ORNAMENTS✅

Chapter Eighteen

Dasuki State, Nigeria
2009.

He divorced me, and it feels surreal, but I didn’t feel heartbroken. My biggest fear was not having any money, but he promised he would support me. Didn’t he? Yet, somehow, as I’m leaving the country, there’s one thing I want: to see Alh. Yabo again, just one last time. I want to tell him that I loved him, and maybe still do, but I’ll never allow myself to love him again because he betrayed me.

I packed my belongings—my gold jewelry and anything of value—into a traveling bag and drove away. Maybe I’ll never return to Dasuki. I needed to spare the city one last glance, so I drove to a garden where we were to meet with Alh. Yabo.

Unfortunately, media people were there and bombarded me with questions.

"Are you really having an affair?"

"Mrs. Shamaki, who are you seeing?"

"Why did you cheat on your husband? Wasn’t he enough?"

The questions kept coming. How do I answer? Yes? He wasn’t enough, or he was enough, but never what I wanted?

I hurried past the reporters, their questions echoing in my mind until I lost consciousness.

Water splashed on my face. I opened my eyes, regaining my senses. A masked man?

"Hello, Halima," the man said.

"I called both your lover and your husband. Let's see who comes to your rescue first."

My lover? How did he know about Alh. Yabo?

"But before they arrive, aren’t you just shameless?"

★★★

"Stop! Enough! I don’t want to hear any more!" Nabeel interrupted, overwhelmed by the truth. It was too much for him.

"Mum, who are you?" He spoke with raw pain, tears streaming down his face. "You lied to me. You betrayed Dad. How could you?"

"Nabeel, I told you. You weren’t ready for this. Call me whatever names you want, but let me tell you, when the heart is involved, it takes more strength to let go than you think. Yes, what I did was wrong, but I’ve accepted it. I’m atoning for my mistakes. Even if I don’t have much time left, I am at peace knowing I’ve repented."

"What happened in your country?"

"That’s not important, Nabeel. Your grandmother was not the ideal role model, but it’s not relevant right now."

"Who came to your rescue first?"

"It was Alh. Yabo. He arrived before your father. It turns out he was involved in the situation, but I’m the only one who knows the full truth."

"Did Dad destroy evidence against Alh. Yabo?"

"Yes, he did."

"Mum, Dad really loved you."

"I knew that, but I couldn’t see it clearly before. Take that girl from the Yabo family. If she’s connected to Alh. Shamaki, we don’t know what could happen."

"You wanted to abort me, Mum. Why didn’t you?"

"Because you were the heir to the Shamaki fortune."

"Wealth? Money? Fortune? Where has it brought you, Mum?" He slammed his fist on the table, then stormed out.

He collapsed inside the hotel room and cried, no longer the confident man with power, but a broken person.

He sobbed because he respected his father more than ever.

He sobbed because he couldn’t believe his mother could act in such a way.Why? She had a fucking baby with that man. He feels disgusting even at his own existence but his dad married a woman who wasn't a virgin, a woman who aborted a baby and the despicable things just kept adding to the list. He's the son of this woman!

She never loved him it all makes sense it was all money, money, money and in the end is she taking the money with her

Why? He felt disgusted by the life he had been born into. Why? She had a fucking baby with that man. He feels disgusting even at his own existence but his dad married a woman who wasn't a virgin, a woman who aborted a baby and the despicable things just kept adding to the list. He's the son of this woman!

She never loved him it all makes sense it was all money, money, money and in the end is she taking the money with her

And Alh. Yabo—he couldn’t believe he’d been so deceitful.

He called Nini. She was the only one who could calm him down.

"Nini," he called, his voice trembling with desperation.

"Oh, Nabeel! How are you? How’s your mother? I’ve been worried since you haven’t been picking up. Is everything alright?"

"Nini, I need to cry. I just need you to listen to me. Don’t say anything, just let me cry."

Nini sighed. "Let it out."

He cried like a child while Nini comforted him, unsure of what had caused his pain, but thinking it was related to his mother’s illness.

        —7 Months Later—

Nabeel  quickly dressed and headed for his mother’s hospital room. He had been living with her and taking her to various appointments.

Yesterday, she had been admitted again, so he went back to the apartment, grabbed some clothes, and walked toward her room.

He dropped the clothes by the door.

"What’s going on, Doctor? Why did you remove the oxygen and cannula?" he asked, frantic. he hurried to remove the white sheet used to cover his mother's face.

"I'm sorry, but we lost her," the doctor replied.

"Sorry? you don’t mean it. Please check again. I’m sure you made a mistake," Nabeel said, desperately.

"Mr. Shamaki, please calm down—"

"Calm down? How dare you ask me to calm down. You don’t understand. She’s my mother. Please, check again. She wouldn’t leave me like this. She promised she would make things right, she can't be dead just when we were becoming close!" Nabeel said, breaking down.

•

Nabeel flipped through the file the doctor had given him. "Suffocation?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, her cause of death is suffocation. We still don’t fully understand how it happened. When I arrived, she had already passed, and the oxygen was still on."

"Thank you, Doctor," Nabeel said quietly before walking away.

His mother’s funeral had already taken place. There weren’t many people who came to mourn her, and those who did left quickly.

Nabeel sat in a corner, exhausted and empty.

"Alh. Yabo, was all of this to protect your secrets and crimes?" He was done crying; he had no more tears. "I promise you, even if it’s the last thing I do, I will expose you. Just wait for me. I’m coming for you!"