Al-mustapha wrapped his both hands over her back and he held her in place. She tried to get out of his hold but couldn't, and she softly punched his chest, "I need to leave, Al-mustapha, will you please tell me everything I need to know so I'll let you rest in peace?!" She asked and he slowly let go of her. She lifted herself off from his chest with her heart wildly beating against her chest and she wanted so bad to place her hand over there and feel how it moved.
"Listen, I won't repeat my words more than once..." and then he told her everything. From his assumptions to how his words might be true with all the evidences and all. She kept looking at him with eyes bulged out and head nodding, seeing all she had been cracking her head up being solved without must hassles.
"That's it, I pray you don't have a dull brain that forget everything easily. Don't make me loose my sleep for nothing." He glared at her and she chuckled before she stood up from the bed. Al-mustapha watched as she playfully saluted him with a broad smile on her lips.
"Thank you, sir! Your labour shall not be in vain!" She chuckled and walked out of the room, and he found himself following her retreating back with his eyes intensely. He didn't know what he felt about her, but the smile she flashed him with her hand positioned on her forehead, he loved it.
He closed his eyes and forced himself to go back to sleep. But with each beat of his heart, he felt her soft body on him when she fell on his chest, and he quickly aborted the thought, just as immediately as Alex's thought crossed his mind. He lain down on his bed for long, thinking about the best way to flow with the case he had in hand, and he prayed it would be a success. A shrill from his phone jolted him out of his trance and he picked it up.
It was one of his cousins, "Hello, Al-mustapha, I know you might be sleeping now or you're at the office, but I figure out you might need to know what's about to happen." Those words were the first that came to his ears and he wondered what happend that Faruk would call him at this time of the day.
"What's going to happen, Faruk?" he asked, silently preparing himself for the worst.
"Sarauniya just announced that all our cousins will be having lunch in your house today, and I know you might not be aware of it, because I doubt even Mama Fulani knows." Al-mustapha didn't know when he sat upright and rubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes. What the hell did he just heard? All his what? That's more than fifty of them, for those around, whom aren't in schools, other states and whatnots.
"Thank you, Faruk. I'm so glad you informed me." Sarauniya was the first wife of the Sultan, and the Mother of only Zubair and Rahma; The royal gem. He knew this lunch idea came from no one but Rahma, and what the hell was he supposed to do?
Call Ummah! A part of him urged and he dialled her number without second thoughts, because she was arguably the only one that could help him in this situation. And Fatima Zarah isn't even at home. Wait, even if she was, he knew she couldn't cook for almost fifty people, all in the name of his cousins.
"Assalamu Alaikum, Al-mustapha?" Ummah asked, because whenever he called, something had surely happened or was about to happen and he didn't know how to go about it.
"Good morning, Ummah. Faruk just got me that Sarauniya had told all my cousins they're having a lunch in my house. All of them that currently live in the palace, Ummah." He was worried, because he knew this would make Ummah up the creek.
Ummah was silent for a while before she heaved a sigh and spoke, "Hmm, she's trying to shame me, not you, Al-mustapha. It's okay, I'll prepare the meal over here and send the servants that'll serve them and everything. All you have to do is, get Fatima Zarah home before they arrive, I'll send you a text when their cars start to leave. You two should be very careful and act on your best behaviours, okay? Tell that to Fatima Zarah." She ended the call even before he got to reply and he knew she had already started throwing orders at the maids. If one was to walk into Mama Fulani's chamber now, it would surely become his or her least favorite place.
He got down from the bed and took his bathe, all the while carefully looking at the clock as he analysed and saw that he could even get to the office, do some works before it would be the perfect time for bringing Fatima Zarah back home. He didn't have her number, he would have called and told her what was really happening. He went to the office and when the clock struck 12:30pm, AL-mustapha quickly put everything back together and left the station.
He drove into the premises of the court and walked directly into it, he was glad he was in his khaki, if not the securities there would hardly let him in. He walked directly to the front row, and surprisingly, Fatima Zarah was the one talking in the lawyers chamber. She turned her eyes while speaking, making the points he just told her today in the morning when her eyes fell on his, and she got hooked for a moment before she continued. With her eyes wandering to where he sat down and fixed his eyes on him, she completed her presentation and went back to sat down. Where he was seated.
She took his two hands admist the round of applauds she was getting and happily shook her body. "Thank youuu! I would have given you a hug if we aren't in a crowd." She exclaimed enthusiastically and he stared at how she truly was happy and smiled at her.
"Are you done? Can they let us leave?" He asked, and she looked up at him with confused eyes and that's when she noticed the curious eyes staring at how she was so close to him. And even though she held his hands under the table, some eyes were able to capture the moment, she quickly released his hands.
"Are we leaving? Why? I thought you came here because you have a case to attend?" She asked with her eyes fixed on the next presenter as she acted as if he wasn't the one she was talking to.
"There's a problem, and we need to leave now. I'll explain everything in the car, can we?" She looked at him for a brisk second and then back to the presenter before she nodded her head.
"Leave first, I'll come after you in a second. Even though majority of my coursemates here refer to me as The Royal Bride, they don't know who I'm married to. Must of them don't know you're a prince and if they see me leaving together with you they'll think I'm cheating on my husband." She hushed back without letting her eyes to stare at his face or the expression he had on.
"What harm will it cost you if they think so?" he asked dumbfoundedly, because by Allah he had never thought about what other will say or do if he did something or say something. As long as none of them will come forward and tell him this or do something to him, of which he would never tolerate, it would forever be fine with him. He had never for once considered other people's feelings or opinions and he wondered what it felt like to do that.
"You aren't normal, Al-mustapha. Do that or I'm not leaving this court." She whispered in gritted teeth and he had no choice but to do as she said. After some few minutes, as she promised, even though she felt as if all eyes were on her, she walked out of the court while texting Jamila that something came up at home.
"What happened? And how are we going to do with my car?" She asked him as soon as she sat down on the car and she buckled up her seat belt.
"Sarauniya asked my whole cousins that live in the palace to come and have a lunch in our house..." the scream she did cut him off but he didn't wait before he continued, "And for your car, there are securities. You can leave it here or I'll send someone to bring it home for you."
She had her hands placed over her chest as she looked at him wide-eyed. "I'll go for the latter. And you said lunch? All those boys and girls I've seen in the palace?! Ya Ilahi. What am I going to do? Why haven't you called me even though I can't leave the court without finishing this presentation?"
"Incase you haven't noticed, I still don't have your contact. And for what you're going to do, Mama Fulani has got us covered, I think the meals are home already by now." She didn't know when she heaved a sigh out of relief and took his phone that was between them in the car. She positioned the phone to his face and the face lock was unlocked.
"What are you going to do with my phone?" his voice sounded alarming and she shot him a glare before she replied.
"What? Are you hiding some hot girls in here? I don't care, and you know it. I don't want you to be forgetting what I've told you that day as I won't forget what you told me too. Our promise of hell is still active and don't think because I'm talking to you normally this way that I've forgotten or even forgiven what you did to me, no." She began hitting his dialpad while she spoke, "And I'm going to save my number on your phone in case of emergency like this, thank you. I saved it as Fatima Zarah."]
She placed the phone back and pointed at the mall before they drove past it. "I don't think we have enough drinks and water in the house, I've checked the store this morning. And you're cousins will start ranging from fifty, just say we're having a walima." She groaned softly and without a word, he parked in front of the mall and looked at the clothes she had on before he spoke.
"I'll go in and get the drinks, you shouldn't necessarily be out." Phew, he saved her alot of the stress. She prayed he had a good taste in drinks like she did.
She stayed in the car for more than ten minutes before workers began coming out with cartons of drinks while uploading them in the trunk and when they were done, Al-mustapha got back into the car and he drove off. His phone rang and he picked it up immediately, seeing it was Faruk. It was then that he noticed Mama Fulani had sent him a text a few minutes ago.
"Hello, Al-Mustapha, we're already at the gate and your guard won't allow us in." He said, and Al-mustapha looked at Fatima Zarah and then back to the phone.
"Look, Faruk, we aren't back home yet, but we will be in a few minutes. I'll speak to the guards, but make sure you guys don't get into the house in time, okay?" He answered and Al-mustapha ended the call before he looked at Fatima Zarah that fixed him with questioning stares.
"They're here already, but they both can't see us in these dresses. We'll use the back door and the guards will help with the drinks." She nodded her head until they reached the house and he turned to look at her, "Are you ready to meet the Royal Cousins?"
A comment for an update, y'all know the drill😁