Kano State, Nigeria.
2018.

The drive back to the Palace was filled with silence but you could feel the relief in the air surrounding the couple. Falak was nervously fiddling with her fingers while Shaddad is looking straight ahead and kept driving, not even knowing where his thoughts are going to. He just knew he wants to keep hitting Arif's face till he is unrecognizable

Falak flicked with her fingers and try spotting the invisible dirt from her nails but she has her hands manicured some days ago so it won't be there. She don't even know where to stroke the conversation from now that she has spent a day without him. Isn't she Falak? Has she ever been awkward or nervous to start a conversation with anyone? She has never been and it won't start with her own husband, her own statue and the love of her life. Not now not ever.

Glancing at him, she took in his pajama clasped body and the look of concentration on his face. Even with a pajama, he manage to look so sexy, serious and like the King he is, dominating. He has the aura always around him so maybe that has to do with his calm mind and composed self. She admire that of him, she wished she was like that. Not displaying any emotion and just using your brain and mind to think about something but she won't ever be and that is it.

But then again, that is how it is supposed to be. If he is the calm and collected one, she should be fierce and also the talkative one. She likes the way they balance each other in so many ways. Now that he is calm, she should pluck out something that will make them both laugh like always, well, she will laugh while he let out a ghost smile. From where is she to start now that she feels like she don't even know herself just spending a day away from her husband? Hmm, where?!

Wounding her left arm around his right one that is sitting on the armrest, she move her body closer to his and sighed in content. She lie her head on his muscular arm and close her eyes then suspire. Shaddad only glanced at her for a few seconds then went back to driving. The place she placed her head on feels warm and she started unintentionally moving her thumb around his elbow. He likes how her warmth envelop his whole being and he calmed down further. She is there with him and so much safe.

"I think I should drive the car again." She hid her smile when she saw the horrified expression he had for a split second before it vanished.

"No, I am not ready to die now. And seeing you like this, your head is not correct." She laughed loudly because it was the first time Shaddad tried making a joke and even if she doesn't want to laugh, she must. It wasn't even needed, she was laughing because what he said was funny truthfully. Her head isn't correct and if she is to drive the car that moment, they sure are going to die.

"C'mon, I'm not that bad when it comes to driving. In fact, I'm an expert in the department, you should trust me." She grinned sheepishly after coming back from her high of guffaws.

"I haven't forgotten about your punishment." He looked down at her adorably when he stopped at the red light but she was busy thinking about where will Shaddad's mind go if he says he is going to punish her then came up with nothing.

"You should because even kidnapping is not an easy punishment. I think I've been punished enough spending the night without you." She pouted and snuggle herself more into his arm unwittingly brushing the hills of her chest there but he didn't acknowledge that.

"Right." And the drive continue silently only Falak's moves around his arms and unintended patterns on his elbow. He likes the silence.

"Woah! Home sweet home!" She sighed dramatically and stepped into the empty Chamber then went straight to the bathroom to take a bath.

Though she's taken one before she left the hut and her mother in-law, she has this connection with her bathroom and she can't help wanting to have another bath inside. Her bathroom is the best out there and the one in the hut has dirt on the floor and as she baths, she dirt from the floor splashed on her body ruining the whole process of removing dirt by bringing another one. She sighed in content when the hot water hit her body, her shower cubicle is to die for.

After she finished showering, she left the bathroom in her towel and sauntered to the closet to get dressed into some good clothing. She has folded the Fulani clothes her mother in-law gave her and placed it somewhere safe. At least, she has a gift from her mother in-law too and she can secure it for the future. Not that it will be needed, she just wants to feel some connection with her mother in-law in one way or the other so those clothes are the only things left for her. She even gave her jigida, string of beads worn around the waist women, known as a woman's girdle. She loves how the thing beats with each good movement from her. It makes her hips looks more beautiful.

Thinking about it, she quickly removed a set brunette underwear and got into it then moved to the mirror. She twisted her hips and hum to some random beats in her mind the started slowly moving around with it. It makes sounds as she moves and she finds that fascinating so she continue to move her hips around the mirror. Getting worn out and tired, she removed the syrup coloured pearl trimmed belted button dress, a-line with pearl bishop sleeves.

She left the closet and meandered to the living room where Shaddad is sitting with his laptop right in front of him. She badly wants to throw that laptop away so they can spend sometime together but she refrained. He should know that he should stay with her, she might have nightmares or something like that but he is so keen on making sure the work that hasn't been done the day before would be done that time.

"You have bags underneath your eyes." She noticed after making herself comfortable on the sofa he is sitting on.

"Huh?" He scrunched his brows in confusion not getting a word that was sprouted out of her lips only stopped to look at her hairs as they occasionally drip down little droplets of water on her gown making the place it dropped at darker.

"Were you so worried about me that you didn't have much sleep?" She inclined her head to have a greater look at his face and prayed internally for him to say he was worried about her.

"Yeah." He sighed, always the honest one which makes Falak's heart to tighten with intense love for the man in front of her.

"I'm sorry." She apologized not knowing why the words left her mouth without her consent.

"Why are you apologizing now?" There is a small smile playing on his lips and his eyes are dancing with amusement but also confusion.

"I don't know." She laughed and look down at her fingers again then look at his long lean ones on the keyboard.

"You are weird." He shook his head and continue to type fast and she could see that he is arranging some lecture and it looks like it is for university students.

"What is that about?" She nonchalantly asked, badly wanting to push herself into his life and see more about what he is up to that he won't go back and rest.

"I was invited to give some lecture to the final year medical students at the Auditorium in Bayero University." He replies, his hands and fingers never leaving the keyboard as he let them fly around the letters and it looks like it is about to be concluded.

"Oh, when was it?" Her curiosity is really getting the best of her but she feels like they should be going to those places together. And the fact that there are a lot of young ladies there didn't sit well with her even knowing how her husband is.

"Next week." And he stopped typing meaning he has concluded whatever it is that he was writing.

She nodded and lean back on the couch then closed her eyes to let her thoughts wander off around. Her thoughts run around and around but she can't think of what to talk about except for the sleep that is trying to snatch her away from consciousness. Then she though, why aren't they anyone here?

"Hey, why is the Chamber empty? Didn't they miss me?!" She pouted and made a puppy dog eyes at Shaddad who was about to stand up.

"Uh, a dinner is arranged for later. You are asked to go and sleep now and get dressed later. It is in the main palace." Shaddad is used to talking longer than necessary that now when he doesn't do it with her, he feels like she don't get it or he feels like he is not talking to his wife.

Her mother demand that no one should go there and disturb them. She heard that Shaddad didn't get any sleep and left to rescue her daughter and she knew her daughter also won't be able to sleep so they should rest and meet up with everyone at the main palace for dinner later whoever everyone can meet her and ask their questions if they have any.

"Really?! Why didn't you tell me about it so I can sleep for more energy later?! I need to tell my girlfriends about my adventure, you are so what you are." She threw at him and walked fast to their bedchamber so she can sleep.

"I think you should change to pajamas. The pearls in that dress will be uncomfortable." Shaddad mumbled when he walked into the room and find her comfortably on the bed and is about to fall asleep.

"Right." She stood up, slightly dazed that he bothered to talk her out of sleeping in uncomfortable clothes.

"I think you should also catch some sleep. You were so worried about me yesterday that you couldn't sleep. Get some now." She laughed when he grimaced as she emphasized the so just to annoy him.

Shaddad half regrets telling her he was worried because now he will never hear the end of it. After every little thing, she will remind him how much he was so worried about her like she said. He feels like after every breath of his, she will be there to taunt him about being so worried. Gosh, he should've known that Falak is no normal woman that will be keep her mouth shut. He hopes she won't run her mouth at the dinner later.

•~•~•

"Does this look suitable for this dinner?" Falak removed a peacock Moroccan dress that has nude embroidery in the middle and regular long sleeves which also is embroidered, from the hanger in her side of the closet.

"Yeah." Shaddad nodded and also started rummaging through his closet for what to wear then he saw Falak keeping her own cloth and move to where he is.

"I think you should wear this." She removed a hazelnut coloured set of kaftan and gave it to him wanting them to match because it looks like nude just like hers.

"Sure." He took it from her and kept it aside to go take shower while she change into the said clothes since she has taken bath when they came back and he didn't.

Changing into the said clothes, she sat by the mirror in the closet and remove eyeliner and lined it atop her eyelashes. She combed her lashes, lined kohl in her eyes and finish up with nude lipstick. Seeing that it didn't look good alone on her lips, she lined brown pencil at the end then she's done. She combed her long hair and tie it in a bun. Removing the nude middle sized veil, she wrapped it around her in muffler and took nude embroidered loafers she bought from India.

"How do I look?" She twirled around when Shaddad came in only to stop in the middle and almost fell.

He walked in wearing just a towel around his waist. She has never, and she means, never seen him like that. They've been married for some time but they have never seen one another naked only when he saw her stomach which she isn't sure if he's seen it or not. But now that he is standing in front of her in only a single clothing and that clothing is something as flimsy as a towel. She don't know whether to ogle, to turn away or to touch him.

The water drop from neck down to his hard chest. His bronze skin is glistening under the light in the closet making it hard for her to breath. There are some visible lines of abs on his flat toned stomach but they aren't that deep which means all the exercise he's been doing is never to get abs but muscles. She licked her lips not wanting him to see it but she was thirsty at that moment again. His dark brown nips stood hard on his sturdy looking breasts.

Falak looked away and cleared her throat before beaming and hastily left the room. Her heart beat quickened when she left the closet and sat down on their bed clutching the left side of her chest as though it will lessen the rate it beats at. She swallowed a hard lump in her throat and hastily made her way to the kitchen to get some water. Woah, that is just her seeing him half naked and not to talk about him touching her.

Shaddad totally forgot that Falak will be in the closet changing but he thought she would be in the living room waiting for him or in the kitchen doing something. Well, if it was the other way around, she would shrug and tell him they are married so he also moved forward and changed quickly into the kaftan she's chosen for him and look for matching zannahbukar cap and place it safely on his head.

"Let's go." Falak looks startled when she heard his voice in the living room but composed herself and follow him out of the Chamber not wanting to think about how handsome he looked in those clothing and her thoughts will wander off..

The drive to the main palace is short and Falak was so excited that she willed her mind to not think about what happened back in the closet. Now she will never enter that place without the thoughts of Shaddad mingling in her head but she don't mind, she likes everything she's seen. Those yummy looking muscular arms though they weren't bulging but the glistening of water there makes her mouth water.

"Falak!!!" As soon as she stepped her foot in the dining room, she heard one of her girlfriends yell out and all of them ran to her.

They circled her in a group hug except for Fikriyah who stood by the side not wanting anything to happen to her baby. She gave her a hug after she managed to break free from the group hug then give her girlfriends a hug each. She grinned at their happy and relieved faces. They all look so beautiful in their evening gowns making her feel among since she is also wearing a gown.

Jabrayah is wearing a sky blue elegant printed polyester vintage dress, it stopped mid calf and has full sleeves. In her arms is her baby Othman also wearing matching overall looking so cute.

Jaiyana on the other hand is featuring teal tie-wrap striped maxi dress with crew neckline, waist belt and regular sleeves. Her two adorable babies have their hairs in pigtails and are wearing matching pink shirts and jean shorts.

Fikriyah is wearing black embroidery ruffle patchwork maxi dress with o-neckline and flare sleeves and Madeeha is also wearing the same but different colour of charcoal. They all look beautiful, like the perfect ideal co wives which Falak is really proud of.

Inayah is the one wearing an ocean maxi dress with linen that has regular sleeves and v-neckline. Her baby Baqir is in his ocean overall making Falak yearn for her own baby. They look so beautiful.

Her brothers soon came and rounded her in so many hugs that she yelled at them to leave her alone or they will leave without their legs. They were just so happy that she is back and are mad at Shaddad for not telling them about the kidnapper but only about Arif who will suffer the consequences in a short while.

"We missed you." Harith mumbled to Falak when everyone went to the dining table and sat down waiting for food but they are the last ones.

Falak didn't even see Shaddad after they came in but she spotted him sitting on the dining table with his hands on his phone, glancing at her once in a while.

"I missed you, brother H." She beamed and guide them to the dining table too.

There is a cake sitting on the table which took Falak by surprise then she saw 'We love you' written on it. Her heart swelled with love and tears started dropping down from her eyes in utter happiness and love for her family. Her mother and the King hugged her so tightly as though they are afraid she would vanish. But that is dramatic of them, then again, who is she to say no to chocolate cake?!

"I thought I lost you again." Her mother whispered and kissed her whole face then letting her go.

*****
Yoyoyoyo!
How are you all Harith haters?! Yauwa toh, everything is cleared up and now we are to enjoy our moment before another new ba. Anyways, flood your comment and I will update soon. I was suffering writer's book but I wrote this chapter, kudos to me. I'm bringing back alittle later HEARTS' DEBILITY, check it out and she support pls.
RQ; Would you rather be able to write a book or be able to write scripts? I want both Allah😩

Aishatu.