LUCENT

46

TAYYIB

Junaid and Owais sat on either side of me with annoyed expressions as Nadira and Laila laughed at their bald heads. We had come to Saudi a week ago for Umrah, and the girls were still finding our heads amusing. They laughed at Juniad and Owais the most, as the two were the most attached to their hair.

"How long will you keep this up?" Owais asks.

"Probably until your hair grows back," Laila responds between laughs, and they groan.

They both stand and head out of the apartment. "I should also get going. We have to leave for the airport in a few hours, and I haven't gotten Fadil ready," Laila says.

"And by ready, you mean you haven't given him cold medicine to knock him out?" Nadira asks, and she smacks her.

"I'm not a bad mom. I'm just making the trip easier," she says. Nadira scoffs, and Laila smacks her once more before rushing out.

She gets off the floor and runs over to the couch. I place her in my lap and peck her cheek. "You ready to go?" I ask, and she shakes her head.

"It's so peaceful here," she remarks, and I hum. "Plus, you still haven't told me where we are going," she adds.

"It's a secret," I reply, and she pouts. "You'll know once we get there."

She scrunches up her nose and looks away. I laugh and grab her chin. "Don't be angry. Let's go to the mall, and I'll get you something shiny," I say, and she squeals.

"Really?" she questions with an excited grin.

I nod. "Whatever you want. As sparkly as you want. As expensive as you want," I reply.

She jumps off my lap and grabs her bag from the room. "I'm ready," she states.

I get up and hold out my hand for her. She grabs it quickly and drags me out of the apartment.

NADIRA

Saudi with Tayyib and everyone else was the best experience. After completing our Umrah, we spent the rest of our time in Jeddah, shopping, eating, and just having the time of our lives. It's a shame Mama couldn't make it because her friend's only daughter was getting married.

We're leaving today, and I'm a bit sad to part with the girls, but I'm also excited to see what Tayyib has planned. Everyone was going on a trip from here, and subsequently, we'd all meet up at a safari resort in Kenya before heading home.

Junaid, Owais, Amna and Sa'ad are going on a European tour starting with Spain. Kausar, Zayn, Yasir and Laila are going to Nigeria to pick up the kids, then they're heading to Florida to take them to Universal Studious, then splitting up and going to Bali and Doha.

Rayan and Manal are heading to Tokyo because Manal loves anime, and Tayyib has refused to tell me where we're going. He made me promise I wouldn't check my passport, and no matter how hard I begged, he wouldn't say a word. He had only told me to pack for warm weather.

I was thrilled to be shopping with Tayyib at the mall. He had already gotten me many things, but I couldn't resist a good shopping spree. "Look at this," I say to Tayyib, pointing to a silver studded petite malle bag.

He eyes the bag. "It's not as beautiful as you are, but it'll do," he says, and I grin.

"How did I get so lucky?" I squealed, hugging him as tight as I could.

"I should be the one asking that question," he replies, patting my head. "You are an angel and a blessing to me, Nadira. I will buy you everything in this store if you'll let me," he adds.