Chapter 3

"So when are you going back to Kano?" Khairiyya asked Abdulmaleek who was seating on one of the bright purple couches in her office.

"Right now since you're tired of seeing me." He stated getting up. She laughed also getting up.

"Come on Ab, that's not what I mean."

He shrugged "and what is it you mean?"

"I mean I'll miss you and I don't want you to go." She pouted her lips before stamping her feet on the marble floor, she was behaving like a baby and he loved that a lot: her childishness was another thing that made him love her a lot. He stood watching her in amusement.

"Alright then, I'll be leaving early tomorrow insha Allah and I'll be meeting with the man Baba sent me to meet this evening, there are some important documents I've to collect for him so I'd have to leave tomorrow to deliver them on time."

She admired how respectful Abdulmaleek was to his father, no matter how busy he was, he would leave whatever he was doing to attend to his father's endless errands no matter how minor they were.

Khairiyya nodded "it's alright but I'm miss you so much handsome."

He smiled "I'll miss you more beautiful, don't worry I'll come over next weekend to see you."

"Seriously ?" She squealed jumping up.

"Yes beautiful." Seeing her happy was all he wanted, her smile meant the world to him.

"I'll so much look forward to that."

There was a comfortable silence afterwards as Abdulmaleek sat looking at her beautiful face lovingly from her mesmerizing eyes to the pointed nose that was adorned with a glittering diamond nose ring, to her full lips that never got tired of smiling. Abdulmaleek wondered why each time they were together he couldn't take his eyes off her, she was just so beautiful, and the gentleness was another thing he loved.

"So how about the discussion we had last week?" He asked breaking the silence, they were now seated next to each other on the couch.

"About?" Khairiyya very well knew what he was talking about but had being trying to avoid that discussion.

He just shook his head "about you becoming my wife." He said it as if it was the most normal thing to say.

Khairiyya lowered her head and her smile vanished immediately making her mood change, Abdulmaleek was getting used to that each time he brought that issue up. He wondered why Khairiyya acted like that, he knew she loved him so what else was left if not marriage, they had being together for 3 years and were very much in love with each other, getting married was supposed to be their next step and being together for a life time.

Since the first day Abdulmaleek saw Khairiyya in Parc de Belleville in Paris 3 years back while she was still in school, he fell in love with her. He had gone to France for a business trip and decided to visit Paris which was more like a childhood home to him because he spend the first 10 years of his life there.

That day she was together with her parents and siblings who had came to visit her in school, the moment he laid his eyes on her, his instincts told him to go for her, she was the one. She looked Nigerian he thought and when he heard one of her brothers asking her some questions in Hausa he felt on top of the world because he had found a wife. At first it was her childishness and innocence that attracted him, how she was eating cotton candy like a little child without any worries and then the intriguing beauty was an added advantage. He wasn't able to approach her that day but didn't forget to click some pictures of her, he wouldn't let her go no matter what. Since he had a lot of friends in Paris getting information about her wasn't that hard, he was told her name was Khairiyya Abdulwahab Dangote, she came from a famous and upper-crust family so it was easier to acquire information about her. He chased and stalked her for a year until she finally surrender to his charm, it wasn't easy but it was worth the wait.

And here there were today as he kept asking himself questions to why Khairiyya always avoided the issue of marrying him, Wasn't he good enough, was the love he had for her not enough, is there a criteria for which he didn't meet up to, wasn't he up to her standards, yes he wouldn't lie she was high-class, expensive, and a priceless diamond but he matched all that so he kept wondering why she was not interested in that. Was she just wasting his time or trying to betray him? That was the last question he asked himself, but Khairiyya wasn't a person like that, if she didn't love him they wouldn't be together for all these years. She had her reasons for everything he thought, and he was ready to hear her out.

He turned to look at her again and her facial expression was still the same hard one, the silence was getting thicker each minute.

"Khairiyya." He called making her raise her head to look at him for a second before turning her head to the other side avoiding his intense gaze. She was surprised to hear him call her name, he usually addressed her with lovely pet names, he calls her name only when it something really important and serious.

"Why do your mood always change when I ask you this particular question? This has been happening for the past 5 months, don't you want us to get married to each other to reach the peak of our love, or is there something I've done which disqualifies me from becoming your husband and life partner? Tell me Khair, is there anything, tell me whatever it is, I'm ready to hear you, or don't you love me anymore." There was a little vulnerability in his deep masculine voice and she felt bad being the reason behind that.

She squeezed her eyes shut before opening them to look at him, she could see clearly that he was pained, he just wouldn't understand it, he wouldn't understand no matter how she tried to explain, he'd feel she would betray him, but she could swear on her life that she loved him endlessly more than her life, he was her perfect match and the one for her, it would be every girl's dream to have Abdulmaleek but here she was trying really hard to fight reality.

"It's just that I feel I'm not ready for a commitment like marriage, I'm not ready to put my all in that, and I feel I'm not good enough to become a wife. Abdulmaleek you know marriage isn't all about the lovey, romantic and mushy stuff, there's more to that, marriage isn't a one day, a week, a month's or a year's task, it's a forever commitment for eternity which needs countless efforts and sacrifice to make it work out so we have to be ready to accept all that. That's why I feel I'm not ready to jump into that just yet, I want us to last so let's take our time. I love you so much Ab I really love you, I just need more time and I'm 100% sure you can give me all the time I need." That wasn't her only reason, this was all she could tell him now.

He stared at her for a few seconds "I love you too baby. I know marriage is a huge commitment and all, but together we can make it work, my life revolves around you and it's only you I want to become my wife and to spend the rest of my life with, I'll give you all the time you need my love but please be fair on me and understand my situation, you know I'm not getting any younger." He concluded in his polished British accent.

Khairiyya offered him a tight smile "everything is fine."

"Yes baby but you know a perfect love story doesn't exist, and there are a lot of imperfection in love, but together we can walk through them to conquer our fears and stick together through thick and thin, Khairiyya this heart beats for you" he placed his hand on his chest.

"Each second, each minute and every day, therefore I love you everyday, I want my everyday to be spent with you in my arms, waking up to see your beautiful smile, I want you to become my wife if not I'll fall inside a well." He concluded trying to ease the tension there.

Khairiyya laughed "I love you too but we'd enter the well together right?"

"Yes my love to live together and die together." He answered also laughing.

Just how he behaved and carried himself in his gentlemanly grace showed how educated, well-read and well-bred he was. Khairiyya loved all that about him. Even though people would say some certain odd things about Hausa men like they were uncivilized, unromantic, naive and unexposed in life, Khairiyya saw Abdulmaleek as an exception to that or maybe because he wasn't born or brought up in Nigeria, he had spent the first 10 years of his life in France, 13 years in the UK followed by 3 years in Saudi Arabia before he returned to Nigeria some 6 years back, maybe that was the reason why he acted different from most of the Hausa men she'd come across even though some trait were there to show he was a complete Hausa man from Kano. While he was abroad he came during vacations and paid frequent visits to Nigeria. Khairiyya admired how Abdulmaleek appreciated his mother tongue, even though he was multilingual, and could switch between French, English or Arabic whenever he wanted, he spoke mostly Hausa and only speak any of the three languages he was exposed to when the need arise.

Khairiyya sat staring at him as he used his phone, and just when he caught her staring she quickly averted her gaze to her Apple watch, the time was 12:30 they had being together for 2 hours in her office since he stopped to check on her in the fashion house. She loved how he wanted to spend much of his time with her each time he was in Abuja.

"Love." He called making her raise her head up just in time to take some beautiful pictures of her, she took that as a cue to smile brightly exposing her perfect white dentition. He kept clicking pictures until her cheeks hurt from smiling.

"You look so beautiful and cute, lemme send you the pictures right away."

"Alright darling ." She smiled adjusting her sitting position on the couch.

"So I've being wanting to ask you, how do this three cameras on this your phone work? or are the cameras just there for decoration." She collected his iPhone 11 pro max to examine the cameras closely.

Abdulmaleek burst into a series of laughs "Village girl." He teased and she pout her lips.

"Yes I'm a village girl, now tell me."

He took back the phone and began explaining to her "the cameras might look like they are just there for decoration but no, each one has its purpose, this first one here is the wide camera, the one below is the telephoto camera, and this one next to it is the ultra wide camera and all three can work together." She sat listening to him attentively.

"And using the three cameras you can take professional quality videos and pictures on the phone, very nice pictures, like the ones I sent you now, infact this cameras are even more advanced than some high DSLR cameras. And another great thing is that with these cameras you can take pictures even when the sun is not out or in the night, night mode turns on automatically when there is low lighting and the pictures are perfect." He concluded giving her back the phone.

She felt happy at how he answered her question because anytime she asked any one her brothers how it worked, they'd just laugh at her saying she was too outdated, it didn't bother her because she was still using her perfect iPhone 8 when 11 pro max was trending. She saw no reason to get another phone while hers was in a very good condition unlike her brothers who would change phones immediately new ones began trending.

He looked at his wristwatch before he got up, "It almost time for prayer so I'll be leaving, I've to see my friend Ahmad by 2 before I proceed to collect baba's documents in the evening."

"Alright then, my regards to Ahmad and his wife." She got up and stood beside him. He smiled at her and she smiled back making her one-sided dimple appear, he loved it making him to feel on top of the world.

"I'll come home in the night so we can see before I leave and bade each other a lovely goodbye my love. Take good care of yourself before then." He stated making his way to the door.

"Until then Ab, also take care of yourself and drive safe." She opened the door for him and after he went out she walked to other end of the enormous office to where her drawing tools were, she had some very important designing to do. She took out a black blunt pencil from the pencil box and began making outlines of a dress.