Chapter 49

—————Marafa Estate

————————————10:00am, Morning of The Wedding Day.

The evening I spent with Khalifa last night made me forget all about my worries. We went to Havilah ice cream and we spent about two hours there. We talked a lot and bonded more.

Raihannah’s Mother found us a makeup artist and a woman that ties amazing headscarves for us for the event. But she was to come later after the nikkah.

I was going to wear an Ankara material that was sewn into a real beautiful gown. It was simple but something I could wear, Raihannah’s tailor made it for us here, for I, Firdaus, Ummah, Ummi and ammie. The men were going to wear something called gezner.

White in colour.

I couldn't wait to see how my parents were going to look.

We were definitely going to take a family picture and we were definitely going to rock the Nigerian look.

Najmah's dress was just like mine, I couldn't wait to see how my baby was going to look also. Miriam had already told us to learn how to tie Nigerian headscarves and we did. Well the easy ones. I managed to learn how to tie their Zarah Buhari. It actually made me look good.

" You guys come on downstairs, Farouk ordered breakfast for us" Ummah said as she opened up my door a little. " okay Ummah" I answered as I wore a scarf and walked over to where Najmah was playing and picked her up. I couldn't wait to hear my baby's first words. It was obviously going to be Ummah.

" Let's go have breakfast" I sang to her as I carried her out of our room and we walked down the stairs.

There were some toasts and tea on the table and some fried plantain and fruit bowls. There was bread on the table and a small container of blue-band butter. Breakfast.

"Good Morning Groom, how nervous are you?" I said as I walked to where Farouk sat and Najmah let her hands out. She wanted him to carry her. " Come here NajNaj" He said as he collected Najmah from my arms. " Well Sis, To be honest, I'm not nervous, I'm just happy, you know I already have a house for us in Malaysia, but we'll be spending the night here today and tomorrow we'll be heading to Maldives for our honeymoon, just two weeks, don't miss me much" He answered as he cupped Najmah's cheeks. " I'm happy you're not nervous, and hey happy honey moon, Maldives is a cool place, take care of yourselves okay" I answered as I sat beside him. " Of course, I will I have to" He answered and smiled at me. He was really my twin brother and I was glad that my best friend found happiness with him.

We ate breakfast and had a long family chat and time went by so quickly.

Raihanna was going to be brought here later in the evening after the reception and I didn't want to be around for long cause the place was going to be crowded, so Khalifa and I and Najmah made plans for tonight after the wedding.

He was going to take us to see Grandma Humairah cause she was definitely not going to join in on the arrival of the bride.

It was already 12:30 and we all had to be ready by latest, 1:30, cause the Nikkah was going to start by 2:00pm.

They prayed Salatul Zuhr in Kaduna bu 12:31 so I made my Salah and I bathed Najmah and put her into her tiny Dora the explorer robe and I took bath and got into my soft robe too.

Everyone was getting ready.

I missed Khalifa so much. We were going to meet at the mosque later on.

We had already rented some cars for our stay here. Abbah and Ummah rented a Lexus Jeep. That was what Abbah loved driving. Naim rented an E350 for him and his wife, Farouk got a hummer for him and I.

Mine was white and I liked it, there was a baby sitter for Najmah and I was going to be riding with Miriam and Ummah.

I dressed Najmah up and oh my I fell in love with my baby over and over again. I sprayed a nice musk for my baby and there she was ready. The Ankara material was dark blue with some hints of pink, so I put on a pink hijab for her.

My baby looked beautiful.

I kept her still in her cradle and gave her a bunch of toys to play with and went to sit on the stool in front of my mirror.

I took out my touch up kit, it wasn't really a makeup kit, just a kit with something to make my face brighter.

I wiped my face with my wipes and applied little powder on my face. I lined my eyes with Kajal and applied mascara to my lashes. I looked good so far. I combed and brushed my hair and used a ribbon to turn it into a bun. It was hard cause I had pretty long, silky hair but I did. I brushed my brows and used an oil to smoothen it and I applied pink lip gloss.

My face was ready.

I stood up to take the portion of the Ankara that I was supposed to use to tie my hair and sat back in front of the mirror and began tying.

I was done after some few minutes and I suddenly heard noises from downstairs. They were ready.

I looked at my phone and it was already 1:15pm. I could make it.

I sprayed my star collection body spray, pink dress and I took my dress out from my wardrobe.

I quickly put it on and took a closer look at the mirror. I looked beautiful.

Very very beautiful.

I smiled at myself as I looked at how long the dress was, it was actually sweeping the floor.

I had to wear heels.

The dress was long sleeved, well the sleeves were baggy and it was slightly off shouldered, a little bit. It had rose ruffles around the neck lining and some stones on the chest. It was flay and full from the middle of my stomach down.

It was beautiful.

I wore a silver, small necklace around my neck and matching ear rings and bracelet. " Faryah, can I come in?" I heard Ummah call from outside my door. " Yes Ummah" I answered back as I went to get my black heels and I grabbed my black hand bag with a chain strap. " Aren't you ready yet Faryah?" Ummah called as I quickly wore my heels. " I'm ready, I just need to get a scarf" I said as I walked into my room and saw how beautiful my mother looked.

She was wearing the same material I was and a gown too, with a headscarf as well. She looked very beautiful, no makeup. Just a pretty face she passed on to me.

" Ummah, you look so pretty" I said as I walked to hug her. " and you look stunning, MashaAllah, come downstairs quick, Miriam wants to take a family photo of us, I'm going to take my love downstairs" Ummah said as she picked Najmah up from her cradle. " Okay Ummah, I'll be downstairs in a minute, Thank you so much" I said and hugged her again as she took Najmah's bag.

" Be quick honey" She said as she left my room and I smiled as I walked back to my wardrobe and picked up a light pink scarf. I walked to my mirror and fixed it up and I was ready.

"Faryah, hurry up and join the family picture, you should sit beside Farouk" Miriam called immediately I got down the stairs. " You look hot by the way" She added and gave me a thumbs up. I smiled at her and went to where my family sat, The Mustapha's and the Edwards, all together as one. I sat beside Farouk and I inhaled his breath-taking scent. MashaAllah he smelt so good. He looked good, he was in a white material and he was wearing something they called Babban riga. It was big and it made Khalifa look really manly and very handsome, he shaved his beard well and MashaAllah he looked like me. He placed his cap well and so did Abbah and Naim. They all looked handsome MashaAllah.

And my ladies, we all looked so beautiful. Our family was beautiful, all thanks to Allah. I sat beside Farouk and Beside Ummah. Farouk was beside Abbah and Naim, Firdaus and Ummi were at the back of the couch. Perfect arrangement.

This was us.

Ummah placed Najmah on my thighs as Miriam shouted, " say cheese"

I slowly tickled my daughter and it made her laugh as she looked at me and there, the perfect shot was taken.

" Take more" Farouk yelled and we spent about 10 minutes taking pictures.

" come on guys let's go, Farouk you know the road to the mosque right?” Abbah asked as we all headed to our cars. " Yeap" he answered as I got to my car and opened it, quickly buckling Najmah up in her seat and keeping her bag beside her.

It was sunny here.

" We'll all follow behind Farouk okay, let's go" Abbah called as he got into his car.

" It's really sunny" I said as I walked to my drivers seat. " I have shades" Miriam said as she sat on the passengers seat. " I could use them, thank you very much" I said as I started the engine. It felt so good. " sure, Uhmm hey, I'm going to send the pictures to you, I really want to post some on my Instagram" Miriam squealed as I followed behind Naim and Firdaus. " You guys look so beautiful and elegant and so classy" she said as she looked at her camera. " yeah, I know we definitely rocked the look" I said with a smile. " Yeah, you know Farouk has pretty handsome friends" Miriam said as she dropped her camera on her thighs. " and luckily we're going to pass by their hotel to get them, It's very hard to lower my gaze Faryah, you know he has two particular friends, one's Black American and the other is Latino, Faryah, the Latino dude is so oh my, MashaAllah, his beard is amazing" Farouk had friends of different races, they met in school. Farouk studied in England so he was opportuned to meet different people of different race and religions.

" You're talking about James, you won't see him at the mosque later and stop looking at them" I said and rolled my eyes. " what about the Black American?"

" That's Ali, he's cool" I said. " Ali has beautiful eyes Faryah" She commented and I rolled my eyes again. " they haven't probably looked your way"

" they should have" she said and pouted like Najmah does. I couldn't believe I had to keep up with this till I reached the mosque.

Ya Allah.

Help me please.

————————Gwamna Road

———————————-1:00, Danesi's Residence.

" Ya Khalifa, Kayi sauri mu wuce, munyi lati, kuma..(Brother Khalifa, be quick so we can, we're late and..)" Aneesah was cut short immediately she opened my room door and her eyes hit me. I had to look good.

For my future wife and all my cousins and their friends that had a crush on me.

But most especially for my future wife.

Faryah.

My Faryah.

I really couldn't believe that she was finally going to marry me. After months of waiting and trying to convince her. She finally agreed.

I was pleased with her, and we luckily didn't have any problem cause my family loved my future wife. She got along more with Abbah and I was happy. Very happy.

Even Gwago Humairah loved her and all my aunties.

I was so blessed to have Faryah and my life and I was going to let anything or anyone be a hindrance to our peaceful life.

Khalid lost her once and for all and I couldn't bear to lose her at all. I loved her with all my heart and soul and everything I had.

I loved her so much. I was willing to give anything to make her happy at anytime until my last breath. She was always there for me.

We were always there for each other and I wanted to keep her close to me. Forever.

And I was going to, by Allah's grace.

I was wearing a white Kaftan, Gezner. That was what we were wearing today, white. I looked at my mirror again and smiled at myself. MashaAllah. " You really want your cousins to droll over you gaskiya, you look handsome MashaAllah" She commented and I winked at her. " That's me for you" I said as I took my shades and car keys cause it was sunny outside.

I looked good, my palms and caps were to match and yeah, Faryah had to fall in love again. " let's go, we're late gaskiya" I said as I walked out of my room and closed the door. " well at least you look good" Aneesah said and I blushed a little. " You look good too y'know, Aunty Naja's sons are going to drool" I answered as we walked down the stairs side by side. " Oh please who's their mate" she said and laughed out loud. " Ah, then go and find your mate, na san kina da wani boyfriend chan a instagram, na san irin ku( I know you have a boyfriend there on Instagram, I know your type)" I said and watched her laugh again. " Kai wawa ne wallahi( you're a fool Wallahi), I have a husband, I don't call him a boyfriend cause I know he's definitely going to get married to me, plus I'm 22, I'm soon going to get married, in two years time maybe, or next year" she said and smirked at me. I couldn't imagine Aneesah in her husband's house, all bossy and all that. It was funny. " Who's he?"

" He's a man, Mujahid, he's from Kano, he's a Yakasai, Mujahid Muhammad Yakasai" Oh wow. I could look him up.

" Iyeeh, Ameriyar er sarauta( bride of a royalty)" I teased and watched her blush. " Angon baturiya( groom of a foreigner)" she teased back and we both blushed. " You're going to see him at the reception today, I'm going to introduce him to you guys, especially Mama" She replied. " I hope she likes him like she likes Faryah, Faryah doesn't have a single obvious flaw Khalifa, like she's so perfect and her sense of style is mad, like wow, I love her and her beautiful daughter, she sadly doesn't like her mother that much" She added. " Yeah she looks like Khalid"

" That's the name of her ex husband?"

" Yeah, he's actually still her husband but she's already hopefully divorcing him" I answered. " Oh okay toh"

" Ya Khalifa, let's take a picture" Ruqayyah called immediately we got downstairs. " My son is so handsome" Mama said as I took in the atamfa she was wearing. This was what all ladies were wearing for the wedding except the bride. I couldn't wait to see how Faryah looked in atamfa. She had to look beautiful. " ah mama kin hadu( oh, mother you look so beautiful), the only hajaju in town" I added and watched her smile. " Toh sannu handsome boy, ku zo mu wuce( well done handsome boy, let's go)" Abbah said as Aneesah took a picture of I, Mama and Ruqayyah. " Abbah DanAllah tsaya( Abbah please wait)" Ruqayyah begged as Aneesah took more pictures. " I'm going, Arafah, let's go" Abbah called as Ruqayyah snapped more selfies.

I was going to be riding with my sisters.

" Keh, let's go" I said as I interrupted Ruqayyahs photo session and we walked out of the living room together. I couldn't wait to see Faryah at the mosque.

———————Sultan Bello Mosque, Ungwan Sarki, Kaduna.

—————————————1:40pm.

We were not late, The bride was yet to come and we met Salatul Juma'ah. So we were good. Everyone was already here, our cousins and friends. Everyone was present but the groom hadn't arrived yet. I just hoped they weren't lost or something.

" Khalifa, Sun zo( they're here)" Aneesah said as she came to meet up on the bench where I sat under a tree. I look up at the streets and found their cars, Farouk was at the front and luckily the traffic was controlled well. They were shown where to park and everything was going smoothly. Faryah's Hummer was the last car on their list. I couldn't wait to see how she looked.

" I can't wait to see how they'll all get down from those cars and picture it in slow motion" Aneesah added as I got up from where I sat.

They found a reserved spot to park their cars and I watched as each and everyone of them got down from their cars.

You know I was a man, but Farouk had pretty handsome friends. I was only stating the obvious, no feelings attached.

Faryah's Mothers looked so beautiful and elegant. " Khalifa let's go over to them" Ruqayyah chirped as she pulled my hand and I followed her.

I stopped at my heels as I felt the world pause and I saw Faryah's car door open up.

She had a bright smile on her face, her flawless white perfect teeth made everything in the atmosphere glow. Her eyes were brighter than the shining sun and there she was, looking beautiful in the atamfa all ladies were to wear.

My future wife looked so beautiful. So very beautiful.

" KHALIFAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!" I heard two screams that almost destroyed my eardrums say. " Lafiya?( is everything alright?)we've been talking to you and just stood there, star struck" Ruqayyah said as I watched her roll her eyes. " Keh I don't blame him, look how the atamfa fits Faryah" Aneesah added as we all looked at her. She was busy with Najmah and Miriam.

" Ladies, I'm going over to my future wife" I said as I continued walking towards Faryah.

" You look beautiful" I greeted as I stopped in front of her and watched her blush. " Yay, I pulled off this look perfectly, you look more than handsome my love" she just called me her love.

Why did I feel like a Five year old that just got candy. " We look good, MashaAllah" I said as I hugged her lightly. I looked towards Najmah and Miriam. I had beautiful ladies in my life. " Najmah looks more beautiful though" I said as I collected my baby from Miriam. " Aww, my baby is so cute" I said as I cupped her cheeks and watched her giggle. Faryah held her hand and smiled at her and she smiled at both of us. The perfect family.

"Well that shot was amazing" Miriam squealed as we looked at her.

" of course it had to be" I smirked and looked at Faryah. " I love you sooo much" I whispered gently at her and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much too" she answered with a smile.

I was satisfied with how all my efforts had turned out.

Alhamdulillah.

——————Medellin, Columbia.

——————————— 3:00pm, Martinez Cartel.

"entonces tenemos un trato?( so do we have a deal?)" I asked as I stretched my hand out for him to shake me. " sí, por supuesto que hacemos, cualquier cosa para la familia( yes of course we do, anything for family)" Uncle Alejo said to me as he lighted his cigarette with a laugh. " Enviaré todas las armas que necesites mass trade a to Nuevo essonite en Cartagena( I'll be sending all the weapons you need later to your new hideout in Cartagena)" he added and smiled at me. "Muchas gracias tio( thank you very much uncle)" I answered and smiled at him.

"Tienes que hacer un buen uso de todo lo que te estoy enviando, son un conjunto único, úsalos sabiamente( you have to make good use of all what I'm sending to you, they're a unique set, so use them wisely)" he said again as he looked at me intently. " Asegúrate de vengar la muerte de carlos(make sure you avenge carlos's death)" he added.

" Definitivamente tío, todos van a pagar( definitely uncle, all of them are going to pay)" I assured him. They were going to pay for how HaenBong and Carlos lost their lives and how they ruined the main branch of my business.

Uncle Alejandro Martinez owned one of the sneakiest cartels in Cartagena. The FBI didn't even know about their existence.

He was the Uncle of Carlos's mother. We had joined forces so we could take the Olysters down one by one. He was going to help me with weapons, drugs and henchmen. My husband was still in prison, but we were going to burst him out soon.

I had started to rebuild my hideout in Cartagena, Columbia. The green vipers name was never going to fall because of some lame ordinary people.

It was going to be back.

At the top.

" Uno por uno, van a pagar caro(one by one, all of them are going to pay)" I said to him. "Bueno(Good)" he answered with a laugh.

I was coming for the Olysters.

One by one.

They were going to pay.