Over and Over

jude

KANO,
NIGERIA.

NARRATOR'S POV

The sun was just beginning to rise over the El Baaz Empire as Hakeem and Layla arrived in his sleek white Audi.

Layla's duty was set to begin, and she felt a mix of anxiety and irritation as she sat beside her husband.

As they parked in the space reserved for him, her eyes darted nervously, scanning for any prying eyes.

Hakeem, on the other hand, was completely unfazed. He leaned back as he exuded an air of confidence that only made her nerves worse.

"We'll wait until it's clear," Hakeem said, glancing at her.

She simply nodded, her heart pounding.

When the coast seemed clear, she wasted no time and jumped out of the car and swiftly walked to the entrance, hoping no one had noticed her.

He watched her go with a small smile before driving off to inspect the mansion he was considering buying.

Inside the grand building of El Baaz Empire, she walked with her head held high, though her stomach churned.

Hamida was waiting for her near the conference hall.

"Layla, you won’t believe this," she whispered urgently.

"The anniversary project—the biggest project of the year, with all the company’s top investors involved—has been assigned to your team."

LAYLA'S POV

My breath caught in my throat.

Of course, it was Hakeem’s doing. He was always trying to pull me closer, forcing me into situations where i couldn’t escape him.

I nodded weakly, my mind racing. How could i possibly avoid him now?

After the meeting, I and my team, consisting of five members, retreated to our office to start work.

As civil engineers, we were tasked with designing groundbreaking structures— which was my area of expertise.

But the tension within the team was palpable, especially with my team leader, Sakina.

NARRATOR'S POV

From the moment Layla had joined the company, Sakina had taken an immediate dislike to her.

Perhaps it was because Hakeem had shown Layla a courtesy that Sakina had never received.

It wasn’t long before Sakina’s true feelings were revealed—she had harboured feelings for Hakeem, and the news of his marriage had crushed her.

Sakina’s behaviour towards Layla was ruthless.

She assigned her an overwhelming amount of work and shouts at her for the slightest mistake.

But Layla endured it in silence, knowing she had no other choice.

Her male colleague, Irfan, noticed the unfair treatment, so he stepped in to help her, which only fueled Sakina’s anger.

By afternoon, Layla had completed her work.

Exhausted and in desperate need of a break, she texted Hamida: "Hey babe, what time are we meeting for lunch?"

But when the reply came, it wasn’t from Hamida.

Her heart sank as she read the message: "Anytime is good for me. Didn’t realize we were having lunch, ‘babe’." It was Hakeem. She had texted him by mistake.