The upper floor of the unit – the mezzanine level – was three quarters the length of the lower floor and the family lounge was the first area one stepped into once they'd ascended the stairs.
It was a cosy space with tiles that gave the illusion of a wooden floor. It was simply furnished; a sectional sofa with a lot of cushions which sat on a wide rug, a round wooden topped coffee table and then voile curtains on the windows. There was no TV and Ayra preferred it that way. She put it at the back of her head to check online stores for paintings that could add more beauty to the space.
She turned to look at Ibrahim who was focused on his phone. With a small smile, she turned back to Helen and followed when the interior designer moved in the left direction of the floor, Ibtihaj right beside her.
"Ibrahim called this Ayra's space." Helen said as she opened the door, letting them step in. "It's a kid's room but he said you're not having kids right away so inside of leaving it bare, we should make it a space for you to find peace in."
Ibtihaj fake sobbed. "Love o."
If she wasn't so in love with Ibrahim before, Ayra would have drowned in the love that hit her then. Taking small steps, she stepped deeper inside and looked around.
The room was cosy and it was everything she never knew she wanted; rose gold curtains, a backless lounge sofa with black and pink cushions that took up the entire width of the wall that held that the room's windows, a Persian rug with even more cushions and an adorable coffee table, a shelf for the books she was definitely getting, and then the swing chair that hung in the corner with its own cushions and faux fur throw blanket.
Moved to tears, she turned to look at her fiancé who leaned against the doorframe. She swallowed softly. "Ibrahim..."
"I told you I was going to give you everything. This is the least I can do, Ayra. You deserve this and so much more."
Helen pretended to look around for anything that was out of place while Ibtihaj shamelessly watched everything unfold, gratitude in her chest at the thought of Ayra being treated right. Ayra, on the other hand, smiled at him. "Thank you."
Ibrahim smiled back; his usual small smile. "You're welcome."
Helen cleared her throat then. "Right. Let's move on." She led the way out and she then smiled as she opened the opposite door. "And this, Ayra, is your room."
Ayra's smile dropped and her brows furrowed. Once again she turned to Ibrahim. "My room?"
Ibrahim, who had a slight frown on his face, nodded slowly. "Yes, your room...Is something wrong?"
Ayra's brows furrowed further and her frown fully formed. "No, I just –" She frowned even more. "I thought we'd be sharing a room. That's what I always assumed."
"No...We're not sharing a room, Ayra."
She could only stare at him, unable to explain how she felt right there and then. Ibrahim turned to Ibtihaj and Helen, his smile tight. "Can we get a minute please?"
Helen nodded while Ibtihaj hesitated until Ayra smiled at her, as tightly as Ibrahim had done. Not having any reason to stay back, both women headed towards the other side of the floor. Ibrahim turned back to his fiancé. "Ayra, I never assumed we'd share a room."
"Why? Isn't that supposed to be normal?" She folded her arms. "Couples share a room all their lives."
"No they don't."
"Yes they do."
"Ayra, my parents don't share a room. They have their respective rooms and they only sleep over in the other's room when they feel like it. I thought that's normal for every family."
The fight in her died as realisation dawned. She unfolded her arms and let them fall back to her sides, swallowing softly. "I'm sorry. I just...I just assumed based on what I grew up with. My parents have shared a room all their lives and each person I know does the same so I just assumed that's how it is in every home. I'm sorry."
"No, Ayra, it's fine. I should have discussed it with you. My parents have had different rooms all my life and it's been the same in almost every family I know so I assumed too." He raised his hand to rub the back of his neck. "This puts us in a tight spot now. This room's furnished solely for you and the other's furnished solely for me and to start redecorating now...It'll take lot of time and that'll be more incurred costs."
Ayra let herself think about it. It was different from what she was used to and way different from what she'd imagined a part of their union to be. But then again she'd been taught that marriage brought together two people with different mind-sets and upbringings which was why compromises existed.
She blew out a small breath a little later. At the end of it all, he had put a lot of things in place and she concluded it'd be unfair to have them tear things down. She exhaled again. "It's fine."
Ibrahim raised his head. "Huh?"
"We having separate rooms is fine." She gave him a small smile. "Besides, you said such arrangement gives room for sleepovers." She smiled wider and put her hands behind her, leaning forward slightly. "I think that'll be fun."
He stared at her for a moment before he started smiling, chuckling seconds later. "God, you're amazing." He nodded while she blushed. "Sure, we'll have sleepovers, Ayra. I look forward to them."
She grinned. "Me too."
"Let's get Helen and Ibty so we can continue the tour."
"Yes, let's do that."
Ibtihaj only relaxed fully when Ayra assured her sincerely that she and Ibrahim were fine. Relieved that there was no issue, Helen led them into Ayra's room and like every other part of the house, it was breathtakingly stunning; bringing together shades of beige, brown, gold, and green with a unique chandelier hanging down from above.
The queen sized mattress snugly fit into a beige bedframe with a curved, tufted headboard. There were nightstands on both sides with tall night lamps and at the foot of the bed were two green ottoman stools with gold legs. The bedframe, the nightstands, and the ottoman stools sat on a black and white patterned rug that had touches of brown. The wall behind the bed had curved panels that really brought out the beauty of the bed setting.
A cactus inspired sofa, in a beautiful shade of sage green, sat against a wall and Ayra gasped when she recognised the painting above it. She turned to Ibrahim with wide eyes, disbelief wrapped around her like a cloak.
He smiled shyly. "Well, you clearly loved the painting in your parents' room when you spoke about it on the day you met the squad so I thought I should do something for you."
Ayra couldn't help but say "God, I love you."
Ibtihaj snorted. "When have you ever not done so?"
Ayra ignored her best friend and turned back to the painting on the wall. Majority of the canvas had a Leilani in full bloom, covering the face of a woman who was clearly her. It was different from the painting in her parents' room but she loved it; she loved it so, so much.
Ibtihaj made herself comfortable on the sofa. "Me too, I'll love too one day."
Helen could only chuckle before saying "Let's check out the bathroom and the walk-in closet."
Ibtihaj immediately rose to her feet and Ayra got excited. The walk-in wardrobe had white storage spaces that took up the entirety of two walls. Then a mirror occupied the last wall, a vanity dresser sitting prettily right in front of it. In the middle of the space, right underneath the mini chandelier was a fur rug and an ottoman stool. A velvet, tufted armchair and a small coffee table sat in a corner; a setting fit for a luxurious woman. Ayra adored the space and she looked forward to filling it up.
"Ayra," Ibtihaj told her best friend. "Better make space for my own clothes because if I don't visit you until you get tired of me, then my name is not Ibtihaj Oluwatosin Adeola."
Ayra laughed with Ibrahim and Helen. She then nodded. "Yes ma."
The bathroom was simple and lovely with white walls and golden fixtures; a ladder rack for towels, double sinks on the marbled vanity with a floating wooden shelf underneath, a wide mirror, a tub on the left side and the shower on the right – both behind the glass divider. The floating toilet seat sat by the rack with its controls on the wall.
"Now," Ayra said to her fiancé with a beautiful smile. "Let's go see your room."
Ibrahim smiled back, nodding. "Sure, Ayra. Let's do that."
His room – the master bedroom – was the only one on the other side of the floor and unlike hers, Ibrahim's room was dark in every way possible, stunning Ayra and Ibtihaj to silence. It was beautiful, no doubt, and everything about it screamed Ibrahim Fahad.
He had a sitting area with peanut brown velvet sofa which had tuxedo armrests, a cream centre rug with black borders, and a glass topped coffee table that sat underneath the layered chandelier. The windows had double curtains; inner white voile curtains and outer brown ones and then there was a painting on the wall that caught Ayra and Ibtihaj's attention. It was that of a woman but it was hard to make out who it was.
Ibrahim stopped right behind his fiancé, nearly resting his chin on her shoulder as he leaned in to whisper "Don't think too hard about who it is. I just saw it and I liked it. Helen also said it fit the theme of the room."
Helen nodded, smiling proudly. "I did."
Ibtihaj, who'd never seen Ibrahim and Ayra in such a close position, had her jaw on the floor. She picked it back up when they moved into the main room itself. The chandelier had hanging bulbs arranged in a beautiful pattern. His bed was a double king with a black high leather headboard which sat in front of the wooden panelled walls. His nightstands were dark brown and so were his tall night lamps. His ottoman stool was green and button tufted, complimenting the grey rug underneath. His windows were full length and there was door between the panels that led out to the wide balcony. Ayra knew then that she was going to be there a lot – especially at night – in order to appreciate the stunning view of Downtown Aomi.
Ibrahim's walk-in closet was larger than Ayra's and way darker. Just like hers, he had a full mirror and his dresser with ottoman stools; two small ones instead of one. His bathroom was a work of art and; double sinks on a floating vanity, a tinted mirror, a floating toilet seat, a wall hung bidet, a shower area behind dark glass, and then the bath area with its floating tub and in-wall recess. His racks were black and the space had more storage compartments than hers. Ayra blushed furiously as she pushed down the sinful images that popped in her head. Behind her, Ibtihaj pushed down a snicker as she knew exactly what her best friend was thinking. Ibrahim, as always, was calm.
At Ayra's request, Helen took them round the place again. Ayra began to see the images clearly; her and him living their best lives and making memories in every part of the unit with a lot of love and laughter. Helen faced her when it was all over. "I hope this is perfect, Ayra?"
Ayra nodded with no hesitation. "It is. It's so perfect, Helen. Thank you."
"Oh please. I had fun working on this project. It's my greatest pleasure."
Ibtihaj went over to stand beside Helen, smiling nicely. "I hope you're not too expensive sha. If I am marrying, I want something like this."
Helen laughed. "When that time comes, do remind me that you're acquainted with Ibrahim. I won't forget you easily but my mind can get messed up with work sometimes so...I'm sure we can work out a discount."
As she watched her best friend's smile turn evil, Ayra rolled her eyes and turned to Ibrahim who stood beside her. He fully turned to her, smiling in his usual way. His hands returned to his pockets. "I'm glad you love it. I've been nervous ever since the final piece was put in place. I really wanted you to like it."
Her chest was way too warm. "I love it, Ibrahim."
"I'm glad...Maybe we should have had the boxes delivered here instead of your family home. We'll have to move them again from Plum Boulevard here."
She smiled widely. "We'll handle that. Thank you so much. I loved every single thing. I'll use them well."
"I don't doubt that one bit." He took a small step forward, closer to her. "What did you love most though?"
The familiarity of his perfume and the way he looked at her was a mix that threatened to make Ayra lightheaded. She had no doubt he'd catch her but she wasn't ready to fall like that yet. She forced herself to keep breathing, inhaling everything that was him.
"The perfumes." Her voice was breathy and low. "I loved the perfumes."
"I was hoping you would." His voice was as low as hers. "I don't think there's anything better than two people in love with each other scenting the same way. It's comforting and I can't wait for you to start using them. I can't wait to hug you too." Briefly, his gaze dropped to her lips and Ayra saw him swallow as his eyes came back to hers. "And do everything else."
Her heart was too frenetic to even try to rein it back under control. She did her best to keep breathing and God, she wanted to kiss him. It was the first time she felt the urge so strongly. Luckily for her heart – and her sanity, Ibrahim stepped back, breaking the bubble they were wrapped in.
"When do your exams start?"
The topic change was momentarily disorienting. She shook her head slightly to clear it and then she focused on providing a reply to the question he'd asked. "On the 3rd. It'll end on the 9th. Why?"
"I was trying to come with a timeline...We should do our medical tests as soon as you're done and then we can settle what else is left. We still need to talk about intimacy, Ayra. We can't keep delaying it."
Warmth rose to her cheeks. "Ibrahim, we will."
"And then the honeymoon."
"Let's go to Zanzibar," She put her hands together. "I beg you. They have really beautiful resorts."
He nodded. "I'll get in touch with the travel agency then." He then smiled. "You love Zanzibar that much?"
She smiled like a kid in a candy store. "I did some research on honeymoon destinations and I loved what I saw. Are we going to stay here until the new year?"
"I was hoping we could be back before the 31st. Anneth and Nathaniel host the meanest crossover parties and you don't want to miss it for anything."
"Fine then. We'll be back before the 31st. We'll be able to celebrate your birthday too."
"My birthday's nothing special, Ayra."
"Not anymore. I'm here now, Ibrahim, so we're changing that."
He finally smiled, his gaze softening so nicely. "I look forward to it then."
"Yay!"
"And we should tackle intimacy and contraceptives tonight."
Her expression fell. "I don't like you."
He laughed. "Now that's something I don't feel towards you. We'll be fine. The earlier the better, Ayra."
She sighed defeatedly. "Alright. We'll tackle it tonight."
She did not look forward to it one bit. They eventually stepped out of the apartment and Ibtihaj walked away with Helen while Ayra and Ibrahim set up their passcodes and registered their fingerprints in the scanner, Ibrahim overseeing the whole thing. He then led the way two levels down – to the eight floor – where Bella lived. Unfortunately she wasn't in but Ayra was thrilled to know the exact apartment, knowing she was going to be visiting the Italian sweetheart a lot.
When they got to the parking lot in front of the residential building, Helen said goodbye and then she left, promising to be in touch if they needed anything. Ibrahim then faced Ayra. "Should I take you home?"
Ibtihaj grabbed her best friend's arm. "No! E don do! You people have been sharing love since we got here. It is okay." She glared at Ayra. "If you think of allowing me drive back on my own, I will murder you here and I'll ensure they properly dispose of your body."
Ibrahim raised a brow. "Are you threatening my wife, Ibty?"
Ayra rolled her lips in just so she didn't smile like a lovesick teenager; exactly what she felt like. Ibtihaj scoffed. "It's today that being single pain me pass. No wahala. I'll be someone's wife someday and I will avenge this day, Ibrahim!"
Ibrahim was clearly amused. "I'll look forward to it...Drive safely, please."
"I will."
He turned to Ayra as Ibtihaj started pulling her away. "Stay safe, Leilani."
"You too! See you soon!"
And he stood there until they left in Salama's car which they'd come with, his smile never leaving his face.