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This chapter, read it well oo. I've left clues for the next ten chapters in it.

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Alhaji rolled over, he had woken up a few minutes earlier, but he liked to take a few minutes to take stock of what he would do that day. His immediate need was to pray Subh prayers and then get on with the rest of his day. 

He took the light comforter off his body and padded into his bathroom, turning on the bright lights as he did so. He took a quick shower and afterwards performed ablution to pray Subh. 

As he walked downstairs to the mosque on the street, he met Maymunatu's sleeping form on the sofa downstairs. He immediately went to her and touched her forehead, seeing as her temperature was normal, he gently woke her. 

"It's time to pray Subh." Maymunatu laid such bleary eyes on him that it made him chuckle. Nothing had changed in the way his daughter didn't have an awareness of her environment while she slept. She regarded her father's house as a safe place, where she could sleep peacefully without fear. 

"I was waiting for you." She said to Alhaji who was slightly taken aback. He looked at the time on the side mantle, seeing as he had no time, he got up and told her to pray and wait for him in the living room. She nodded and got up as well, leaving Alhaji to walk out the door to the offer congregational prayers. 

After prayers, he shook hands with several of his neighbors, one the minister of state for defence, another the CEO of a continent wide construction company and another man the permanent secretary of one of the federal ministries.

They all walked slowly as they talked about how to secure the area better. Someone, a kogi man who lived two houses away from Alhaji  suggested to get a good iron gate at the beginning of their ten house avenue and they all agreed, the minister echoing for them to get private security. 

They all agreed to send some money to the man who had made the gate suggestions for him to see it it to the end because two streets away had been robbed, their houses cleaned out while they were on holiday. 

A businessman from Kano, whom Alhaji knew only on greeting basis, smiled fawningly as he said with his hands clasped in front of him, "You and your ex wife are coming back together for the sake of the children right? That's so beautiful, Ma Sha Allah. Because I know even your children must feel relieved to have their parents together once more." Alhaji lost his balance, it was as though a bell had been dropped on his head. 

"What did you say?" The man sensing a disconnect, smiled wider as he repeated himself. Alhaji couldn't explain to the man why he would never be marrying his ex-wife, but the way he picked up a part of his grey thobe and walked away quickly told the men standing all they needed to know, they dispersed quickly, giving the man who had talked stinky glares. 

When Alhaji got into his compound, he took out his phone from his pocket and dialed Elijah. He ended the call and began to type a message to his personal assistant, but as he typed, Elijah called back. 

"Elijah, I forgot about the time, it's too early." Elijah's hearty cheer staved off Alhaji's worries so he got to the point. "Get me Surayyah's location, at the same time if she's in Chiroma where I suspect she would be, get us a chopper to visit the Kano plant impromptu and incognito and then we'll go to Chiroma." Elijah agreed to get the instructions done and Alhaji ended the call. 

Still fuming, he began walking into the house. Before now, if Surayyah made such a declaration, he might have laughed it off or just let it be, but he had put someone else in the mix, Nadia. With Nadia he could no longer be silent about his responses to his ex-wife, he had to be extra firm, to let her know nothing else would be happening between them. 

He went through the main door, climbed the wide rugged stairs and opened the doors to his room. He changed into his athletic wear and changed direction to the gym. 

Once there, he walked to the treadmill and did a slow walk that served as his warm up. He didn't feel any respite from the great fury that welled up and down inside of him, he walked to the punching bag, after tying his gloves, he began to punch.

The first punch was for the time he heard his father had agreed to marry him to Surayyah without asking what his thoughts were, his father's motto was to keep peace, always, never distain the Bindawa name, but that peacekeeping had nearly killed him and now the very woman his father had said was the best was ready to jeopardize his chances at finding peace.

He. Would. Not. Accept. It. He punched the bag to punctuate each word he said in his head. The punching got louder and quicker until he could no longer keep up. He let down his burning arms and went off to take another shower, not even taking a sip of the smoothie Mama Tas usually left him. 

After he was fully showered and dressed, he had pulled on a white Kaftan, regardless of his awful mood and placed a hula hat embroidered with brown and black threads on his head. As he walked down the stairs to the main home office, he would do some work while he waited for Elijah to arrive for the day.

At the foot of the stairs, he met Maymunatu, he ruffled the small silk cap covering her head as he walked past her. She suddenly realized something so she ran after him, she reached him in no time and latched her hands on his left arm. 

"Daddy, you're going to Chiroma?" Alhaji suppressed the barrel of rage that was threatening to erupt from him to smile at his youngest child, so he nodded in acceptance. He was truly going to Chiroma. 

"Can I come with you? I want to spend the day with you." Alhaji narrowed his eyes in her direction, his lower lip taking a wry position.

"Oh really? I thought Gwaggo was your favorite." He shook her off his arm as he opened the door to his office. It didn't stop her from going in with him, opening windows, letting in the morning air in from outside. 

"You're my favorite. Yes, I love Gwaggo to he moon and back, but you, I'll go round the galaxy for you." Alhaji cracked a small smile. His mood suddenly felt light and he no longer felt so annoyed. 

"Don't tell Na'im but you're my favorite as well." He noticed that she stopped in her motions of opening the long floor length windows to the other side of his study and came to look at his face, disbelief drawn all over it. 

"Didn't you tell Ya Na'im not to tell me that he's your favorite?" Alhaji could not hold back any longer, he burst into loud laughter. She folded her flapping dress under her arm and harrumphed. 

"You can come with me. You can see I'm dressed, once Elijah arrives for the day before you're done, I'm leaving you." Maymunatu pouted, stopped to look at her father before turning to leave. At the door she said pleadingly, "I bought something to give Gwaggo. Please wait for me so I can give it to her myself." Alhaji sighed and nodded, watching as she rushed out of the room. 

\*\*\*\*\*\*\*$

Maymunatu jumped out of the car the moment the driver stopped outside Gwaggo's part of the house, she flew up the stone stairs to her grandmother's house, leaving Alhaji to follow leisurely. He knew she had something to say or do with her grandmother so he decided to walk even slower. 

Alhaji directed Elijah to call some of Gwaggo's house staff to pick the things he got for them and share it equally amongst them. He always made sure he had something to offer the house staff at his mother's house, some called it bribery, but he called it making sure no one thought to be selfish enough to deal with his mother while he was away. 

Immediately he had enough to start giving the people who worked for his only loving parent, he shelled out money or gift items everytime he was in Chiroma. 

Then he climbed the stairs to see his mother, at the door, he heard her loud laughter that so resembled his own that he shook his head. Maymunatu was a laughter magnet, he hoped she would always be this happy. 

When he stepped into the house, His mother said, "Abdullahi, your daughter brought me lace. Imagine I wear this to Friday Prayers, people better compliment me so I can tell them my granddaughter now takes a salary so she bought me lace."

Alhaji greeted his mother before saying, "I didn't even get a pair of shoes. You know how cheap a pair of shoes can be ehn, Maama, I didn't get one." His mother raised her eyes in mockery, shaking her head with a fond smile on her face.

"Call Na'im for me. That boy has not called me in weeks, I want to see his face." Maymunatu took out her phone and dialed her elder brother, when the call connected, her brother's very fair face filled the phone. 

"Naimu, is this how we'll be? You left me here in Chiroma, did we fight?" Alhaji from his vantage height point, watched as his son rubbed his face, he was at a desk, so he definitely had to be at work. 

"Gwaggo, it's not true. I didn't think you'd want to talk to me." Gwaggo took the phone from Maymunatu and instructed her to lock the door and come back. 

A few weeks back, Na'im had called his father in distress, asking if he still wanted him to bear Na'im Bindawa, Alhaji knew it was his ex-wife's handwork so he calmed Na'im. Who knew though, that the boy took what his mother said seriously and stopped calling his father and grandmother. 

"They will lie to you, tell you you're not your father's son, the only name I know they gave you was Na'im Abdullah Bindawa. You didn't bear anyone's name, so why would you be ashamed to talk to me? Am I no longer the love of your life?" Gwaggo wiped the tears that had run down her cheeks. She loved her grandchildren so fiercely that even their own mother was incapable of showing that sort of affection.  

"Gwaggo, I'm sorry. I felt betrayed and I thought you'd feel so as well." Gwaggo silently shook her head. Alhaji cast a fond glance in Maymunatu's direction, he knew that this call was her idea, she wanted to make sure Na'im knew he was a part of the family despite whatever Surayyah was saying to him. 

"Gwaggo, please don't cry. I'll come see you tomorrow. I'll take a flight to Kano straight, the moment you wake up, I'll be the first person you'll see In Sha Allah." Gwaggo nodded and wiped the rest of her tears, nodding some more as they finalized details. They left several things unspoken, but the most important things had been said. 

When the call ended, Maymunatu took back her phone and put it on the table, silence reigned until Alhaji sighed and got up from where he had been seating. 

"I'll be back soon." Gwaggo who was holding the lace Maymunatu brought for her shouted her son's name, knowing he was beyond angry and anything could result from his anger. 

In no time, he reached the Emir's palace, where she had returned to live. He could never ever take a wife from this family, ever again. It would be a curse on his peace and quiet to do so. 

 Alhaji sat on the sofa, adjusting his hat to fit his head properly. He was pissed beyond measure and was ready to vent on whoever prodded him, maybe that was why the house staff at the Emir's palace didn't serve him a drop of water despite waiting for about twenty minutes. 

Alhaji smelt his ex-wife before she came in, so he timed his sneeze so perfectly that immediately she reached his side, he sneezed. 

"Ayyahh, my darling, I should have put a little less, how do I look?" Alhaji focused on using a handkerchief he'd brought to cover his nose, not giving away any reaction. 

She looked around, then her face crumpled, "Why did those God-damned servants serve you some of the Kunun Gyada I ordered them to make yesterday?" She flapped her sleeves and turned to go and call someone but Alhaji stopped her. 

"Surayyah?" She smiled at the way he called her name, she'd longed for him to call her name again like he used to. In it's most correct form. 

"I'm here." Alhaji took off the handkerchief he'd put on his nose and shook his head. 

"Surayyah, I want to know why you do the things you do? Why are you so self-serving and vindictive?" He asked her, his eyes wide from the rage he had bottled up till he got there, She took a careful step back even though Alhaji was not even standing yet. 

"What did I do again?" She asked back, miffed that he was accusing her again. 

"You have the audacity to ask what you've done? Wait, you don't even count telling Na'im that he's no longer a part of my family as wrong?" He asked her, now shouting. 

"Isn't that the truth? I know that's why you refused to take me back so I decided to tell him who his father is, he can go meet him while you take me back as your wife. Life goes on that way." Alhaji shook his head, he couldn't believe a single word of what he was hearing her say. It was as if she'd gone crazier than he had known her to be. 

"You're a self serving, vindictive, wicked human. If not for Na'im and Maymunatu, the only beautiful things that have ever come from you, I would have cursed so wickedly the day I laid eyes on you!" She rolled her eyes, shifted her body while standing in front of him. 

"I was helping you. If you marry anyone now, they can't love you. They'll only be doing it for your money. You need me, this same wicked woman to regulate what goes on in your house. Imagine that you die, how are Na'im and Maymunatu supposed to cope?" Alhaji raised his head, suddenly feeling chills from the way his ex-wife spoke of his wealth. 

"Why do you seem so assured that I'll ever take you back?" She laughed harshly, covering her mouth with her veil. 

"You will. You hate people talking about you the most.  People know that I'm marrying you, even that your so called wife to be, if her parents are sensible and they ask around, they'll find out that I am about to marry you again. So-" Alhaji didn't say a word, he let her say her bit, then he got up and left the living room he was received in, slamming the main door. 

On the way back to his mother's house, he stopped the car he had driven by himself and hit the steering wheel, hard. He was beyond frustrated that talking would not get Surayyah away from him. 

He wanted his life to be smooth and peaceful before putting Nadia into anything. If anyone deserved peace more, it was Nadia. If she accepted his proposal, how would he assure her that hsi ex-wife would not rake her over hot coals just to prove a point. 

The Adhaan for Zuhr rang and he looked in his surroundings, he was not scared that anyone had seen him since the car's windows were doubly-tinted. He got out of the car, locked it and went to the mosque he knew was beside the road. 

After his prayers, he reclined on his knees and asked Allah SWT for guidance. He didn't want any more troubles, he wanted his peaceful life back and he wanted to have a positive response from Nadia. Afterwards, he got up and looked around, seeing as he recognized no one, he left in his car. 

\*\*\*\*\*

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"You could have called me over to the hospital, I would have come there." Alhaji watched as Nadia played with her bottle of orange juice. His heart palpitated in his chest, making him lift a hand to soothe it. 

"I just wanted to tell you a few things face to face before saying what I came to say." Alhaji nodded, he stirred his apple and kiwi fruit smoothie, feeling extremely restless. 

"You can tell me anything, I will understand completely." Nadia smiled, adjusting her scarf. 

"I have PCOS." Alhaji felt his fast beating heart slow down to a more stable beat, he swallowed before he asked, 

"Are you on any medication? Do you have mild symptoms or are your symptoms on the heavy side?" Nadia let a smile bloom on her face, Alhaji looked down at his uncrossed feet and crossed them. 

"I'm not on any medication, though I intend to stop absconding from my gynecologist's office after now." He nodded, satisfied with her answer. 

She picked up her bag and handed him a square piece of paper. "I've told my parents, especially my dad that you'll be calling him soon," she pursed her lips, having nothing else to say. 

He received the thick piece of paper and read from it, Mr AbdulSamad Muhammad-Shinkafi +2347111111567. 

He looked at her, though her head was lowered, he still felt relief, happiness and then joy bloom into his heart all at once. 

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Nadia nodded with a smile, playing with her handbag's strap. 

*********

*Plays with handbag*

So, what do you think? Will Nadia's parents say yes? Will they put their foot down and say no?

The next update is on Tuesday or Wednesday. Then Friday again. (Two updates in one week. Hmm)

But! If you do not comment in this chapter, I might release instead our usual Friday chapter only.

So, see y'all or Tuesday or Friday. God bless you all, abundantly.

TheOmoope ❤️❤️🥰