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The next morning at breakfast Taseer and I kept stealing glances at each other since almost all the guests have gone home leaving only Hajia,Ammy,Abby ,Simran ,Jiddah ,Taseer and I having breakfast on the table .

" Stop looking at him Manal ,if you get caught you will be embarrassed for the rest of your life " Simran whispered.

" I am not looking at him " I whispered back fiercely .

" Tell that to the birds so that they can fly away with your lies " she rolled her eyes with a smirk while Jiddah who is sitting beside her snickered .

Just then Abby cleared his throat ,drawing our attention to what he is about to say.

" Alhamdulillah, the wedding is over without a hitch masha Allah, I urge you guys to live in peace with each other. I don't want to hear any negative thing coming from either of you ,especially you Manal. I pray that Allah will bless this union, bless your home and ward off any evil that will come your way .Both of you are my children and in shaa Allah I won't take sides ,I will be just between you whenever the need arises .Allah ya muku albarka ."

with that being said Abby left the table with all of us saying amin in chorus.

Hajia also talked about the virtues of marriage ,urging us to create an unbreakable bond that will last a lifetime ,saying that she trust both of us and is not expecting anything bad from us in shaa Allah .

Ammy didn't say much ,she just prayed for a lasting peace and they left leaving me ,my friends and husband .

" Muntaseer we need cute babies, twins to be precise, one like you and the other like this girl " Simran said pointing at me and the guy in question just smiled uncomfortably. See the person telling me all sort of things that makes me blush crimson the other night pretending to be shy .

"Allah sanya alkhairi ex boyfriend since Manal succeeded in snatching you away from me " Jiddah said and I glared at her.

I don't want him to ever ask or know what happened months ago in this life or the next .

" I am still your boyfriend Jiddah ,our wedding will soon take place " Muntaseer replied her and I looked up at him giving him a warning look .

" Jiddah let's go get ready ,it is high time we go back home too ,this yeye pikin no longer need us,not our love or services,she has discarded us like laundry " Simran is being too over dramatic isn't she ?

I just laughed and got up to leave the table with them and an oh so husky voice prevented me from moving another inch by saying

" where do you think you are going without properly greeting your husband " I look at him with shock mouth agape .Where is the Taseer I've fallen in love with ? This guy is seriously giving me a bunch of surprises I don't wanna have anymore .

" Close your cute mouth before I kiss the shock away or worst before flies enter " He brought me out of my reverie .

" Yahsalaaam Taseer shut up, someone might hear you " I warned.

" Ohh really ? What if they do ?? Are you not my wife ?" He cocked a brow

" Yes I am your wife but don't you have shame ?" .

" I do have shame but my Shame is at 0% when it comes to my wife " he started towards me and I kept backing off from him till my back hits the wall .

" Just give me my promised morning kiss and I will go " he said looking at my face while I tried to look at anywhere but him.

" I didn't Promise you any morning kiss did I??? !" I squirmed trying to escape and he trapped me again .

" it is a promise by implication madame Taseer you need not to say it out loud ."

" If I kiss you ,you will let me go and never see me again till you come back. Deal ?" I asked and he laughed hard I started thinking he has lost his mind.

" I will get my kiss ,see you later and get another one ,see you later after later and get another one till I leave and come back to get much more " he freaking winked at me .

" Okay fine !" I huffed in annoyance while he gave me a cheeky grin.

I Kissed his cheeks so fast and tried to escape but he held me back and gave me a mind numbing kiss I will Never forget even if I have amnesia .That was my first kiss with my husband.

I ran up to my room without sparing him a glance and didn't say anything to my friends when they asked why I was running like a maniac .I lay there for only God knows how long, eyes closed not believing what just happened and surprised that the calm sweet shy Taseer will do that not minding that someone might see us .

" uhm ,we have suitors too and we will soon tie the knot ,someone should stop feeling like they are the only ones lucky to get married " Simran brought me out of the world I've gone into .

" Hmmm" I hummed .

" Don't hmm me Madame get up and take another bath or else I will kill you " She warned.

" I don't want to " I whined .

" Jiddah doll up your face and go meet Taseer ,maybe the wedding will be more sooner than we expected " Before she finished her sentence I was already in the bathroom and they roared with laughter ,I don't want any woman to be associated with my man even if it happens to be a joke .It makes me think that it might happen and then I will be doomed forever because I can't stand having another woman other than me in Taseer's life .That's the extent of how much I love him and how selfish I am when it comes to him .

By the time I came out of the bathroom ,they've packed already and just then I realised that they are actually really leaving and I don't want them to go .

" Haba mana ,just stay here for a while longer " I pleaded.

" Seriously? I can't stay for another hour, you no longer love us Manal " Simran pouted.

" I called home that I am coming back today and there is nothing more to do ,besides you have your husband to take care of before he leaves " Jiddah reasoned and I nodded before getting ready .

We went to Ammy's room and she gave them a package I have no idea of the contents inside thanking them for coming ,Hajia gave them two cute veils while I gave them perfumes and shoes .

" You don't need to do all this ,ai an zama daya" Simran protested .

" It needs to be done and that's what family do for family " I said hugging them both.

" Oya Jiddah let me drop you off before I go home " Simran said dragging her trolley down the stairs while I helped them with other bags .

We met Taseer at the lot and I couldn't look at him ,he thanked them for coming and bade them farewell giving them a bundle of naira notes to refill the tank as he said. They accepted after much protest saying that they did it because we are friends .I waved them off and hurriedly sauntered inside but I was not so fast .

" Not so fast wifey " He says holding my hands tightly because I've been trying to get out of his hold.

" Please Abby might see us from his room, Ammy and Hajia too" I begged .

" Abby has left for the office and Ammy and Hajia will be happy to see us "

"What do you want ?" I asked .

" I want to sit and have a chat with my hayat that's if she don't mind "

I couldn't say no could I ?so we ended up going to the back garden spreading a carpet while I brought out drinks and snacks for us to nibble on as we talk .Taseer held my hands in his and refused to let go till I gave up ,we talked about random things and I sensed that he is about to talk about something serious .

" Manal you know where I came from and you know who my dad was and the person I am right now ,I don't want us to build our relationship on lies or expectations ,yes we should hope for a happy home but I don't want you to expect me to be perfect because honestly I am not perfect .

I am not half as rich as your dad . I have started earning my salary not long ago ,I know that Abby didn't tell you this but he bought a house for us and it is very beautiful am sure you will love it ,as to my income you know how I give out almost all of it to orphanage but I have started a business with Ameer and I will start giving out just half of it in charity unlike before .I will try my maximum best to see that you are well provided for that you won't even feel the difference between this house and your home .It might not be easy but I will try ." He said rubbing my hands in soothing circles.

I haven't even given that a thought and here he was worried about it ,I know it is my arrogance that made this humble man beside me think it is absolutely necessary to tell me all these things and right that moment my heart swell with love for him .I looked at him with so much love and adoration in my eyes

" Taseer in shaa Allah I will never complain to you and you should not bother to provide for me as I've been provided for here ,you should do that according to what Allah has blessed you with and I promise to always be there for you supporting you, and encouraging you to work hard and someday in shaa Allah we will build an orphanage home and fulfill your dreams which have become mine too.

What is yours is mine and what is mine is yours .I pray I won't ever give you a reason to doubt that you're not taking good care of me " I said and before I know what is going on he crushed me in a hug.

" Thank you Hayatee you're a good woman and Alhamdulillah you happen to be mine " he broke the hug and kissed my forehead.

We kept talking mostly about the course he is doing in Amsterdam how the place looks like ,how he was afraid because it was his first time on plane . I laughed at him ,he told me about the people he had met ,the weather and his daily activities .

" I don't want to leave you Hayatee ,I wish I can take you with me " he said

" I want to go with you too but you will come back before we know it " I said leaning on his shoulder while he caress my hair.

We stayed in that position for only God knows how long till the adhan for asr was called .He headed to the mosque a few blocks away from home and I packed the things and went inside to offer my salat too. I met Ammy in the kitchen .

" Hmmm kids nowadays have no shame ,you can't even wait to go to your house Manal " She said with a serious tone and I willed the earth to open up and swallow me .

" Ammy !" I whined hiding my face.

" I will tell Abby to send you to your house before you do something. shameless kids " now she is joking .

" We just talked fa Ammy nothing else"

" Who said anything about doing anything else " she raised a brow and I ran out of the kitchen smiling .

I was so tired from all the hustle and bustle of the wedding so I lay down to rest not knowing when sleep over took Me. I heard someone gently tapping me and I turned ,hugging my pillow tighter mumbling incoherently .

" Manal wake up ,its already past 8pm and you didn't pray " his soft voice called out to me .I thought I was dreaming and I snuggled into the duvet again smiling.

" I will tickle you if you don't wake up right this instance " he warned and I didn't take heed because it was in a dream .

The next thing I know is someone or let me say Taseer pulling me up in his arms .I opened my eyes wide as saucers and screamed .

" Hey shhhh it's just me " she shushed me with his hands on my lips .

" What the hell are you doing here " I half yelled

" waking my sleeping beauty up "

" how did you come in ? " I asked urging him to put me down but he didn't budge .

" Through the door" he said innocently .

" You will be the death of me . Now put Me down " He did and I ran into the bathroom his laughter trailing behind me .

I came out to find him leisurely lying on my bed and it took every resolve that I have for me not to scream out in frustration ,this man has no shame .

" offer your maghrib and I will lead us in ishaa,I missed the congregation " he said and I just nodded.

I know he is well educated and all but I never knew he can recite this so mashaa Allah. If not because we were praying I would've awwed and gushed over him .His voice OMA ,I could die for it .We said the azkhars and go down for dinner.

" where is everyone ? " I asked and he shrugged.

" Should we eat in the same plate or you want separate plates but either way we are going to feed each other " he said smiling at my discomfort.

" To Mara kunyah , a gidan surukan naka koh?" we both froze .