Newfound Destination

~ 35 ~

I heard a knock at the door and went to get it. Stupidly forgetting to look through the peephole, I opened the door.

"Mustapha? What are you doing here?" I asked him in confusion.

He chuckled, "What else would I be doing here? I came to see you, of course."

I cleared my throat, "You should've at least called."

"Yeah...I could have but if you recall, your friend blocked my number on your phone which brings us to my other reason for coming here. I want you to unblock my number. I'd like to keep in contact so I know you're fine." He told me.

I sighed, "Why wouldn't I be fine? Mustapha,  I thought I already told you that I couldn't continue to see you."

"Well yes, but you did see me after you said that. Remember? On your birthday?" He pointed out.

I decided then to just let him in.

"The house seems quiet. Where's Yusuf?" He asked as he sat down on a couch.

"Him and Ummi have gone back home to Kaduna." I said.

"Aw, that's too bad. I liked them both a lot."

"Mustapha. Aren't you getting engaged soon?" I immediately changed the topic.

"I was...but I gave it up. I realized sooner than later that I could not get married to Jennifer,"

I smiled internally at this. Hopefully, it didn't show on the outside.

"Because I only wish to marry one person..."

It was when I finally looked at him that I understood what he was saying. His eyes flashed with nothing but admiration at this moment.

Okay...where was this heading?

"I can't hold myself any longer. I wanted to wait for you to grow a bit older but I just can't wait anymore. I love you Karimah Usman and I want to be with you." He said.

Oh, so this was it?

"I-"

"I'm not asking you to get married to me. We could date for as long as you want but I'd like to call you mine." He said.

Before I could speak, Amir and Khalil came into the living room.

Shoot, I had forgotten that Khalil was in Amir's room.

Things were going to get crazy and I needed to avoid that.

"What is he doing here, Karimah?" Khalil questioned me, his gaze trained on Mustapha.

"Mustapha was just leaving..."

I blinked my eyes as signal for Mustapha to leave but he only smirked in return and stood up. He walked up to Khalil and looked him straight in the eyes.

"And how does that concern you?" He questioned Khalil spitefully.

Khalil chuckled but we all knew he didn't find this funny.

"Khalil, let's go now." Amir began to pull his arm but he didn't move from his spot.

Rage flashed through his eyes and there was this scary aura that he was giving off at the moment. It gave me the chills.

On the other hand, Mustapha seemed chill but I could almost feel him silently daring Khalil to start a fight.

He patiently waiting.

At that moment, I realized that I couldn't deal with this anymore.

I grabbed both Khalil and Mustapha's wrists, dragging them out of the house.

Before I shut the door, I told them, "Both of you, stay away from me. I hope this is the last time I'll have to say this.

I locked the door and went up to my room.

I threw myself on my bed and just closed my eyes to think. Not long after that, I heard the room door slowly open.

I opened my eyes to find Amir standing a few feet away from the bed, his back leaned against the wall and he wasn't facing me.

"You must be flattered, two guys are fighting over you." He began.

I sighed, "It's nothing to be flattered about. I can't deal with either of them, I just want them out of my life."

"And Khalil too?"

I sat up on the bed, "Did you not hear what I just said?"

"I did but I don't support your decision." He said.

"You're on Khalil's side so you can't give me any good advice." I told him.

He retorted, "Yes but Khalil's side is the right path to follow. I know that Mustapha guy and about what he did to Khalil in the past. He is not the right guy for you, Karimah. Besides, he's like six years older than you."

"Age doesn't matter in this case, Amir. What would you say if Khalil was six years older than me?" I questioned him.

He changed the topic knowing he couldn't answer my question, "Why do I feel like you're defending Mustapha?"

"I'm just saying, Amir. I'm just proving a point." I sighed heavily.

He looked at me in scrutiny, "Who do you even like between those two? Like, who do you like the most?"

"Amir..."

"Who?"

"I like Mustapha. More than I like Khalil. God, I don't even know what to do." I whined.

"Oh, so that's the problem here. Of course, I still don't support your decision but make up your mind, Cousin. If you can't deal with either of them or if you feel like you don't want to hurt one by being with the other then I suggest you break things off with both of them."

And without another word, he made his exit and I was left to think about what he just said.

But...I couldn't make up my mind.