BORNO EMIRATE COUNCIL.

"Did your twin brother happen to die in Chad?" Suhayr questioned in a light voice which surprised both her and Sa'eed but that is not the fact at hand now, this is a sour topic for him. If what she thinks is the right one, then they are both going to marvel in a past that brought good and bad memories at it's wake.

His twin brother has been his everything right from the beginning, the only sense of hope he's had his whole life. Had it not been for his brother, he would've long been gone into depression or some other bipolar disorder but his brother is always there to bring him back to the normal earth all the time. Sa'eed at one point thought Sa'ad could be his father, he is only older with three minutes but the guy guided him through his whole life and taught him how to pursue only what he wants and no one's idea matters. He taught him everything his parents are supposed to without feeling any pressure or compulsion.

They've always been inseparable, always at one others hip which is why they were called the hip twins. His grandmother named him Sa'd then named his older brother Sa'dan which is almost the same thing. They are always around to cheer everyone up during their young age but as they grow older, they all focused and becoming what they want to. Sa'eed took up architecture like he's always dreamt of while Sa'ad took business to help their father as they were closer then. Sa'ad likes everyone no matter their faults except for their mother which says a lot.

Sa'ad was close to everyone unlike Sa'eed who kept keeping grudges that could surely blacken his heart by now but he doesn't care. Anyone that has ever wronged Sa'eed Umar Ibn Garbai El-Kanemi always pay for that except for Suhayr, well, his wife. That one can kill the Shehu and get away with it, she has it in her to fool everyone, him included. Well, Sa'ad would've loved her thoroughly had he been here, even help her with some of those mischiefs she is always up to. And about the jail, he probably wasn't going to come out if Sa'ad is there to help her.

Sa'ad never liked Najaah though, he has always despised her and always shows her that right in front of her eyes. He is no hypocrite, if he likes you, you will know that instantly and if he does not, you won't even want to be in his presence. He told him there is something about Najaah that has always been fake but when the time comes, he would know what he is talking about. He did found out but it was already too late by then, it was tied. He was hopelessly in love then, not thinking about anything wrong with her.

He is a bundle of joy, everyone adores him. They are also identical, well, not much since the other has no beard and his eyes are light shade of brown like their father's. His skin is also not as light as Sa'eed's, that is their only difference. He misses his brother every single day of his life, the exact opposite of who he is. Sa'eed has always been the brooding twin while the other one is just filled with buoyancy like a girl, always ready to spread the tinge of his felicity. His mere presence alleviate troubles and illuminate the place with brightness and energy.

The most adored Prince died in a car accident in Chad.

It was another reason why Sa'eed wants to built that school there. His brother went there to look for a wife, help him get the best spot for designing a business for him but they only got a call that he died in a car accident instantly. They couldn't do anything, their lives got shattered like never before. For more than a week, the castle kept mourning for such great loss. Even the flowers had died then, they knew about the loss too, every one does! Not a single soul was happy for more than seven days, even their mother was cheerless for three days straight.

After his death, Sa'eed wanted to go and fulfill his dream which is marrying a Chadian, building a school all for his brother but at the same time, he didn't even want to step his foot in Chad. Had it not being for Suhayr pressuring him into going before signing off the blocks, he wouldn't have gone there and only send his grandfather after it was done. It took so much from him to go to that country, it brought him closer to his brother in a weird way. Something about the place makes him feel connected to it, he felt it. Or is it someone there? There is definitely something different when he went there, it was palpable.

When he voiced out his thought about marrying a Chadian, all hell broke loose in the castle. His mother and then fiancée Najaah went hysteric about how much he has betrayed them. He was Najaah's best friend then and he couldn't see her going through so much just because of him so he dropped all the thoughts about marrying a Chadian and focused on her. If only he knew what a reptile she was back then, he would've left her for a hobo who is Chadian just to please his dead twin brother. He's regretted not listening to his brother, he was never detrimental or faulty.

"Yes, he died in Chad. A car accident which he didn't survive. They couldn't even take him to the hospital because his death was instantaneous." Sa'eed didn't want to talk about it but he wants to know how Suhayr knows about his brother's death, how she guessed it so easily.

He is hundred percent sure that Nafisa didn't tell her about it neither would any of his brothers since it is a topic none of them want to open up. Buried wounds are supposed to stay buried forever which is what they vowed to do but Nafisa today just had to open her mouth. The look of surprise marring Suhayr's face is enough to tell him that she doesn't know about him having a dead twin brother. It was written all over her face, the shock, surprise, recognition and lots more she hid to herself. He is more intrigued, he wants to find out more about this wee woman before him. There is more to her than meets the eye. She is clandestine, furtive and extremely secretive with her life.

"I know your brother." She wailed in a clipped voice, she can't bring herself to think about the past but it was already been unimpeded, yanked off it's root.

"How do you know him? He was there only for three to four day." Sa'eed sat down well, taking off the duvet from his sweats clad body to stare at her, his eyes filled to the brim with interrogation, doubt and accusation.

Suhayr knew that Sa'eed looks familiar right from the day she's met him starting from his name, face and voice. Since she made sure to have bury her past deep behind her head which was why she didn't give it any much of a thought during their meeting and then everything came rushing, she didn't have time to lure about the past anymore. Everyone is keeping her on her toes, she was enjoying every bit of the perturbation, hence she didn't think about her husband's twin brother she's met years ago. She tried halting her heart from meandering to where it should never ferry to, it is now accessible.

He was the first guy to have ever attempted taming her the day they met. She was riding her bicycle trying to get to school after waking up so late. Classes starts around eight but even around eleven, she didn't wake up so she rushed down to school but bumped into him as he stands by the side of the road buying something she forgot. She grumbled because her bike fall off and she don't want her mother to be disappointed that she didn't get to school early but this man just caused that. Her eyes blazed as she stared hard at her bike, it was ruined now.

""Whoa, careful there! Where are you little cute Ghaydaa going in such a rush?" The man turned around and stare at a seventeen year old Suhayr whose face has contorted into an ugly scowl, her eyes gleaming flames.

"I am going to school but thanks to you, my bike just broke down and I will be more than late today." She boasted while sticking her arms underneath her chest to express her utter annoyance at the disturbance. She is still staring at the withered bike, her expression hard.

"Oh, don't worry. I can take you to the school but that won't be fun and you look like a girl who would want to have more fun than learn huh? Let's go do something more fun." The guy gaze at the girl with 'this is going to be fun look' and she started contemplating looking into his mischievous eyes and easy going smile.

"What is it we are going to do?" Her eyes shined with mischief as she dropped the scowl and kept the bicycle by the side. She will think about it later after doing whatever 'fun' it is this mam has in store for them.

"We are going to hire bicycles and roam around downtown, what do you think?" He wiggled his brows suggestively and even though Suhayr is young, she can't help but agree that the man in front of her is one drop dead handsome Adonis. No wonder the women in her area are staring at them now wondering what she is doing with the stranger.

"Yay, that will be more fun!" She cheered, her steps bouncing and she hit her bicycle by the end of the road not caring what happens to it. She's always loved fun!

She wants to go with this handsome, loving stranger that has the most beautiful and comforting smile she has ever seen. Even at that age, Suhayr has been a headache to the whole civilization of N'djamena but with the man, she wants to be nice and perfect just for him. He looks to be around twenty seven or twenty eight but he is way older than her with ten good years or even more. And Suhayr has never cared about that so she waited for him to finish buying his latte so they can go. She is only afraid of one thing, her foster mother coking out to see her dodging school. She'd be utterly disappointed.

"Let's go then, my car is there." He pointed at the white BMW she saw earlier right from the end of the road, she fell for it but she can't stop then and now, she is going to enter!

"Wow, your car is so cool." She beamed and skipped her way to the car not waiting for permission from the owner, she entered the passenger's side leisurely taking in everything.

"What is your name?" She asked after he settled in the car beside her, passing her the machhiato he bought for her.

"My name is Sa'ad but my grand mama calls me Sa'dan, I like it better. And now you beautiful little cute Ghaydaa, what is your name?" He smiled at her, the smile that could bend all Suhayr's rules of not going with strangers.

"My name is Suhayr Imraan Khalid but my mom calls me, Johara." She smiled sarcastically at him but she was serious about the names.

Her foster mother named her Johara which means jewel, her own jewel. Suhayr didn't like the name at first, but now she is hopelessly in love with it and would want to change her own real name to it but she can't do that. Mostly when people ask of her name, she will say her name is Johara except if you already know her. Sometimes she calls her Jo when she is excited but when she wants to reprimand her, she will call her full name Johara. When she gets more mad, she calls her Suhayr, she never liked it coming from her.

"Such a nice name for pretty lady." He released a cheeky grin himself before he roared the car and they galloped out of the street.

She opened the windows and yelled out to the street while letting her hair sweep across since she can't wait to let her hair out. They kept laughing while filling each other on funny times and sometimes they talk serious. She's never talked so joyfully with anyone but that unknown man who actually likes to be called Sa'dan. He manage to weave in and comb her mind through so many things, in just little amount of time, she fell hard for him.

She has a crush on him.

"I feel like I'm a burden to my foster mother and that is why I always distance myself from her and my friends too, you know? I am adopted, I can't help but feel like that all the time." She shrugged, taking a long sip of her machhiato as she has never got to say this to anyone in her life. She felt comfortable enough to take to him about her life.

"We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family. Be close to them, try your best and love them, she clearly loves you a lot." He almost moved his hand to give her a reassuring squeeze but refrained.

"I really like you. I have never liked any opposite gender, I have a huge crush on you." She smiled innocently watching as his eyes twinkle with mischief but there was admiration in them that made her stomach flutter.

This is their third time together because after that day, she started dodging school and wait for him by the end of their street so they can go out. They went to some cheap restaurant the day before yesterday and had lunch then cruise around the place for awhile. Yesterday, they went to a cheap motel to spend the day even though they know they shouldn't do it, it is against their religion but they were almost caught the other day, they don't want to repeat it.

They want to be together for as long as they can.

They talk everyday, he calls her at night to take away 'the demons' from coming through her window. He is one Casanova whom she thought of as a friend, then brother then yawed to crush whom she can't wait to confess to and she just did. He is so handsome, knows the exact words to say to calm her down and miraculously, she is so comfortable with him than she has ever been with any living specie.

"And you know I love you right? I have been in love with you right from when I called you cute little Ghaydaa. You are undebatably the most beautiful, fiery, mischievous girl I have ever come across and not to forget, the one that could finish one box of pizza without burping." He made a baby face with eyes filled with love, it is making her heart go haywire.

"What do people in love do?" She sat down excitedly while trying her best not to give the non-mahram a hug and hold her arms to herself.

No man has ever talked to her like that, well, she has never given anyone the chance to. But with Sa'ad she feels like giving him much more than he asked for and if he wants to elope with her right then, she would follow him. Her foster mother will understand that too. She can't even wait to go home to tell her about her new found lover whom is also in love with her. Her chest is tightening with so much love, her stomach jumping making her feel nauseous with lots of butterflies.

"They get into a relationship. No! I heard and agreed that dating is haram so we won't do that. Why don't we talk to your mom about us and see where everything goes?" He asked, his eyes hopeful, he looks so ecstatic about it.

His whole expression is dancing with merriment.

"That's a good idea. We can go there tomorrow because I will have to explain everything to her first." She gave out a suspire that is filled delight and cheerfulness. A Suhayr she would want to go back in time to see how she is coping with so much innocence.

"It's time." She knew what it means when he said it's time. That means she needs to go back home as they are already released from school, closing time.

"For some odd reasons, I don't want to leave you today." She cried when they reached their destination which is the end of the road where she will stroll down to her home.

"Same here, my love. I have ordered a new bicycle for you, it'll arrive tomorrow." His heart gave a jolt when she beamed at him, she loves bicycle and he won't get tired of buying her one everyday if she wants.

"I love you." They said simultaneously before she left the car blowing him an exaggerated kiss which he caught and place it across his heart, a wide grin ensnared across his lips.

The guy has never been in love but now, he has found the one meant for him. He can't wait to tell his twin and grandfather about it.