Scarred For Life

Chapter 80

"Your father, pathetic as he is, has always been in the picture. I suspected he loved your mother even when I made it clear to everyone that I intended to make her my wife. My departure made it possible for him to step into her life and corrupt her mind against me."

"Am I supposed to believe anything you say?" Afrah asked, her hardened gaze falling on him.

"You don't have to believe anything," he said. "But it's the truth, and that's all there is to it. Can I continue?"

Her silence was all the answer he needed.

"As I was saying before your interruption, when I left the village for Lagos in the late 80's, it was to find my place in the world. And when I returned a few years later, it was solely for Halima. After all, life in Lagos was good. But I could never find a woman who came close to her. Not just in beauty, but in simply the way she makes me feel. And so, you can imagine my surprise to return for her, only to find that she'd moved on. Halima never looked at me the same again. Where once she had looked to me in adoration, now it was with nothing more than indifference. She despised my presence. But still I tried. I bought this very house for her. We were supposed to live here together. Have children together. Grow old together, and hopefully die together. Against her wish, though I didn't know it at the time, she agreed to marry me. I was looking forward to it, as you can imagine. But then Aminu came to me on the day that I was supposed to finally have her, and told me she was carrying his child."

That caused Afrah to look back at him. From the way her eyebrows shot up, he knew she never believed her parents could do that.

"Indeed," he said, nodding slowly. The very reason why he spoke so calmly, drawing out each sentence after another, was to make sure she felt the magnitude of his words.

"You see, any man in that state would have lost his mind," he continued. "I wanted to hurt him so badly when he said that. Even now, I still do. But then I loved Halima far too much to hurt him. I had to remain calm, not just for her sake, but for the sake of my brother as well because, as stupid and damnable as he was, I was still his brother and I owed a responsibility to him. If no one else would stand for him, I had to do that. And so I let him marry her. Not just for his sake, but for her sake as well. And for their child's sake.

"I didn't stop there however. I made sure no one would discover that Halima was pregnant at the time. It was a tedious task, but I did it willingly just to make her happy. And when the time came for her delivery, I flew her off to the United Kingdom so she could have her baby there, away from the prying eyes of our people. But I didn't stop there as well, Afrah. I took the child and gave her to my friend, to raise as his own until the time would come when I would want her back. He did the deed eagerly of course. He owed me, after all. All was well up until that point.

"When the girl became old enough to think for herself, I asked your father to take her back. She was his child after all, and he had a responsibility to his own blood. But Aminu has never been one to think rationally. He didn't want her back. He asked me to keep her, and make sure she never returned to him or his wife."

Afrah heard the words, but they didn't make any sense. Not just because her father would never do something like that, but because it would mean everything she'd assumed up to this point was a lie. That would mean that Zainab wasn't actually Adnan's sister, but her own sister. The realization left her feeling hollow, and her train of thought seemed to have derailed unceremoniously.

"I kept her, of course. Again, for Halima's sake. I could never love the girl. Not completely, at least. A part of me took care of her only because she reminded me of your mother. But I despised her because I saw your father in her. Somehow, Aminu always seemed to drive my life to ruin. And each time, I let him. Why I do that will remain a mystery to me forever. But I did what he wanted, and I kept the girl. I raised her as my own, albeit not the same way I would raise my children. Even after she grew up and became an adult, I still kept her. And when I brought her back to the country and asked your father to take her now, he still refused. Thrice your father had meddled with my affairs. Thrice I've let him get away with it. And each time, I've been made to look like a fool; a neanderthal, compared to the 'noble' Aminu who everyone seems to love. I had to hurt him, of course. I had to get back at him, one way or another."