PRESIDENT'S SON AND I

5: Outburst

NASRIN

Utterly devastated, I watched as Zafir stared between me and Jamal. What the hell was I thinking? Yes, I knew it was him the moment Jamal convinced me to come. Or maybe, the moment we drove into the Villa, I had a thought that this friend Jamal was talking about was no one but Zafir. But still, there was a smaller part of me that prayed it wasn't him.

It wasn't like he was the only person that lived here, was it? But then we drove to his apartment, and it'd take me forever to forget where it was and who lived there. I gulped down a lump in my throat and remembered the kind of conversation we had with Jamal.

He promised me that he'd take me to a house, where I could live there, work and be paid. And I thought, why not? I honestly thought he was taking me to his house, maybe his mother needed a maid or something, but I was wrong. I moved forward and tried to snatch my bag from Jamal but he held onto it.

"What are you trying to do, Nasrin?" I knew he told me that I should be at home, but I would be far from home whenever Zafir was concerned. I wanted to puke right now, I wish I could run to him and wrap my hands around his throat until I strangle him to a painful death.

I'm sure he must've noticed the way I looked at him and took his eyes off me. "If this is where you were talking about, Jamal, I really appreciate your offer of help, but I can't work here." This only confirmed one thing, both Jamal and Zafir had no idea who I was. I could feel my heart being squeezed as that realization dawned on me.

"Why not? This is the safest place for you, Nasrin." He tried to make me understand my predicament, but I wasn't going to buy it.

I started to shake my head. "I can't stay here, Jamal. And...I can't work for him." I said that with utmost sincerity. Because, I really can't work for Zafir without having the urge to kill him at any chance I get.

And becoming the murderer of the first son of Nigeria was the last thing I wanted. Especially now that I had Muniba to look after. So, I collected my bag and walked out of the living room, thousands of emotions rushing through my heart. I was thinking of where to start from. Because yesterday, I went to our old house, maybe even if Gwaggo Jummai was dead, a year wasn't enough to have the house sold out, right? Maybe there would still be someone who would recognize me.

And fortunately, Gwaggo Jummai was still alive-I'm over the moon knowing this. I've spent months thinking about her and how I thought she had died mercilessly. Just that, Gwaggo Jummai claimed she didn't know me anymore. She said she had never seen me and threw me out of the house. I can't even begin to remember how badly I've cried yesterday, because it would do more harm to me than good now.

Especially now that I'm trying to stay as strong as I could to make sure I make a very good decision. But what happened to me yesterday? I'd never forget the agony I felt. She threw me out of the house and warned me never to see me again, except I wanted her to call the cops on me.

I was still looking for an affordable hotel to stay in when some men robbed me. Because foolishly, I brought out the entire money Jamal gave me and paid for the taxi we hailed, so, they followed. And if I had not given them that money, I would've been dead by now. And Muniba? She needed me more than I needed myself right now.

"Nasrin, wait!" Jamal rushed after me before I reached the gate. And this freaking man, I respected him enough to ignore him.

Despite being rude at him for the entire course of our stay in the hospital, when he found me under the tree we had slept, he looked devastated. And he offered to help me with a job where I could live in and be paid, after I told him that I had no home to go to.

But Zafir...he wasn't the home I expected Jamal to bring me to.

I turned to him, placing a crying Muniba back to my chest. I'm sure she's hungry, it had been over ten hours since I fed her and now, I don't even know what I would do. I could deal with the hunger, might even go another twenty four hours without eating anything, but she was too innocent to have to be forced to do that.