I woke up groggily, opened my eyes a bit because the reflection of the light was affecting me. I groaned and fell back on the bed. I tried to remember what happened but all was in blurred; It was as if a vampire compelled me to forget everything. I groaned again, searching the deepest part of my mind to remember. Mom's voice jolted me up.

"We are sorry but we need to go now" I heard mom's apologetic voice.

Everything came back, I remembered everything clearly. The marriage, my parents' arrival, Mubarak revelation.

My child!

My hands went protectively over my stomach to check the bump.

I stood abruptly, rushing out of the door like a maniac. I saw dad walking in long strides while mom was running after him.

I screamed on the top of my voice "mom".

Mom turned around and looked at me with hurt, pain and betrayal. Tears glistened in her eyes while I choked on tears. I was the one who caused her to be devastated like this.

"Ajoke!, I don't have time" dad's voice boomed around the hallway making me wince. I held mom hand to stop her and went to dad.

"Mom, please don't go. Forgive me, I didn't want you to know like this or hurt you. I know if I'd tell you, you would be hurt but if I'd known I would have" I sobbed.

"Meet me at the airport, I'm going," dad said angrily walking out of the hospital.

"Dad" I screamed after him, we were outside the hospital. Everyone was watching, I didn't care. I needed to say my mind.

Mom hugged me from behind, patting my back. "My baby is hurt. You are strong dear" she kissed my forehead.

"Dad,won't you say anything," I asked him, my lips quivering.

"What do you want me to say!" he grunted, not looking at me.

"Your only daughter was raped and abused..." he cut me off by turning around to look at me with a hard stoic face. "What do you want me to say? uhn..sorry. What a pathetic excuse of a girl; that I thought as a daughter" he said sarcastically." brought shame and disgrace to my name. First by coming to Kaduna, by talking to an aboki" he said with disgust." and by getting raped and marrying to his brother" he yelled.

"Was it my fault for being raped?" I shouted at him. This was the first time I'd looked him in the eyes and shouted at him.

I was super annoyed.

Was it my fault?

"And you thought of me as a daughter?" I asked softly.

"Yeah, you aren't my daughter, to begin with, and you will never be because all that you are is a mistake. Result of gambling and a bastard" he snarled, I fell on my knees and faced mom.

Bastard.

Mistake.

Result of gambling.

The words continued to ring in my brain like a mantra.

"Bu...but, if I'm not your daughter then why did I resemble you with everything?" I asked.

"Not me but your father, I hate you because of him; you resembled him so much that every time I see you, it brings back the unfortunate event. And I hate myself because of what I caused my wife" he gritted out while clenching his jaw.

"You hate me? you hate seeing me?"I asked in shock.

"Yes, because you are my brother's child. And I don't believe you were raped because I know you would be cunning like him. Maybe you were the one that seduced him ..." His words were cut off when mom slapped him hard across his face.

"How dare you say that to my baby" mom yelled at him.

"You are a bastard, how dare you talk to her like that. My baby..." Mom continued to slap him, she never stopped.

"If she isn't yours, she's mine. Were you not the one that caused it?, am I not the one who supposed to feel betrayed but no, I moved on. You despise my baby, neglected and rejected her but I don't talk but today you have crossed your boundary. Go and never come back. You ungrateful fellow" she said breathing heavily. She held my hand and walked me back to the hospital.

~**~

I'd been discharged from the hospital today. Mom was still here with me but dad was nowhere to be found.

When I and mom got home, we noticed everywhere was silent. No one was at home. I went to the gatekeeper and asked him what happened. He told me everybody was at law Court because Zain was summoned by the law.

We boarded a bike to NDA junction by Akily Road, where the Court was located. Upon arriving there, I saw Zain behind the bar, I was shocked.

What has he done?

I sobbed loudly, making all eyes turn on me.

"Oh, here is the person we are all waiting for," Bala-Zain's friend and lawyer said.

"What happened?" I asked no one in particular.

"Mubarak sued him because of the baby" he whispered.

Before I could reply the judge called me forward. I went to the desk and was given the Quran to make an oath to speak the truth.

I told the court everything and Zain was released.

Zain was given the right as the father of the child and Mubarak was banned from my baby.

When we arrived home, we met Aisha watching teen Wolf series. She stood to hug Zain but he pushed her away and yelled. "Don't touch me" she looked shocked and glanced at me but I only smiled sweetly in return.

"Zain, what do you mean?" She asked in her fake sweet voice while I cringed.

"Are you deaf or your common sense is not common and is not working again?" He growled at her.

Everyone started to fill the room. Mubarak has revealed everything in anger when we were at the Court. How Aisha told him to raped me so that he could marry me. I would be devastated and he would be my knight in shining armour but Allah had another plan.

They were planning, Allah was planning but Allah was the best planner.

Zain looked at her in the eyes while she looked happy, she smiled and moved forward but what Zain said made her stop in her tracks.

"I, Zain Muhammad divorce you Aisha kasali as my wife"

"You can't do that, what of our baby?" she sobbed. I tried to feel an ounce of pity or concern but I felt nothing.

"Our baby; the baby you forced yourself to conceive. I never love you and I'll never. I married you because of the baby. I thought you were going to change your behaviour but now it is getting worse. And remember you forced yourself on me" he seethed and walked away.

"Muhammad, come here" she called Muhammad but Muhammad only shrugged his shoulder and went inside.

Everyone left, leaving me and her.

I kneeled to her level and patted her hair exactly how she did to me.

Karma was a bitch.

"I'm going to give you a piece of advice if I were you; I will go inside that room" I pointed to her room. "And bring out all my luggage," I said mockingly.

"Look, nothing in this life goes astray, it will always come back to haunt you. Remember, what goes around comes around". I said leaving her to hallow in her miseries.

"You are going to regret it. I swear" she vowed.

~**~

The wedding had taken place, I was now Mrs Ruqoyyah Zain Muhammad, zain's wife and Muhammad's mother.

Mubarak had been released from prison, he begged for forgiveness and I forgave him but never forgot.

Who could ever forget!

But I was still wary of him. He always visited us. He and his brother have reconciled but there was still some tension.

Today he was in our house, dressed in black pants and polo, smiling like a possessed person. I couldn't shake off the gut or bad feeling I got from him today.

"Bro, alhaji said I should bring the file he gave you last week," he said sipping his coffee.

Zain walked to the room while I was ready to flee as if he was calculating my move. He snaked his hand from behind and I felt a cold metal object poking me. I gasped and gulped in fear. I trembled while nodding vigorously.

"I'm going to report you," I said harshly, he laughed and brought out his phone.

"Shout and get him killed"

"Who?" I whispered, he showed me his phone but what I saw made me cover my mouth. Muhammad was been held by two bulky men.

"I know you love him that was why I took him" he smiled sickened.

"Let's go" he pushed me forward, I looked back and Zain would come quickly as if reading my mind, he replied. "He can't because my boys have taken care of him for me," he laughed.

He opened the car and pushed me in making me leave zain.

🌸🌸🌸🌸

Assalamualaikum

How was the chappy?

What did you think of Mubarak?

What of Aisha? Did Aisha deserve to be divorced? Why?

And her father?

What did you think Mubarak is going to do? Take a guess.

What happened to Zain?

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