Chapter 71: Chapter 71
ABUJA, NIGERIA.
"Innalillah! You are worse than the other brides and I thought you were the most excited one." Yasmeen rant staring at Fayha who could only yawn and lull her eyes open. She has locked her door and no one has her keys, Yasmeen had to raid the house to find a spare key to wake the sleeping beauty. She thought she would be ready by the time she arrives but she is actually worst than the other girls, they are all getting ready and out of bed.
"Oh, I'm so happy to get married but it doesn't matter since it is aligned to sleep. Now move let me get into that sanctuary before my mom decide to badge in here!" She pushed Yasmeen out of the way and locked herself in the bathroom hearing her mother's yells about how irresponsible she is.
She was sure her mother would beat her had she seen her but after she takes her bath, the woman won't be able to do a thing as her body is now for her 'husband' hehehe. Her bath took her shorter than the much needed time in the scented water. If she adds more than necessary time, her mother will badge inside her bathroom and yank her out of there and beat her ass. Her mother is not violent but at times like this, she will definitely do what she says and her body will tell her the story.
In the middle of her bath, she recalled that she was on phone last night with her husband to be when she fell asleep. She faceplamed only to shriek when her face got smeared with sud. Seriously, she just had to fall asleep when they were talking about important matters? Did he hear her snoring too? Her eyes widen at the thought, she was so tired the day before and whenever she is tired, she snores, not so softly and not that innocent way characters or actors do. Her mother said she does it like a darn cow after endless rounds of struggle in a village, she never argued about it as she recorded it once.
She hastily left the bathroom in a towel after getting into her underwear which was an onyx pushup bra and matching panties. This shouldn't be true please, she kept ranting in her head as she made her way to the room and lunge straight for her phone on the bed beside her pillow. For goodness sake, if he didn't hang up the phone as soon as she fell asleep, he sure heard her snoring like a cow since the phone is right where her mouth was, where a drool dropped like teardrop. She squeezed her eyes shut, this is embarrassing but that's how nature works for her.
Checking the phone, she found out he didn't hang up the phone after their talks or in the middle of it. She can clearly remember that they talked for an hour, she was staring at the clock beside her on the bedside drawer from 10PM to 11PM but he didn't hang up forty minutes later! Just why does he have to do that to her? Listen to her snoring like that? She swallowed a hard lump, she don't want to dwell on what he must be thinking of her now. Probably thinking she was a log or something, Ya Lillahi Al-alameen, she shall act like she wasn't the one snoring or just say she was sleeping with one of her paternal cousins since he knows she don't have maternal female cousins but Bushra and them. Yes, this is the perfect idea to get him off her back.
The man can tease, especially anything that has to do with her.
Some might say she is getting married to him any minute from now and she should not be too tensed about such but there is no way she would allow herself sleep at night when she is tired. She only shores when she is tired, she will try her best not to snore and when she is tired, she will request sleeping alone. Ha, this is one heck of a crucial situation for her. How is she going to cope with such life with her own husband? Whatever, he also snores, she don't care what he thinks and if he likes, he should not marry her.
She dropped her phone on the bed with a yelp feeling the sting of slap behind her just a little above her shoulder. There is no one who could do that but her mother, that woman will never stop beating her even after she gives birth. She likes smacking her here and there, it is now a hobby of hers she can't get rid of. Fayha could only swallow another lump, it hurts since she does not have anything shrouding her there. The towel is around her torso, leaving that place for her to rest bad.
"Will you get ready or should I use a cable?" The woman's words resonated in her ears, she grimaced knowing her mother is really mad. But what could she do? She has been tired since two months ago and needed much sleep to brace herself for a life changing moment awaiting her. She will be leaving her home to another man's for goodness sake!
"Mom, you will leave your handprint and it will show even after so much makeup. Wallah my husband won't approve of this." She ducked away from the woman to the makeup artist waiting to start her magic. She refused to do the turare, she was tired of doing it time and time again. She's been doing it for a whole month, no more! Her whole body scents of so many of them, it is okay.
"Na shiga uku, kinji mara kunya? I am done for, did you hear how brazenly she talked?" Her mother turned to look at her Aunt who only laughed at their banter. They always banter like little kids as they only have one another around the house.
"The new generation comes with that, Aunt." Yasmeen chirped in, removing the gown from it's hanger and place it on a single couch beside the bride and her makeup artist. She needs to leave to go get dressed too even though she won't do any makeup herself albeit she loves it.
"I can see. Allah ya shirya ku. May God deliver you! I'll be back in twenty minutes, you better be dressed or have my footprint on your back too." With that, she left the room to attend to her guests.
They are already swarming inside the house like ants to sugar. Since Fayha is her only daughter, it means she is going to have only one ceremony in her home which is her only daughter's wedding. It is grand! Fayha is her only daughter then her stepson whose wedding was hidden from people, he didn't like much crowd and she accepted his decision.
"You brides look so beautiful. I hope you guys are going to take photos in your whites." Yasmeen gushed, her eyes gawking at Fayha's decked up self. She has already worn the white dress since her mother told her that there was change of plans and the grooms are going to come there immediately after the wedding takes place. The whole wedding will take place in their home, she was the one willing to make it grand.
After the grooms go to their brides and take photos, greet the elders and so on, they will take their wives and bring them to Fayha's home which serves as the event hall. Kauthar, Bushra and Fayha also have other sets of matching clothes to wear for the small event courtesy of Fayha's mother. They couldn't deny it as she was very insistent so was Fayha, she knew how to persuade people and she did that alright. Besides, their own family are allowed to go there too and enjoy the little songs that will be played to entertain people and the lots of luxurious foods cooked and ordered just for the guests.
"Thank you, sweetheart but no, we won't be taking pictures in our whites, maybe after the wedding if they wish to do so. Have you forgotten about our other outfits that match?" Fayha gestured to the other dress at the farther end of the room hanged to the wall in a suite.
"Oh, yes! Bushra Amani is one holy tailor I'm telling you. She is one in a billion and I hope she will be the one to do my wedding dress in future." Yasmeen gushed, bringing out her scrapped phone to take photos of Fayha only to be stopped by the said person.
"Yasmeen! I'm going to look hideous if you take my picture with that, that thing." Fayha grimaced, staring at the small tecno Yasmeen is holding. The girl pouted at her but she stayed rooted on her idea, she won't even see her face if she takes her photo in that thing she calls phone.
"B-but, it is perfect for me." Yasmeen made a pouty face, she is feigning it. Murad continue to tease her about the phone and even insist they go buy her a new phone but she is a woman of self respect. Whatever she does, she wants to use her own wealth for that and not be a charity case. As soon as the wedding is completed, she will get a huge amount of money that will change her life for the better. She could feel it in her bones, this is just the start of something marvelous.
"Don't worry, I'll send them to you so you can add them to your page to confirm you managed our wedding. Wait, did you open the Instagram account?" She threw the last question with wide eyes only to shrink back on the vanity stool when the young girl gave her a guilty look. She is impossible.
If you want to be successful, then you need to be worldwide and the easiest way is through social media. These days, that is the thing that helps people through and through. People will get to know about your hard work through those platforms only. You can be working twenty four hours and when you are not active, you won't go anywhere. Only the people around you will know what you do and where to contact you. She's asked the girl to do that since so she could post some of the photos they took and post it there right from the day they started working together. Fayha helped her with the videos and photos, she has them in her phone.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't do it with this phone then it slipped my mind to ask Murad for help." She pouted looking extremely cute, she is already pretty, looks like this makes her look ridiculously cute like a-glitter in her heavenly flowery self.
"Aha, I'll do it for you. Now tell me, what is going on between you and Murad? You guys are getting so cozy and extremely close too." Fayha grinned, drawing the girl closer to her so she can talk to her more clearly.
"What? Heh, there is nothing between me and him o. We are just, how can I say this word again? Aha, frenemies and that is just it. Besides, I told you my heart belongs to someone." Yasmeen shrugged, her eyes getting back to that faraway look whenever she talks about having someone she loves. There is no doubt she is hopelessly in love with this person, whoever he is, he is lucky to have such devoted person.
She is beautiful, passionate about her career and have enough self esteem for both of them if that man doesn't have it. She is not trying to make a move on Murad who is no doubt any woman's dream man. He is successful, a man with good body shape, drop dead handsome, a young Major from a rich, respectful and renowned family. Who wouldn't want to marry such a man given the chance to? And there is no doubt too, Murad has taken a liking at this innocent munchkin that gets everyone to like her with just a smile.
"This girl, you are not even shy. Tell me who this guy is. You keep talking about him but never said even his name, or is he just a fragment of your imagination?" Fayha wiggled her well arched brow earning a blush from the other woman. They are not alone in the room, she shouldn't talk like this to her.
But hearing that, Yasmeen took Fayha's phone, typed in her password then typed the name of the person that has her heart. Fayha's eyes are twinkling seeing the girl's innocent moves for she can't believe such innocent girls still exist. Who can't say their lover's name nowadays? The name isn't that holy that they can't spit it out.
"Abdullah, hmm, nice." Fayha grinned looking at what Yasmeen has typed in her phone. What is so special about this Abdullah guy that got him so lucky to own this lady's heart?!
"Er...I haven't taken his name ever since, I have never called him by that whenever we were together. I don't want to say it to anyone till after I say it to him, at least once." She shyly tucked her veil, looking anywhere but at Fayha who kept awing and swooning like she just found out true love exists.
"Isn't this the cutest thing to ever exist?" Fayha placed both her palms beside her cheeks being careful not to ruin her makeup. She honestly find this adorable, cute and dainty. If love like the one this innocent young lady have for this Abdullah guy still exists, she wants to have it with Mujaddad.
For the past two months, they have bonded up though sixty percent of their time together is teasing one another to no end. There is no doubt about the chemistry between them, the bond that is developing and the like they have for each which could be called love. He's told her he loved her once when they were about to end a call, she wasn't sure if he was serious or just something people usually say when they end calls. She brushed it off after a total of two weeks, she couldn't get over it easily. She was waiting for him to say it again but he didn't and she was fucking disappointed, no cap.
"Come down right now, Fay! Your husband will be here any minute since the wedding just got knotted." One of her aunties rushed into the room breathing, she just finished yodeling all the way to her room, she should be out of breath for that hard work no one sent her to do.
"Five minutes, Aunt." She pivoted to look at the mirror hearing the doors opening and her friends in their asoebi trudged in looking as beautiful as ever. A wide smile took over her face seeing the ones that said they won't make it really did make it.
"You thought I would miss your wedding? The whole Fayha Bamalli? Never!" Oluchi, her Yoruba colleague whom she gets along better with in the whole office came forward to give her a hug and started taking snaps with Snapchat.
"What could I have done since you said you were leaving the country?" Fayha pouted but smiled for the phone, she won't dare to look ugly in any of her wedding photos!
"Ha, I would've come back from wherever I go to attend. You look gorgeous, by the way."
"I feel more inspired to give Bushra Amani my wedding dress. I should start saving much more sooner than planned." It was Jamila, another Yoruba friend of hers staring at with doodling eyes. She keeps talking about wanting to give Bushra her wedding dress but she can't save for her life.
"You can let your man pay for it." Another chirped with a laugh. Afira smiled at Fayha, congratulated her and gave her a gift box just like the others did moment later.
"Time to go downstairs, Fay. I'll just go and get dressed, will probably come back with Amani." Yasmeen was about to leave when Fayha brought her back and with a wide smile yawed her attention to her friends standing in front of her.
"Hey, guys, this is Yasmeen, our wedding planner. Yeah, you might think it sounds off hiring a wedding planner but let me tell you, she is the best at her work. She orchestrated three weddings here with us going to and fro, talk less about what will happen if she is to do just one? It means you guys won't do anything then. At least if you won't hire her, tell your friends about her." She gave them a look of courage, Yasmeen's eyes teared up seeing what her friend is doing for her. They really are serious when they say they will make her name blow.
"Wow, she looks young." Oluchi remarked, her eyes looking astonished but they held respect as she survey Yasmeen with keen eyes.
"Just eighteen but trust me, she is perfect." And they gushed about her for two minutes then got ushered to leave out of the room. Just before they step out, Fayha's phone rang from the bed, Yasmeen immediately hand it to her seeing as it was the groom of the day calling probably to tell her they are married.
"Hey." Fayha breathed, closing her face from the cameras of her friends straight on her face and the ones of the photographers, she is standing just outside her room door.
'Speaker!' Her friends mouthed and she bit her lip then reluctantly press the speaker so they can hear what he is about to say in that voice of his that lulled desire in her stomach.
"And you are mine now, ladybug! Alhamdulillah, we can destroy each other's life now in our marital home. I'm coming to see you now, clean your drool." His voice was husky, so darn husky that her chest tighten and her stomach did this flutter that only he could quench it. Her eyes, she is darn sure they spell love, desire, fulfilment and glimmer of ecstasy.
She bite harder on her lower lip at what he said knowing her friends are listening and they are recording it. They start that cliché 'aww' making her heart drop all the more, she was in her own bubble for a moment there. She swallowed and whisper a quick okay then hung up the phone as if it will catch fire soon. She wanted to lick her lips then felt the thick lipstick worn there by the makeup artist, she could only blush and hide her face behind her veil. That guy!