Am so sorry it took this long guys,thank you for sticking by though.I really appreciate your endless love and support ❤️

Drop your comment please.

Mahfouz's P.O.V

"Sarah."I murmured slowly.

I couldn't believe my eyes seeing Sarah again after so many years.She has changed completely into someone else,someone I could never imagined her to be.She looked more elegant and beautiful of course.

I honestly wanted to run to her,hug her at least caused i've so much missed her to the extent I couldn't even explain.Not a single day passes by without me thinking about her for the past four years.And whenever I do,I don't fail to remind my self of how I unfortunately ended our marriage.

From the very moment I uttered the divorce,four years later till date I've been living on regret.At first I thought I was going to forget all about Sarah with time little did I know that I was deceiving myself.They were days when I would go and sit in Sarah's room for hours just so I could feel her presence and recollect my memories with her. To say I was regretting was absolutely an understatement,all I could conclude was that I know I've lost a part of me which I know I could hardly retrieve back.

Funny enough my relationship with Zulaiha hasn't gotten any better if not worse.At first she made efforts In seeing that I had forgotten all about Sarah but later she gave up when she realized whatever she do in one way or the other I would find a reason to compare her with Sarah.

And so also Zulaiha's relationship with mama isn't quite the sweet little one anymore,a day wouldn't pass by without mama complaining to me about how Zulaiha had changed completely into someone else.There was this day that mama was sick and I asked Zulaiha to escort her to see a doctor given that I was so bush at the time.That day mama called me that day almost crying narrating to me how awfully Zulaiha had treated her throughout their visit to the doctor and the other day mama almost blurted out how she prefers Sarah been my wife.

I know I've ruined all chances of Sarah and I getting back together,even if sarah was to agree am sure her guardians wouldn't.The conditions were laid and I made the choice and now I have to live with the regret of my acts for the rest of my life.

Sarah's P.O.V

"My dear tell me something I don't know."I said laughing to my best friend munira while I played with the cute little baby that was just brought into the world this morning by my friend munira.

"Sarah am serious this time,am done nagaji kuma nayi na karshe Allah yasamu albarka (am tired,I've given birth to the last,May Allah SWT bless them)."she said gulping the hot thick tea that I had made for her with a whole lot of milk and milo with zero sugar in it.

"Uhmmm I know,that was what you said when you gave birth to Ajmal,and not even a year later you got pregnant with my sweet Jamal and you said same also and now look what we have here,another cute little girl by yours truly."I said laughing and she joined me also cause she knew I was saying the truth.

"Okay think you for reminding me."she said as she catch her breath while my phone started ringing.

"It's him right."she asked giggling and trying to pretend to be innocent at the same time.

"Who?."I asked back raising my brows.

"You know who."she said bursting into laughter that she was holding.

"Annoying soul."I yelled throwing a pillow on her before I picked the call that was about to end and put it on speaker cause I was still holding the baby.

"Am at the hospital but I will be leaving soon,we might as well meet at home."I said in the phone ignoring munira that was signaling me to ask him to come pick me from the hospital.

"Are you with your car?"

"No but am going to manage,probably going to use bolt."I answered back eyeing munira.

"I will come pick you up,get ready I will be there in twenty minutes."he said and without waiting for my reply hung up immediately.

"Yeeeeeeeeee."munira shouted out of excitement.

"You have three children now but you still act like a child,grow up."I said to her rolling my eyes.

"Am finally going to meet the amazing,the great Jalal Marshal." she said dramatically making sure to put emphasis on the name.

"You're a psycho."I said jokingly as I shake my head.

Twenty minutes later if not less my phone rang again and I was sure it was Marshal calling.He had arrived just on time as he had said.I thought he was just going to ask me to come outside but to my surprise he asked me what the room number was and before I could even digest what he was about to do we heard a knock on the door and Munira answered with a "yes" before he came in.

He was looking elegant and breath taking just as always and the black jean and white t-shirt he wore gave him this refreshing look.I greeted him before I diverted my gaze from him while I started packing my stuffs.I heard both him and munira exchanging pleasantries asking about her health and the baby.

"Won't you give me the baby."he said directing to me.

"Oh sorry."I said blushing out of my foolishness for not handing him the baby since.

"Masha Allah."I heard him say as he held the baby firmly being very careful.

Munira's husband arrived few minutes later and just as we were about to leave.They both exchanged pleasantries and chatted for a while cause they once happen to engage in some business deal few years ago.Marshal put the baby back in then cradle with some mint bundle of 500 naira notes and left immediately without giving them the opportunity to thank him.

"Where are we going?"I asked seeing as marshal did took the complete opposite of the route that would lead us to my house.

"To sell your head."he said sarcastically as always.

"Rude."I murmured relaxing my head a bit cause I was sure the last thing he would do is to sell my head,lol.

I don't even know how to explain what we are having with Marshal,I could only tell about my feelings and I know for a fact that I have a soft spot for Marshal.This days we are almost always together if we are not out for meetings then Marshal is at our house with one thing or the other to discuss, I've gotten so used to him being around that I feel awkwardly lonely sometimes if he's not around.Marshal is not the type to talk about his feelings though but his actions speaks loudly than his words about his feelings.Everyone around us believes we are in a relationship even my mom does.

"Do I have to invite you in?"

"Huh."I said cause I was lost in my thoughts.

"Hajja,wanted to meet you."he said and then climbed down from the car before walking to the other side of the car where I was seated,he opened the car door for me just like a gentleman and helped me down from his Range Rover by holding my hand.

Hajja is his paternal grandmother,he has once told
me about her when we were at a coffee shop after we had just finished meeting with a client,she had called him on a video call that time and she was teasing if he had started going on a date cause I was not seated opposite him but rather next to him cause that was how we were seated during the meeting while the two other clients occupied the remaining two chairs on the table of four that we were seated on and I didn't bother to swap seats when they left.Although she didn't see me completely cause only my side was visible and everyone could tell from sideways weather it was a girl or the opposite sex.

I eyes shuffled around the neatly kept compound that had almost everything in white from the paint down to water falls that was beautifully seated just at the center of the compound.We walked passed workers that were uniformly dressed in a white colored uniforms as we arrived the front door which I believed was the entrance,the door was a huge metal white with a bit of golden and above it was a beautiful piece of hand written art that says "بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم " meaning "In the name of Allah".

He lead me into the massive living room and made me seat comfortable before he zoomed out of the room.The room was beyond my interpretation,it was among those things that says only the eyes can tell words alone can't tell nor interpret.From the massive white carpet down to the furnitures,everything was simply amazing and expensive I most add.Few minutes later I was filled with different varieties of snacks and drinks which I was sure I wasn't going to touch any even though they were so tempting and I was a bit hungry but I have to retain my manners,atleast wait to be asked to eat first.

"Welcome my dear."I heard a soft voice from afar said,I slowly raised my head and sighted my gaze towards the direction that the voice came from.

"Ina wuni." (Goood evening).

I greeted the elder woman making sure I left my sitting position to squat right in front of her showing respect just as the typical hausa culture permits.I couldn't look at her twice cause she had this charisma that was displayed on her face.

"Lafiya lau Alhamdulillah,nagode. (Fine Alhamdulillah,thank you.)"she answered with her silent voice.

"My dear I was the one that asked Marshall to bring you to me cause I wanted to see the woman that had transformed my grand child in a short period of time."she said and I kept playing with my fingers while I sat beside her legs on the carpet floor.

"I Know my grandson well enough my dear,in fact I could tell more about him than even his biological mother wouldn't and I also know how his feelings change whenever you are involved."she said and this time around I could hear her smile.

"Am very sorry Hajja if what am going to say makes you feel disappointed but Marshall and I are in a relationship."I said calmly trying not to hurt the kind woman's feelings or be disrespectful.

We were both silent for a while as she insisted I eat some of the snacks presented to me while I kept on smiling just like a typical cultured girl.

"And yet you keep acting as if am your in-law."Hajja said and I blushed covering my face with my palms.

"Sarah,let me brief you a little about Marshall that you don't know and afterwards I want you to sit carefully and think about it.You see I was married off at a very young age barely 15 if I could remember to a very rich tycoon Alhaji Abbas kabiru Marshall(the name Marshall was derived because that was their business name) and as a result I became a mother at a very young age also.I was blessed with five kids out of which all four were boys only the last born was a girl and sadly Allah took the life of my husband and as a result of him having four male children almost all his wealth were inherited by me and of course his children.Kabiru Abbas Marshal was my first child,he was a very calm and responsible child and when he showed me his interest of getting married at 22 years of age I didn't object but rather I found him a suitable and responsible girl who happened to be a daughter to one of my sisters and in no time after the wedding they gave birth to a beautiful set of twins both girl Laylah and lailah and later on a bouncing baby boy Jalal which also made me a grand mother at a very young age.

Fast forward,Jalal grew up to be just like his grandfather very handsome,charming,charismatic and above all he was intelligent and was everyone beloved and thus his grandfather's nickname Marshall was linked to his initials and slowly he was known to everyone with the name Marshall.And by now you should have understood that it's in the family's blood to get married quite early but not with Jalal Marshal we had to actually pressurize him into getting married at the age of 30 me especially cause he I was the one that practically raised him,he was always in my house with me.Jalal wasn't the type to be comfortable around ladies and he has the believe that a lady would start disrespecting him immediately he pronounces love to her as he would say and I took the privilege of getting him a wife and fortunately he accepted the beautiful young girl named bilkisu that came from a very prestigious family that I had chosen for him as a wife.Slowly after the wedding their bound grew stronger cause Jalal was the type that really want to be highly respected and she absolutely won his heart by giving him the outmost respect and above all her being obedient.Few months later she was tested to be pregnant and the whole family was excite and were longing to see the child of Jalal so also Jalal himself ,he loved and cared for bilkisu as if his life depended on her living and he would sometimes wish he could take the burden and sicknesses from her as he would say whenever she gets immense pain.

Everyone was excited about the arrival of the baby not to talk of Jalal but as they say we plan and Allah plans also and indeed Allah's plans are surely the best.On an unfortunate Friday evening,Bilkisu lost her life on the cause of giving birth and so also the child lost his life right after he was born.This took a drastic troll on Jalal.He was beyond shattered and devastated in fact the later mentioned words were both and understatement of his then state.It was only through prayers and sessions of therapy that he started to regain his self and sanity after a year and the worst thing happened.

Jalal lost his mother to cancer that she was silenty battling with without anyone knowing until it reached its last stage.Jalal nearly ran mad,there was this affection between his mother and him been the last child they had this strong bound and connection that he wasn't able to digest her death easily.Even after months of therapy session he struggled to cope,the only improvement was he started going back to work as the member of board of directors in one of his uncles company in Paris where you happen to do your internship there.His Uncle suggested that he goes to live in Paris for a while in other to help him forget about the sorrowful incidents.Jalal became an extremely introvert and an workaholic he started living a life that mainly depended on his work and that was it.Over the past five years I've tried my absolute best to wipe his sorrows and made me settle down but he showed no interest and I didn't want to force him cause his therapist has strongly warned against forcing a decision on him cause it could lead him into serious depression which would worsen his already stressed mental health.

It was only few months back that Jalal had started giving me some details over a lady that was working as an intern in the company of his uncle he works in.He would call me and brief me about her whenever he meets her or something related to her although I've realized he wasn't doing it intentionally,he himself doesn't know when he starts briefing me about how intelligent she was and how he adores her drawings and designs.

My dear that girl is you,he might not have directly said he has feelings for you but his action speaks louder than his actual words.Sarah you're the only woman Jalal had ever showed interest on after his late wife bilkisu.Help me,bring back my Jalal you're the only one that could do that."Hajja ended with a shaking voice and tears in her eyes.

At this point I was also crying immensely in fact I was crying more than Hajja was.I felt so sorry for Jalal and the life with series of pain he had gone through and I didn't leave without promising Hajja that I would make sure to love,cherish and take care of Jalal and help him forget out his sorrows that he beneath within.

"What did you both discussed?."Jalal asking me on our ways back home as he took a samosa from the snacks hajja had asked the maids to pack for me and she insisted I took them home.

"I will never tell."I said rolling my eyes

"And for your kind of information those are mine."I said seeing as he was about to grab another samosa from my packed snacks.

"And hajja is my grandma."he said smirking and I could help but keep gazing at him.

Who would have thought this man right here had gone through all those pains and sorrow,what am feeling right now has grown immensely and I don't think I am ever letting him go.No,never.

"So won't you return the favor."Jalal said just as I was about to leave his car and enter our house.

"What.?"I asked confused cause I wasn't aware what favor he was talking about.

"I took you to my grandma,won't you invite me in to meet your father perhaps."he said calmly with pleading eyes.

I wasn't sure I heard right,he wanted to meet my father.

To ask for my hand perhaps???

And before I could finish thinking about it he out the car and before I knew it I was leading him to my dad's guest sitting room without any objection.

*********

Phewwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!

It's finally an update guys 💃🥳.I know right the wait was a long one.

Sorry guys I know you might be disappointed with Mahfouz's P.O.V but I didn't want to be writing this book on two POVs hence the short part.I felt I needed to update his life also but from now on we are centering on one POV which is Sarah's.

Have I informed you guys I've road 3000+ words on this chapter?????Well I did and your girl is super proud of herself 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳.

See y'all in the next chapter.