Some hours earlier...

Beirut, Lebanon.

Ammar stood up abruptly, his expression displaying disbelief. He closed his eyes trying to digest in the new information he just received. He couldn't fathom it; heck he doesn't even know what to do. He closed his eyes briefly again, using his free hand to massage his temples.

Isn't it all too sudden? He pondered in his head.

"But Mom, everything's been set already, invites had been sent out. The most important guests aren't here yet. Isn't this just too... early?" he tried picking up the right words to address this situation.

Personally, he had no problem with the last minute adjustments. The one he's sure would have a problem with it is his Siddiqah, he knows her plans and this is just going to ruin it for her. The last thing he wants is to see her unhappy and he'd rather jump in front of a bus than to see a frown etched on the beautiful face of hers.

And if he knows her as much as he thinks he does, she's now somewhere gloating over the news. And that is not good at all.

Mrs Bulama, Hajiya Juwairriya Umaymah, sighed. She knew her son  them over it. Especially with her mother in-law involved, "I know my son but look at the brighter side, at least now too much people won't attend or maybe..." she hesitated for a while knowing her son won't like what she's about to say, "You can call off the wedding. Maybe Allah didn't plan for that girl to be your wife" she spat venomously, lowly, but enough for him to hear.

"Mom" he said in a warning tone. He knows Hajiya Juwairriya Ummaymah still isn't very welcoming about his marriage with a Barau girl and she's still hoping that he might change his mind over the matter. "I love Siddiqah, and that is never going to change. No date shifting or anyone can change that"

Hajiya Umaymah exhaled harshly. He's so stubborn, she thought mentally, "Fine" she rolled her eyes, her tone dripping heavily with thick British accent, "I suppose I'll just tolerate her being your wife"

"Mom please..."

"It's fine Ammar!" she cut him off, "Just make sure you catch the next flight back to Nigeria, your grandmother wouldn't be too keen if you're not here for the nikah" she stated in her motherly tone as she stood up from the bed she was sitting now and head to the balcony of the room.

"OK mom, I will. Take care please and I love you" Ammar said trying to end the conversation when he turned and saw Junaid standing by the door leaning against the wall, patiently waiting for his friend to explain to him the reason for his now irked demeanor.

"I love you too my son" with that, she ended the call making Ammar softly throw his phone on the Adirondack table.

"Wassup man, what got you worked up like this?" Junaid inquired as he casually walked forward and sat on one of the chairs in front of Ammar, crossing his legs and leaning back.

"My paternal grandmother, Mamita, is in Abuja and she'd thrown a hell lot of fit until the wedding was shifted to this Saturday. She said that she's undergoing surgery next week and she doesn't want to miss her first grandson's wedding so she didn't give up until Dad changed the date" Ammar explained taking a seat opposite his friend. He placed both his hands on the table in front of him and leaned his face on his hands.

Junaid's brows puckered, "So? Isn't that a good thing seeing how impatient you are about the wedding? Besides, now there won't be too many guests so the chances of any drama taking place is low"

Ammar shook his head, "It's not like that JD. I'm just worried about Siddiqah"

"What about her?"

"There's no way she'd be happy when she hears this. This wedding means too much to her and this is just simply ruining all her plans" Ammar elaborated thinking of ways to coax his soon to be Zawj when he calls her later.

Maybe I should send her flowers first! He thought and instantly agreed seeing it could be a start so when he calls her she won't be too mad at him.

"She'll understand when you explain to her" JD reasoned.

"I just hope so" he murmured quietly picking up his phone again to contact his assistant, texting her to book him and JD the next flight to Nigeria asap.

"So what now? We're leaving for Nigeria tomorrow right?" JD asked for confirmation as he already knows the answer.

Ammar nodded, his eyes still on his phone "Hopefully. In shaa Allah"

****

Aydah wanted to cry. Not because she didn't want to marry Ammar, she was thrilled, over the moon but what about her plans? All her events? She has planned an entire week for wedding events, all IV were sent out and now this?

She wanted to call Ammar and ask him what happened, what was the reason for moving their wedding but before she got the chance to do so, her Ada summoned her after the dinner. All through the dinner, her parents and grandparents just kept on talking about the events, apparently, since they own the event center, they can shift the event to Saturday seeing that by tomorrow not many people might know about the change of plans. It's better to have both the nikah and the after party in 24 hours so that after the event, Aydah can be conveyed to her matrimonial home straight.

24 Hours?!? Aydah silently screamed in her head. How is it possible that all her plans were ruined and she could only get one event?

"Ada..." she said, softly, her eyes held a tinge of sadness and her voice aloof.

Hajiya Talatu patted the space next to her in the stool by the piano. Everyone had cleared the dining area including the pianist, so now, Ada sat where the blonde sat earlier. Aydah smiled a bit knowing how much her grandmother's love for classical music is. She knows that she'll play a song right now that's why she chose the spot.

She sat down next to hed Ada. Her eyes studying her grandmother's face who smiled before placing her fingers on the keys, adeptly playing The way to get to you by Sean.

This song brought back a new wave of sadness on Aydah. It was no longer just about her wedding, it was about her life entirely. She's tired, why must her family decide everything for her?

The song suited the moment. It was like the sound was a tell tale of her life. From the way the melodies met in a perfect sync one can tell that the artist for the song was feeling down when he put it together. It was sad, heartwarming and almost like a goodbye...

It was almost like the story of her life.

Aydah didn't know when tears welled up in her eyes. But she knew if she ever let them out, that might ruin the moment Ada was trying to create.

"Let me tell you a story my Aydah" Ada started, not taking her eyes off the keys as she kept playing it, "Once upon a 60 years ago I was just like you. My mother and father planned every single detail of my life even before I was born" she laughed softly at the memories, "I was never allowed to make any choice of my own even when I was getting married. It was an arranged marriage and I only got to meet the groom after the knots had been tied" she shook her head as if remembering something.

Aydah's eyes bulged out of their sockets, what type of life was that? And here she thought her parents were just too much on planning her life. How did her Ada survived living with a man she'd never met before?

"Do you know what I realized now 60 years later?" she asked, directing her question to her now curious granddaughter who seems to have a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but let her continued.

Aydah shook her head indicating no.

Ada continued, "What I realized was that had I choose to run away instead of being forced into marriage, I would've missed the best thing that could ever happen to my life"

"Grandpa..." Aydah said as if now getting a hang of the story.

So her grandpa was the guy.

Ada chuckled, taking her hands off the keys to stop abruptly, "No. That man wasn't your grandfather"

Aydah's eyes brown creased, "Who was the man then and how did you and grandpa end up together?" She perplexed, and Ada saw that.

Ada wondered how much Aydah and her mother are alike yet so different. The first time she told her daughter, Aydah's mother, her story, she has the same impression Aydah did and they asked exactly the same question. How they became so different was that Aysha Hameedah inherited her grandmother, Ada's mother's character while Siddiqah Aydah inherited Ada's character. They hardly agree over the same thing and yet they think alike.

"That man I was married to was your grandpa's best friend. At that time, your grandfather was married to that man's love. It was also an arranged marriage, and because your grandfather got paired up with the woman, that man got married to me because apparently your grandfather was head over heels in love with me while I was unaware. The two best friends became enemies, even though on your grandpa's side it wasn't his fault, that man never sees that though. One thing lead to another and I ended up divorced and so does the other woman. My parents then let me marry your grandfather and the man married the woman he initially loved. That broken friendship was never rekindled though, in fact it lead to years and generations of hatred"

"Wow..." Aydah was at loss of words, "So just over that their friendship got ruined, generations involved too?!" she found the situation to be ridiculous. Since they ended up married to the ones they loved at the end what's the point of the hatred anymore, and what's wrong it that getting future generations involved?

Aydah snickered, "In the olden days, you'd be surprised how people fight over the most stupid things"

"Clearly"

Ada sighed, a small smile still lingering on her lips as she stared at Aydah. Her granddaughter is just like a younger version of her both physically and mentally. The resemblance is almost too alarming, "Enough of that already. Let's talk about you"

Aydah turned to look at her grandma.

"Do you love Ammar?" Ada asked skeptically making Aydah stare at her warily.

Seriously?! Aydah thought in her head.

After all the obstacles she had to face and yet she remained adamant on wanting to marry Ammar and Ada's here questioning her love for him, it's just more like a rhetorical question on her part.

Nevertheless, she answered, "Yes Ada. I love him, a lot"

Ada nodded, "That's good then. I'll tell you from experience that marriage is not a bed of roses my dear, there are thorns. They may not only cause tears but make one bleed. Yet, it is the most beautiful thing if it's with the right person. I hope and pray that your first marriage will be your only marriage, May Allah bless your union" she slightly patted her granddaughter's head who smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you Ada, it's nice to see that at least someone from my family is not hell bent on killing my soon to be husband" she joked a little to lighten up the mood and it did.

"You know I'm always on your side"

A few more minutes of comforting from Ada was all that Siddiqah needed at the moment before she left for her room afterwards. Ada convinced her that everything will be alright and her wedding will take place smoothly without much problem and she actually believed her.

She was glad once again as she didn't run into any of the guests know her way back to her flat. She quietly trailed the way as she hummed the song of earlier softly. Her thoughts were everywhere as she was thinking of what to do with this whole thing messed up now. One thing's for sure, if anything goes wrong tomorrow she'll literally explode into thousand little pieces.

Once in the confines of the flat, she contemplated on checking up now on her friends but decided against it once again. She needed their company but now might not be the best time.

So, when she stepped into her room, she was utterly greatly baffled at the sight of her two best friends in the room waiting for her with chocolate wraps, more flowers and gift baskets everywhere; on her bed and scattered on the floor to the chaise lounge all was covered with chocolates.

"What..." she was out if words.

Maryam whom was seated on the bed and munching on a chocolate bar quickly ate up the one in her mouth to speak up, "Hola amiga. Qué pasa?" she asked waving her hand at her friend who was staring quizzically at her.

"What is all these?" she gesticulated to all the stuff laying everywhere.

Ummulkhaiyr smiled taking a bouquet of lilies and sniff it's scent before looking back at the stunned Aydah, "Guess what hubby sent you!" she literally squeaked.

****

Nnamdi Azikwe airport, Abuja.

At exactly 2:36pm, the plane from Bauchi landed. By 3:21pm all commuters were off to their various destinations to meet up with their loved ones or for work. The weather that day was nice, cool breeze making the trees sway to it and dark clouds indicating that it might rain soon. Because of this, all flights that were to take off next were cancelled.

Hajiya Laure from Bauchi and her team of eight just got out and instantly spot their driver whom was holding a placard with her name inscribed boldly on it.

She raised her head up high, adjusted her shades and fixed her moderately big veil before pulling her suitcase along with her as she strolled towards the man with the ladies trailing behind her.

Rabiatu and co whom haven't ever had the pleasure of stepping foot in Abuja marveled and ogled at the beauty just from the airport. Their mouths hung open as they stare at the people and the buildings that were so exotic to them yet so enticing. They looked like lost fishes and some people just stare at them wondering what the hell is wrong with these women?!

Hajiya's assistant duck her head low and walked a little faster ahead of them feeling too ashamed to go around with these village women. They would embarrass her in public. For once can't they act sophisticating?! She wondered.

Much to her delight, they reached the man in no time who greeted them out of pure respect.

Afterwards, he shows them the way to where two raven Maserati were parked.

The group divided into two, Hajiya, her assistant and another woman in one car while the other women were to manage the other car.

In the car Rabiatu was, since they entered, the driver didn't utter a single word to them. Rabiatu was shivering due to the AC and was trying to tell the man to kindly turn it off but her pride wouldn't let her. So, as she was seated in the passenger seat she extended her hand and pushed a button thinking it was the one that would've turned it off, it wasn't. The one she pushed was the one for music and the next second, music was blaring in the car like a club.

All of them closed their ears as Da so Samu ne YNS Cypher 2020 kept blaring loudly. If the car wasn't sound proof the people outside could hear the song. It was simply too loud it could disrupt one's eardrums.

Da so Samu ne

Au ashe nama samu

Whatsapp, Twitter, IG Jidzell

Baba share munsha namu

Yanxun dakasamu!

Zan Kaita USA

Haters bye bye honeymoon a Dubai sannan mubiya Ta Sk...

One of the woman seems to know the song and almost immediately she was singing along. She looks so childish considering that the woman is at least 35 years old. She didn't seem to mind though, she sang like her life depended on it and she was so off-key, it was simply embarrassing.

Unfortunately for Rabiatu, the man still didn't bother to pay any attention to her. He pretended as if they weren't here, even though deep down they're annoying him to the core.

Why am I the one stuck with the stupid ones? He wondered in his head.

Rabiatu cleared her throat and pushed another button hoping with will be the off button for the AC instead, it wasn't again. Instead this time, the song switched to another song by two infamous artists from God knows where. She knew she had never heard of them or their song.

Even the woman that supposedly knew the song earlier didn't know this one. But, they all had to admit, the song was dope even for new artists like the ones that made the song.

This time, she didn't bother trying to turn it off again. Instead, she just left the song to continue playing as she was silently loving it until it changed to Nobody by Dj Neptune, Joeboy and Mr Eazi and many more songs followed afterwards.

In the other car, the three women were enjoying the quietness and the peace totally unaware of what's happening in the other car. Hajiya Laure was going through something on her phone as she was seating in the backseat with her assistant by her side and the other woman in the passenger seat.

"Erm Hajiya, if you don't mind me asking where are we going to stay?" Her assistant asked as she was as still baffled by the treatment they got since they boarded the plane, it was luxuriant. And now these cars and drivers, she really did underestimated Hajiya Laure.

Hajiya smiled, knowing the question that is disturbing her assistant internally, "He got me a house to stay in. He doesn't want me in the same house with her after all these years, supposedly, he still don't trust leaving us under the same roof even though we're no longer together. So we're staying in the house my son stays in" she explained not taking her eyes off her phone. She was still thinking of all possible ways to ruin the wedding.

Her assistant snickered, "I still can't believe he let you come here, he actually invited you personally. Miss, you're amazing wallah" she praised her boss like the obedient assistant she is.

Hajiya smirked, "She might be the one married to the man but he still has a soft spot for me you know" she bragged.

Her assistant nodded, "She's the one in your way. But I'm sure once we crash this wedding, nothing will stop you Hajiya"

Hajiya Laure smiled smugly this time, partially because of what her assistant said and because of the message that she just received.

The photos.

This should guarantee a runaway bride. She thought mischievously in her head as she scrolled through the photos one by one, zooming it she necessary to see the face of the thorn in her way clearly. This is more than enough. She should probably pay her little insider more money for this because this is what she needed most.

Ha! It's almost too easy.

"Oh I'm sure we'll ruin the wedding, and then everything will be mine" She laughed making the two other women join her.

This should be fun.

****

Hola amiga! Qué pasa?--Hello friend! What's up?

Love, Jannah.

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