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Chapter 68
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Scarred For Life Chapter 69
*Twenty two years prior, on a quiet and somewhat uneventful day, Adnan had barged into the house with a vengeance in his eyes. Their mother had been sitting on the veranda with an old notebook propped up on her laps, and she looked up sharply when he entered. "Umma, I'm going to break Nafisa's stupid head open," he'd said, his bottom lip trembling. "What's wrong?" she'd asked, setting the book aside to tend to her little boy who was on the verge of tears. "She went to the neighbors and told Farouk that I still wet my bed every night," he'd said, trying and failing to stem the tears. His mother had reached out then, placing a hand on his shoulder and pulling him in for a hug. "Don't worry," she'd said. "Nafisa just enjoys telling lies. How could you ever wet your bed at your age? You're a big and strong man. She's clearly delusional."Adnan had cried into her neck, sniffing and gulping for air. Somehow, nestled in the arms of his mother, he felt better instantly. At ease. It was a
Scarred For Life Chapter 70
*For three glorious days, all was well.Adnan never spoke a word about his confrontation with his father to Afrah. He'd gotten a decent 3-bedroom apartment in Life Camp for his mother and siblings, and Afrah never heard anything concerning the matter. All was well. Until the day she came to his room. Ever since their return home, Afrah had slowly begun to move into his room. Her toothbrush was the first item to migrate into his bathroom. When Adnan saw it the first morning, he smiled warmly at the sight. He pretended not to notice when the rest of her toiletries made the journey as well, even making space for her by removing some of the things he didn't really need. Like the extra bottles of shaving cream which were never used. Her shoes came next, and again Adnan moved some of his out of the way, giving a few to Junior while he kept the rest in his study downstairs, tucked away in the little shelf behind the door. When her clothes started to move in however, that was when he d
Scarred For Life Chapter 71
*The Police station smelled like urine. Zainab had scrunched up her nose ever since they arrived, the rank odour forming a cloud within the walls which she desperately wanted to leave. She was aware of the numerous pairs of eyes on her, and the veil of suspicion over them. The officer who was questioning her, Inspector David, sat across from her with an old file in his hands. He was a short man, his body a glut of muscles, his hair thinning and with a rough mustache over his lips. When he looked up at her through hooded eyelids, she avoided his gaze and chose instead to stare at his mustache. "I'm going to ask you a few questions," he began in a bored tone, the drawl characteristic of one who'd practiced the same speech over and over again. "I expect you to answer them truthfully. It will be best if you cooperate with us here. You have no fault here, so we have no reason to suspect you. Should you refuse to cooperate however, I will be forced to take any precautions necessary. Do yo
Scarred For Life Chapter 72
*Afrah would always remember waking up in his arms. That slow, languid fluttering of the eyelids before her eyes focused. The difference today was that she woke up flush against his chest, with Adnan's hands wound tightly across her back. For a moment, she didn't move, inhaling his scent deeply. Memories of the night before returned groggily, and she found herself grinning like a loon. When he stirred underneath her, she froze. "It's okay. You can continue what you were doing," Adnan mumbled into her hair, his voice in that heavy, seductive zone where it always was just after he'd woken up. Afrah loved the throaty way he sounded, and it was one of the guilty pleasures she enjoyed every morning. As she tried to slide off his chest, he held her in place with his arm, pulling her up higher until her nose was right next to his chin."Good morning, my sweet little dove," he said with a lazy smile. "You did not just compare me to a bird, Adnan," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I
Scarred For Life Chapter 73
*Afrah would make a good mother. Everyone said so. None more than Adnan, who keep looking at her with a moist expression of warmth in his eyes each time he saw her. He'd changed since she told him about the pregnancy. He was more attentive than ever before, which came as a surprise seeing as how she couldn't imagine him paying any more attention to her than he usually did. He became more quiet, walking almost in tiptoes so he wouldn't disturb her. "What do we name her?" he asked one day while massaging her feet. Afrah's hand was resting on her slightly protruding belly, a distant look in her eyes until Adnan had spoken. "How are you so sure it'll be a girl?" Her smile came easily, as it always did whenever she discussed the baby. "I know it's a girl, Afrah," he said. "I just do.""Well then, if it's a girl, I want to name her Hafsah," she said. "And if it's a boy, we name him Aliyu.""You've given this much thought, haven't you?" he asked with a chuckle. "It's all I've done these
Scarred For Life Chapter 74
*Sandra would surely lose her job that night due to her negligence. "How could you let some random stranger up to see a patient without asking for an ID or even calling the room to confirm first?" Dr Hussein thundered when the news was brought to his knowledge. "It was an honest mistake," she begged, sobbing on her knees. "I didn't know.""What if something had happened to her?" he asked. "What would you say then? That you're sorry?""I sent the security guards after him as soon as he went up." It was her only redeeming action, and the only reason why she didn't lose her job afterwards. Adnan was sitting quietly in the chair of the head security officer, watching the footage over and over again. The rage was slowly rising in his blood, bubbling just beneath the surface. Yusuf had been here; in the same building as him, and yet he'd slipped right through their fingers. If something had happened to Afrah...He looked leaner than Adnan remembered since the last time he saw him. It w
Scarred For Life Chapter 75
*The naming ceremony was held at Afrah's parent's home. Adnan didn't want the security of his house to be compromised during the event, so he agreed to have it at her parent's. The night before the ceremony however, he stayed with her until midnight. They took a walk in the backyard, circling the perimeter several times. Hafsah was sleeping soundly in Halima's room upstairs, barely a few minutes after Afrah finished feeding her. Soon she would be waking up when her diaper got full. They'd just endured over three hours of her crying when her grandmother decided to pierce her ears that day. The wind was cold and harsh. When Adnan noticed Afrah shivering, he drew her close and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You smell nice," she said with a sigh, wrapping her arm around his torso. "Did I not smell nice before?" he asked with a slight chuckle. "You always smell nice," Afrah said. "And you smell amazing," he said, kissing her forehead. "You look beautiful too."On their sevente
Scarred For Life Chapter 76
*Hafsah grew rapidly. It was almost as if one day she went to sleep a baby, and woke up the next day with a vocabulary of over five hundred words. Her growth spurt happened right around the time that Afrah and Adnan moved to Kano. Amina called it their migration, while everyone else called it a relocation. Like birds which migrated south for the winter, Amina told everyone who listened that they'd migrated north for The Long Winter, one which would stretch on for years if care was not taken. Adnan was much too happy to move. Knowing they were leaving the danger of Abuja behind was the only thing which finally made him able to sleep. That, and the knowledge that Zainab was serving a life sentence. The charges leveled against her would have easily amounted to culpable homicide punishable with death, but an unknown party was said to have bribed the judge and reduced the charges to culpable homicide not punishable with death. Adnan had been ready to appeal, but Afrah assured him that
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