Ammarah's POV

Say you won't let go- James Arthur

I woke up with a strong determination today. After talking with Rayyan last night, I've felt more encouraged to talk to them so I called in the morning and requested to see Dr Yahya. He had kept quiet for a while and then said yes.

After the phone call, I walked to my mother's room and gently knocked on the door. There was silence and after three knocks, she opened the door and looked at me

"Ammarah?

"I would like to talk to you"

Her face falls "Ammarah please. You need to-"

"I'm not talking about my parent" I quickly interrupted her

She raised a brow

"Well I'm not asking about them. I just want to know why and how you took me"

She was quiet for some time watching me

"Dr Yahya is coming later in the day. When he's here, would you please come down let's talk"

She nodded and stood still. Not knowing what else to do, I turned and walked down the stairs.

My phone rang and I looked at the caller ID before smiling

"Hello Aisha"

"Hyyy beautiful"

I smiled yet again. Aisha, ever the positive one.

"How are you?

"I'm good. Did you hear class is canceled?

"Really! I exclaimed not even hiding my excitement

"Yes" She laughed "you can go back to sleep"

I had almost told her I wasn't sleeping, almost told her how I'm fighting a family crisis. That my parent are not my parent and now I'm trying to find out who my real parent are.

Yet I smiled and said "You know it! Thank you"

"You're welcome"

I bid her goodbye and ended the call before proceeding to the kitchen. There, I met the two house helps and Rahma who was making breakfast. She raised her eyes and looked at me immediately I walked in and hurriedly rushed to me

"Come"

She grab ahold of my hands and we walked out of the kitchen.

"Where were you yesterday?

I furrowed my brows "where would I be? School"

She shook her head "The driver said he didn't take you to school"

I removed my hand from her grasp and glared at her "Are you stalking me Rahma?

"What? Of course not. This is a hard time for you and I just want to make sure you're okay Ammarah"

I nodded "I'm okay Rahma" I placed my hands softly on her shoulder "I'll be fine"

She sighed "I know you went to the market. But please next time go with me, it makes me so anxious if you're not here"

I smiled warmly feeling so grateful for her "I promise"

"Great! I'm done with breakfast, come eat"

We walked back into the kitchen and I settled on the kitchen island to eat. And yet even without knowing my real parent, I felt grateful. For Aisha and my friends, for Rayyan and for Rahma.

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Dr Yahya was seated on the couch facing my mom. I sat on the other side watching them and waiting to see who will talk first.

Dr Yahya cleared his throat "The day Kabeer and Hidayah walked in with you in their arms, I knew something was wrong. Kabeer told me you were involved in an accident and true enough, your bloodied face and burnt clothes was evidence. I had asked them to involve the police but Kabeer begged me with such urgency that I had to rush you into the OR"

He raised his eyes to meet mine "We went ahead and did a plastic surgery because of the lacerations and third degree burns. Kabeer was okay with it and if I knew you weren't just a random young girl he found and wanted to help, if I knew he knew your parent and that's why he asked not to involve the police, I won't have done it"

I sat in place staring at him and my supposed mother who trained her eyes downwards. After a minute of silence with no one saying anything, Dr Yahya continued.

"They did help you Ammarah, they gave you a life to live instead of dying by the side of the road. Yes they used a bit of a selfish approach but the truth is they did save you. And I'm sorry you have been kept away from your parent for so long but I want you to be a little bit lenient in your judgment.

"Who are my parent? I asked the question that nags me day and night

Dr Yahya shook his head "I wish I knew, till Kabeer's last breath, he only told me that he knew your parent, that they were friends but won't tell me anything else"

I turned to my mom and looked at her as she looked downwards "What happened?

She raised her eyes to me and for the first time I saw an emotion that wasn't clouded or dictated by others. She was really feeling at this moment, really resonating with something. Her thought? Past? Present?

"I disliked your mother so much during our school days. We attended the same university in Paris and I hated her guts at that time. Eventually I also found out my mother got married to her father and she hates my mother so in return I hated her. I however met Kabeer who was then a friend of her fiancé"

She turned to me "She was such a beautiful soul Ammarah, so beautiful I had to overlook all our difference and actually start liking her. She forgave me and Kabeer and I decided to leave Abuja in whole. After our marriage, we moved to Kano and that's where the issues started. Kabeer's family was here and Kabeer's mother wanted a child. We've tried all possible ways and then, IVF was expensive and almost unavailable"

"There are days I cry so hard I chock on myself Ammarah, there are days I fear Kabeer will get married but then even he has an issue. So we licked our wounds and prayed for a miracle. And the miracle did happen, two weeks after we went to Abuja and we are on our way to the Airport, to leave to Malaysia.

We saw a car that was burnt and you were flung across the bush. Kabeer and I ran to your car before the mob could gather in and I swear to you our first instinct was to take you to the hospital, call the police and inform them of the accident since every other person in the car has burnt to ash"

"As Kabeer gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white and he raced down the road, I had asked him "Who are her parent?

He turned me with a confused look and said "The police will find that out"

But I quickly shook my head Ammarah. I was desperate! I was desperate and hurting and lost so I said to him "What if the police doesn't find out and we became her parent"

Kabeer had turned to look at me in shock "Her parent? How?

I told him you needed plastic surgery anyways and a home. And since we are to move to Malaysia, we could go with you. Call after a month and inform his family I was pregnant, then come home five years later with you. He has disagreed at first but gradually nodded his head knowing we needed you in our life.

When we got to the hospital and Dr Yahya took you in, the news came on and standing there were your parent. Your mother clutched a piece of your uniform as she broke apart in your father's arm. I turned to Kabeer in shock realizing our friends were your parent.

There was a single moment that stood to define everything. A single line between being selfish and not being anything. A single line of good and bad and Ammarah that was such a hard decision to make yet we faced each other and kept quiet. We've chosen to be quiet about this, afraid if we voice it out, it will be true.

So we were quiet, decided in our heads and each then started his own battle of coming in terms with this decision for the rest of our lives. You were hurt pretty badly and needing surgery. A week in the hospital and immediately you started improving a bit, we booked the next flight to Malaysia and flew out.

There, you continued your treatment, we enrolled you into school and you had no memories of the little years of your previous life. Six years later we came back with you, Kabeer's family was satisfied, his mom saw her grandchild and everyone was happy"

She looked at me again with tears "I know Dr Yahya said we saved you but you saved us. And in that moment of agony and despair we made a decision that hurt so many people. There are days I thought of coming free and reuniting you with your parent but what would that make us? The monsters that we are and Ammarah I don't want to be seen as such"

I didn't realize the tears running down my face until my knees hit the ground and I was holding my self sobbing.

"Ammarah please" Dr Yahya had said raising me up and calling Rahma "Go and have a breath of fresh air, you'll be fine my girl. You'll be. When you've settled down, please call me"

Rahma held me by my shoulders and gently tugged me back to my room. When we reached there, she brought out my veil, bag and shoes and started taking the necessities.

We both know where we should be right now.

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