Hey my lovelies, 🥺🙏🏽 please forgive me😂😭I've had such a hard time with anxiety and everything happening in my real life that I forgot about here. I've had this chapter written since Tuesday but I forgot to update yesterday.

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God bless you all.

"Ya Nads!" The door flew open and Nadia was hit by a warm body, she felt her husband's hand steady her for a moment, helping her so she didn't fall flat on her back. She looked immediately back at Abdullah knowing he would scold his daughter for being too exuberant.

"What is your problem?" She heard him ask his daughter, Nadia's hands were still around Maymunatu who had hugged her even tighter.

"I have her," She hugged Nadia, cheek to cheek, "Here with me. Once my tomorrow's exam is done, we're going everywhere in London together." Nadia shook her head, and allowed herself to be pulled into the warm house. It was an almost replica of Abdullah's Abuja house, high vaulted ceilings she knew cost a fortune to heat, and plush blue rugs that lit up the room even more.

"Do you like it?" Nadia watched as Maymunatu waved her hands around in the living room. She nodded, her eyes filled with an indulgent smile. She was pulled to sit on an off white sofa, from there she could see Abdullah directing the house staff on what and where he wanted their luggage.

"Ya Nads?" Nadia jerked out of the reverie she was in, she realized she had been mooning at her husband from the look on Maymunatu's face.

"You people should not do lovey dovey around me please, I'm a minor." Abdullah must have heard her words since he came closer and rapped a light knock on his daughter's covered head.

"You're already saying nonsense out of excitement. What have you been up to?" He rounded the chair and pulled Maymunatu out of her seat beside his wife. He sat down and leaned into the warm, comfortable chair, his coat was now off.

"Exams are over tomorrow. You know the rest." Nadia watched as their identical faces quarrelled playfully with one another. She wondered how Na'im must feel left out of their discussion.

"Ya Nads, did you buy the Van Cleef?" Nadia saw that Abdullah's eyes furrowed, but thought nothing of it as she ordered Maymunatu to get her hand luggage. While the young girl was away, she heard her husband's voice ask in a whisper,

"You're okay with her calling you Ya Nads? I'm not and I'm calling her out on it now." Nadia frowned, wondering her reaction to being called whatever, she didn't mind, though societal obligations would mind.

"I'd love to be called whatever she wants to call me, Ya Nads is not a problem, my cousins call me that." She saw him roll his eyes before he answered her with a firm finality in his voice.

"You're not your cousin to her though. You're her stepmother, ideally there's an entire generation gap." Nadia thought of it, shook her head before responding to him calmly, "Not today though, you've already attacked her enough."

She watched as he threw his head back in laughter both at her and the situation. Maymunatu returned to them, carrying a purple tagged hand luggage. Nadia unlocked it and pulled out a red box, with the name of the designer engraved on it.

"You bought us matching colors? Sweet!" Nadia smiled and watched the younger girl wear the gift and rush off to the only mirror in the room to see her neck.

"It's so beautiful. Thank you so much! I love it!" Nadia put the bag on the floor and accepted the girl's thanks happily. Her father however, poked the bear asking, "I don't get thank you?"

"This is Ya Nads funds, so I'm thanking her for her first gift to me." They bickered happily until Nadia looked towards the door to see Na'im looming there. He greeted his father first, who responded with,

"You're here? Welcome." When Abdullah's eyes reached his son, he waved him over and Nadia watched as he entered the room. Abdullah had complained bitterly to her about the state of his mental health a few weeks before their wedding, so she knew him looking a lot healthier was evidence of taking care of himself.

His father echoed her thoughts as he said, "You look a lot better than when I saw you last. Well done." Na'im nodded, then he asked his sister what she was doing.

"I got gifts from Ya Nads, I'm trying it on." Nadia saw his face scrunch up, she looked at her husband who was beside her and his cave was scrunched up as well.

"What is Ya Nads? She's not your elder sister or the elder sister of one of those your little friends, she's Aunt Nadia to you." Nadia leaned back into the chair, but felt her husband's hand at the back of her neck, just there as a warm reminder.

"Are you her? She hasn't complained please. That's why you've run off all your house staff with your complaints. You find faults in everything. Just now Daddy said you look better, you didn't say it's because you've been forcing his house staff to cook for you." The attention left Nadia and became a tug of war between Na'im and his sister.

"I think you should let her call me whatever she wants to call me. I already lucked out with her already on my side and as your daughter. You are raising a gem." The room had emptied out, so when he pulled her to himself, she willingly let herself be held.

"It still feels like a miracle. I'm immensely grateful for everything I have, for everything that has me and what I'll have. Alhamdulilah." Nadia let out a chuckle, only Abdullah could turn a serious discussion into a teachable praise moment.

They stayed there, just basking in the warmth of one another until prayer was called.

********

Nadia returned to the room she and Abdullah shared, waiting until the door was shut behind her before she pulled off her jilbab. She walked to the closet and pulled out a dark blue maxi skirt, a white shirt and a dark blue scarf and threw them unto the bed.

Once she as done dressing she went to the shoe rack and pulled out a pair of zip up black boots that went with her glossy croc effect Lady Dior bag. She took out a skinny silver bracelet and clasped it on, twirling at the floor length mirror in the closet.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found Maymunatu scrolling through her phone sitting on the sofa. Nadia called her attention and asked, "Should I wear this black coat or this navy blue trench coat?"

Maymunatu put down her phone and cocked her head, then she pointed at the dark blue coat. Nadia pulled it on, buttoning it before she used the belt. Maymunatu got up, her Doc Marten's boots hung from her left hand's index and ring fingers.

When they entered the warm Maybach that was idling at the beginning of the driveway, Nadia could feel like there was tension in the air. She looked to Maymunatu who had initiated the shopping trip and almost asked what was wrong.

"My mom says you're faking it." Nadia narrowed her eyes, blinking furiously, she Shook her head as she didn't understand her words.

"My mom says you're faking liking me, that one day soon, you'll hate me. I just want to say, if you don't like me anymore, please tell me. I don't want to ever have to second guess what you feel about me." Nadia had no words, she only knew that if Maymunatu's mother were around, she would have wringed her delicate neck.

Nadia leaned back, getting more uncomfortable in the warm seat, she was beginning to sweat now and the anger she felt must have added to it.

"I've never faked any emotion, especially around you and your daddy. Your daddy is one of the best things to have ever happened to me and knowing you're my person by default is such a delight. You're an amazing human, so no, there's no hate here." Nadia watched as streaks of tears fell down the cheeks of the younger girl, she had been holding those tears in for so long.

"She said so much. And it was almost impossible not to believe her." Nadia held her close and gently wiped her cheeks that were now wet from tears.

"You have me, forever. Like regardless of whatever happens between your daddy and I, I'm always going to be here." Nadia wiped her cheeks some more and They hugged until the driver pulled into a parking space at Harrods.

They stepped out of the car once the driver took a parking spot directed by one of the parking supervisors. As they walked into the warmth of a cafe Maymunatu insisted they go to first, Nadia pulled her trench coat's button. She was beginning to see why her husband warned her that she would soon tired of dressing so warmly. She startled herself with a self aware chuckle, she liked the sound of her thoughts calling Abdullah her husband. She loved it infact.

"I'd like a lemon muffin and a cappuccino with a shot of expresso, ask them to put the muffin in the microwave for thirty seconds." Maymunatu listed carefully to the waiter who had arrived to take their order. Nadia watched her order as well for her immediately she gave Maymunatu the go ahead.

Once the waiter left, she looked around conspiratorially before she said, "We need to up our energy as we go today. I have many things I want to show you." Nadia nodded, still thinking about how Maymunatu had broken down earlier but was now a happy larky child.

Maymunatu's parents probably didn't realize they had inadvertently raised a considerate, kind child that let go of things pretty easily. It was such a rarity in a world that praised wickedness and savagery.

Once they got their drinks, they ate and moved into the first store, a store that held the softest wools, of different sizes. Nadia went through each aisle, full of colorful cotton wool.

"What do you think of this color combinations for a blanket?" Nadia turned to Maymunatu holding a large orange wool and a white one as well. She shook her head.

"It will look too much like that Hermes blanket, you can check out this dark teal," She pointed at the color lying in a crowd of its own, "And stone blue, you'll love the combo." She turned back to the wool she was in front of, trying to decipher if Abdullah would use a blue blanket, or she could play it safe by pooling together several colors.

She wanted to now do things for him, it was as though her own love language had evolved to add gifting to it, she wanted to gift him little things, big things, things that made him crack a smile before he would look up to her, his eyes shining in happiness, she wanted to be his wife that knew exactly what he wanted.

"You should make this for yourself." Maymunatu broke the reverie of her thoughts when she shoved her phone in Nadia's face, Nadia took the phone and slowly came to focus.

"Yes, but in a dusky pink. I think I know the kind of wool I want to do it with." She pulled her little bag closer to herself while Maymunatu pulled along the basket they had now filed with different types of wool.

"This alpaca wool, would be perfect." Nadia took a loop of the wool and placed it on Maymunatu's hand.

"It's softer than cashmere? Wow!" Nadia was sold on the idea so she pulled up the pattern for the tunic Maymunatu had found and quickly adjusted the wool needed to her own measurements.

"Would you like one as well?" Maymunatu's happy nod was all Nadia needed and she added more to the cart. They left with no bags, knowing the store would find their car and send it to be taken there.

"Where should we go next?" Nadia wanted to get something for her cousins but knowing Sarah, she had probably saved up to buy whatever it was she needed.

Once she returned home, about a few hours later she drank some warm water from a covered mug Abdullah had begun keeping for her in their bedroom. He began doing it on their second day in Switzerland and he hadn't stopped.

"I think your ex-wife and I need to talk. She's filling Maymunatu's head with rubbish about me faking my love for her. If she's not used to kindness, fine! But I don't need her spoiling Maymunatu's view of the world." Once Nadia narrated everything Maymunatu had told her, She watched as Abdullah visibly got angrier.

"I didn't tell you for you to get mad at her, I'm telling you so you realize that there's work to be done with your daughter. Yes, people will fake affection but she should not have a cynical view of the world. Such a warped sense of view." He pulled her to himself, she had been a few steps away, pulling off heavy articles of clothing.

"Qurratul Ayn. First of all, stop. Take a deep breath please." Nadia made a show of taking a deep breath, she looked down at him for him to continue speaking but he could still feel how stiff she was. He was angry earlier but his anger was now shelved to take care of his wife.

"Another deep breath, This time make it a big one, Qurratul Ayn." Nadia chuckled out loud. He never failed to use his words with her, affectionately telling her she mattered, that she was an integral part of him.

"I'll speak to Maymunatu about this, and we'll decide what to do next. Okay?" Nadia nodded and pulled one of the shopping bags she brought upstairs herself and handed it to him.

"What's this?" He asked her but he still carefully took the package out of it's shopping bag, then he unwrapped the gift.

"Did you spend your personal funds on this?" He asked her immediately he saw the brand name. She shook her head immediately and he narrowed his eyes at her until she nodded.

"I wanted to do something for you." He took a deep breath before he slipped on the watch and said, "Thank you, this is a wonderful time piece and I'll be treasuring it for as long as it's here." Nadia let a smile widen her lips.

"I have a meeting tomorrow at the British Directorate of drug law enforcement. Someone smuggled in tablets of fentanyl disguised as Bind Pharmaceuticals paracetamol tablets." Nadia gasped audibly, her heart began to thump loudly.

"I have no hand in it, so I'm not worried. It's just probably a statement they need me to give, I'll do that and return home for us to go give you a surprise, In Sha Allah. Don't fret."

Knowing the sort of man that she married, and his prestige, and the pitfalls of that prestige, Nadia knew it would not be as easy as he said it and made it out to be.

***********

Did you enjoy the chapter? It's giving calm before the storm isn't it? I promise you, you should get another chapter of this type on Friday.

If you are looking to know what I've been up to, I began writing a book on a platform called Dreame. You can find me on there by searching VivianWritesFiction. It would be nice to have people I've always known read a new genre of my writing.

Thank you all sooo much for 35k reads. I'm such a happy happy woman today. God bless you all.

Bye, see you next Friday 💙💙

TheOmoope ❤️