Funny how yall suddenly commented on the last chapter😂

I could've left you in a cliffhanger but I'm not wicked. Plus, I can't help myself when I have chapters on ground. Those that read Veiled understand what I mean🥱😂

Oh and, I would say it's funny seeing y'all's guesses and whatnot. Sad to say, 90 percent of them are wrong😂😂😂

DUSTE,

JIGAWA STATE,

NIGERIA.

To say Zayn was surprised about the news of Salma's demise would be an understatement.

Funny how people tend to think less about death in this generation. One minute you're here, the next you're not. There's really no guarantee when it comes to this.

You die when you least expect. Just like Salma. If you had told her that she would die just after leaving her home she would have thought you've gone insane. But there she lay, in the mortuary because she was taken there right after getting in the accident.

Of course, they thought of performing surgery on her but she was gone by the time she was brought to the hospital. So, there was no point.

He and Batoulah rushed to the hospital after she had told him. Salma was taken to the hospital she works so Zayn had no problem driving there without any help from Batoulah who seemed to have frozen.

When they reached the hospital, they both got off and Batoulah led the way while he followed behind quietly. The minute they approached the hallway where the rest of the family waited, he heard the sound of someone wailing. It didn't take a genius to know who.

Salma's mother.

She was the first person Zayn saw when they rounded the corner. She was held in the embrace of Bashir's mother; the same woman she was bickering with earlier while she wailed. The woman on the other hand wasn't shedding any tears, but she did look somber.

Opposite them stood Bashir, who sat on the cold floor with his head tilted up as he sobbed. He obviously felt the most pain amongst them all. First, his daughter went missing and then, his wife died on the very same day. A man stood beside him, patting his shoulder as he uttered what is supposed to be calming words to him.

But all it did was fuel Bashir's pain and anger.

Zayn knew how it felt first hand. Ten years ago, he felt that same pain maybe more.

The look on Bashir's face had him releasing a shaky breath.

Batoulah walked ahead of him, as she approached the family with careful steps. There were more people around than there was at the house when he visited earlier. Bashir's close relatives, like his sisters and brothers had all come too. At least, the ones that could make it went there.

A couple of police officers were there too.

The sound of their footsteps was what gained the other's attention. Salma's mother in law was the first to look up, then a couple of ladies did. The action made Batoulah's step mother look up, and when she did, Zayn wasn't quick enough to stop the actions that followed.

The woman was quick on her feet only to do the thing Zayn stopped her from doing earlier. She landed three slaps on Batoulah's face, one after the other on both cheeks before she was pulled back by the woman while Zayn quickly pushed Batoulah behind him.

"This..." She pointed her finger at Batoulah, tears still streaming down her face as her voice dropped, "...is all your fault!" She yelled.

Bashir paid no heed to what's going on. He couldn't care about anything to be honest; not with the current predicament he found himself in.

His mother though tried to calm the woman down but she was having none of it.

"Are you happy?" She asked Batoulah, her voice cracking. She sounded hopeless, and broken. Her eyes were red and puffy, and so is her face. She sniffed, but not bothering to wipe the tears. Anyone else would've pitied her had it not been for her actions.

Batoulah never looked away from her, nor did she react in any way. She didn't hold her face to soothe the stinging pain, neither did she let any tears fall. Her eyes never welled to begin with. It was like she's just...frozen in her spot.

"TELL ME!" Salma's mother yelled again, fighting against the woman's hold on her. "Are you happy that she's dead now? Huh? This what you and your sister wanted, right? You wanted both she and I to die just like your mother and father did? Are you happy now that my only daughter is dead? Or do you want me to die to before you're finally happy?"

No words were uttered as the woman wailed, throwing questions at Batoulah as much she wants. But even she knew there are no answers to her questions.

Bashir's mother moved her gaze to Zayn, "Young man can you two please go? It would be better for her too" She gestured to Batoulah who remained frozen in her spot.

Zayn nodded, then turned around. Surprsinginly, he didn't need to say a word to her before she turned around too and headed out, almost robotically. Zayn didn't say a thing about it though. He allowed her to walk at her own pace till they reached the car again.

This time around, he headed to where they came from without asking her. He was in her position; he knew she would much rather be left alone in the confines of a space she's comfortable with. So, he drove her home.

Throughout the drive, no words were exchanged between the two. Batoulah kept her gaze outside, watching the trees and building as they passed by wordlessly. Her arms wrapped around herself as her thoughts ran wild, yet her face never gave away an inkling of what she's feeling.

Eventually, they reached her home based on the directions she gave him earlier and Zayn parked the car outside the house. For the next couple of minutes that passed, he didn't say a word to her and neither did she. She knew she's home, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

Finally, Zayn asked the same questions he inquired earlier. "Are you okay?" His voice came out soft, as if he's afraid if he said the wrong thing she would break.

Batoulah took in a deep breath; the very first sound he heard from her since she got the news half an hour ago. "Honestly Zayn, no" She finally turned around to look at him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He was never one for conversations, especially not emotional one but there he was, initiating it.

All because of a certain stubborn woman named Batoulah Hamoudi.

She smiled slightly, despite the emotions she's feeling. She's well aware of Zayn's lack of engagement with people, and the fact that he is willing to engage in one with her, brought that small smile. She nodded, the smile disappearing. "I don't know why I'm not reacting to this. I guess, I'm just used to being treated like this by her"

"I can't imagine anyone's mother being like that" He stated honestly. What kind of bother instills pain on her child? If not that he saw it with his two eyes, then he would find it hard to believe.

"Step mother" She corrected. She sighed deeply again, "She did take care of my sister and I though after our parents died in a car accident. I guess her definition of care was the exact opposite of what she did. I didn't suffer the bad end of her actions though" She shrugged slightly, as if going down that memory lane didn't hurt her as much. "My sister did. It ruined her, completely"

"I'm sorry"

"You don't have to apologize, that's in the past" She waved it off. But even through her nonchalance, Zayn could feel the pain behind her words. "I guess the hatred I harbored towards her because of that never faded" She turned around to look him in the eyes, "Does that make me a bad person?"

Zayn shook his head, "If that makes you a bad person then I don't know what it makes me" He was being honest. He has a lot of people that he hates for what they did to his sister. And he doesn't think he can get over that any time soon.

Bayoulah sighed deeply. "I'm not happy Salma died, I can never be but I just..."

"You don't feel anything, do you?"

She shook her head at his question. "A bit of sadness, sure. But honestly, there's no pain...nothing"

"That's okay"

"Is it?" She rose a brow; she wasn't sure about that. She had been thinking about that since. How could she not feel anything? Perhaps it's the fact that they aren't close but still.

Zayn nodded. "Yes" He could speak first hand on this, "It's okay to feel that way. You weren't close to her, so you wouldn't feel pain. If you did, that would be alright and even now that you didn't, it's still alright. Give it time, I won't promise that everything will be alright but you can move on if you want to. I know how it feels to be stuck in one place, and I can tell you it's not a good feeling. You can't hold onto that. Tough times do not last. Sure, it'll hurt for a while, or maybe a couple of years but the answer is to not dwell on it. Do not let your past ruin the potential future you can have. That's the worst case scenario"

Batoulah simply stared at him for the next couple of seconds, simply letting the words sink in. For a second she wondered whether he just said to her what she needed to hear or what he needed to hear. She doesn't know his side of the story, and that made the realization that's a stranger dawned on her. But she just told a random stranger her story and she doesn't regret it one bit.

She might later. But she does not at the moment.

"Thank you" She whispered after a while, but heard her. "I really needed that"

He offered her a small smile that he seemed to be holding up a lot lately. "You are welcome"

"I guess soldiers aren't bad at giving advices after all" She cracked up a small joke, a small smile making its way on her face.

He playfully narrowed his eyes at her, "Watch it, doctor"

She rose her hands up slightly, before she looked around. "I should head in. It's getting late"

He nodded, stepping out of the car while she did the same. He then rounded it, making his way over to her to give her back her car keys. She took it from him, thanking him slightly.

He turned around to leave but she stopped him. He stopped, then turned around.

She placed her hand in her bag and handed him something. He took it from her, his eyes dilating only for a slight fraction when he noticed the familiar bottle of antidepressants that belong to him.

"How..."

"It was amongst your belongings when you passed out" She answered his unvoiced question. "Though I don't think you'll be needing it much again"

"Thank you"

"Don't mention it" She then sighed, shuffling on her feet slightly as her hold around her bag tightened. "I guess this is farewell then, I'm heading back home tomorrow and I doubt we'll ever cross paths again"

Zayn nodded in agreement. He will head back home too since there's no point in staying in Duste again. The person he came for is late now. But he knew she's right. They might never cross paths again. "You're right"

She offered him a small smile, "Well then, goodbye Captain Zayn"

"Goodbye Doctor Batoulah"