ABOUT THIS BOOK
Description
Saying their greetings, they walked into her general parlor. However, the people they found inside caused them no small amount of surprise. Umma and Mama were seated there, along with Aunty Meenah and Aunty Zainab, while Princess Rumah sat right beside them, with maids moving back and forth across the center of the parlor attending to their needs.
They all lowered themselves to the floor, offering respectful greetings to the royals. Only Prince Basam answered them aloud, while Sheikh Sudais simply raised his hand as he reached the center of the parlor, walking straight past without sitting down to enter his mother's bedroom. Since he was not one to stare at women, he didn't realize his wife’s relatives were right there in the room, though they were all light-skinned women except for Aunty Zainab.
As Prince Junaid sat down, he began greeting them respectfully, and Prince Basam did the same; even though they didn't know who the women were, seeing them with Princess Rumah proved they were important guests.
"Where are you coming from, Basam, and when did this scholar emerge?" Princess Rumah asked with a warm, relaxed expression.
He smiled and replied, "He left a while ago, Mammi. We are coming from the mosque. You know Yah Sheikh would never perform his prayers at home, so I assume that is why he went out."
"Hmm, may Allah guide us. Let me go see him and find out what he has brought," she said, standing up and heading toward her bedroom. Mama and the others smiled to themselves, silently admiring Queen Rumah’s maturity and amiability, while also marveling at the sheer beauty and aura of the gentleman who had just walked past—whoever he was.
Upon entering the bedroom, she found him seated, scrolling through his phone. "Sheikh," she called his name softly.
Lifting his cat-like eyes, he looked at her before letting out the kind of smile he usually reserved only for her—and which he had recently given to Maisoon earlier. He stood up, drew her into a warm hug, and pressed a kiss to her forehead before saying, "I missed you so much, my Mammi."
"Missed you too, my Sudais. Did you arrive safely?"
"Perfectly safe," he replied, preparing to sit back down.
Mammi placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, "Have you come to see my daughter-in-law, the one who robbed my boy of his peace of mind? Has your mind finally found peace now?" she questioned, gently stroking his hair.
A beautiful smile spread across his face as he rubbed his smooth hair, but he said nothing. Seeing his silence, she said, "Come along, let us go out so you can greet her parents. I am certain you do not know them, and they do not know you either, so it is only proper that you get acquainted."
He simply stared at her until she finished speaking, and then closed his beautiful eyes without uttering a word. Recognizing his quiet compliance, Princess Rumah took his hand, guiding him to his feet, and led him back out into the parlor.
When they returned, the guests were still seated right where they had left them, chatting with Prince Junaid, while Prince Basam merely smiled since he was a man of very few words.
They took their seats before Mammi spoke up: "Here is your son-in-law. He has been away in Saudi Arabia and only just arrived, which is why you didn't see him earlier," she concluded, gesturing toward Sheikh Sudais.
They all shifted their gaze to him, except for Aunty Meenah, who already knew exactly who he was. Bowing slightly out of respect, he began greeting them in Arabic, since he did not speak Hausa.
They were incredibly delighted by his presence, silently rejoicing that he was Maisoon's husband. They had previously assumed Junaid was the groom, but it turned out the real husband completely outshone Junaid in beauty, aura, and flawless composure. Happily, they began responding to his greetings in English; while only Aunty Meenah understood Arabic, the tone of his delivery made it obvious he was greeting them, so they replied in English since he was fluent in it.
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