Over and Over

Anode

Buckle your sit belt and get ready to be mesmerised.
I'm going to give you back to back enjoyment in this chapter.
As always, expect the unexpected, kuna dai ji ko.😄😄

KANO,
EL-BAAZ MANSOR,
NIGERIA.

NARRATOR'S POV

In the quiet corridor of the Palace, the air was thick with anticipation.

Hakeem and Zubair sat in a corner, deep in conversation, their voices a mere murmur against the grand silence of the hall.

As Rayhana walked past them, her eyes met Zubair's in a brief, stolen glance that set her heart racing.

"Babe, wait," Zubair called out, rushing towards her with a sense of urgency.

"You're back," he said, enveloping her in a warm hug that spoke of longing and relief.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," he murmured, pulling away just enough to look into her eyes.

Rayhana smiled, her cheeks flushing with shyness.

This was the first time he had ever hugged her, and the newness of the intimacy made her heart flutter.

"I missed you too, babe," she replied softly, adjusting his tie with a tender touch.

"Gotta run, babe, or else your brother is going to unalive me," he added sarcastically, lightening the moment.

Their relationship was a secret, a hidden love that they guarded fiercely, afraid of His Highness's disapproval.

With Ramadan fast approaching, Hakeem had forgotten about his usual trip to Saudi.

"Zubair, please cancel all my plans for the last ten days of Ramadan because I'm traveling," Hakeem instructed, setting down his coffee cup with finality.

---

ABUJA,
NIGERIA.

Layla sat at home, staring at nothing in particular, the walls closing in on her with every passing minute.

Yasmin was married now. Fatima had moved to Bauchi. The house that once felt noisy and alive had grown strangely quiet, and the silence clung to her like heat.

"Layla, come and help me cook," Dada called from the kitchen.

She sighed and dragged herself up.

Her hands were wrapped in bandages—small cuts, burns, clumsy mistakes. Evidence of her forced apprenticeship. Dada had decided that before Layla returned to Kano, she would learn. And learn she did—soups, stews, jollof, tuwo, everything—whether she liked it or not.

⸻

KANO

EL-BAAZ MANSOR, NIGERIA

"But Your Highness, how can they come so suddenly?" Ammi asked, confusion written all over her face.

"They're already on their way—from Morocco," His Highness replied calmly.

Ammi blinked. "But Layla isn't even home."

A pause.

"That," he said, standing up, "is perfect."

Ammi was left staring after him, completely lost.

⸻

"Ummu, please bring some soya milk with you," Hakeem said gently, smiling at his grandmother.

Ummu—his paternal grandmother, the former Queen—was the only grandparent he had left. He adored her in a way that softened even his hardest edges.