Layla finally woke up after sleeping for a long time, when she did she didn't find the baby on her, so she knew her mom, maymun took her.
As she yawned greatly, and was rubbing my eyes suprisinglt she then noticed a red jewel shining on her wrist, and she was astonished by the jewellery.
She wondered how it got to her hand as she got down from the bed slowly, and she made her way to the lavatory to wash her sleepy face.
She tried so hard to remove it off her wrist while she was in the lavatory, but the hook got stucked and it refused to get off.
She then left to meet maymun, but she was with her husband when she went looking for her, layla and rayhana then sat in the living room watching food network.
She couldn't find seema anywhere, so she asked rayhana about her whereabouts she then told her that she followed hakeem to kano when he came.
"Hakeem was here", she said to myself. Both of them sat there for a long time watching an interesting programme before they decided to go to their various rooms.
It's been long since she opened a book with the intention of reading it, so this night she decided to read for real.
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The next morning Hamida called her very early telling her that they will be having an important test by noon, and she was flabbergasted by the news.
She told maymun about it, and she went back home immediately. When she went home Ammi and Dada were both not at home, but luckily for her she met Baba and told him about the issue.
He bought her a ticket to kano at that instant and she left immediately, upon her arrival she booked a cab at the airport.
She told him her destination and he drove off, she was on her way but she kepy feeling worried so she decided to call hamida.
"Have you started the test?" She asked anxiously, it was noisy on the other side so she couldn't hear her properly neither could she.
She kept trying after that, and she managed to pick when it rang for the fifth time, this time her environment was less noisy.
"So have you started the exams" she asked again, "what exams layla" she said in a tone layla was trying to understand.
"I was only joking I hope you didn't take it seriously" she added, she honestly felt like strangling her from the other side but the anger she was feeling made her think of unimaginable things.
She hung up the call hitting herphone on the seat, "Please take me to railway estate" she said to the driver feeling betrayed.
The moment she reached home she saw the gates opened, it was as if they were waiting for her or maybe not, she saw hakeem walking to the car park while seema followed him like a tail.
The domestic helpers then came and helped her with the luggage, just then seema came to her walking like a mop.
"Why are you back so early" she said hugging me, and half of her body was out and layla as lady could see areas which a non maharram was not supposed to see.
"Fear Allah seema" she said with a disappointed voice, she pulled herself away before scanning layla from top to bottom.
"Layla are perhaps jealous of me and hakeem being so happy together" she said with a plummy voice.
Layla stood there already looking miserable from hamidas betrayal, "Why would i" she said in a wobbly voice.
"I thought as much, now if you would excuse me I've got a Prince to impress" she said that and walked away.
Layla followed her with her eyes, and looked at her as she left thinking how miserable she had became, ignoring all that she made her way to her room and she freshened up after a season of emotional talk.
She stood in front of the mirror looking at herself, and she was wondering what imam saw in her which made him feel the way he feels for her.
The house was quiet, as it was only the domestic helpers and layla, in the house .she was walking down the hall way when she noticed a room that was completely black and dark.
She made her way into the room, and she placed her hand on the wall trying to feel the switch.
To her astoundment she saw a huge library which she had to raise her head to see the end of the shelves.
Due to curiosity she decide to check out the library as it was captivating, just as she was walking around, her eyes met that of the book she was looking .
She searched everywhere during the past few months but it was said that only one copy was made and it was sold on an auction.
The books name was just like the condition she was in now 'Tears of tess', she dragged the elephant ladder to where she was.
She made her way up there and grabbed the book, it looked even more beautiful than shd expected, It was a dark romance novel.
FLASH BACK
Hakeem was looking for a way to get rid of seema, as she was all-over me him, and got tired and fed up with her behaviours.
Just then a brainstorming idea hits his head, he took the phone book and started to search for hamida, someone who layla talks about all the time.
"I want you to call layla and tell her that you have exams by noon tomorrow" she hesitated, but then he promised her a trip to Paris then she agreed.
All day he kept waiting to see layla arrive,
But it was like she knew he was waiting for her.
Hakeem and seema were sitted in the living room on different seats, seema kept talking rubbish about the future.
All he wanted to do at that time was to get rid of her, thinking of what to do made him not to hear what she was blabbering.
"Do you want to attend a party" he said with a fake smile, she jumped with happiness and she almost fell on him while she tried to hug him before he drew his body away.
"Alright go and get ready then" he said leaving immediately, It was an all black party that his old friend invited him to.
He wore black from head to toe not leaving any colour to cause disturbance to this perfect combination.
As he made his way out he saw layla by the first entrance coming out of the cab, his sight met hers, but he acted like he didn't notice her and left for the parking lot.
PRESENT
At the party seema met knew guys and they started to talk, hakeem made sure she didn't see him leaving before he left.
He rushed back home so he could see his dearest, upon his arrival the special helper he assigned to monitor layla told him that she was in the library.
He walked ambly to the library, to his bewilderment he saw her trying to get down from the ladder with a book in her hand.
He stood by one side admiring her beauty without her noticing,"focus hakeem" he said hitting his head.
"And who gave you the permission to touch my things without my permission" said a voice from above her just as she was about to open the book.
She raised her head and her doe eyes met with hakeems eyes, she started to tremble. seeing that, made him smirk.
"I'm sorry it was a mistake,I will always take books from the library in your presence" she said looking away.
"What matters is not what you do in my presence, but what you do in my absence" he said, with his hands in his pockets and his siren eyes made matters worse.
After the poetic lecture he made, he felt bad from within seeing how much of a softie she was.
"Can I take it" she said softly, "do you want to take this also after taking my h..h" he said before he returned back to his senses.
"I didn't take any book from the h shelf" she said looking at him with her doe eyes which made him fall for her in the first place.
He immediately walked away not wanting to continue the conversation, cause he knew if he kept looking at those eyes he might end up saying what was in his heart.
After he left she also walked away. She was in her room, on the bed reading the book, suddenly her phone rang causing disturbance.
Dhe picked it up to see who it was, "imam" she said happily. She placed the phone on her ear waiting to hear his voice.
"Linda are you there" he said in a happy tone, she was feeling very down, and she knew she was going to start crying if she dared to utter a single word.
She kept quiet, but she could hear him from the other side, "video call?" He asked, "no i can't talk" she managed to say.
"Seeing you only is enough, your voice just makes things better but your sight is the most important" he said. She laughed, and then she asked him to call.
As her gaze met his, their eye's locked. He could see a mix of emotions in her eyes, a warmth that seemed to radiate towards him.
It was like their eyes were communicating, silently praising and consoling each other.
Slowly without her noticing she started to doze of, and he layed his eyes on her small beautiful plummy lips.
Layla woke up after some hours feeling better, she was free today as she had no lectures, so she checked the time and it was 10 in the morning.
The call was still on, "Morning linda" he said from the other side, she couldn't help but check if she was drooling.
"Morning imam, I need to go freshen up see you later" she said while she hung the phone and she flicked to the bathroom.
she was ready within 5 minutes, and she sat by the side of the bed talking with Dada on the phone, and she told her all that happened.
Suddenly the telly rang, and she quickly stood from her position, and she walked to the position of the telly.
she picked the call waiting for the other person on the other side to speak, just then a masculine voice said.
"What are your thoughts on a man in an apron beloved" he said, her heart fluttered before she replied "hakeem" she said dragging the name thinking of a reply to give him.
"It is a line from 'Tears of tess' okay, so come down and eat nobody is going to warm your food again" he said in a bossy tone and hung the call.
She sighed thinking of the crazy line from the book, she got her veil after she dressed herself up in a free cream dress, and she picked up her off white samsung flip phone and she moved to the breakfast nook.
At the nook they were having breakfast just like normal people hakeem fixated his eyes on layla, looking at every small action she did, suddenly a servant came behind layla and, told layla in her ears that imam was here.
She dropped the food she was serving and she flicked to go meet him, they both were equally happy to see each other.
They sat in the mini living room chatting about life and cars, just then hakeem appeared out of nowhere.
"Leave" he said looking at imam, layla could see that he was damn serious, "what!" they both said standing from their positions.
"What if I dont" replied imam, layla kept begging him to keep quiet, but he claimed to have had enough of hakeems behaviours.
She knew what hakeem was capable of doing to people in the basement, which adequately made her even more worried.
"Who do you think you are" said imam walking towards hakeem, "your boss" replied hakeem without hesitation.
"Please make use of the door or else" said hakeem before imam interrupted "or else what, do you know who my father is he will get you erased from the surface of this earth with just one call".
Hakeem smirked before saying "I don't need my father before I eliminate you with just a blink of an eye", he said emphasising on the I.
Layla felt it to the core of her heart when he said that cause she knew what he meant by that.
"Imam please leave" she said in a wobbly voice, "what! Why?" he turned looking at her like she betrayed him.
She then realised that she had hurt his feelings, and she had to make up for it, "Imam you now I told you once that I love you with a love that is more than love, my love for you is greater than words that was why I kept quite, but not anymore". She said giving hakeem an intense look.
Imam then smiled feeling that he won this round, and dragged her hand as they walked past hakeem, and they left hakeem standing in the living room all alone.
After she said all she said, he felt himself in a painful depressed emotional state resulting from this upsetting event that happened.
He felt his heart shatter when she said the word love to imam, so he left and went to his room, on his way he was busy thinking of telling Ammi about the story of his heart.
He finally made up his mind, and he freshened up when he went to his room.
Later that night, he was sitted on the small seat that was in the middle of the room sipping a chilled glass of apple juice with a robe on his body, the lights were off and it was only the light from outside that made the room a little bright.
Just then he heard some noises, it seemed like the noise of cars coming in, he stood up and he went to check.
He was surprised when he saw Ammi's convoy, he knew it was her convoy because everyone in the house had his own design of cars.
"Ammi is back" he said with a little voice smiling.
He dropped the glass, and he headed to the closet to change, after a while he came out dressed in a black t-shirt and a grey sweat pant. And he wore his Harry Winston Ruby slippers in a hurry.
On his way to her room he was busy thinking how he would tell Ammi about the story of his heart, just then his falcon supernova iphone six diamond started to vibrate in his pocket.
It didn't ring beacause it was on DND, he brought it out and he saw that it was Abdallah that was calling.
"Yeah" he said placing the phone close to his ear, "are you home" he asked in a worried tone.
"What's wrong" asked hakeem, and he said he wanted to talk about something important, just then hakeem thought of telling him about layla so he could give him advice.
"I also need to tell you something special" he answered and he hung the call.
He stood by the door after knocking twice waiting for permission to enter, after some minutes Ammi allowed him in.
Soon he was on her bed covered with a big white soft blanket, he looked at Ammi silently thinking of layla.
"Van" she called interrupting his thoughts, "na'am" he replied coming down from the bed.
"Khudh hadha(take this), and keep it on the first shelf," Ammi made him a human ladder, and she does that often.
His phone then started to ring, and he walked towards the phone and he saw Abdallahs name.
He knew he came so he didn't even bother to pick up, so he walked out of the room to meet him.
He was already sitted in the living room when hakeem came, they greeted just like how men greet each other.
For the past few weeks he has been having sleepless nights thinking of layla, so he then decided to meet hakeem who is his buddy and also his cousin to tell him about it so he could help him out.