Yeah, cause i am nice like that😗 I suggest you grab you tissues tho!

Thursday, 2nd April, 2020

"Wake up, wake up."

The man made noises at the sudden cut of his sleep. Rolling over to the side, he groaned and pulled the blanket over his head in an attempt to go back to sleep.

Laila wasn't having it, she dipped her knees into the bed, crawling and shaking him.

"You need to wake up," she said, voice in a whisper. He made no move to pay heed to her. With no choice whatsoever, she yanked the cover off his face and upper body, placing her warm palms on his thick, cold arms and shaking him again. "You need to wake up, Sudais."

"What..." he dragged in a deep, sultry voice that sounded like a grumble, turning his head to rest his cheeks on the pillow in her direction without opening his eyes. "What is it?"

"Baby..."

Sudais had intended on not making a move but her choice of label had his eyes slowly dragging their lids apart, his pink eyes morphing into a squint in dazzle. He could count with one hand how many times she had called him baby.

Nonetheless, he was still tired, he had no zing to get up.

Alternatively, he hoisted a slow, large palm to her cheek and squeezed it, wordlessly asking her what was wrong but also reassuring her whatever was wrong was going to be okay.

Laila held his wrist, her eyes welling up with tears.

He had an inkling of what was making her emotional but didn't act on it, instead, he raised a weak brow. "Koyahata Kiddo? Ko fe'i? (What's up, Kiddo? What happened?)"

Laila gently shook her head, vulnerable tears gliding down her cheeks as she sniffled.

At the sound of her sniffle, he steadily rose to his knees, his butt on the pillow while his legs went the other way. "Now, I'm really worried. Vi mi. Koi ya nu ma? (Tell me. What is wrong with you?)"

His words only fueled her, her sniffle turning into a sob as she slanted forward, resting her forehead on his left shoulder and slowly vibrating against him while whispering, "It's not me...it's you...it's you...they um-he um..."

"They what? He what? Who what?" His questions came out jumbled, his palm coming up to rub her back. After struggles, he managed to pull the woman away.

Her head hung low, she swallowed at his next set of questions.

"I don't want to ask you again, Sadiya. What. Is. Wrong?"

"They...he-the governor, Sudais," she started, raising teary and smudged face at his narrowed facial, "He dethroned you. He...he gave your uncle, Bappah Sule, the throne."

Laila had expected a look of disbelief to spread across his face; his eyes widen and distance themselves, his mouth hang agape, anything that showed he was in shock. Alternatively, she watched him take a deep breath as he slowly got rid of the covers over his legs to get on his feet, his face devoid of the emotion 'Shock' but overflowing with 'Acceptance'

Why wasn't he reacting the way she thought he was going to?

"Wha-what?" Her palms flew around, her tears halting and her shoulders tensing. "Why are not saying anything?" She mimicked him, getting off the bed and getting in his face not caring that they had morning breath. "Talk to me."

He sighed, stepping to the side and walking past her toward the bathroom and that was when it clicked.

She swung in his direction, "Did you already know you were going to be dethroned?"

That stopped him. He twisted his head back, slowly nodding.

Laila's mouth went more agape than when Hafsy woke her up to the news. "You knew? And you didn't say anything?"

"What would i have said, Sadiya? Would you have believed me?"

To be honest, no. He had criticized the State operations and Northen government in general on several occasions, and acted against them but never in Laila's wildest dreams did she think the Government would go as far as dethroning him.

He nodded at her distant eyes, "Exactly. You wouldn't have. It was better to let all of you hear it on the news. Besides, i was informed just before Magreb yesterday. Why do you think i went back to sleep after subh?" He shrugged to himself, "Because i have been severed off duty," He then gestured at her figure in pajamas, "Better take a shower and eat, the place is going to be packed with people and you'll need the energy."

That had Laila pulling out of her trance, wrinkle lines appearing on her forehead as her eyes squinted and her brows drew in. He didn't know?

"You don't know?"

His lips pursed forward, "Know what?"

Laila's eyes dropped to her empty hands and then back to him. "You weren't just dethroned, you were banished from Adamawa State."

The eye-widening and the mouth parting that Laila had anticipated when she told him about the dethronement finally manifested on his face. He turned, his hands resting on his hips, "He banished me?"

Laila nodded.

Sudais stabbed an index into his vest-covered chest, "Babban bura ubannan! Daga garina?" The index pointed at the floor, "Daga garin ubana?"

Laila let the man's eyes blink rapidly as he took his gaze off her, swiping it across the room before asking himself again. "Ni Abbati akayi banishing daga home town ina?"

They stood there, Laila fiddling with her fingers and eventually starting to bounce her legs when they started to go numb.

Sudais on the other hand returned his hand to his hip, his eyes narrowed up. A headache dropped at the side of his head and started to diffuse to the other sides. He brought a palm to catch his head from falling off which got Laila's attention.

It was her time to the task they were both terrible at, Comforting. Although she figured Sudais was far better at it than her.

She placed palms that could barely wrap around his upper arms and sighed before looking up to his nose and dry lip. "Look...please don't stress, it's okay. It's alright." She paused in search of words she would want to hear if she was in his place. There wasn't much. What could you tell a man who was once a prince, now once a king, but has been reduced to nothing in a matter of minutes? Absolutely nothing.

Not to talk of the fact that he had grown to call this his life and had at a point believed this was his life till the day he died. Also, leaving his family behind. A home behind.

There were no words in the world to comfort him.

In realization of that, she substituted words for actions and walked into him, bringing his arms around her and wrapping hers around him, rubbing his back and cooing. "It's okay, Insha Allah. I don't know what to say..."

"Tell me," he began, dropping his eyes from the curtain to her back and pulling her further into him. "Tell me everything is going to be okay."

With all her heart, "Everything is going to be okay." Because in actuality, "Everything is definitely going to be okay, Biggi..."

Spontaneously, he let out a small chuckle at the nickname.

They stood in the warm, tight-almost oxygen-knocking hug- until their feet began to hurt or go numb before Sudais made the move, gently pulling out of the hug only to hold her by the waist. "Qadr Allahu wa masha fa'al. (Allah has decreed it and what he has willed has happened.) Everything shall come to pass."

Before she could hold her tongue back, "I love your level of tawwakul." That was something she didn't have and would love to someday, it'd save her already ill heart if she handed her all and all to Allah and him alone.

"And i...love your support," He finished off, boo-ping her nose and laughing at the look of disgust that overtook her features. He released her, "I'm serious though. Take a shower and get packing. Abuja is going to have to see us spontaneously."

After taking a shower and getting dressed in a lace boubou, Laila ate half the content of her breakfast before walking into the closet.

Pack he said?

She let out unconscious laughter, clapping her hands almost in disbelief before placing her hands on her hips and taking a deep breath.

Furniture was out of the question. But clothes? She couldn't wrap her head around the concept of impromptu packing out of a town she probably would never visit again with every look she took as she swirled in the room solely meant for clothing.

Only Sudais was banished, but as per the supportive wife she was learning to be, she wasn't going anywhere he wasn't. And that included Yola too.

The thought of what this means for them wouldn't let her sit or stand in one place. What it meant for their family. Their legacy. Their hierarchy. Their reputation. 

Quite frankly, a part of her was glad she wasn't going to do this anymore. Another part of her ached for Sudais. Ached at the memory and words after she had told him he was banished. His town. Somewhere he was going to call his forever. Somewhere he was supposed to be buried in just beside his father and mother when he died. Somewhere close to his heart.

And now, poof.

All up in the air.

All because he spoke and acted against the corrupt government. All because he was standing on his oath, to serve with justice and equality, without fear or prejudice or hatred of anyone, God help me, his exact oath statement on his coronation that she had watched on countless news channels before the governor presented him with the staff of office to offer him his royal stick of power.

What did they expect him to do? Go against his oath? Keep quiet?

Even if it wasn't for justice-which it was- he had a personal beef with the government over terrorist attacks they could've prevented. Over bribe, corruption, fraud extortion, and many more.

He stood for justice but where did that drive him? Not his downfall people, not his downfall.

Laila slanted forward with a loud breath as she placed her palms over her knees to catch her breath. Her thighs hurt like a bitch.

She swiped her gaze over the bags she had packed. She didn't really pack. Just threw everything into troll bags, Ghana must go, duffel bags, weekenders, totes, and a lot more.

After catching her breath, she wore her glasses and walked out into Hafsy who had come to announce the whole was in her and Sudais' flat.

Laila walked to Queen Baraka on the bed, kneeling beside Sudais to greet her and being taken off guard when the woman pulled her up into a hug that lasted a few seconds more than normal. When she pulled back, the mother held Laila's face in and placed a kiss on her forehead before releasing her to relate sympathetically.

Almost everyone in the immediate family in town was present.

Laila was passed around the family that was mostly in tears for hugs, words of condole and comfort, down to prayers.

Queen Baraka led a prayer that lasted for 30 minutes, language altered before it was time for Sudais to address the endless crowd of people that were wailing; in the case of widows under his charity program- some roaring; in the case of the thugs he had sponsored in becoming footballers, electricians, computer beasts- some shouting protests: Men he had distributed rickshaws, motorcycles, and capital to kick off joblessness in them- down to the last bit of people who loved him.

Through the balcony from the confines of his and Laila's room, he tightened his hold on her palm as they came to a stop to catch the overwhelming sight of people who impossibly let out roars but went silent at Sudais' raised palm.

Laila looked up to the man staring ahead beside her, his expression that of sadness but acceptance, his features unexplainably morphing into something better...more beautiful.

Laila zoned out looking at him for most of his speech until Sudais' words pulled her out.

"With the help of Allah and..." he looked down at Laila before returning to his earlier stance, "Some certain people, my journey as your Lamido has come to an end. I hope Allah forgives me for my shortcomings. And that you...my people also forgive me for my shortcomings and misconduct of power in any way and accept my formal gratitude and farewell remark as i depart our beautiful abode." He concluded with his prayers that had roars, wails, 'amen's' starting again.

Whatever they did next was out of his control.

They returned to the house to settle more things, and pack along with Mima and Hafsy who insisted on returning to Abuja even for a week despite the country being on lockdown.

Before the couple's departure under heavy security and surveillance provided by the hypocritical government, Sudais led his family to the back of the house and their deceased graves.

Sudais squatted to his knees, placing a palm on his father's grave and another on his mother's grave as he internally told them what had just happened like he always did every Friday he visited. Only this time he wasn't there with a Quran.

The thought of failing Baba Alhaji when he had entrusted him with the throne had him let out a painful, spontaneous sob. Shaking his hung low head, he blinked the tears in his eyes as he silently begged for pardon, "I am so sorry Baba. I failed you...i am-i uh-i didn't mean to spoil your name. Wallahi Tallahi i stood on my truth. Banci amana ba...i stood for justice," he glanced at his family that was either staring through teary eyes or were looking away before dropping his head but this time leaning towards his mum's side of the grave. "I am sorry Ummi."

He rose his shoulder to his face, wiping his tears with his babban riga before attempting to speak only for his words to get hitched in his throat. His body physically hurting at the thought of not being able to read the Quran beside his parent's grave or talk to them or feel closer to them in death more than ever making him shake his head harder, his sob becoming guttural and gravely.

The family had not planned on turning into a sobbing mess until Sudais rose a teary face towards Queen Baraka, "Mama, please tell them, beg them to forgive me. Please...Tell them i tried my best. Wallahi my hands were tied, anfi karfi na..." his words had the family bursting in tears, Mama making her way to him to wrap her arms around him as they cried. "I am sorry i am always a disappointment Baba...i wish i could turn back time so...so i could listen to everything you said," he sniffled, dragging his head lower and moving his palms atop the green grass on their graves. "Please forgive me for failing...for failing your trust and tarnishing our family name."

Eventually, Laila joined Sudais by his left along with Mima. And then it was; Adda, Hafsy, Aisha, Moha, Muri, and his wife.

The grown-ups let their sorrows showcase through their tears, Sudais managing to add a promise, "Wallahi i will spend the rest of my life trying to do right by you," he checked out his right and his left, "By all of you."

This time, Sudais led the prayer with his throaty and wobbly voice that indicated he was trying hard not to cry but was visibly failing.

Once done, they dusted the dirt off their clothes and wiped each other's tears.

In the car just before the fact that he was never coming back to that town hit him had him engulfed Queen Baraka in the tightest hug possible.

The palace despite all the chaos that had gone down, it was his best place. The place closest to his deceased grandparents, his deceased parents, the woman who took him in, who put him before her kids, Adda who supported him every step of the way, the memories, the scent, the people, his family, everything he could've ever asked for. And now that he was leaving it behind forever, his throat, his chest, his eyes, and his feet physically throbbed

This was it.

He was hugging his mum for the last time in their home.

He was hugging his family for the last time at home.

At one point, Mama had to put on a stern face and told him to go.

It was hard to be honest, even for Laila. Especially for Laila and Sudais.

Laila with teary eyes broke her record by hugging everyone, rocking them side to side before they prayed again and the long convoy started to move once she and Sudais were settled at the back of a Mercedes Maybach car.

Although It might've made them look vulnerable, Laila cared-less now that they weren't tied to being king and queen, she rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers on their ride to the airport.

Lost in their own seven seas of thoughts, they hadn't actualized their car had come to a stop for almost 5 minutes until a knock by the side of Sudais's window came.

The couple jerked, their eyes flying to catch who was it.

Muri.

Sudais rolled his windows down, raising a palm, "Wala damuwa wi am Ko fe'i? (Mind telling me what is the problem?)"

"They're not letting us in."

Sudais' shoulders tensed up, his body twisting to the window. "Bangane they're not letting us in ba."

"Can you step out?"

Sudais turned to Laila, then to the men in front.

"You 2 should step out," The men-the driver and Sudais' ADC did. "What is it?"

Muri leaned into the window, placing his arms on the edge. "The governor has made them deny landing of our jet. He has also shut down every activity in the airport for today, all to drag you further."

Sudais' fingers came up, holding his chin as he stared ahead, his mind jumbled.

Hadn't this man done enough? The little respect he had left did he have to take it away too? What had he done other than speak his truth?

Sudais wasn't an honest man or a good man. But seeing that his deceased Dad thought he was worthy of the throne, he had promised to change for the better just so he could make the man proud in death since he wasn't the best kid for him when he was breathing.

Atop the attacks, the attempts on his and his family's lives, the lives of innocent people that were put in danger, and the money meant for the poor that was embezzled, the man had to dethrone him and banish him. As if that wasn't enough, he was now restricting him from the airport and his jet from landing.

They had had enough, Laila had concluded.

"Ai bashi kadai yakeda iko da airport. Tell your pilot to head to Gombe. I'll talk to my dad."

Before Sudais could stop her she had stepped out of the car, dialing her old man's digits and placing the phone to her ear.

The man jumped at his daughter's request, the sound of his favorite In-law having him bark orders before the phone was cut off and Laila slid into the car to find Muri and Sudais in a heated fulla conversation. Something about returning home to which Sudais was refusing to. He was on a 24 hours notice and truth be told, he needed a break from his town too, no matter how much he'd miss it.

"It's done," she waved at them, cutting their conversation. "Daddy said he'll alert the governor and the airport management. They should hold off on the journey for about half an hour before everything is processed."

"Toh Muri, we part here," Sudais said, stretching an arm out to which Muri clasped.

The men said wordless goodbyes to each other before Muri addressed Laila, "Dada, Allah ya kiyaye hanya."

"Amen amen." She muttered, watching him walk off before he was shouting orders and clapping.

Escort cars to the airport turned and the remaining that were to drop the family and hit the road to Abuja formed a new convoy and sped out of Jimeta town en route to Gombe state.

The silence was killing Sudais who was holding Laila's, his thumb unconsciously drawing gibberish on her skin.

"Talk to me," he started, turning to her.

Laila jerked from the window, her body crawling back as she turned to him. She cut their eye contact before she could count to 2 and moved closer to him.

"What do you want me to talk about?"

"Anything."

"Want to hear something funny that might sound insensitive right now?"

"I love dark humor." He nodded, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her into him. Laila picked the opportunity to snake her arms around his abdomen and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You know what i found to be the weirdest thing about your family gathering in our room?"

"Our family," he corrected, and then shook his head, "And no. What was so weird?"

Laila chuckled, lowering her voice to a whisper despite the back passenger seat being a safe distance from the driver in contrast to normal cars. "It's not the fact that you were dethroned. It was the fact that mama was sitting on the same bed..." she trailed off, raising squinted eyes and twisted lips at him to find him genuinely confused before a smirk slowly overtook his features.

He pulled his lower lip into his mouth, memories flashing before him and he groaned, squeezing her hip tighter before shaking his head. In a whisper, he spoke in her ear. "...the same bed i gave you head on last night."

Although that was where she was going, her eyes widened. She didn't expect him to be that blunt. She dropped her head, her head almost bouncing off his vibrating shoulders due to how hard he was laughing.

She couldn't help it, she had to laugh.

Looking down at her, he wondered how life would've been if they hadn't met tragically. He wondered if they would've had a healthy relationship if they didn't start as just 2 hoes their parents were tired of and were married off to each other. He wondered if she felt the same thing he felt for her. He wondered if her entire chest warmed up at watching him do small things like he always did at the sight of her-maybe not always because Laila was fucking annoying half of the time-

Most importantly, he wondered if she had declared him her soulmate just like he had declared her his soulmate at her weird fact that had crossed his mind while they were in their room but he quickly pushed it away. Although she brought chaos with her, which didn't matter because she always brought painkillers along too, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Most of the relationships he had had in the past were toxic, even his and Laila's. To be honest, there was just something about toxic women that drew him to them. He and Laila's relationship? Another level of toxic—the good type though.

He was glad for the distraction. It just didn't mean his thoughts were going to go away. If not more, they came back a little harder.

Voice still soft, he asked. "Do you ever feel like everyone is inconsiderate and no one bothers about how you feel or what you want?"

Laila's lips puckered into a pout before she nodded. "Yes. Like when you're almost having a moment with someone but they talk your ears off."

His hands fisted as they came up, his voice surging up. "You want me to take care of that someone for you?"

She looked between his fisted hands and his face before sucking air through her teeth just to rest on his shoulder again. "Um-no."

He dropped his fisted hands.

He had understood her sarcasm clear as day. She wanted to have a moment. A moment of silence with them just holding each other. He was fine with that. With everything, there was this feeling of peace that engulfed him whenever she wasn't in his face, angry, paranoid, or blaming him for her mistakes. If he didn't know how much of a witch she could be-he could say she was so adorable.

That aside, what came over him that he let—

Sudais' inner battle came to an abrupt stop when earsplitting sounds fired into their moving cars. The couple ducked down and held their hands over their ears, their car coming to a stop, not just their car, their cars. Some even crashed onto the next before Sudais was yelling. "What! What is happening?" He threw the question at his driver and ADC.

The first came, "We were shot at. We're under attack."

Indeed they were. Sudais confirmed the driver's statement by glancing to the side the gunshots were more prominent. There, a long crew of men hiding behind the greens approached them.

Sudais hit the seat of the driver, shouting, "Why the hell aren't we moving?"

"They shot two cars in the front, they tumbled and are blocking the road!" The driver shouted back from the pressure.

Sudais and Laila's heads were on alert, their yells coming out in sync.

"My sisters!"

"Mima and Hafsy!"

Sudais turned just in time to catch a setup on their way. He shouted, "Get down! Get down!" They did, his arms pressing on Laila as he pushed her down.

"They are a lot!" The driver yelled, his head under his arms as he tried to hide after taking a peep.

Abruptly, the doors on the right side-Laila and the ADC's doors were being opened by two soldiers with their heads ducked down.

"Sir, we need to get you out of here." One of the rigid soldiers offered a hand to Laila.

Laila turned with her head still ducked at Sudais who stared ahead for a second before shaking his head. "Get Dada and my sisters to safety. Gombe should be 40 to 50 minutes drive from here."

"What-what about you?" Laila asked, her head already shaking just for everyone to jerk when their attackers released fire at their bulletproof cars. She reached a shaky hand to his stoic face. "Let's go."

Sudais turned to the soldier, "Take her."

Laila shook her head, pushing the soldier's hands away before she inched to Sudais, "Don't be a hero. Let's go please, I can't lose you."

Sudais' hands clasped her arms, glancing to his left and ducking at a bullet that hit his window without cracking through the acrylic glass. He turned to her, eyes pink, body in fight mode but his voice said something else. "He didn't keep his end of the bargain, I'm not keeping mine. I need to do this. I can't keep-"

"You don't need to!"

"I need to," he repeated, tightening his hold on her arms, "I have to stop running and letting my people die. We've lost enough. I need to stay," he explained, lifting hands to hold her wet face.

Before she could protest, he placed his palms on her shoulder and pushed her toward his most trusted soldier, "Take her."

"NO!"

"Forcefully," he added.

Under command, the soldier nodded and grabbed Laila by her upper arms, dragging her as she wailed and thrashed her arms and legs.

Once out of the car, Sudais made his way out too, taking off his Babban riga.

He yanked a gun out of the gun holster of one of his men and squatted to the ground just in time for a force to knock him out, falling atop him.

His instincts kicked in, the hand that held the heavy pistol raising to hit the intruder just in time for a voice to stop him.

"I can't leave-ahhh!" A scream from Laila broke through the line of squatted men on the other side, some waiting for commands and some scared as they had no experience in shit like this.

Sudais flickered a finger at his men that said, 'give us a minute.'

As carefully as they could, they watched out the spaces between the cars before leaping to the next car for cover just for the attackers to notice and fire furious gunfire at them-their cars.

Sudais lifted a trembling Laila that was gasping for air, her arms bent over her ears as she screamed, one of her shoeless foot curling at the piercing sound that rattled her...and maybe the girls that she had no idea which car they were in. "Hey! Look at me."

Laila couldn't believe it. They were about to die and he was here acting calm.

Impatience had Sudais vigorously shaking Laila as he started in a shout but eased into a whisper. "REMEMBER WHAT I told you about driving?"

Laila rested her blurry eyes on his disheveled figure, his eyes red and a vein she had never noticed pulsating on his forehead, his face red and his features tight. She shook her head, what the fuck did he tell her about driving?"

Gunfire pierced through her ears again, her body almost jerking off but Sudais held her down. "What did i say?"

Shaking her head, she searched for what he had told her during their mostly failed driving class that he ended up almost screaming at her. "You said..."

He started to nod, urging her.

"You said," she darted her eyes to the side in fear of the attackers closing in on them.

Sudais shook the distraction off her, nodding as he reminded her in a tight voice. "I told you, to always...always stay calm. In every situation, i need you to stay down and stay calm."

"How can i fucking stay calm?" She yelled, grabbing his shoulders to shake some sense into him. "We're about to die and—"

"Stay calm." He repeated. Emphasizing every syllable, he glanced to his left every few seconds, "Now, i need you to stay calm. Follow my soldier to Hafsat and Maryam, and then i need you to duck your heads down and urge the driver to speed off."

He had been nodding throughout while Laila had been shaking her head and adding "No." after every word of his.

"I need you to find my sisters and get them to a safe place, Kina jina?"

Laila's palms slid from his shoulders to his chest as she convulsed. "I can't, I can't leave and-"

"Shh," he cut off, grabbing her wrist and shaking his head, "You will be Gombe in about an hour from now," he stopped another wail of hers by placing his hands on her shoulders, "Shh, It's okay. It's fine."

Laila clasped a palm over her mouth to stop her from screaming at the number of gunshots, not just from the attackers, but from Sudais' men too.

He glanced to his sides, yelling something in the military language before turning to Laila who was gasping for air with her fisted hand hitting her chest.

He grabbed her wrists with one hand, then grabbed her neck with the other to pull her face to his.

Despite the tears and broken voice, she shook her head before another string of bullshit rolled off her tongue. "I am not leaving you. If you're dying, i'm dying too."

Sudais had intended on cooing her, now that she said that, she had ruffled the last nerve that had him almost knocking her off. "Kinaso in gaura maki mari ko? Don't you dare pull that Hollywood or Bollywood bullshit on me, kina jina ko?" He yelled, tightening his hold on her but quickly releasing it to hold her shoulders down when she started to bounce on her knees. "You will get out of here. Find Hafsy da Mima and go, or I'll kill you myself."

"No!"

He glanced again, innalillahi was this woman blind? "You have gone through so much because of me. I'll die hating myself if you don't get somewhere safe. Sadiya," he groaned grabbing her shoulders. His voice gruff and ringing, he leaned into her, wounding his knees that were digging into the hot coal-tar road. "You need to go, Dan Allah get my sisters and you to safety. I want to die knowing that you're at least safe."

"You're not going to die," she hit his chest with her fist before jerking away at the sustained gunfire and the jumbled voices of men yelling at each other in fear, frustration, and adrenaline.

Sudais glanced at his men, "I need to stop being a coward. I need to do something. Tell Mama she was the best I could've ever asked for."

"No!"

Laila lost her balance on her wounded knees, tumbling to the side at the severity of the slap that managed to knock all the air off her. Her palm flew to the area of assault, her mouth hanging open with a gasp as Sudais grabbed her again, no remorse for slapping her whatsoever. "Kai, I've been wanting to do that for a long time..."

"No." If he thought the slap that still had her left ear temporarily deaf and his fingerprints emerging was enough to make her go away, then he was wrong. Her head was as hard as a rock.

Sudais sighed, temporarily staring into the greens that lead to rocks off the road they were using as cover before bringing his eyes down. Even his hot slap wasn't making the witch crack. God, why did Baba Alhaji have to match him with someone as stone-headed as himself?

He took a deep breath, pining her trembling figure with his hard, blurry eyes. "You love me?"

Laila wailed, placing her palms over her mouth as she started to bounce, then bring her hands down to shake her fingers and close her mouth again.

"Halima do you love me?" The words hadn't finished leaving his mouth and his face was flying to the side, a slap sting spreading across his face.

"You stupid fool!" She yelled, grabbing his thighs and placing her head on them, the gunfire was just too hard to bear anymore.

He looked at his rear as if looking at the cheek she slapped. He brought a palm to rub it before smiling. "I got my answer," He snaked his arms around her waist, nudging his chin up, "Look. Look at me," Laila raised her eyes at him, sniffling before she started to shake her head. "Shhhhh-calm-it's okay. Think of Mami, think of Daddy. Think of Mima and Hafsy who also deserve to live and then-"

"And you don't deserve to live?"

He sighed, "I don't get to decide that."

"Then you don't get to decide who stays or goes."

He smiled through the tears, his lips almost spreading to his ear as warmth spread through his chest. God damn, he finally found her. His wife. His soulmate. His partner-one that was ready to die for him, beside him. She had lied when she said she didn't mean it when she said; For better For worse but even she didn't know. She was his 'For Better, For worse.'

He dropped his head, "I lied when i said i became a man for Asmau. I am becoming a man for you Sadiya," he rose his pink eyes to her, smiling sadly, "It's because of you i am staying back to risk everything so that if i live, we live in peace because if something is worth fighting for, there is always a little chance that I'll win." He watched her shake her head harder at his words, her sobs hiking into hyperventilation.

Although it wasn't how he pictured himself saying those words after almost 8 years to someone, he grabbed her face with trembling hands, "I love you you stupid, sexy, beautiful, and chaotic woman. I love you, and i want you to live. I want my sisters to live. You should do right by me and live a good life. Move on, but if you dare return to your ex, wallahi i will haunt you," That had them chuckling over the tears, and then reality hit Laila. He was going to die, and she was going to leave him behind.

"Look at me," when she did, Laila managed to hold his gaze for the longest time in history. They stared into each other's eyes, each other's souls, heartbeat syncing, their words silent, but their love booming. "I once thought i was going to die without sharing eye contact with you," he admitted, his heartbeat accelerating more than the scale could handle. "Thank you for saving me from my inner doom. You are the most amazing part of my life. It was an honor being your partner. Live good. Smile for me, will you?" Although it was between tears, Laila managed a smile before another sob broke her.

He smiled too, wanting that to be his last of her before he ordered. "Go."

Laila shook her head, dissolving in bitter tears with her body unable to take anything anymore.

Seriously, no! This couldn't be the end. Please, their lives without drama were just starting.

Sudais leaned into her to twist his head to the side, shouting, "Ismail! Dan! Come over here."

The loyal soldiers crossed to Sudais' side in a jiffy, avoiding bullets.

They squatted by Laila's right.

Sudais gave Laila a long once over, imprinting his final memories of her before turning to his men. "Dan, you go with her. Take her and my sisters to Gombe. They're in the white Prado ahead. Protect them with your life and if you have to, tie her up and get her out of here." He concluded, pushing Laila who wailed but didn't thrash her body like the last time. The fight in her had run out. She was defeated. They were defeated.

Sudais turned to Ismail. Moving back tactically to lay on his chest and look through the bottom of the car, he turned again. "Cover her."

Ismail instantly shook his head, raising the gun, "We have just four bullets, sir. If we cover her, we do not have more bullets to cover you until we—"

Sudais caught him off, snatching the gun from his hand and getting back to his knees. He yelled at Dan, "On my account, you get to safety."

Dan nodded, and so did Sudais as he avoided looking at Laila who was being held back by Dan, forcefully.

Sudais lifted 3 fingers, putting down one after a number.

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

With all his heart, he hoped his family would make it out alive.

"Go!" He yelled, before shouting and firing.

*Suspiciously drags the door close, bye bye oo🙃