeah, it was true. But, why did everything have to be so God damn difficult before it works out? For example, Nurain and her weren't meant to be no matter how much they tried, so why didn't it end sooner? Why did it have to meddle with her and Sudais?

Although she distasted the thought of being reduced to a queen, she was better off with Sudais. She wouldn't lie and say she loved the way Sudais made her feel sometimes, but she also wouldn't lie and say he didn't make her feel things she wanted to feel forever. Like safety. She was safe. Safe with him.

They might not have closure, but it took every fiber of her being not to prostrate in respect when he had asked her, 'Why the hell would i hit you?' After she had pulled a beatable stunt like that. Thunder lightning had struck her right in the face when he said that. He was impulsive, controlling, bother line insane, why didn't he do it when he could've, and with all her tough shit, she wouldn't have said a word? Why didn't he just hit her? It would've been easier, less guilty. Because then, she'd have another reason to blame him for everything rather than the lame excuses she told herself so she could sleep better at night.

He was so difficult to hate. So difficult. And he made everything difficult. Ranging from the stupid feeling of needles and pins at the pit of her stomach at the sound of his sleepy voice in the morning, sliding to her inability to hold eye contact with him and only him, down to the fact that even though she was hiding behind the fact that she couldn't leave him for his deceased father and her father's sake, she didn't want to leave, she wanted something good out of this, anything good, and finally down to the fact that she was playing cool about him remarrying but in reality, she didn't want him to. She had no choice though, he was going to have to add a wife or two now that he was king, he just had to. They hailed from the north anyway.

Those somber concerns abreast, she had to deal with a more pressing issue; getting herself out of Nurain's clutches.

Sunday, 2 days back and 2 days after her hangout with her sisters-in-law, Laila had requested a one on one conversation with her real father in Law. Nurain's uncle and the MD of BTH. She had spent 4 hours narrating every detail of her and Nurain's undead marriage. To add more, she didn't hold back on the fact that he had cheated so many times, had a kid with someone from a different religious background, and every other thing that would help her make the man see reason as to why Nurain had to let her go.

Laila didn't hesitate in adding what the Sultan of Gombe and even-Especially the Sultan of Adamawa were willing to do to see she was out of the claws of his dear son. Safe to say, he wouldn't want not just one, but two adamant, sometimes cold Sultans breathing down his neck about the inevitable issue of her and his nephew's separation.

In shock as to everything Laila had disclosed, he had begged her to come back 2 days later after he had talked to his nephew.

Great.

Now, 2 days later, Laila sat on her soon to be her exes in-law's rug as she clutched the phone buzzing now and then with Sudais' texts, mostly centered around; 'Do you need me to come in?' Or 'How far are you on this?' Or 'If you need me to come, just send a K and we'll burst into the house.'

She ignored most until he texted her, 'I'm coming in.' Which she quickly replied with a, 'Please do not take my choices away from me as everyone has always done, let me do this.'

He had left her on delivered and she had sighed, thanking the lord and adding another green tick on the mental note she had made on why she was starting to like Sudais, fantasy aside.

Unlike everyone in her life had done, he was going to let her be the adult for once. Make her own choices like he let her do when she chose not to be queen.

The Md excused himself when Nurain had stepped out of his shoe, still clad in his work attire. A dress shirt and slacks, without a white coat.

He had tried to pull her up by grabbing her, except Laila was passed that, she was past physical contact. Everything needed to be done and over with.

Nurain sighed, scratching his forehead, "Please sit on the couch."

Laila shook her head, "I'm fine here."

He stared at her, holding his breath at the dread settling in his stomach. He made himself comfortable a few feet from her, his side resting by the couch and his wrist on each of his knees, palms dangling.

Laila twisted to him, lips in a tight line, nose almost flaring, her eyes across from him held a volcano, one he had never seen before. And if he wasn't stupid, he'd know it wasn't from warmth, lust, or any of the soft emotions he thought she still harbored for him.

Staring at him had made a truck brim-full of their sad and happy memories to knock her out, her breaths deep in sync with her heaving chest, hands releasing her phone from their clutches and balling themselves into thick, tight balls in rage, hurt, and defeat.

How dare he? How dare he look so calm when lava was oozing out of her? When smoke was horning out of her ears? When horns had peaked out of her head and he was just there...staring back. Emotions were undetected and it just made her fierier.

Laila glanced at the plate of fruits, drinks, and snacks the maid had brought but due to being absent-minded, she hadn't given it a look or a thought. Now though, the knife set out for her apples that even her in-laws knew was her favorite looked like the most intriguing part of the room.

A single dive to the neck, 30 seconds, man is history.

Despite not being the best muslim or person in general out there, to be honest, she was the worst, she dropped her eyes back to her hands and instead cuddled her phone in between them.

Her demons weren't going to win. She wasn't going to allow them to.

That action of hers did well for their non-existent conversation as he scrutinized between her and the plate before he brought his attention back and clasped his hands.

Recycling Sudais' words, she said, "You don't want to keep dragging this Nurain. I WILL take everything from you, implicate-"

Nurain rose a palm, chuckling and shaking his head. "You don't have to say all that. I know you won't."

Damn right she wasn't. She could never bring herself to.

"I'm proud of you though." But First things first, "Do you love him?"

Laila's eyes flew to his, wide as salver to meet his neutral ones, a single brow out of place as he raised it.

A thought crossed her mind, why was she able to hold eye contact with Nurain but never with Sudais?

With other guys, the butterflies, and the avoiding of eye contact faded mostly after a week and that was when she usually went ghost. But Sudais? 6 months and she hadn't been able to hold more than 3 seconds of eye contact with him when she could stare people dead in the eye and could never fail in a staring contest, Why? Why was he different? And why was she not feeling gaga about being so close to Nurain, again?

Okay, she could walk down a list that you probably know, but still.

She got yanked out of her impromptu visit to her inner land of deduction when Nurain clapped his hands, her irises shrinking back to concentration. "Okay, then. Answer confirmed."

What the hell was he confirming?

"You're worth everything and i am not. I don't deserve you. You were always out of my league but you stayed with me. You helped me, walked me down my series of relapses, attention whoring, and everything in between. It breaks my heart that no matter how much i still want to be selfish and ask you to stay, i for once will let you out of my agonizing claws and let you get a better life without me in it. I will forever...and i mean forever, be indebted to you. Sabida haka," out of astonishment, Laila didn't know when he paused to grab her hands into his.

His voice pained and body soft, he concluded, "Ni, Nurain Hassan, na sake ki, Halima Amin, saki uku, " He froze, tucking his lips into his mouth to catch his breath. He squeezed her hand before releasing it, "I am sorry for being the reason you had to rebel against your family, for being the person standing between you and love and good life and...for holding you...Holding you back from so many things. I hope one day, you'll find it in your heart to forgive me."

That was it? He just let her go?

Reality bashed Laila in the face as she dropped her gaze from his, her head slowly moving. He had just divorced her, got rid of anything that could tie her to him, forever, and all she could think of was the fact that he had given up on her, just like that.

Maybe that was selfish, but she had expected him to put up more fight. So that when they got separated, she could have a gazillion reasons to feed her narcissistic self as to how someone was ready to die if it meant letting her go. But no, all ties just flew in the air. Puff and diffused.

But well, she guessed his uncle's hold on him was stronger than she thought.

6 years-nine with the years they weren't together- just went up in flames and as selfish as it sounded, Laila felt she wasn't valued. She had let herself get used and now that her expiration date had come, she was flung to the side.

The side where Sudais was going to pick her up. And that thought? That thought had her nodding, accepting everything. She was divorced, and despite all her sins, and her stunts, Sudais didn't just want her because it was enforced unto him, he wanted her because he wanted her and all of her, chaos and all. And she didn't just know, he had told her himself.

Elsa said; the past is in the past, let it go... and you know what Laila said? She said damn right it is, bitch.

Get your shit together.

Deep breaths in and out, Laila urged softly as she stood up. "For what it's what, Maya thinks you deserve to know so...here it goes. I was pregnant for you. I lost it around November but I didn't tell anyone except Maya," she didn't wait for him to digest what she said, she didn't have time. "Get your shit together, Nurain. I know how scared i was about raising a child alone when i found out. Go see your kid. Don't let him grow fatherless. Asshole and all that you are, fight for custody because he is an innocent kid who doesn't deserve to be dragged into all of this. Be better than what you had."

Nurain's head hung low and he let out a loud exhale, "I will, Insha Allah."

With that, Laila held her breath at the tip of her tongue until she was outside, Nurain trailing her. She released her breath, her eyes surveying the compound of the house just when she noticed Sudais putting a hand out for 4 soldiers to stand their ground as he marched toward her. She waited for him, she needed to, she couldn't speak, she couldn't walk, she couldn't even breathe.

When he was in front of her, he took his glare off Nurain and took hold of her upper arms, scrutinizing her for any injury as if she just stumbled out of a battle. She wasn't much of a hugger, but he was, and he couldn't start to imagine what she was feeling or thinking. So he brought thick arms around her, squeezing her tightly and letting her rest her hot forehead on his chest, body mimicking the temperature of her forehead.

They stood there, Nurain taking his eyes off them and pocketing his hands which then further balled themselves.

Laila just wanted to go home. Yes home, her home was now with the man standing protectively over her. She pulled back, "Let's go."

He nodded, patting her hot cheeks, "Go ahead, I'll be right behind you."

She had no energy to argue, so she squeezed his arm and released him, walking away.

He twisted, watching her take steady but fast strides as if she couldn't wait to be out of the compound and that made him chuckle, glancing at the man watching her. "What's that Paul Newman quote? Why go out for hamburgers when you've got steak at home?"

Nurain sucked in a breath, snapping, "Listen here you little prick, i love Laila. I know i love her because i let her go."

Sudais turned to the man, amusement still evident in him. "There is nothing little about me, not even my prick, Kid." All traces of amusement vanished from him, his shoulders tensed up as he took a dangerous step closer to the stupid man and held a cold index at his face. "Now listen to me very carefully. You're talking to The Lamido right now, i wanted to have my boys beat the consciousness out of you but lucky you, Sadiya begged me not to. That's alright, I don't need them to, because if you so much as breathe a pathetic breath towards Sadiya who is now a queen, i will break you into unpeaceable pieces."

"If you so much as try to come close to her again, i will break every bone in your fingers before sending you to the almighty and down to the darkest pits of hell where you belong. And you know what will happen after that?" He asked, body vibrating with sharp veins visible as he lifted his chin towards the taken aback man, "I will sleep-no I won't sleep, i will stay up all night with Sadiya sending her to cloud 9 down to a climax, and then I'll sleep cuddled up to her peacefully...like a baby. And no one, nothing will happen to me...or her." He stabbed the firm finger into the man's chest, "Please...try to do any of that. I'd love to paint a perfect picture for everyone. Wawa." With one last disgusting glare from head to toe, he shoved the man in his father's house and stormed out of the building, his boys trailing him.