KANO STATE, NIGERIA
The man dressed in a fine sky blue kaftan with a zanna bukar placed graciously on his head alighted from his Lamborghini aventador LP770-4 SVJ which had cost him 420 million, but the car was worth every penny! The car was a beauty to behold. The young man was just 30 but he was super rich, he is one of the richest men in the whole of Nigeria. People way older than him were still struggling to make ends meet, but here he was spending money lavishly as if he had a money making machine, but he had worked so hard day and night for his money so it was only right if he spent his money the way he wanted, because he had worked very hard that he never found time to rest, he never did anything fun he only worked as if his life depended on it, but he used to have fun 3 years ago and he enjoyed his life so much but it had all ended 3 years ago after the death of his fiancée, Aisha Muhammad Dan-musa. It had been hell living without her even after her death three years ago he still felt immense pain whenever he remember her everyday and he thought about her every second of his life no matter how busy he was.
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FLASHBACK
Aisha Muhammad Dan-musa was his cousin and the late daughter of retired general Muhammad Dan-musa, he was 8 years old at the time Aisha was given birth to. The day he had first seen her and he was even allowed to hold her he had fallen in love with her, he was tiny at that time and a lot of people were bigger than him but she was more tiny than him and that was why he liked her, because he liked the feeling of being bigger than someone. Ever since the day he had carried her, he had taken the habit of coming to see her whenever his mother would let him which was very often because his mother and Aisha's mother were very close, Aisha's father and his mother were siblings, his father and Aisha's father were best friends and even their mothers were best friends. He and Aisha grew up together and they became very close and in fact they became best friends. They did everything together and they only did things once the other had accepted, Ayman had been in love with Aisha and he had told her about it when he thought the time was right, they had been enjoying their love life and they understood each other so well given the fact that they were best friends, they had literally planned out how they wanted their lives to be and they had planned their lives together and they could not wait for the day the knot would be tied.
You make your plans but Allah's plan is the best no matter how it might hurt you, everything in their lives was perfect. They loved each other and when Aisha was 23 the marriage was arranged. It was on the day of the wedding and the knot had already been tied, the couples were extremely happy, the groom had come to take his bride to her new home but it was never Allah's plan that she would step feet into her matrimonial home, Aisha fell down and died before she could step feet into her new home. Ayman had helped her get down from the car but as she was about to step into her new home she fell down and gave up to the ghost. At first Ayman thought she had fainted but when the people around checked on her they realized she was dead but no one could tell the already heart broken Ayman, they all kept quiet. It was her father general Muhammad Dan-musa who was able to break the news to him. Ayman had sat in front of her corpse, he held her right hand tightly and he was just staring at her face, he was so heart broken that he couldn't tell her not to leave him, he couldn't even cry. His heart had tightened so much that even to open his mouth and speak was a great deal of pain, he just sat there as if a spell had been casted on him and he kept on watching her face. He had sat there quietly for an hour and half but the real drama began when men came in to take her to her grave, he refused to let her go, they tried to hold him forcefully but he was too powerful for them, then they tried to console him but he still refused to let go, he just wanted to stay there and keep watching her face till he also stops breathing. It had took the combination of five strong men and that was how they were able to hold him and they took Aisha's corpse away, he suddenly became quiet when he saw them taking the corpse away, he stopped shouting and he stopped struggling to free himself from the men, he was just transfixed on his spot as he watched them take her away. Realization had dawn on him that Aisha was gone, she had promise to be by his side through every thick and thin but she had left! A single tear fell from his left eye, that was the first time he cried since she was declared dead, when he had held her hand before she was taken out he didn't cry he just sat looking at her as he held her hand, even when those five men had held him he didn't cry he was just shouting and trying to free himself, but now he realized that she had left him! She had slipped out of his hand just when he thought he had her. The men released him when they saw he was calm all of a sudden and that was when he dashed out of the house as if he was being chased by a ghost, before anyone could hold him he had already entered his car and started driving like a mad man, he had followed the car that took Aisha's corpse. He was suddenly calm and he was among the people who had buried her, making sure that everywhere was covered properly in her grave knowing fully well that was the only thing he could do for her that would make her happy.
Time healed everything but it did not heal the pain Ayman felt even after 5 months of Aisha's death. 'tough times never last, but tough people do!' It was Aisha's favorite saying, Ayman was tough because after her death everyone thought he was insane because he behaved like a mad man, he didn't have the zeal to live anymore and everyday felt like hell to him. He thought, maybe he had committed a crime in his past life and that was why he was being punished this way, because all he wanted was to die and be buried six feet underground close to his wife, Aisha. He had sailed through everything, but he only realized that Aisha's saying was not true, indeed tough people last because now he has been able to move on but not forget about her completely, and he is only able to do that because he was tough but his tough time never ended because he was still struggling.
FLASHBACKS END.
PRESENT DAY: 22 JANUARY 2022
Ayman walked gracefully into the palace of sarki aminu shugaba, he only nodded or even completely ignored the people around the palace who greeted him. The palace was an ancient one, which looked like those houses that had been built in the 1800's or earlier, but it was still furnished with modern day furniture, the entire palace was screaming wealth and grandeur. The palace was a huge mansion that an entire village could fit into it, the palace was just like a street and when Ayman had parked his car he entered another car which he drove to his mother's chamber, samira shugaba. As soon as he approached his mother's chamber, a small smile crept its way to one part of his face, after Aisha's death his mother and some of his siblings were the only ones who got to see his soft side. As soon as the guards saw him approaching the queen's chamber they began to announce his arrival and when he came closer to them they greeted him and bowed their heads out of respect until he disappeared into the chamber. He entered his mother's bedroom with a taslim, the bedroom was a spacious one, everything was white inside his mother's room; because his mother was a lover of the colour white. There were no word in the English language that could describe the palace, but the palace reeked of wealth.
Hajiya samira shugaba is the first wife of Sarki Aminu shugaba and therefore the queen mother because her son Ayman was the first son and therefore the crown prince, hajiya samira is one among two other wives; Binta Shugaba and Hafsat Shugaba. Her son being the crown prince and therefore the successor of Aminu Shugaba, her husband has caused her and her children a lot of hatred from her co- wives but none of them have been able to show their hatred for her publicly knowing the soft spot she holds in their husband's heart, not only because she was his first wife but because she is among the reason why he has become successful.
Samira is the daughter of the governor of kano; Alhaji Sirajo dan-musa, she was from a very affluent family and she got whatever she wanted. Aminu shugaba on the hand, is also from a rich family, his mother was the second wife and therefore he stood no chance of ever becoming the king but his mother was still the favorite queen of his father, because of her kind nature. Being the favorite queen had also earned her the hostility of her co-wives. Aminu Shugaba's mother died when he was 9 year old, he had an older sister, rahma who was 17 at that time and was already married. They were the only two children his mother had before she died. However after his mother's death things began to change for the young Aminu Shugaba and his father began to hate him, it even reached a stage were he refused to pay his school fees and therefore he had to pay it himself, most of the times his school fees was paid by his elder sister, rahma shugaba. She sold everything she had to make sure he was educated and Aminu grew up to respect and cherish her. She was not just a sister to him but a mother and a father. Samira was aware of the condition Aminu was in, she knew he was a prince but he had nothing because he was not cherished by his family. Samira agreed to marry him, the first years of their marriage was hell, Aminu had nothing, at times they would go for a day or two without food but samira never complained, even though she was not used to suffering. It was out of coincidence that her father found out about their sufferings and he offered Aminu a job which he gladly took and that was when things started to get better. Samira and her family had helped him a lot and even his sister had helped and that was why he loved and respected those two women in his life. The crown prince who was supposed to be the successor of their father died of an unknown sickness and Aminu was the second male child after him, so he was given the throne much to the dismay of his other siblings. Aminu had not planned on getting married again after samira but his sister rahma was hellbent on making him take a second wife saying that there was no way a king could stay with one wife and Aminu couldn't say no to her because of the outmost respect he had for her; she was like a mother to him after all, eventually she had managed to get him married to two women, even though she had wanted him to take four wives, but Aminu insisted on taking three instead and samira remained his favorite.
Samira and Aminu's first child was a girl and she was named after his sister, rahma, and then the second child came, Ayman. His first child who was named rahma was called ummita and she and Ayman had to suffer from poverty when they where young being the first children to be born and at the time when their father had nothing, the other two taslim and Fatima-fatima who was named after his late mother and also his last born, knew nothing about their parents sufferings. However, ummita and Ayman who were aware of their parents poverty were driven by that same poverty that had already left them and they worked hard until they were successful. Taslim and Fatima were only fascinated when they were told this stories, they couldn't believe that their father once suffered that much when their father was insanely rich now, but they knew this stories were real because even their mother had told them the story.
"Umma." Ayman called out to his mother with a small smile on his face, his mother was sitting on a couch on the far end of her bedroom, she had her medicated glass on and she was holding her phone in her hand browsing through it.
"My dear, how are you?" She said as she patted her son's head gently, she was fond of Ayman because he respected her a lot and he never went against her wishes, whatever she wanted was what he did, and they had grown extra close after the death of Aisha.
"Hmmmm, you said you wanted to speak to me about something?" Ayman asked going straight to the point, he had always been a straight forward person just like his father, a day ago, samira had called her son telling him she needed to speak to him, and he should stop whatever he was doing and come to the palace immediately. As Ayman sat before her she couldn't bring herself to tell him, but she knew it was better she told him herself, if he heard it from someone else, then there would be trouble.
"Ayman......" His mother called his name and then she paused. "There's a woman your father wants you to marry, and he is serious this time around.... It's either her or you have to marry Asma'u!"
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