~°°~The way he laid his eyes on her~°°~

Gwarinpa, Abuja, Nigeria. 7th March, 2022. 11:23pm ~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~ "Adda Tauhida if you're ready we should go" Layla said to Tauhida when she found her on the bed.

Tauhida was informed that morning that they'll be visiting Sayf's cousins that day. They organised a tea party just for their little circle in favour of their new in-law.

Tauhida didn't go back to sleep after subh namaz so getting ready earlier wasn't difficult for her.

Tauhida nodded her head before picking her bag and phone up. They exited the room together as they headed out where they met the others: Amani and Abdullah.

"Little guy, get the bag let's get going" Amani said to Abdullah and he did just that. Amani and Abdullah's relationship was stronger than anyone in the house, they were the sensible partners in crime.

Few minutes later, Abdullah came back with a back pack and they all entered the car as the driver drove them out of the house and headed to Jabi.

Driving into Arshad Elnafaty's residence, they halted in front of the building. Tauhida looked carefully at the house complimenting its beauty by heart. She must admit it was very beautiful even though not as beautiful as the Hakeem Elnafaty's residence.

"Let's go shall we?" Amani said when she noticed Tauhida was zoned out for a moment. They walked side by side into the house and met almost everyone in the main parlour.

"Masha Allah" Najma shouted making almost everyone there to glare at her, the girl lacked sense.

"Welcome Adda Tauhida, happy to finally meet you" Najma said and Tauhida smiled at her. Tauhida was feeling a bit uncomfortable because they were all like strangers to her but the smiles on their faces made her to feel a bit more comfortable. "Same thing here" Tauhida lipped while Najma read it. Najma was glad she was able to understand her lips.

"Najma gidanku, let her through" Mus'ab scolded, he felt Najma was blocking Tauhida's way. Najma moved from the way and Tauhida proceeded into the parlour. She sent smiles through everyone there and greeted everyone through a typed text.

"Okay okay, everyone should be quiet so I'll talk" Nabil started, he was acting like the smart genius among them which made Tauhida to chuckle while most of them rolled their eyeballs, Hafeez excluded.

While everyone was turning and twisting their eyeballs, his eyes were fixed on one person who hardly noticed how he was looking at her.

"Let's introduce ourselves shall we? me first" Nabil added. He then turned to Tauhida before starting to talk once again. "Ever heard of dashing? I bet you have, I'm the most dashing of them all as you can see, The name's Nabil" Nabil said making Tauhida to chuckle again.

"Yenyenyenyen, that's definitely not true" Najma said. "I agree" Amani also said as they laughed.

"Hey don't gang up on me, I'm sure she can see for herself that I'm not lying" Nabil defended himself, Tauhida nodded and typed on her phone "you sure have the killer looks, they're just jealous" it read.

"You're already my favourite" Nabil said with a wide grin before sitting back on his chair. "Next is me. I'm his twin which I doubt you've noticed because I'm sensible unlike someone. My name's Najma" Najma said. "Yenyenyenyen, that's definitely not true" Nabil mimicked Najma just like she said earlier.

"Whatever" Najma said. Tauhida smiled again, a sad one. Their banters were exactly like the ones they've had with Rumaisa, she missed her sister badly.

"This is ya Al-ameen we call him ya meen, the eldest of us all and my favourite cousin. This is Ya Hafeez, ya meen's immediate brother, he is the quiet one. This is anti Zakiyya, Ya Hafeez's immediate sister and their last born too and this is Ya Mus'ab, our first born" Najma introduced each one of them.

"The last time I checked they all have mouths" Amani said rolling her eyes. "Oversabi mana" Nabil added.

"You people can't live in peace ne kam" Al-ameen commented. "If they do then it will rain of ice, that I bet" Mus'ab said. It was true that the two twins don't tolerate each other except on times they did something bad together.

Just then, two women and some kids came into the parlour. Tauhida bent down to the floor and greeted them respectfully. The two were very nice and welcoming, she got to know that they were the mothers of the two families. Hakeem among the families was the only one with not only two but three wives.

The three kids were introduced to Tauhida too. The eldest and the youngest were Zakiyya's children; Suhail and suhaila, they were not twins. While the one with the mid age was Al-ameen's child; Jiddarh, she was named after Al-ameen's mother. His wife and his baby boy; Fahim were away to her home to attend a family wedding.

After the women dropped the kids, they went back into the house. "Let's go to the garden shall we?" Al-ameen said and they all agreed. "Okay, we'll come in a while with the snacks" Najma said as everyone left leaving her, Layla and Amani behind.

The three proceeded into the kitchen to check the maids who were preparing the snacks. "Oh Najma we're just about to finish, please wait for a while" The eldest of the maids said. "No, we'll take the ones you finished, you can bring the remaining when you finish" Najma said.

"We have been forbidden to go anywhere near the children of this house. We're expected to try our best not to meet them" The maid explained. She wondered why that was decided but why would she care. "I will stay back, you all can go" Amani said. "Okay then" Najma replied as they loaded their hands with the available snacks.

Amani waited until the maids were done, they kept the snack in a container and handed it over to her, she thanked them before moving out of the kitchen.

On her way outside through the back door at the end of the dining room, she met Hafeez, her all time crush.

"Do you need help with that?" Hafeez asked making Amani to look at him in surprise. The last time he said a word to her can't be remembered, it was always like they never knew each other.

"Are you okay?" Hafeez added after noticing the kind of look she was sending his way. All he was doing was trying to know her, maybe things could work out between them.

"Yeah sure" Amani said taking her eyes off him. She said she was fine but was definitely panicking right inside her. "So?" Hafeez asked again referring to the first question he asked her. "No it's fine, I'll manage" Amani said before turning to leave, unaware of it, she bumped her head on the wall. "Ouch" Amani squealed.

"Are you okay?" Hafeez asked again. He knew it was a stupid method to make her like him but who was he kidding, he never did anything close to that. And he didn't understand why he kept asking the same question.

"Yes I am, let's go" Amani replied. "You first" Amani added making him to throw her a confused look, that was the guy's line.

"I mean, I, I, I...... Just forget it I'll go first" Amani stammered feeling embarrassed. Hafeez smiled at that, just why he loved her. The two proceeded to the garden without a word again to each other.

They joined the others who were already planning on playing a game. They played 'pass the cushion' first before any other game. They had so much fun enjoying each other's company.

Hafeez and Amani always found a way to steal glances at each other while they played games. Tauhida among everyone there was the only one who noticed that so she intended to ask Amani about it when they get home.

Tauhida felt very welcomed among them all, they were all nice to her and she couldn't be more glad. They left with a promise that they'll visit her very soon.

After they arrived home, Tauhida invited Amani over for a cup of coffee, it was true that she was really curious about what was going on.

"Do you like Hafeez?" Tauhida typed when Amani settled down. "I'm asking as a friend" Tauhida added so Amani wouldn't feel awkward. "How did you notice?" Amani asked back, was she being too obvious about it. "It wasn't that obvious but I just happened to see you stealing glances" Tauhida typed and chuckled silently

"Well, it's just me, it is practically impossible for anything to happen between us" Amani said. " Have you seen the way he looks at you?" Tauhida wanted to reply but decided to let Hafeez do the struggle himself, if he really wanted her then he would do anything to see it happens.

"Okay then, let's watch a movie" Tauhida replied and Amani agreed to her suggestion. They chose instant family as a movie for the night and they even invited Layla to come watch with them. They watched until the night got old and they all retired to bed.

~°°~The way he laid his eyes on her~°°~

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~ A short chapter, I hope you enjoyed it anyways.

If you noticed this chapter was to tell you about Hafeez and Amani's crush for each other and how he laid his eyes on her.

Do you think they're a good couple?

Who's the best type of cousin among them? Comment on your favourite, mine is Nabil😌.

That's all I think, please vote, comment and share my book. Lots of love,

Deedi--❤️