Four.

ABUJA, NIGERIA.

"Are you awake?" Amani inclined her head to look at her husband's figure sleeping soundlessly on their bed. The bed she hasn't slept on for a long time.

"Uh, yeah." He move around, surprised that his wife is there to wake him up to pray Fajr.

Even when they don't talk, he is the one to always touch her shoulder to wake her up as she sleeps next to her daughter in the other room. It never was the other way around except that time and he knew it meant one thing.

"Can we pray together?" She asked in a small voice, moving her right hand around his muscular arm, feeling the strong arm beneath her finger tips makes her miss him all the more.

Her touch burned the place she positioned it one making him frisson. Good Lord, he missed his wife so much more than he thought.

"Sure. I'll just perform ablution." He can't help but draw her in his arms and wrap her in his comfort when he hit her hand trying to stand up.

Amani let the few tears drop down from her eyes because she didn't know how much she missed him till then. Having him wrap his arms around her means one thing, he is ready to hear her out. They have this weird connection that when they fight, he makes the second step while she takes the last one especially if it is her fault. But just his arms around her is making her so sentimental. He draw her closer and sat her down on his lap smelling her addicting scent. He almost sent crazy when she stopped giving him the comfort he always gets when they were together.

"I missed you so much, my maan." She cried into his neck, tightly holding onto him like her dear life. Even Koala Bear won't show her how to cuddle into someone.

"I missed you too, my Beyoncé." She grinned amidst tears listening to how he affectionately say Beyoncé making her think why did she even let go of this man. The man of her life and her soulmate.

So many minutes later that felt like seconds, she moved away so he could go perform ablution or they won't pray. She wipe away her tears and sniffed when he pecked her forehead. She don't deserve a man like Mika'il in her life. She made him do things he wouldn't have done all because of her foolishness and knowing her husband, he will be guilty of something that isn't his fault. He takes everything she does as his fault even when knowing fully well that she is at fault.

Her heart flutter when he didn't move away from her forehead and inhaled there. It makes her heart tighten in guilt and self-loathe. If only she knew how much he loves her and will do anything for her. She could ask him to stop the wedding and he will do that in a heartbeat, that is just how much he loves her. Love is something he values and when he loves, he gives himself up to that person completely and he did that to Amani.

They stood up and went into the bathroom where he turn on the faucet in the washing hand basin to perform ablution while she lie her head on his back and wrap her small arms around his stomach making his heart to ache in love. He smiled at her through the mirror when he finished performing ablution and prayed silently underneath his breath then he move his hand across her face. She grinned and let him lead the way to their room where she sprayed a praying mat.

After they prayed, he placed his right hand on her head like newly weds do and prayed for her. She couldn't stop the smile from adorning her lips the whole time and her heart kept fluttering with lots of glitters and butterflies.

"Stroll?" She asked when she folded the praying mat along with her long hijab in the side drawer.

"Sure." And that is the last step of their reconciliation. They only need to talk and understand what is wrong and what the other person wants then it is settled.

She quickly walked to their closet and brought one of the matching set of sweats they have and gave him his own. He grinned and wrestled into it just like she did. She feels all the more giddy like that is the first time she is going to talk to him ever.

After they both were done, she went to Anaan's room and find her soundly sleeping and looks like she is not about to wake up anytime soon so she turn on the baby monitor beside her crib and left the room. She happily wrap a medium sized pink veil to match the set of black sweats they are wearing. She wrap her legs in soft black loafers because those are the first set she saw and they are also her favorite.

She saw Mika'il standing by the front door with a bottle of water and a white earphone. She grinned and skipped to where he is, taking the earphone and plugged it to her phone then together they left the house to the streets. It is quite as the sun hasn't come out yet and they are the only people in the estate at that moment. She played 'Believe by Justin Timberlake and Meek Mill' because the song is going to motivate her to do what she wants to do, say and move forward. She gave him one side of the earphone to plug in his ear and she use the other one.

"I'm sorry." She said after awhile then felt his left arm on her shoulder, drawing her closer to him.

"You should be." He feigned being mad and narrow his eyes at the empty coal tarred street sighting the sun deep under the horizon.

"I did everything foolishly and I am so grateful you didn't tell, Mami. She would've had my head since I can't remember. You have being patient and put up with all my childish behaviour. I honestly don't know if I would've come out of my self-centered mind if not for a wake up call. Ya Allah, I can't even ramble on today when I badly want the words. Maan, I'm so sorry. Forgive me please?" She asked, her teary eyes looking up at him. He could see the sheer regret, affection, compunctious glimmering in her doe like eyes making it hard for him to stay mad, an act.

"What wake up call?" He asked instead of instantly saying he forgives her since he never held any grudge against her.

"You getting married." She blurted out unknowingly. It wasn't part of what she has planned for them, she didn't want to talk about that then. She wanted to seek for his forgiveness first before diving into the topic of his marriage.

"You wouldn't have apologized if you hadn't heard about it, huh?" He questioned, tilting his head back to look at her closely making the earphone in his left ear to fall off and she followed the object with her eyes.

"No, no. It is not you getting married that brought us here. It was just the wake up call I needed. You didn't talk to me too, you gave up easily and I was only human." She breathed out, feeling her feet getting cold in her loafers not because of the weather but because of the look her Maan is giving her at that moment.

"Now it is my fault that our relationship failed?" He raised a brow, narrowing his eyes into slits waiting for her to admit what she has in mind as he could see she has a lot to say.

If he knows Amani like he thought he does, then she will ramble on and on about what was wrong and will try blaming them both then defend them all at once. He once told her that she won't be able to become a lawyer even with humanity in her hand making her mad for that little moment then she laughed it off because it is the truth. She won't ever be able to become a lawyer and if she does, her clients will run away after the first hearing. No, she rephrased that and said she won't even have clients to begin with.

"What I mean is, no one is at fault and the tiniest weeny beeny weety fault is mine. I already told you that I was afraid of becoming a mother. I was apprehensive and timid when I gave birth to Anaan not wanting to be a bad mother, I gave all my attention to her. I don't want her to feel abandoned and since I don't know anything about being a mother or motherhood in general, I had to focus. I busied myself browsing and searching about being a mother. I'm sorry if giving my daughter my whole attention hurts you." She sighed and drop her head down, tears trickling her eyes.

She hates confrontation, especially one with her husband. Their relationship hardly gets serious and when it does, she hates herself.

"I'm sorry. I thought I understand you but I was wrong." He took a deep breath and draw her into him in a side hug.

"I am not trying to stop you from getting married. I only want you to know I didn't do what I did intentionally." She cried, the tears rushing down her eyes as she is an emotional person right from the scratch.

"I know." He breathed on her head, tightening his hold around her body.

"I'm I forgiven?" She raised her head up to look at his eyes fringed with long curled lashes and his strong looking jaw to his high cheek bone and then settle on his chiseled jaw that is covered with stubbles making him look rugged yet handsome. His honey cool under tone skin complexion is blended to perfection. The feel of his strong muscular arms her makes her heart flutter. She really missed him a lot more than she thought she did.

"I was never mad at you. I just got tired of pursuing you and when another opportunity popped, I decided to take it." He shrugged and they continue to walk down the street, the sun already rising from it's former home.

The red, orange and blue hue dusking the sky makes everything look more romantic. She lie her head on his chest and they continue to walk listening to 'Put It All On Me by Ed Sheeran ft Ella Mai.' She could feel her chest lightening, her heart brightening and her shoulders loosing it's knots. She smiled widely at the sun, feeling like it is down the road but after reaching the end of the estate and seeing it up above, she chuckled at herself and they turn back to go back to their home.

"What's funny?" Mika'il asked, listening to her chuckle.

"Thought we could touch the moon at the end of the street." She giggled at her own thought.

"You've always been stupid." He shook his head and they laughed together.

"Mom was really mad at me." He broke the silent comfortable silence surrounding them with his words.

"She called me then but never told me you were getting married. She only asked whether I was okay and if we are good and I told her we were all fine. Maybe she thought you've told me about it." She smiled thinking of his mother. She is the coolest human to grace the earth and she looks forward to going to meet her soon.

They walked back to their home talking and filling each other with everything. She told him about her work and he also told her about his and together they made breakfast like they always do. Anaan was still sleeping so she asked Mika'il to change her diaper so she won't wake up but she woke up nonetheless. She was wailing around the whole house making Amani's head and ears to shake at the loud thrills.

"I know you woke her up, don't try denying it, fool." Amani didn't turn around from the stove hearing him walk in with a hiccuping Anaan in his arms.

"I was missing her." He sheepishly replied and sat down on the brown highchair in the kitchen then placed Anaan on the table island with his arms around her so she won't fall off.

Her kitchen's theme is obsidian black and ruby. It is always shiny and burnishing because of her love for the place. Even if everywhere is dirty in her house, her kitchen is just exceptional. She is not the best Cook across the globe, but she knows a lot about food and kitchen so she doesn't play with that place even if everywhere is played with. The kitchen is every Chef's dream because her mother don't want her to lack a thing, her furniture weren't shopped in Nigeria but in United Arab Emirate.

"You always miss her duh. Since you have woke her up, give her a bath and bring her down. I don't want her to eat without having bath, she gets lazy." She turn around and beamed at her daughter and husband.

They look so cute together gazing at her like she is some alien from another world both curios at what she is doing. She placed a huge bowl of fried macaroni on the bench island far away from Anaan but when their gazes landed at the content, their mouths drooled at the sight so Mika'il took Anaan in his arms and went to give her the quickest bath on earth so he could come back and eat food together with his wife and daughter. Thankfully, macaroni is their favorite meal all, even Anaan.

"I hope there is no soap on her body." Amani laughed when she saw him running down the stairs five minutes later with Anaan's butter yellow overall in hand and comb.

"Nop, the best bath she's ever got. She was happily swimming into the water but I removed her before she could drown and here we are." As he ramble on, Amani was only staring at him in horror while Anaan kept giggling and laughing at her parents expression not caring that she is in only a white vest and yellow panties.

"Drown?! Maan, where did you hit your head?" She shook her own head and took her daughter from his arms then proceed to put on the overall for her and combed her hair with the lilac comb he jumbled inside the overall.

Though Anaan is only eleven months old, her hair is full but silky making it hard for Amani to pack it when she feels like. She didn't barb her head after she gave birth to her like some weird tradition do so when her mother saw her hair when she was three months, she said they have the same hair as when she was young which makes Amani's heart to flutter. She likes when people say her daughter looks like her and just feels over the moon. Oh, she looks like her father too, a lot.

"I hit my head in your love." He cheekily replied, sneaking behind her to wrap his arms around the two most important girls in his life.

"I love you." She pivoted and kissed his stubbled jaw then place Anaan on her highchair which is enclosed in the front to avoid a hyperactive kid from falling off.

"I love you more." He beamed, feeling all the worries vanishing from his life and there is nothing except his wife and his daughter.

"I'm not sure if you love me more, Maan. You are sharing my love with another woman so leave that line for me." She laughed when he glared at her but he didn't retort.

He feels weird inside.