KHALIFA decided to call up his twin sister, Khadija who was in Abuja to watch over iman. He went ahead to freshen up and change into a navy blue kaftan and a matching cap, a Patek Phillipe watch on his wrist and Gucci slides on his feet.

Snatching his car keys off the console, Khalifa headed for the door meeting Khadija who just arrived in an oversized shirt and some leggins underneath the black abaya she was wearing. Khadija and Khalifa resembled each other in freaky ways but they did.

Khadija was a tall person for a woman standing at a solid 5'10 matching Khalifa's skin tone bit lighter than him with a round face and red pouty lips which seemed to be intimidating when she frowned or had a bitch resting face. She was just as intimidating as her twin brother and she enjoyed it.

She smirked when she saw Khalifa crossing her arms over her chest shifting all her weight to one leg with a quirked brow. She raked her eyes over his outfit nodding in approval. He looked good but she would never tell him that. If there was anything that was coming out her mouth was her insulting his looks or body shaming him if he had added weight or not.

"You're going out? And I was the best person to take care of a child when we both know children cry at the sight of me." She asked nonchalantly as Khalifa let out a breath as a laugh agreeing with her. They never knew the reason why but children didn't like her for some reason and she didn't really care about that when she wasn't a baby person.

"Iman isn't a problem. She is already upstairs playing with her toys or whatever. I won't be out for long." He stopped glancing at his watch. "I have a meeting to go to in thirty minutes and it's Abuja. There is traffic." He flashed her a smile side hugging her and he was out of the door before she could utter another word.

She sighed slipping off her abaya folding it placing it on thr couch glancing at the 55 inch tv that was playing Tyler Perry's "Sistas" as she stumbled to sit on one of the chairs catching up watching the episodes she asked Halima to record for her. She hadn't found a chance to catch up when she was travelling considering her mother would get offended and when she landed, she called her husband and they were on facetime every opportunity they got.

Khadija married a year before Khalifa to his friend, Nazir. She met him when she went to a showroom to get new furniture for her room whiile he wss there to support his friend's wife who owned the showroom. He had seen her sometimes when he visited Khalifa but couldn't really approach her with Khalifa in the same room. He was obviously defensive over her considering whenever his sister was brought up, his demeanor changed and he eventuality drew the line saying his sister was off limits.

Nazir approached Khalifa after some time informing him about their relationship and how serious they were about it. Knowing Nazir and his background, he was a good fit for her so they got married after six months. They don't have a child yet, they're planning to have a child in two years and Khalifa didn't say anything about it since it had nothing to do with him. And she was grateful for that. Khalifa minded his business and never snooped in other people's business.

She leaned her head on her palm watching when she heard light footsteps approaching her. She turned to meet Iman's confused gaze considering she wanted to see her father not his twin. They never seemed to get along since when she was a baby. Iman acted like she was invisible and with Khadija not giving a fuck ignored her.

"Where's appa?" Iman mumbled shyly crossing her arms behind her back taking Khadija aback. She had grown from the time Khadija last saw her which was when she was two years old and not to mention she didn't like her and now she is suddenly shy of her? What's going on?

"He went out and he told me to look over you. You need something." Khadija asked averting her eyes to iman giving her utmost attention. Whoever knew Khalifa would know iman was definitely his daughter. It was like Khalifa's face plastered on a child. That was how she looked and it was freaky to Khadija.

"I hungry." She pouted pointing to her stomach then back at her gibing her an innocent smile. Khadija nodded sliding on her shoes opening the fridge taking out a jar of jam and peanut butter with some bread glacing at a confused iman with a smirk.

"Have you ever heard of PB & J?"

**

"Yeah right." Halima said sarcastically rolling her eyes at Nasir's cockiness. "I'll call you later." She let out a laugh hanging up the phone call pushing their front door open.

Halima kicked her shoes off her feet as usual to find the living room empty like the last time she had seen it. She heard noise in the kitchen causing her to furrow her eyebrows going to the kitchen to find Khadija and Iman having a conversation with empty plates in front of them.

Iman jumped from her seat running to her mother wrapping her arms around her mother's neck overjoyed to see her mother. She placed her chin on her knees looking up at her with a toothy grin excited to tell her about her new experience.

"Mama, have you ever heard of PB & J?" Her grin didn't filter waiting for a reply. Halima looked up Khadija giving her a really look whilst Khadija only shrugged in reply placing her elbows in the counter reaching for a bottle of water sipping from it staring boredly at their interaction.

Halima focused her eyes back on her daughter with an encouraging smile shaking her head. "I have not heard of it before. What is it?" She questioned appearing clueless which seemed to widen Iman's smile happy she could teach her something since they always taught her and she never got to do that.

"Well you spread peanut butter and jam in the same bread. And it tastes so good." She stopped looking over to Khadija with a pout. "Could you please make one for mommy?" Khadija forced a smile giving halima a stank face who seemed to be enjoying everything making her laugh.

"Sure, why not." Khadija said reaching for the loaf of bread spreading the peanut butter on it until it was fully covered. She closed the jar picking up the jam repeating the same process returning the ingredients to the fridge. She pushed the plate to who caught it at the other end of the counter.

"Enjoy." Khadija let out as iman skipped out of the kitchen after givng her a wet peck on the cheek happy to share her experience. Halima turned to Khadija with a raised eyebrow taking a bite of her sandwich.

"I thought kids didn't like you." Khadija shrugged in reply raking her eyes over her outfit which was a fitted white shirt and a pencil skirt taht stopped below her knees with nude heels that was nice to her. She had a problem of checking what people wore to their underwear if she could.

"They don't because that right there." She gestured her cheek with a scrunched face. "They would never do that."

Halima shook her head noticing similar attitudes as her husband and paused glancing at the living room then back at Khadija. "Thinking about it, where is ibrahim? I haven't seen him." She admitted looking down at her feet feeling ashamed she didn't know where her husband was.

"He didn't bother saying anything. He only called me to look over iman and was out of the door before I could utter a word." Khadija confessed raising a brow when she noticed the distanced look on Halima's face causing her lips to curve into a mischievous smirk.

"Trouble in Paradise?" Khadija spoke as Halima's head snapped to her direction furrowing her eyebrows. There was one thing everyone around Halima knew, she was an open book. You could know what she was going through with just a simple glance.

"No. But we have both been to busy to really be around each other." She let out placing her hand on her forehead. Khadija quirked a brow at what she said opening her mouth to speak only to be cut off by the sound of the door opening.

Moments after, Khalifa appeared in the doorway of the kitchen looking drained and tired. Halima shot out of her seat rushing to to him worried as to why he was looking like this. Her eyes watered thinking how she had been. She couldn't remember the last time they sat together and he comes home looking like that.

"You're back this early?" He quirked a brow looking down at her worried eyes.

"Yes. Suprisingly. Are you okay? You don't look so good." Halima let out standing on her toes cupping his face with her hands examining his face that was seemingly pale. He noticed she was more cherry today and actually looked at her surroundings unlike the other days.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just need to take five." Khalifa insisted wrapping his arms loosely around her waist staring at her intently through his low eyes. He could see how worried she was about his well being and he was grateful for that considering how distant she became.

Halima sighed nodding keeping quiet knowing Khalifa wasn't going to accept the fact that there was something wrong with him. Looking behind him, Khalifa raised both brows seeing his sister sitting on one of the kitchen stools with a bored expression on her face.

"I was getting ready to leave with you doing all of that." She gestured to the couple who were in each others embrace. "Not to mention, you're making me want to reschedule my flight earlier to see my husband. Facetime isn't doing it for me." She mumbled the last two sentences but halima caught onto it, her lips curving into a mischievous smirk.

Khalifa looked down at Khadija then back at his sister. "You were the person watching. We could decide to switch up to the kitchen if we wanted." He ran his tongue over his bottom lip with a mischievous smirk on his face showcasing his pearly whites. "That's if we haven't already tried the kitchen." He said with a lazy shrug causing Khadija to scrunch her face taking her arms off the counter.

"You're disgusting. Really, you are." Khadija mugged him whilst Halima shrinked in embarassment her cheeks probably red if she was white.

Khalifa didn't bother replying considering this wasn't the first time he heard it, averting his gaze to Khadija stepping closer to her easily towering over her. "I'll go ahead." He let out jerking his head in the direction of the staircase before he leaned down pecking her forehead.

He pulled away leaving halima dazzled looking behind her to Khadija nodding his head not bothering to say anything walking out of the kitchen. Halima turned back to Khadija who was slipping on her abaya picking up her bag after causing her to furrow her eyebrows.

"Where are you going? It's already late." Halima said glancing at the window then back at Khadija who seemed like the words were entering in one ear and leaving in the other.

"Mother is looking for me. And I wasn't joking about the facetime either." She shrugges picking up her phone offering her a slight smile. "And I hope whatever you guys are going through, fix it. It's sad." She let out closing the door before Hadiza could say another word.

Halima went ahead to their room finding Khalifa in a pair of grey sweatpants with a small towel around his neck before he placed it on his head ruffling his hair with it. She closed the door approaching him wrapping her arms around his bare torso placing her chin on his chest looking up at him.

He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the red birkin bag sitting on the bed. Halima followed his gaze freezing when she noticed what he was staring at.

"You got another one? I thought you said it cost a fortune?" Khalifa glanced at her as she retracted her arms from him scratching her arm nervously, her palms starting to get sweaty.

"I-um...there was this woman that was selling them at a better price online. It's actually used." She let the lies roll freely off her tongue suprising herself. The bag was actually bought by Nasir yesterday as a present and she launched it today. That was one of the reasons she was cherry today. He only nodded in response as the room fell silent.

"I feel like we've been distant." Halima admitted staring into his eyes that she somehow fell in love with. His left eye was a light brown color whilst the other was black. She had always found it weird and creepy if she would say it but it was beautiful to her. It was different. He was different.

Khalifa let the towel slip back around his neck with Halima's eyes on him the whole time. He finally looked back at her pinching his nose letting out a breath.

"I'm supposed to be asking you that, Halima. You just drew back all of a sudden. You come home late and you have this unusual attitudes that I don't seem to understand where they come from or the cause of it. I just gave you your space because that's obviously what you were hinting and I can't be on my toes every single day of my life wondering which personality you'll come back with." He said calmly leaning his head back on the wall.

Halima hanged her head when all of her behaviors were listed. Namisha's words repeated in her head over and over again causing her eyes to gloss over. She was ruining her family by her actions and she could only wonder how Iman was feeling all this time. Khalifa is an adult but she's just a little girl who just wants to go out with both her parents for some ice cream not seeing her mother drifting apart from them.

Her lips quivered opening her mouth to say something but it never came out as she broke down. She buried her head on his bare chest as Khalifa's grip on her got tighter. She knew she never liked seeing her cry but she couldn't help but feel like the shittiest person.

"I-I'm sorry. It has just been hectic and I know I haven't been the best person-" she sobbed when she recalled everything she had done. But at the same time, she wanted to be with Nasir. He was someone she vibed with and had all the money she wanted.

"I'm sorry too." Khalifa let out causing her to look up sniffling, confused as to why he was apologizing when she was in the wrong. "I didn't try enough. I let my emotions get to me." Khalifa admitted. He easily got irritated, he didn't even try to see where she came from. And there was something heavy on his mind that was bothering him

Song - Pop Smoke ft Lil tjay - Mood Swings