"She was shot dead in the spot." Maryam intervened. "As we speak, your daughter is already dead." Maryam broke the news to her bluntly and averted her gaze to Sa'eed who couldn't bring himself to break the saddening news to her. She hoped he wouldn't get mad at her for the way she announced her death.

"We're so sorry to break the news to you like this." Sa'eed apologized. "She may have done terrible things to us, but we pray Allah forgives her and grant you fortitude to bear the loss."

"She deserves what she got." The woman commented, making Sa'eed, as well as Maryam gasp in astonishment. "I've always known that girl is evil and that's why I never accepted her. She's bad luck!"

"How can you say that about the dead?" Sa'eed asked in utmost disbelief. "No matter how bad she might have been, she's still your daughter -"

"My. Stepdaughter." She enunciated. "Step. She's not my daughter, but my husband's, so don't you refer to her as mine."

"But-" Maryam attempted to say something, but was rudely cut off by Nafisa's stepmother.

"I wasn't talking to you, please." She raised a hand.

Maryam was about to retaliate, but Sa'eed was quick to nudge her. "Remember your promise?" He mumbled, then averted his gaze back to the stepmother. "We just felt it wouldn't be right not to inform you of what happened, so here we are."

"You shouldn't have bothered." She remarked. "Honestly, I don't care about what happens to her. She was the reason for her own death so she doesn't deserve sympathy."

Maryam couldn't help, but recall how Nafisa would always send her earnings home to her. She could vividly remember how hard she always tried to please her by calling her every now and then. She never knew her supposed mother hated her this much.

"Thank you for coming all the way from Abuja to inform me about the death of my stepdaughter." She remarked, sarcasm dripping from her tone. You both can leave now. Bosòko, tinyà emi mi bò. Kubetìn. Mì jîn ebò sàrayìn."

"We've overstayed, habibi. Let's just leave, please." Maryam said to Sa'eed.

He nodded his head in agreement. "We will leave now." He said to the woman.

She snubbed him and started peeling the melons in front of her.

Taking that as their clue to leave, they stood up and sauntered out of the house.

They were about to get into the car when a teenage girl of about thirteen to fifteen appeared before them. She had tears glistening in her eyes. "Good afternoon, sir. Please is it true what I heard? Is ya Nafisa really gone?"

"Yes." Sa'eed replied, feeling pity for the young lady. "You heard right."

"When did it happen please?" She sobbed.

"Two days ago." He replied. "Was she your sister?"

"Yes." She hiccupped.

"Just keep praying for her alright? Pray to Allah to forgive her for all of her wrongdoings." Sa'eed encouraged.

"Was that your mother?" Maryam suddenly asked, inquisitively. She was really curious on why she hated Nafisa that much. Was it because she was her stepdaughter or there was there more to it?

"Yes." She replied, curtly.

"Is she already that edgy?" Maryam couldn't help, but ask. "Why does she despise Nafisa that much?"

"Ever since our father died, mom's behavior towards Nafisa changed. She treated her worst than a slave and she never allowed her eat the food she prepared. She was even the one that sent her to Abuja to look for a job. She didn't mind what type of job she finds as long as she keeps sending all of her earnings to us." She paused for a while, before continuing. "I know she can be very strict with us at times, but she loves us and everything she had always done was for us. Her aim of going to Abuja to look for a job was only to satisfy us. She turned out like that because of mom."

Sa'eed felt touched by her narration. He had no idea this was the kind of family she came from, but that shouldn't have warrant that kind of behavior from her. She was maltreated, yes, but she had no right to maltreat someone else.

Her upbringing was terrible - Maryam thought, but still, she couldn't bring herself to forgive her. Maybe she would be able to do so soon, but that time was definitely not now...

Sa'eed opened the pigeonhole of the car and brought out some money. In spite of how bad her mother treated Nafisa, it didn't warrant her disrespect or treat her in the same manner. He knew in his heart she was a good person. He wanted so bad to take her to the city with them and help her further her education, but he didn't want history to repeat itself, so he got rid of the thought and handed the money to her instead. At first, she refused to collect it, but later did reluctantly. She walked away afterwards, but not before thanking them.

With a cleansed conscience, Sa'eed and Maryam got back into the car and made their journey back home. Everything was about to fall in place. Nafisa was no longer in their lives to torment their peace of mind and Manal would be back home with them in two days. What more could they ask for?

~~~~

Bosòko, tinyà emi mi bò. Kubetìn. Mì jîn ebò sàrayìn. - please, leave my house. Thank you. I appreciate.

Please go back to the previous chapter and vote if you haven't 🙏

Follow my account for updates!

deey_jah
❤❤❤