Deceptive Glitters ✅

Chapter 33: Proposals

Who's awake?🌚🌚

“Don't call the IG yet, let's hear what they want?” Alhaji Tafida Aliero repeated massaging his temple, they've been going at it for the past thirty minutes. His brother is stubborn and a bit unreasonable too in his perspective, though he is excusing his behavior because his son has just been kidnapped, stubbornness ran in the family probably because he was going to give up either.

“It is my son, my first son! What do you want me to do?” on normal days, Bello Aliero would rather skin himself alive than raise his voice at his elder brother, but fear does things to people's behaviors. “To just sit and wait for them to call,” he spat bitterly.

“And that's exactly what will put him in harm’s way, this your temper,” he slowed trying to make his brother understand “Let me handle this, I'll call you back in an hour, go and console his mother, I'm sure she needs you in your right mind for this.” he hung up not waiting for a reply.

Mahmud pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated as he kept his phone on the table after getting off the call with the family’s PI.

“Nothing?” his father asked and he nodded his lips set in a grim line. “They'll call eventually, call the security department, I want to know how they didn't know where he went.” Mahmud nodded already scrolling through his call log, he'd hate to be the security right at that moment.

****

Basra, Sadiya's last born greeted Khadijah with a hug the moment she entered the house and that was when she noticed both her sisters’ cars parked in the compound, she picked up Basra who was playing with one of her siblings and went inside.

Nanah greeted her with a hug too and she put Basra down after smoothening her curls. “Where's umma?” she asked Nanah who pointed to the small living room, too engrossed in Sofia the first.

“Assalamu alaikum.” the trio answered. Khadijah greeted each of them respectfully then went to sit beside Sadiya and playfully rubbed her growing bump, missing the frustrated and annoyed look on her sister’s face and her companions.

“Did you see Kamla outside?”Khadijah shook her head no, she'd thought who they left the kids with though she wasn’t there, she wouldn’t have gone far anyways.

“Let me go and check where she is?” before any of them could protest, hajiya Ladidi was already out of the door.

Baraka pinned Sadiya with a pointed look, she shook her head and turned defiantly, she didn't want in on whatever her sister wanted her to do.

Khadijah who was replying Victoria's text missed the shared look, her phone rang seconds later and she excused herself and left for her room. It was a part of her to not answer calls in front of people, she couldn't remember when she started but she was used to it.

“How are you?” Fahad asked after greeting her, she replied with Alhamdulillah, like she always did when he asked, and he always asked she’d noticed “I saw your message, thank you for informing me.” she heard shuffling and sound of a door closing.

“No problem.” She shrugged even though he won’t see her.

“Have you talked to her? Actually talk to her?” he asked after a few seconds of silence, he added stressing the last part.

“Yes.” Layla's tear stricken face popped up in her head and she shook her head as if to remove the image.

“Is she okay?”

“She will be.” that was all she had to say, she wasn't about to go around lying to make people feel better.

Her opinion had always been to tell the truth even if it will hurt a person, it showed that you respect them enough to not lie to them, that no matter how bitter the truth it, you'll be there for them. Lying is never an option, is her mantra.