BAUCHI STATE, NIGERIA.

Mahnoor yawned and stretched her arms on the bed, as usual, a bright smile taking over her facial features. There is no way the dream she's had won't have anything to do with what is going to happen today. A big day for her.

Today is her birthday and her one year anniversary which means her husband is coming back from Portland and she will see him for the first time in her life. She cannot wait, she beamed at herself before throwing her short legs off the bed after muttering her morning supplications.

She padded to the en-suite and smiled widely at the whole place that took her almost half a year to know how to operate it with disconcerting technology but she did it. She is Mahnoor Muneer Imam and nothing can slip past with her vigilant eyes and sharp memory.

Filling the imposing frost bathtub with water, bubbles then pour some perfumes she's brought with her from Niger used for bathing, some citrus, lavender, rose oil and epsom salt, she settled inside.

Mahnoor won't listen to anybody today if her husband doesn't come back. He should've been with her days ago, she is tired. Whoever he is, she wants to see him today without any excuse from his parents or siblings or she will tell her father about what she's going through in the house no matter which way she will find to do so. She won't exactly say she's enjoyed staying in that house all alone with housemaids, she didn't.

She had no friends in the unknown city and her in-laws are not ready to entertain her so she befriended the whole housemaids. From what she's concluded, everyone has forgotten about her being in the other part of the manor with them which is fine by her because those people intimidate her and scare the living daylight out of her.

Sliding into the filled bathtub, the water poured down on the floor due to her weight which elicited a squeak from her before she realized that it was just water pouring down the floor and not a rat -she hasn't seen one since she left her hometown.

Sighing, she reclined back down on the headrest inside the tub and closed her eyes and smiled again at the thought of meeting her husband. When is he coming back? In an hour? Two or five? She cannot wait to meet the man she's decided to fall in love with without seeing his picture or him.

She's become a voyeur and she is not even ashamed. Why should she be? Her parents came to her one day and sat her down in their room.

"Dada, you are going to get married to a man from Nigeria. I don't know whether you have someone you love here with the amount of men following behind you all the time that I'm afraid to send you out but this has been finalized since the day you were born." Muneer Imam sighed and pinched his nose at her confused expression.

Her mother took over. "Pepere advised us to get you married to one of the twin brothers in Nigeria or we lost you to some terrible accident. You know how he's been right? You've heard stories about him?"

Mahnoor nodded but opened her mouth to chirp in like always. "Who are these twin brothers and why them? We have so many men here, don't we? Why in Nigeria? I heard the country is corrupted and so many bandits are disturbing them, I'm afraid, Pére."

They are speaking French, the language known around the whole of Niger, Agadez. Her own is more fluent but after she's grown up and went to the best school her father could find for her there, she's started mixing both her English and French with accent people adore.

She is the best student out there because her father forced her to be among the best so she can go to Nigeria and merge in with them without having to go through tribulations from the family she is going to meet. He knows the people she will deal with just not too personally but enough to know his daughter will be safe.

She hates school because in her opinion, there is nothing a woman could do even after schooling but her mother told her to not listen to what others say about women and she should focus on building something different for the people around her and she forced herself to learn not because she wanted to.

And because she wasn't ready to listen to her mother's spiel and ambiguities about suffragettes, she's heard enough growing up already and wasn't ready to listen to more.

Of course she is beautiful in a country filled with dazzling ladies with long hair, pointed cute nose and adorable pink or even red lips and slender bodies. She is a bit different though.

With her heart shaped face, sable eye balls, down turned lips, tibe nose and warm sand complexion, she is always used as an example around the whole town. Her skin is different from theirs, they say 'a touch of abroad' and too much rest. Her mother never permitted her to work if it is not necessary.

At the age of twenty, a lot of people point her out to be sixteen and she blamed her height entirely. She is barely five feet. !

She was thrown into a world she never knew existed after being sheltered in her home. The Ajuji family don't like her at all but that never dampened her mood for she doesn't like them too. Right from the father, mother, siblings and grandchildren. All of them are not her concern, she is only married to one of their sons, Aman!

Back to her conversation with her father about the news of her sporadic marriage. "You won't understand it now even if I try explaining it to you. But we need to get you married before or right when you are clocking your twentieth birthday. I don't wish to see you living in another world far away from us but it's better for you to be alive and living elsewhere than wither beneath our nose. With time, we shall tell you everything that's related to this forced tryst of yours with one of Zubairu Ajuji's son."

Taking her hand, her mother placed a kiss on her knuckle then smiled. "I just hope you marry the one that helped me gave birth to you. I don't know him amongst the duo but I wish you all the best. Do you have any day for this marriage? Before your birthday or on that day?"

"Who's helped you gave birth to me? Oh! I remember the young boy you told me about. How cute. So they are the ones?" Mahnoor had questioned enthusiastically. Her mother nodded.

Mahnoor was disturbed at the way she's handling everything with maturity when she is known for her childishness, being an only child and sheltered girl. She is awfully relaxed and unperturbed by what they are saying when all the girls around town are filled with anxiety when they hear about their marriages.

Is she different in this aspect too? Oh no, she needs to go to her closest friends and find out why she is so immune to nerves and anxiety at this very moment. There are things she is missing out.

She answered her parents first though. "It should be on my birthday, October 10th."

Her mother blinked back tears as she hugged her father because it's been finalized that her daughter is going to leave her to go live with another family that might not treat her well. She was pensively working that whole day without stopping, cooking many dishes for them to feast on.

Mahnoor understood why she was so pensive the day her intentional passport was readied. Everything felt so real, she is leaving her hometown, her parents and friends.

Her friends, Maha, Fareeha and Huda. Those girls succored her in every possible way, endorsed her decision and naughtily told her what to expect from her husband during their first night. She was so embarrassed because that knowledge slipped her mind from school, besides, they were not so open about it.

Maha, the oldest amongst them standing five ft five and married to the love of her life months ago was the first to talk. "I heard Nigerian men are better in that part, but I don't know. Just be careful."

Fareeha had giggled, she is going to marry too soon but she knows everything related to marital life. She's the same age as Mahnoor giving her only few days but taller and chubbier than all the group of four. Her smile is extremely beautiful, something Mahnoor envied about Fareeha. Just like her name, she is a happy person even when in trouble.

"I won't say anything about it yet since I'm not married. But remind me to fetch some of my perfumes for you before you leave. I know mère will have that packed for you but still, that's my gift for you." Said Huda, plaiting her waist length natural hair into a fishtail.

That's where Huda surpassed them all, with longer hair going lower than Mahnoor's lower back length, Maha's upper back length and Fareeha's mid back length. Her complexion is dark, a light chocolate color, brown eyes and longer droopy nose.

After that conversation with her girlfriends where she's collected many books to have more knowledge about conjugation. She's been anticipating the whole process of first night but sand was thrown into her eyes when Zubairu Ajuji sent for her himself few days after the wedding.

She was accompanied by two maids, Nana and Ummi to go see him in the main manor. She's never been there until then and she never wishes to go back to that fine manor. Her skin kept prickling with goosebumps the whole time, her heart thudding wildly beneath her chest.

Mahnoor was allowed inside a library after Ummi knocked on the door and an intimidating 'come in' came from the closed door, she sauntered inside with her natural bounce and air of candor.

Her feline eyes wandered around the room and she twirled when she couldn't stop herself from taking in everything. The whole room is oak, from mocha to brown and also very cold. Everything looks ancient and filled with power. The room itself intimidated her before her eyes fell on the owner of it sitting behind a magnificent desk.

One side of the room is filled with books of different genres probably non-fiction, volumes of all kind. She gulped when the man regarded her with frigid eyes and gestured that she sits down in front of him before he kibosh her.

She couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes, she hates being bossed around by anyone other than her parents and they don't even do that. But she acquiesced not knowing what the man is capable of and she is far away from home, you can never be too sure of your safety like that.

"Good evening." He greeted in a ragged and calloused voice that set her heart stampeding across the field of her rib cage. His voice was so plain, powerful and filled with brutality.

The man should thank God for his fair skin of warm beige because he would've looked more grotesque and hideous with anything other than that light skin. His square shaped face, down-turned wide set eyes, flared nose that almost reached his wide mouth, straight brows peppered with white hairs.

Each of his facial features are ugly but combined together on his face, he looks tolerable to look at for no more than two minutes. He is wearing a grey suit, white shirt and matching neck tie so his bald head is left for people to see and she would love to slap him there and hear the sound echo in the quiet room. Oh, the thrill.

She's heard from her father that politicians always manage to look older than their age because of too much stress and whispered in her ear 'people's insults' and that had made her giggle. Zubairu Ajuji wants to campaign for governor during the next election that will take place three years from now.

She blinked stupidly and didn't reply, she was trying to get her heart back in check but his impatience won and he started talking again with more annoyance this time around. The dislike is already there in his eyes, little tilt of sneer on his lips and ominous glint in his eyes.

"Your husband, Aman won't be back here until much later into next year. I just called to let you know that anything you want is there in the house and you don't need to go anywhere outside the manor. You can send a message directly to the mistress of the house through one of the maids if you need anything. You are dismissed."

Mahnoor's mouth hit the floor in astonishment. Fathers-in-law are not like this! Not the ones she's met in Niger along with her aunt, they are extremely nice and warm but this cold man here have no light within him. She continued to stare at him like he's an alien and when he realized that she is still sitting there like a statue, he raised his cold eyes to regard her.

She shivered visibly, those eyes are cruel and have seen far more barbarity than she ever will even in nightmares. The man is malignant and shouldn't be crossed no matter what. But that's how politicians are, right?

Before he could open his mouth to speak, she raise both hands in surrender and muttered. "You don't have to shout or yell coldly at me, I'm leaving your office. Just make sure my husband is back within next year."

And she rushed out of the library with heart pounding underneath her chest. What? That man is freaking scary and she does not wish to see him any more than he doesn't want to see her.

That was her first and last time seeing Zubairu Ajuji and in all truthfulness, she'd rather go through a lions den or meet with a wraith than see that man again in her life. How can someone's eyes be so cold yet expressive? Cold and emotionless but at-

She was cut off by the sound of Ummi's voice from her room. "Madam, are you in there?"

Blinking, she beamed at herself to keep away Zubairu Ajuji's disturbing thoughts from ruining her good mood today. "I'm here. Is he back already?" She is already standing up and draining the water from the bathtub at the same time.

She heard the sound of Ummi's chuckle before her answer came. "No, but he will be here any moment."

Mahnoor relaxed her tensed shoulders and continue to wash herself up. Done with that, she wrapped a fluffy towel around her and left the en-suite to go see what is going on in the house. She's requested that they cook something nice for her husband, they should ask for what he likes from the manor and cook it for him. She knows how to cook but most of the things she can do are not tolerable in Nigeria, she is slowly learning their own food.

Seeing Ummi adjusting the bedsheets, she almost stopped her but then, she doesn't feel like working today with so much buoyancy brimming within her. "What do you think I should wear?"

Ummi stopped tucking the bedsheets and turn to look at her, perceived the fragrance in the room with deep inhalation and gave two thumbs up. "You smell absolutely delicious and there is no way Sir won't accept this marriage instantly. Just dress in those new ankaras his mother sent to you."

She was gifted myriad of fancy clothes from disparate brands by her mother-in-law. She didn't ask for them but the woman sent a message along with the clothes that their daughter-in-law is not supposed to be prancing around with rags.

She was so offended that they called her clothes rags but after seeing what she's sent to her, she kept her mouth sealed. Unfortunately , she was right, her clothes were rags compared to those but that doesn't mean what she was wearing wasn't the latest design in Niger just not in Nigeria.

"How many minutes until he arrives?" She asked, rubbing lotion all around her body and wherever her hand can reach.

"I heard he's landed few minutes earlier and from airport to here is just twenty minutes so you should hurry." Mahnoor dropped the bottle of the lotion on the floor with wide eyes then stampede to the closet.

She hastily removed her favorite color, azure and wrestled inside the fitted gown. It's so tight that she could barely breath well and cannot walk comfortably with her knees pressed together but it brought out her inverted triangle slender shape.

With it's semi-sweetheart neckline showing a little bit creamy cleavage, petal sleeves that left her whole arms open, she is so not comfortable only dazzlingly pretty. The gown has a trail of few inches, following her cutely like Cinderella. And last but not the least, her head tie, she cannot tie that to save her life.

"Ummi, your job." She called out in a loud voice then heard Ummi's fast footsteps as she briskly sauntered inside the closet with a piece of information.

"He is here." And Mahnoor heart bursted out of her chest, her whole body flushed with pink color.

She will have to apply makeup to make her look older and hide away her blush so he won't think she is a weirdo. Nana, Ummi and the other housemaids already think she is funny looking when she blushes, Aman will definitely think she is a screwball.

After Ummi left to help get his luggage, Mahnoor sat on the stool in the closet and browsed through the makeup items to season her face.