•Aaliyah

It was a month later. And with the help of Bilal and Hamza, I was a free woman who now had her rights given back to her again.

After following the processes the bank had laid out for us, I was able to claim the money in the savings account my father left for me.

Ok, I'm guessing that wasn't elaborate enough so I'll explain what was fast forwarded there.

Let's rewind back to when I took the documents back at Aunty Raliya's house. The next day I went to the bank. The manager of that branch gave me a few steps to follow which were to go to the hospital first to get a death certificate for my father then follow the legal procedure of taking it to the court and getting a letter of administration which a copy was sent to the bank so I could finally get a hold of what was rightfully mine.

Fast forward to now, I'm back to see the branch manager since all the procedures I've had to go through before getting everything I needed was done.

I knocked before entering his office. He was on a call so I sat on the recliner that was opposite his table to wait.

"Aaliyah! How are you?" He smiled extending his hands for me to shake but I politely refused explaining that it was wrong in Islam for a man to touch a woman who wasn't his wife.

He smiled and apologised before handing me a bundle of papers to which he said I should sign.

"I'm good actually. How is work?"

"Good, I mean now that the prices in the stock markets are getting higher, more money is being put into several accounts. I see you're back! I'm glad to see you here."

"Thank you Mr Lucky. It was a long wait but was definitely worth it."

I conclude my signings on the papers and hand it back to him then he directs me to an office where a passport photograph of me was taken.

When that's done, I download the Zenith Bank app so that they can set it up for me there.

I call an Uber to come and get me once I'm done so that I can make it to the house a friend got for me to rent for a few months before I get accepted to a school and plan my next move.

My Uber arrives in less than ten minutes and I get into the car without wasting a second. The driver, whose name I think was Solomon, was nice enough to buy me a bottle of cold water on the road.

After about twenty minutes, I finally reach Wuse 2 and the agent isn't here yet and so was Yusra and her older brother. After a while, I leave the apartment complex and walk to a mini café that was situated directly beside it.

I start to wonder why I invited her then remembered that I was always indecisive when it came to buying things so I called her. She was also one of my friends in school just that we weren't close enough for me to share my ordeals with her.

I order for a lemon cake and a cup of coffee as I waited for my unreliable agent and African timer friend.

A phone call comes in and luckily it's Yusra.

"Ina kike? (Where are you?)" She asked.

"I'm inside café au lait. It's now you want to come ko?"

She laughs then hangs up and immediately the doors are being opened for Yusra and behind her was Hamza.

Wait o, is he the older brother? If yes then I'm about to back out of this deal.

I use the menu to cover my face and stuff my face with the lemon cake so I don't have to look at them.

"Babe!" Yusra squeals.

"Long time!"

She engulfs me in a tight hug before releasing me. My countenance became a case I couldn't handle. Hamza sat opposite me, smiling like a fool and my mouth seems to have lost it's power of speech. Sweat was already soaking the under of my pits and lucky enough, my shirt was black so it wasn't noticeable.

The ground should just open and swallow me.

"You can stop ogling my brother now." She said, using her hand to push my jaw upwards to close my mouth and tapping my cheeks as a smirk covered her pretty face.

Now I see the resemblance.

"Aaliyah how are you?" Hamza looks me in the eye as if he was challenging me.

"You know her?!" Yusra snickers, surprise evident in her voice.

"Yes. She's just a friend." He looks away from me.

"Aaliyah! Dan Allah (please) don't let him decieve you. If you fall for him you're doomed."

"Shut up! Wa ya tambaye ki? (Who asked you?)" He grimaced.

"I'm her friend. I have to look out for her. Who knows how many girls have gotten their hearts broken by you?"

"Whatever is between us is none of your business. Where were you when...forget it! Just drop this matter. I'm a changed person now. That was in the past."

I watched in silence as the siblings continued bickering while I struggled to fight back the tears that begged to be released.

Mr Robinson calls me in the middle of all the drama and I direct him to where we were. Minutes later, he appears at the door with an apologetic smile.

Wait, so I was Just. A. Friend.

After everything he said to me.

Was he lying?

So, everything we had was a lie. All the 'I Love You's' were a joke. I should've been more careful. STUPID ME!

I choke on my tears and sneakily wiped a tear that almost escaped before Mr Robinson reaches our table. Hamza noticed but didn't say a word. Like Bilal, Yusra's twin, she was distracted with her phone at the moment.

Hamza has already broken my heart without even trying. He even had the guts to ask me to promise I'll come back for him. What was mind boggling was why he helped me and listened to my cries with such a dangerous motive behind the facade.

Was this all part of his elaborate scheme?

He claimed to love me and I confessed the same after letting him sweet talk me. He probably had a hundred other girls swooning over him. Who was I to even cry over him? I'm sure there is a barrel of tears from numerous girls stashed somewhere. I don't cry for anyone and this won't be the FIRST.

Bilal must hear of this though. I told him all this sounded fishy from the beginning but he said he trusts him alot.

Hamza🥀[12/03/2020 15:40]: I'm sorry❤️. You already know how much I love you. She doesn't know what she's saying. Please don't be angry. I'll call you tonight.

I ignore the message and zero my attention on Yusra and Mr Robinson.

"Good Afternoon to you all. I apologise for my lateness. I was held up at another meeting. I hope I didn't disrupt any of your plans for the day?"

"It's fine." We said in unison, smiling.

"Alright. Time for business. Shall we go to the house now?"

"Yes. Yusra, shall we?" I asked, ignoring Hamza for the entirety of our stay there.

I wave at the waiter to come and hand me the bill to pay. We leave not long after he gives me the receipt then I buy another lemon cake for the road.

The house is on the fourth floor of the complex and is situated at the far left end of the right wing. We took an elevator because of the number of stairs.

The doors of the elevator splits open and we walk out trailing behind Mr Robinson.

He opens the door and moves aside to let us in. The apartment was large and spacy. The decor was quite exquisite and beautiful with black leather sofas  and a mini coffee table in the middle of the connected couches. Apart from that, a large plasma TV was placed on the wall with it's TV set that complimented the living room with it's metalic colour.

There were no blinds though but that didn't bother me because I was starting to like the place. Getting blinds was an easy thing. And the dinning area had a table big enough to entertain at least 8 guests.

There were small Egyptian rugs planted in different parts of the living room and a chandelier that was hanging above the couches that formed an n shape.

There were also smaller, flowery shaped, colourful bulbs that were attached beautifully to the topmost part of the room in different parts of the living and dining room.

"This is the kitchen." Mr Robinson pushed the mahogany door.

The kitchen wasn't as big as I thought it would be. It was on an average scale. A mini chandelier hung above the counter in the middle of the the kitchen.

Everything was neat though it lacked a fridge and a dishwasher so, I made a mental note to get them after we conclude later today.

He takes us to the room.

The king sized bed was terribly tempting to lie on. It looked so soft and the pillows making it even more irresistible. That alone was a reason for me to rent this place.

I couldn't even control myself again. I sat on it for like five minutes, enjoying the softness.

It was ensuite and the bathroom had a bath tub and a large mirror.

It sounds weird but I've been obsessed with mirrors for a while now. I may sound crazy for saying this but I'm not.

I started talking to myself as a way to encourage myself not to give up. It helped actually and since then mirrors have been my best friends. Forget Haneefa.

I didn't mention the balcony. It had a great view. Just perfect for a writer in need of a pool of inspiration.

And that was that. The tour had finally ended. It was time to discuss the price.

We were all back to the living room where we sat to conclude everything.

"So miss Aaliyah do you like it?"

"We'll have to go back and discuss before calling you tomorrow." Yusra speaks up.

"No. I'm ready to conclude it today." I say.

She turns to me "Aaliyah kina son wajen? (Do you like the place?). I'm actually in a hurry. Me and Hamza have a dinner to attend. Don't you think it's better to go home and think first? The place is ok sha but it's your choice." She whispers.

She looks at her wristwatch before getting up and hugging me. I notice Hamza looking at me from the side but pretends as if he's on his phone.

They leave after she bids Mr Robinson goodbye.

"Mr Robinson this place is beautiful. I like it. How much does it cost to rent it?"

"For a month, #200,000. For a year, #2,400,000. For how many months would you like to stay here?"

"I'd like to stay for six months."

"That's #1,200,000."

"Alright. Let's meet again tomorrow so that I can make the payment."

"That will be great. Thank you for your time." He smiles and we both exit the apartment.

Mr Robinson offers to give me a lift but I refused and called an Uber immediately.

We parted ways after the Uber came.

Yes, Mr Robinson offered to wait since he couldn't take me home.

What a nice man.

But some men are still scum.

I may have lost something or rather someone but at least it wasn't a complete loss.

I still have me a house to stay at.

Who's Hamza sef?

Guys are overrated.

Times like this, I start to see the peace in staying single. Your sanity remains intact.
____________________________

Who knew he was once a player?

~Aisha Safiyanu🥀