GOMBE, NIGERIA.

"Listen, Sarah dear. I'm not going to lie to you. The things you've done are terrible, especially to Jannah. The poor girl has suffered immensely for your actions. And you are very well aware of her condition" Didi spoke. This made Sarah look down as she blew out a shaky breath.

She knows that what she did is wrong. Everything she had been doing so far is on borderline wrong, even though all she had been doing was following her father's orders. Did exhaled lowly. "I'm not against your relationship with my son, and I'm certain his father won't be against it too. However, like Jameel told you before, you need to pay for your actions"

Sarah who had her head hung low, nodded.

"Confess to the police about everything you know so far. I'm sure you know your father is a fugitive who had hurt a lot of people for his sordid wants. A girl lost both her parents because of you, don't you feel pity for her at all?" Didi rose a brow.

Sarah nodded solemnly, her hand reaching out to caress her tummy. She then looked up to look at Didi, "I will turn myself in to the police. I'd face any charge necessary. If I have to go to prison, then so be it"

Jameel sighed lowly. He knows that there's a high chance she'd end up behind bars for everything she had done. However, the selfish part of him, the part of him that's deeply in love with her and their unborn child didn't want her to go.

How else would he explain to their child that his/her mother is in prison for committing murder? He'd also have to raise their child alone.

He extended his hand and placed it over hers, applying a bit pressure on it as a reminder that he's there with her, every step of the way.

"You'd also have to testify against your father. Can you do that?" Didi didn't mean to pressure to the girl. However, she has to talk rational sense into her before she faces everyone else. Didi knows that they might not be as understanding as she is being at the moment.

However, if she convinces the girl to confess before she meets the rest, it might lessen their anger towards her.

"I will" Sarah didn't hesitate to reply. She knew she'd be saving a lot of lives by doing so—including her twin brother and her mother's. Hence, why she didn't hesitate to agree to confess.

Sure enough, they don't know that she's planning on speaking up, or that she had already confessed everything to her husband and her mother-in-law. But, she knew that Saheeb had been helping Kamal out, she wanted to help in her own way too.

She married Jameel to get close to Suhad and Jannah in a way by getting information about them from him. Yet, she didn't get close to them but ended up falling for the male. Sounds bizarre right? She didn't regret falling for him though. She'd choose Jameel a thousand times over her father and his schemes.

Not once has the man considered her or her brother as his children. She wasn't that surprised considering he doesn't care about his second wife, the lawyer he married in Nigeria, and the woman that took care of Layla as a child, along with her son. He cares the least about them. All he cares about is Daihaah, who is his favorite child, and Layla.

They along with money is all he ever cares about. However, since all his assets and accounts were frozen, he resulted to trying to dub money out of his own sister.

Hence, why he had been after Jannah—his sister's only daughter and niece.

~*~

ABUJA, NIGERIA.

"Your Highness, based on the report given by your son's former doctor, and based on the tests we've conducted so far, we've figured out what's wrong with your son"

Mamita held her breath, fidgeting with her fingers. She remembered how she felt when she first heard about it when she gave birth to him. She remembered the pain she felt at the moment and the fear that made her pretend to not know anything all these years. She remembered it all. She swallowed thickly, "What is wrong with my Suhad?" She asked, her voice coming out shaky.

Mai Martaba held Mamita's hands, offering her a small squeeze of assurance. He could see how her hand was trembling despite how much she tries to hide it.

For the first time in her life, she's glad Jakdiya isn't there with her. She would choose her husband's company over the woman's any time—especially now that their eldest son's life is at stake. She knew that Jakadiya means no harm, yet she couldn't trust the woman to try to not hide the truth.

She had hidden it for more than 25 years already. It's about time they all accept the truth and face reality.

The doctor blinked, before he spoke. "Yerima has what we call CCHD" He knows that he shouldn't use medical terms to patient's families yet he felt that in such situation, it's better to use them to lessen the pain in a way.

"And that is?"

"Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease" The doctor stated, "It's the reason for his blue coloring of lips, and why he has difficulty breathing"

Mamita clenched her eyes shut, she could feel the tears forming in them. "What's the cause?" She asked the same question she did back then.

"In most cases, the cause of this is unknown. However, a variety of genetic and environmental factors contribute to this complex condition. Your son happens to be born with it. So, the cause of it is an abnormal formation of the heart during growth in the womb"

"What's the survival rate?" This time around, it was Mai Martaba that asked seeing as Mamita couldn't bring herself to speak anymore. The woman already had tears streaming down her face.

"Babies born with critical CHD are expected to survive to 1 year of age, those with non-critical are expected to survive to 18 years. The fact that your son is in his late twenties, with this condition, and still alive is a miracle. That's Allah's doing. However, that means he's at more risk of dying at any moment. No one can say really. You can only be prepared for the worst at any time"

That is the answer that Mamita got back then. Since then, she had blamed herself for giving birth to her son that way. After hearing his survival rate back then, she feared she'd lose her son. Hence, the reason why she never brought herself to accept it.

How could one accept the fact that the son she had just given birth to might die at any given time? Sure enough, every soul shall taste death, there's no denying that. However, it hits different to be aware that your days are numbered.

And Suhad knew that. He accepted that and had been living with that thought for as long as he could remember. That angered Mamita as much as it hurt her. She knew she's at fault for not telling anyone, not even her husband about it when she found out.

For more than twenty years, she too had kept it a secret, feigning a deaf ear even when Suhad found out on his own with the help of Jakadiya. It hurt her to know that her son accepted the reality that she, as his mother couldn't bring herself to.

The first time she admitted it was when Fatimah found out. How the girl found out is something she has no idea about. However, the reaction from Fatimah back then reminded her of how she reacted and why she decided against telling anyone about it.

Mai Martaba seemed to take the information more than she ever did, which didn't come as a surprise to her because he's a King for a reason. He's wiser than anyone she had ever came across. His hold around her hand remained as comforting as always. "Is that why he's unconscious now?" He asked. From what the doctor said, he knew there has to be some sort of trigger as to why his son collapsed.

The doctor shook his head, "He fainted because he had a cardiac arrest. CHD can cause cardiac arrest. In your son's case, his cardiac arrest was caused by stress and CHD" He wanted to add the fact that their son is in an extreme critical condition, but decided against it. He knew that the information is already too much to take. But truth be told is, his situation isn't a minor one.

"Will my son die?" Mamita's voice came out low and hoarse from the sobs she had been holding in.

The doctor glanced at Mai Martaba. He could see that though the old man is trying to remain strong, he's affected by the news greatly too. However, he's handling it better than his wife is. He's handling it better than anyone in the family would. The doctor sighed, he didn't want to break more bad news to the family yet he has to. There's no way of avoiding the inevitable. "He's currently on life support and we'd let him stay on it; because, most die from being removed on it since they'll have little brain function and will likely not recover. That's one of the lasting health problems of cardiac arrest; the lack of brain function, including heart problems, lung conditions and infection. For now, we have to wait for 48 to 72 hours to see whether he'd wake up from the coma he's in. So, to say whether he'll live or not, it all depends on the will of Allah now. All we can do is pray for him to wake up. Everything is in the hands of Allah"

~*~

"You've always known, haven't you?"

Mamita simply nodded. She had stopped crying half an hour ago. Her face and eyes were still red though. She sat with shoulders slumped, and hands rested on her thigh.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mai Martaba asked. From the expression Mamita had while the doctor was telling them about their son, he knew that she had always known about it. Else, she would've acted way more than she did back then—especially since it's Suhad they were talking about. The son that she loves more than life itself. The son she'd give up anything for.

It safe to say her reaction was less than how he'd expect her to react hearing the news the first time.

"I couldn't bring myself to accept it" Her voice came out monotonously. Though she kept her facial expression stoic, her eyes welled up at the thought. "I know it's been almost three decades now but I couldn't bring myself to accept that I could lose my son anytime and that it's my fault" Her voice came out low, and hoarse. A tear slid down her face with she quickly wiped away.

"It's not your fault"

"Yes it is. I gave birth to him like that" She blinked back the tears. That was what she had been convincing herself all these years. That she is to blame for her son's condition. "I couldn't bring myself to tell you or anyone. It would mean I accept the harsh truth and that you'd all agree that I am at fault"

"You are not at fault" Mai Martaba sighed. "But, that shouldn't be a reason as to why you'd hide this from me all these years" he understood how she must've felt. But what about him? His son's life had been in danger all these years and he had never known. What kind of father does that make him look like?

"I'm sorry" Mamita knew that her apology won't do much but she knew she owed him one. "Why do you think I haven't let him see you all these years often?" She moved her gaze from the wall she had been staring to look at him, eyes welled up with tears. "Why do you think I tried so much to keep him away from you? Did you think I wanted to separate my son away from his own father?" She rose a single brow; face red and eyes swollen.

He simply sighed again. Truth be told, he never understood her reason for that. But that doesn't mean he had never been curious about it.

Mamita chuckled humorlessly. Of course no one knew of her reason, hence why it was easier for people to judge and label her as a bad person quickly. "You're sick too Mai Martaba. Do you think it would be of any good for him to know about that? He'd only stress himself by worrying" All those years, she and Didi both know how critical their husband's condition is. That's why they both try to keep their children away from him as possible, because they didn't want them to see him in that condition. They didn't want their children to worry about it. Even they, as the adults, were having a hard time accepting the truth.

It just happens that Mamita made it stricter on Suhad, simply because she knows him worrying about it would only lead to more complications. She can't bear to lose both her husband and her son at the same time. She'd rather be the villain than to become the mother who lost her son.

She chuckled again, lowly, humorlessly. "Look at what happened now because he's stressed. I've told you all that Jannah isn't good for him, and you know that" Her eyes slightly squinted at her husband. He knew the girl's condition, yet he allowed her to marry Suhad. Albeit, he doesn't know of Suhad's condition, but he should've trusted and listened to her. She only wants what's best for them, both Jannah and Suhad.

Mai Martaba returned the slight glare, "How can you say that about the girl? She's your own flesh and blood" He couldn't understand why Mamita had been treating the girl in such way, when she out of everyone is supposed to love her. "Do you hate her that much?"

Mamita gritted her teeth, the tears she had been holding in since streaming down her face. "My son has a heart problem;" She blew out a shaky breath, "She has bipolar disorder. She's mentally unstable, no one can tell when or where she would lose her control, especially after everything that she had been through. I'm sure she doesn't even take her medications, hence why she had been acting out of place!" She couldn't keep her voice low. Of all the years she had her husband had been married, she had never raised her voice at him and vice versa.

Sure enough, they had many arguments that had led to so many problems, but they've always refrained from raising their voice sat each other. However, with everything they're going through, staying calm isn't an option.

Mamita sniffed, trying to wipe her tears but more kept streaming down. "At first, I didn't know if she knows of his condition or not. But, after Bilkisu found out, she told me that she had informed Jannah of it. I know that worried the girl a lot, her mental state was at jeopardy because she found out about him. Now, she has left because she's scared of hurting him just like she did to her adoptive sister, and he had stressed himself over it. They're both not in any good condition. Do you now understand why I had tried to keep them apart? They can never be together. If they do, one might end of losing the other. Is that what you want?"

For the first time in his life, Mai Martaba was out of words. Everyone, he included, simply thought that she hated Jannah because she's being a typical wicked mother in law. He that know she relationship with Jannah wondered why she hated her so much.

Now he understands why she had been acting in such way. She doesn't hate Jannah; she simply was looking out for both of them.

Mamita tears stopped, as she sniffed. She swallowed and blinked, then looked at her husband. "Yes, I am at fault for not telling you or the others about Suhad's condition. But, my intention was, and had always been pure. You asked if I hate the girl that much? No" She shook her head, "I could never hate her. She's my brother's daughter for Allah's sake! The only brother that I have. The one brother that had taken care of me after we lost both our parents. She's my niece, how could I hate her?" She thought she could hold back the tears again, but they proved her wrong when they cascaded down her face.

Mai Martaba sighed, then looked down. He was rendered speechless. He honestly didn't know how to react.

"Both Suhad and Jannah are my flesh and blood, and I only want what's best for them. But let's be honest here, a person with heart problem and the other with mental problem is a recipe for disaster. They can never be together. And that's the harsh truth I've always tried to show you all. This is what I've been trying to avoid."

THE END!

THANK YOU FOR READING STARS ALIGN!

I HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

DAYYYUM, I KNOW YOU DON'T BELIEVE IT'S THE END SHA🤣🤣🤣

~*~

Jannah is Mamita's niece!

I swear none of you saw that coming, none! Lol.

Do y'all understand Mamita now? I'd explain more about her character at the end of the book in shaa Allah!

What do you think would happen now? Jay and Jaan being together is recipe for disaster! What's your thought on that?

Abegi pardon me regarding the whole medical stuff. I've been binge watching a kdrama about doctors and I think I'm beginning to pick up a few things from there.

Like I said before, we're rounding this book up! I've gathered my bags and pepsi already. What about you?

What secrets are yet to be exposed?

Happy, or sad ending? Who knows?

Love, Jannah.