Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Just two more hours before he gets bombarded to leave his office, so he took the liberty of using that time to do a lot of things. He hadn't been in his office for more than twenty-four hours, and to him, that was a sin.

He had always been around the office, so whenever he spent a day chilling or relaxing, he felt like he was slacking behind in something. So, he dedicated the whole day inside the confines of the cabin.

His eyes focused on what he was typing while coming up with new strategies to strengthen his plans and straighten the whole chart. He was new to the whole process, and if he failed at this, there would be hell.

He was struggling to get to the top ten at the moment because there were so many good hotels in Nigeria now. It is hard to complete with those that have been in the business for decades.

Yeah, suddenly, all the civilians wanted to be hoteliers and were trying to draw him back, but he did not give up; that wasn't in his blood. Not now or ever.

So every day, he thought about the new things he'd seen, even if it was in his dreams, and tried to make it work. To get the best place out there and push to the top once again.

He was working on changing the interior of the rooms but then thought against it with his team because those rooms were at their best. If touched, they'd be ruined forever. So they thought about a better idea to make it extravagant and five-star like every other, which was to build another hotel.

The estimated time to finish the new hotel was two years, and he already had investors, mostly his family members. He liked doing business with family; it was more secretive and easy to deal with.

In a few days, he was going to leave for Abuja alongside his team to start with the construction, meet the investors, and so on. They already had a beautiful spot to do so in Garki; a friend of his recommended the place, and he bought a vast land that stretched over multiple acres.

He wouldn't deny the fact that he was thrilled to get this work started; he was feeling the zeal and success in his blood, making him more determined. His team was already there; he had to delay for some personal reasons.

His best friend was getting married, and if he left the state without attending the complete ceremony, he wouldn't live his life happy; he'd be haunted.

The wedding fatiha took place earlier, and he forgot about some other event later, the dinner. But his friend called him personally to remind him. If the groom removed time to call him, he was darn sure his grave was already built if he didn't attend.

And because of the wedding, he hadn't been at the office for twenty-four hours; six more wouldn't hurt. Maybe.

"Sir, we have the meeting with a renowned construction company in Abuja, and they are willing to meet you in five days, like you requested," his ever-doting personal assistant informed him, his hands sprinting around the keyboard of his MacBook.

"Good, thank you. You may leave; I'll be done soon," he dismissed him, concluding the presentation for his next meeting tomorrow with the board members.

He needed to apologize for not requesting that they talk about his new hotel; he wanted to do it personally. Or they'd think he was already rebelling after they had given him the opportunity no other person would.

"Bro, where the heck are you? We are here getting ready, and everyone is asking for you. If you don't come here in ten minutes, Anas will not spare you," one of his close friends, Abdul-Rashid, informed him as soon as he answered the call.

Abdullah's friends were really lousy; he could even make out the loud voice of his now-married best friend in the background. And he was talking about some colorful insults Abdullah didn't want to hear.

"I'll be there any second, hang up now," he stood up hastily from his chair, turned off his computer, and left the office in a hurry.

While in the elevator, he called his assistant to make sure he had kept his new clothes in his car, and it was confirmed. They were supposed to match outfits for the dinner to compliment the couple.

He rode his 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLC in a hurry and made it to the hotel in just five minutes. Thank God the hotel was his, and it was close to his office; he made it right on time.

As soon as he entered the presidential suite, which he rented out for the wedding for free, they started bombarding him again, and he sighed.

Since his best friend was too busy wearing his own outfit, he quietly entered one room and locked it behind him so he could act like he had been there since forever. His friend wouldn't forgive him if he found out he was at the office.

He changed into the white set of kaftan and babban riga, adjusted his hold-tight Cartier cufflinks around his wrist, then the strap of his Jaeger-LeCoultre wristwatch. All done.

Done with that, he took the olive fila cap they were asked to wear as their own matching outfit and placed it on his head. Not bad; it looked really good on him, like anything he wore, so his mother would say.

"I thought you were not going to come," Anas mysteriously walked into the room featuring his tan babban riga, looking as handsome as ever.

Sometimes, people mistook them for blood brothers, and they let them think the way they wanted to. They grew up together; they might not be blood-related, but they were brothers from different mothers.

"How could I not come to my best friend's dinner?" He gave a wolfish grin, moved further to give his friend a pat on the back, which said he would always be there.

That was their way of reassuring one another, through thick or thin; they'd always be together.

"Who knows? You've been obsessed with your new project coming up, and even though I'm also an investor, I don't bury myself in reading the contracts. You got married to your office," Anas shrugged but couldn't hide the fact that he was happy seeing his best friend there.

Abdullah didn't like large events such as this. It made him want to crawl down on earth and never show up again, but for his best friend, he'd show up anywhere.

"What can I do? Hard work is the key to success, father's words." His words had a double meaning, and Anas didn't need to dive deeper to know what he meant by that.

Hard work was really what got the two of them standing on their feet in that presidential ensuite, wearing such an extravagant outfit inside an equally wealthy hotel built by one of them. It gave them those broad shoulders.

They both had no fathers now; Abdullah's father died when he was really young, leaving him with his mother and four siblings. While Anas grew up with his parents, his father also died few years back while helping them ground out success.

He had been through so much in his life that he decided to mold the duo into successful young men, which he couldn't be as age had passed by.

His brothers—Anas's father's—family turned against him because he was poor, so he wanted his sons to achieve what he couldn't and be accomplished. But he wasn't there to see them bathe in that wealth; he died before he could.

It didn't stop them, though; it pushed them further into working hard. Abdullah was like a son to Mallam Hadee, Anas's father, right from the beginning. The families were close, even without being blood-related; they were always there for one another and lived in the same home.

When the duo sprouted out their success, they built separate homes for themselves but close enough that they wouldn't go through much to see each other. If only Mallam Hadee were alive to see them now, to see how he molded them into who they are today.

"I know. He didn't ask us not to take breaks though," Anas reminded too, before they both grinned at one another.

They've gone through so much. This is the outcome of their hard work, sleepless nights, and aching muscles. The fruition of all the taunts they had gone through.

There was no job they hadn't done in their whole twenty-eight years of living: carrying blocks on their shoulders, cement on their heads, helping builders, pushing water in wheelbarrows, working in steel markets and so on.

Right from the start, they never believed they were going to make it, but when Allah plans, there is nothing that could stop that from going through. They passed through all those difficulties, and when the riches came, it took them by surprise.

Their parents' prayers, the way they believed in them, also played a part. They had proudly told their mothers; 'Mama, we made it' few years ago. The smiles that showed pride were enormous on their lips; it was enough for them.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't preach to me right now. Let's go before Sauda decides to dump your sorry ass," Abdullah jested, adjusting Anas's cap on his head, and swiftly meandered to the door before he gets his nape swatted.

"She won't be able to dump me even if she wants to. We are married, dude. I'm a married man," Anas called out from behind him, hot on his tail.

The knot was tied earlier in the afternoon; this is just a dinner from the bride's side at their insistence. He wouldn't mind going to the mosque and taking his wife home from there, but she insists that her family is important, and they need to make the wedding go viral; he loves her, so he agreed.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Abdullah grumbled back to his friend.

"Are you ready to rock this wedding?" Abdul-Rashid raised a flute in the air, waiting for his friends' words, and the chorus of 'Yes' flipped into the air in cheers.

Ha, they have been waiting for this since forever, and here it comes.

Amongst the tight-knit group of friends, it's been a long time since one of them got married, and they weren't exactly that rich then, so they couldn't rock the wedding like they wanted to. There are four of them in the circle: Abdullah, Anas, Abdul-Rashid, and Aminu.

All of them came from different backgrounds, but that's a story for another day. They became successful together, worked together, and stuck to one another like there is no other person against them. Even their families were close; that's how tight their friendship is.

Anas is the first person to get married, as the last one that got married doesn't live in the country anymore; he lives in California with his wife, Aminu.

This time around, their pockets are saturated enough for them to spend the way they want to. None of their outfits cost less than a fortune; they are outdoing themselves like they promised to.

Starting from their customized agbada caps, their cufflinks, shoes, and even their boxers underneath those babban riga. They are going to make this wedding worth it; it's a decade long promise during university days.

"You all better find your wives at the wedding, or I die disappointed. Now I'm greater than you all, even in the Lord's eyes," Anas taunted on their way in the elevator, his grin widening when they grunted, knowing he was right.

He is married, after all, he completed half his deen.

"We already have girlfriends, don't worry about wives," Abdul-Rashid placed his palm on Anas's chest in a mock calming way.

He has always been the most annoying one, being the youngest at twenty-six.

"Girlfriends are not always going to become wives; they have two different statuses. You might find your wife here and let go of your so-called girlfriends. Just a piece of advice from this recently married groom," Anas gestured to himself, his eyes more fixated on Abdullah's, who gave away nothing.

"We hear you and will make sure to find our 'wives' at your wedding," Abdul-Rashid commented, leaving the elevator to go to his car.

They have their cars parked in the employer's lot since they are important figures in the hotel. It belongs to their best friend, after all.

Arriving at the best event venue there is in Kaduna and they alighted out of their cars, knowing people are watching them because they drove in with white cars, and there is no way people wouldn't recognize the groom, bride, and his men.

The groom and bride's car was in the middle of their four cars, so they dismounted first, then stood outside the groom's black car waiting for them to dismount as they were told to do by the wedding planner.

"This place looks amazing," Aminu complimented, his eyes dazzling at the sight of beautiful fairy lights illuminating outside the main hall.

There is no doubt; they hired the best wedding planner and event manager for this to happen like a fairytale. Wealthy families only go for the best after all.

"Yeah, like a dream," Abdul-Rashid agreed, his eyes whisking around the place, then at the women standing by the side featuring the same olive gowns and dresses—they all looked gorgeous.

The thing is, women are his weakness, so he knew it was going to be extremely hard for him to choose one and settle down. Maybe he needs more time.

"Line up, everyone!" A short woman in her mid-forties suddenly appeared, looking every inch the businesswoman.

She was wearing a short straight skirt, an olive dress shirt, and court heels. She also had on a mouthpiece that indicated she was the wedding planner orchestrating their match.

The men didn't know what to do, so they stood like statues alongside their other friends whom they had met during their journey through life.

When the woman saw that, she gave a sigh of exasperation, then arranged the girls according to their height and did the same to them.

All three men were standing next to one another, with Abdullah at the end of the line as he was the tallest among them, though Anas was an inch or two taller than him.

He was paired with an equally tall girl, but she didn't seem to be from the same religion as him, as she threw him a friendly smile, which he had to return. It was too friendly for him to act frigid, even if he wanted to.

Most girls would've started flirting, while the ones with new money —as he labelled them— would raise their noses in the air. He didn't understand some girls and their pride sometimes; it sucked, to be honest.

Well, he couldn't wait to get this whole thing done and over with.

Omo lemme tell y'all I was shocked to find zero comments in the first chapter till much later. It is a new year🌚 I'm writing two other books that bring me lots of money and I'm doing this only because I don't want to abandon y'all and love what I am doing but you are making it hard with no motivation whatsoever. Anywhooooo, it is well.