Chapter 98 62: A Pleasant Surprise

The sun gleamed into her soul, through her soul, she could feel it burning her skin and something within her. She smiled softly, staring at the rising sun and the beautiful scenery in front of her. She sipped her latte and felt as peace reigned in her soul. Six months ago, if someone told her that she could feel this peace, nearly to happiness, she wouldn't even believe him or her. But today, after six months of unending pain, grief and sadness, Fareeda could say she was beginning to heal or she had healed. The latter softly burned her tongue and she figured out she liked it that way, sizzling hot with nothing but the taste going directly to her head. She watched from below the stairs as Nana and Dahlia went to the parking lot, she saw as they conversed, peeking at something in Nana's phone as they giggled like the teenagers they were. Finishing high school had never looked better on someone apart from these two girls that had now become friends that Fareeda wished she had a friend as well. She walked over to the railing of the balcony with her mug in on hand. "Hey girls!!!" She called out, and they looked up to her as well, their smiles were so radiant that she wondered among their smiles and the rising sun, which was more soothing to her soul. "Good morning, Ya Fareeda!" They called out at the same time and she laughed, she wondered if they had to talk that out for her to hear them. "Easy there, I can clearly hear you! What are you seeing in Nana's phone? Nana is it our crush? Has he grown up too?" She called out with a wide smile on her face and she watched as Nana palmed her face shyly and giggled why Dahlia chuckled and nodded her head. "She can't talk about anything but him, Ya Fareeda! I think we have to send her to Qatar as soon as we can, if not, Nana will go nuts! Help us to tell Abba, a girl needs her love by her side, as soon as she could get him." Dahlia joked and Nana nudged her shoulder to make her stop. Fareeda smiled as she wondered how it would feel to have a friend at their age, how therapeutic it would be to have someone you can share your thoughts with and have a girlish gist about your crushes and all those girl's things she had never got the chance to converse with anyone. "Should we do that, Nana? Should we take you to Qatar? Wait, should I find his manager's number and call? We can pay a huge amount of money just to have you talk to him on the phone." Nana immediately lifted her head and she smiled widely, one could see the excitement and enthusiasm in her eyes. "He's having a show in Oman the ending of this year, Ya Fareeda! We should go to Umrah at the time and go there as well, please!" She had been thinking of the way to attend that show, but now that she had thought about it, she felt if Fareeda wanted, they could go there. Nana knew Abba did everything Fareeda wanted now, and he would surely let them go if she asked him to. "You're not serious, Nana. So, just like that we should go to Oman just because your musician crush is having a show at the end of the year? I'm not going, what about you, Dahlia?" She laughed at the expression Nana had on her face. "I don't think we should let her go..." "Nana! Dahlia! If Alhaji comes out and we've not left yet, I'll say it's not my fault!" Jibril called out from the gate and Fareeda laughed before she waved her hands at them. "Bye, girls! Let's all go out tonight and have a girls day out, what do you say?" She chorused a yes before they all went into the car and she watched as the car drove out of the house. Somehow, her eyes caught the chamber that had had the most amazing and hurtful memories of her eyes. She quickly took her eyes off his chamber that nobody had occupied since they left because Alhaji hired a security personalle from a security agency. She sighed and sat back on the resting sofa in the balcony. She could admit to be hurt, hell, she was even missing him even though he had never hurt her the way it did. But during her therapeutic mother-daughter sessions with Dr Aisha, she had realized it was only okay for her to miss him, that meant she had loved him truly in her heart and nothing else. She made her realize that someone can hurt you to the extent Mujaheed did, you won't want to see that person but your heart will always yearn for that person and it was still okay. She wouldn't say she hated him now, because what happened wasn't solely his fault but he still hurt her. He denied the paternity of his child and despite knowing her for that long, he chose to believe what he had seen on the papers and her baby ended up dying. She wanted to ask for a divorce, but before she did that, she had to make sure she was certain of that decision in her heart. She had to make sure she had made peace with her head and knew that she wouldn't be depressed if what she wanted was granted for her. She had to wait and see the direction her heart would go. She closed her eyes, relishing the sensation of the sun on her body with she thought. Just two months ago he came here. With his royal troop and Alhaji welcomed him warmly that she wondered why he would do that. Had he forgotten that he was the man that hurt her that much? And no matter how much Alhaji begged her and tried to speak to her through it, she went to the living room he sat and made sure she chased him out of the house. She didn't care about his position, he can be the most powerful king on earth but that didn't faze her. All she knew was, he was a gateman when she married him and now she didn't want to be with him anymore. Amongst the troop he came with, the guards and servants, she pointed a finger at him and asked him to leave their house and make sure he never set his food there anymore. She wondered why Alhaji kept apologizing to him though, because she had seen nothing wrong about the way she had acted. He could be a king, but man, to hell with his royalty and himself, she didn't give a damn about it. She dropped the mug of a now cold latte and stood up. She walked down the stairs to the kitchen and met Kamila washing the dishes Nana and Dahlia used. "Good morning, Aunty Fareeda." She greeted and Fareeda smiled at her before she nodded her head. "Good morning, Kamila? I hope you've slept well?" She asked softly and Kamila nodded her head. "Will you please make something light for me? I don't know what I want to eat but it should be very light." She chuckled at herself. There were times when she forced herself to eat because she knew if she went on like that, nothing could stop her from getting ulcer and it would be rather a bad experience. But seeing that her appetite was slowly coming back to her, she knew it was a good sign. "Okay, Aunty Fareeda. I'll bring it to your chamber when I'm done." Fareeda thanked her and was going out of the kitchen when she turned, "Did Baba come out?" She asked, and she nodded her head at her. "Yes, he's in his living room. But he didn't have his breakfast yet." "Okay, make mine for two, bring it to me there." She walked directly to his living room with a smile on her lips. Yesterday she couldn't wait for him to come back because she was so sleepy and saying she had missed him already might sound cheesy but that was the truth about what she felt. She softly said her Salam and walked inside to meet him having a phone call with Nenne while he watched the morning news at a low volume. She sat down beside him and motioned for him to put the phone on speaker, he did while smiling, wondering what she had in mind this time. He was the one that gave birth to her, but Fareeda had always been unpredictable. "Good morning, Nenne." She called out with a smile and she heard the chuckle that escaped Nenne's lips. "So the big girl is finally up? Good morning to you too, Fareeda am. How have you been?" Nenne came and stayed with her for the first month she stayed here after she came back from Cameroon, and to say she had appreciated it will be an understatement because she wouldn't have known how she would've acted if Nenne wasn't there. "I've been fine, Nenne, and I've missed you. I wanted to talk to you about something." She began, stealing a glance at Baba that was smiling at her. He didn't have to tell her he loved her everyday, because she could see that from the way he looked at her, the way he smiled at her, the way he spoke to her. She couldn't believe she had missed this kind of love for almost 25 years of her life, what had she been doing? All because she got a monster as a mother? She knew people had this notion that a mother's love is always unmatched. A mother's love is true, profound and sturdy that nothing could shake it off. Everyone applauded a mother's love, and it was a very few people that appreciated a father. To her, her father was all her mother could ever be and more. And today, she would appreciate and love him until forever. She heard Nenne's voice asking her what the talk was about, "Nenne, I want Baba to get married again, it's getting to a year but this old man here thinks he's so young not to have a wife. Can you please get a list for us, she can be a girl my age or even younger, so long as she'll love him not for his wealth, for the handsome and good guy he is, we're good with her. I'm sure my sisters too will understand." He tried to squeeze her ear but she was so quick at dodging him. "Nenne, he's going to skin me alive. I'll call you later to talk further about this. But Baba? I'll have to find you a wife soon." "Fareeda..." He began while she laughed wholeheartedly at him and she ended the call and brought the phone back to him. "Come on, Baba, it's high time you get a wife. But we aren't getting you married to someone that only loves your money, she has to be in love with the real you first...." Kamila walked into the room with the tray and she smiled, thanked her before she collected it. "We're going to have breakfast now and you'll tell me the kind of woman you want, I'll make sure to find her for you. Also, I'm willing to sponsor the wedding, take the two of you to honeymoon and everything. You've never had the chance to have a good wife, I'll get you one." "With whose money are you going to spend that lavishly?" He asked with a playful tone as he collected the mug she handed him. "My money, a girl is rich that her bank account begs for mercy, to be slimmed a bit. I guess this is a perfect opportunity." He shook his head as he chuckled at her, knowing so well arguing with Fareeda will be pointless, he'd rather they speak about something else then. Fareeda went directly to her room and showered before she slept off. She woke up after noon and bathed herself before she got ready, feeling the way hunger was churning her insides and she knew if she didn't eat something, there would be no peace for her. She got down the stairs and just when Kamila was about to go to her room and wake her up. "I was coming to wake you up, Aunty Fareeda. You have a guest." "A guest?" She asked while descending down the stairs. "But I don't remember having a guest. I mean I don't even have friends, Kamila. But let's go and see." Walking into the downstairs living room, she saw the person she least expected and she didn't know when she broke into a pits of screams and ran to her and tightly hugged her. "Kulthum!!! Ya Allah, I've never thought I could see you ever again in my life! How have you been?!" They were jumping up and down in the living room, still hugged to each other as though they were kids. Fareeda broke their hug and placed her hands on her shoulders, "Are you really the one?! What a pleasant surprise, Kulthum!" She giggled and hugged her again, and all Kulthum did was laughed, she was excited as well. And even though she knew from Mujaheed that Fareeda's father was rich, she had never imagined that this would be what she would see. They broke apart and Kulthum smiled at her, "You see, I've never thought I could see you. You've become even more beautiful, Fareeda. And I've missed you like hell! Hamid talks about you and when I told him I'm coming to Nigeria, he kept begging if he could come and see his darling, I had to lie to him." Her sentence ended into a sad smile and Fareeda immediately smile at her. She didn't want them to have that conversation, it will be so depressing to have that kind of conversation with someone you've spent nearly eight months without seeing. "We will have that conversation later. But now, Kamila!" She called out, and Kamila rushed out. "Please take her bags to the guest room opposite my room. Get the other maids to help you if you can't do that." She turned her gaze at Kulthum and when she noticed she wasn't carrying any child, she asked, "Where's Kauthar?" Sh smiled, "She's together with her father, I had to come to this vacation alone. I don't want any disturbance whatsoever." Fareeda chuckled, "What will you like to eat?" She held her wrist and together they began to ascend the stairs, "Baba isn't around around but I'll call him immediately and tell him you're here. I don't even know what to do, I'm soo confused and excited. We have a lot to talk about, I've missed you so much, Kulthum. Ahh," she turned to look at her, "How's Daada? How did you feel when you find out he was alive? I'm still shocked over that." Kulthum laughed, "Daada is fine. He asked me to extend my greetings towards you when I told him I'd be coming over to see you. That was the most shocking revelation of my life, Fareeda, I couldn't believe it for over a month." They both knew there was something to talk about, but it was like an unspoken rule between them not to talk about Mujaheed, at least not after what had happened. ? It was fun seeing the way Kulthum conversed with both Nana and Dahlia, a combination of English, Arabic, Fulani and a bit of Hausa then the little they knew in French. It was calming that Nana's mother was Fulani and even though Nana didn't understand the language so much, she kept trying and all Fareeda did was laughed at them as she sometimes had to come to their rescue and be a translator. It was around ten at night when Fareeda jerked up, "I've placed an order but they just called me to say they won't be able to deliver it. Should we go and pick it up ourselves? What do you think?" It was funny how when she wanted to speak, she would have to do that in two languages for all of them to understand equally. The two girls chorused and she was surprised to see the way Kulthum was acting around them, as if she had known them for long. They got ready and walked down to the parking lot. They drove to the door and Fareeda was used to honking just once and the gate would be opened for her, but when she honked for the umpteenth time, she wondered if the gateman wasn't there. She turned to look at them, "I'll go and see what's wrong, he's never this way." She opened the door with the words in her mouth, "Hey, I've been honking but the gate hasn't been opened, I hope everything is alright with you? Can you please..." Her next words became guttural when she saw the tea things she would never forget and when she looked up at the face of the man seated on the bench while sipping his tea, she was choked with a feeling of deja vu. "What..." She couldn't finish her sentence and when he looked up to stare at her, instead of the frown that had already adorned his face whenever they had their usual night fight about the gate, he had a neutral look and she could say he wanted to smile but he was holding himself back. He looked at his wristwatch then back at her, "You don't have to call yourself a nuisance today. But Your Highness, it's past 10 pm tonight, where do you think you're going?" She felt as anger rose into her and then she realized everything, he came here together with Kulthum, and she hid it from her. Nana and Dahlia had seen him when they came back from school, that explained the looks they were flashing her and the smiles as well, everything made sense now. She hissed softly beneath her breath and looked around to see where she could spot the gateman that used to be there. "Where's the gateman?" "What do you mean? I am, I've always been the gateman, staying here to guard my beloved wife." "Don't be a nuisance, Mujaheed." "I'm not, but from today, I'll continue being the gateman that falls in love with you. I won't be back to being the king until you forgive me and agree to go back home with me." She rolled her eyes at him, hissed and went back to the house to open the gate for herself, like it had always been. She didn't care whatever game he was trying to play, she wouldn't let him win this time.