N'DJAMENA, CHAD.

Suhayr changed into cotton blend block maxi dress featuring a scoop neckline and regular sleeves. Her feet are clasped in new pair of sandals that sat comfortably on her before they left the hospital together with Hakim and Salima who came immediately after hearing that she is in Chad. They don't need to settle any bill as Sa'eed has already done that, she can't thank the man enough no matter what she does. He saved her life, he left his country to come save her like a true hero. So this day is coming, the day Suhayr feels gratefulness that ran deep to her core, that makes her pulse thud and throb in a way she can't explain.

'I don't regret the things I've done, I regret the things I didn't do when I had the chance.' She thought bitterly in her chest, this is bad.

They arrive at the apartment complex with thirteen storeys, very beautiful and looks quite expensive but she didn't question Hakim about it, she don't have the right. Normally, she would hoot about where he got the money to rent such a nice place but now, she only wants to go in there and rest. Her back aches, her legs are limping as she moves but thankfully, nothing has broken as far as she heard from the doctor. Her eyesight is getting blurry since they have been close for five days straight. That was such a terrible experience, really, the worst one. A rib of hers is almost dislocated but her stars are shining, the doctors did a good job.

They got into the elevator that took them to the fifth floor where he promised her that her bags and everything is inside. She has treasures she wants to keep from her mother, she don't want to lose them because of some petty revenge from a psychopath. If only she held onto his hand before he could touch her or had she just tried showing them her Martial art skills before they move any closer. Oh God, her muscles constricted from the mere thought of it. If she doesn't teach this man a lesson, she won't rest in peace and won't forgive herself ever. How could she let that happen to her?

But who on earth sent them money to kill her from Nigeria? She has a list of people that would want to do that but first, she has no doubt it is that vermin, toarag and a public nuisance that don't get the word move on! None other than Naja'atu Haris Dantati, she won't just let her husband live peacefully in merriment but she don't understand simple English. It would've sounded much easier if it was her who don't understand the English, she is rooted from Arabic/French and not English, she didn't even start college so that would be understandable.

And the second person is none other than her mother in-law whom she has warned not to play with her amateur wannabes but she still did. She told her she wants to fight with her one on one and not start taking down her people before the main course. She don't want to get tired before having to take her down, she wants her to regret declaring a war. But if her mother in-law really did that, how did Sa'eed know the exact time to come to her rescue? Something is amiss and she'd be damned if she doesn't find out what it is, she will find out.

First things first, she needs some good rest!

Hakim opened a door down the corridor, his hand lingering as if waiting for her to enter first so she did so. The living room is where her feet landed in, so beautiful and spaciously elegant. It is huge, have so many sofas arranged across the walls then a center table in the middle where a box of pizza is waiting for them. She let her eyes wander to the dining table a little farther away from the living room then the kitchen right behind it, the colossal window wide open for anyone to see through it. The place looks like that of rich celebrities living on their own for the first time after getting their first cheque.

There is a hallway by the left side of the kitchen which probably leads to their bedrooms but she sat down on the floor in the living room to eat first. She wants to take a bath, badly but she is afraid of what is to come when her skin made contact with hot water, she don't want to think about that. She took a slice of pizza and push down her throat while signing to Hakim to get her some soda which he did. He gave her the can of coca cola and settled for sprite, just their favorite as he remembered vividly.

"I miss this." He confessed after pushing the last slice of pizza down his throat. She could only nod her head accepting what he said her mouth filled with pizza. The times where they share quality time together.

"Where is my room? I need one hot shower to cleanse myself off weakness and a fresh start." She stretched her body as she stood, keeping away the pain she feels in every crevice of her body and focus on the new start she talked about. What new start does she even mean?

"First room by your right." He pointed the exact same hallway she thought to be their bedrooms and she followed.

There are two doors there so she took the one he located for her and went inside to have a nice bathe. The room is quite spacious and just what she wants to sleep on the whole night and others to come before she decides.

The walls are painted Dijon, not her favorite but it will have to do. A steigh Queen sized bed is in the middle of the room encased with two chest drawers. There is an enormous wardrobe by the left side of the room then another door by the right which she meandered to. A bathroom, beautiful and cozy one nothing like the one in Sa'eed's or Egypt, just okay for the Chadians. A jaquar shower enclosure is pushed to the wall, normal bathtub which made her miss the one in Egypt. A sink and toilet, that was it. Ah, she missed Nigeria too, the bathroom there has beautiful view.

She stripped down from the new branded maxi dress and move forward to the floor length mirror to check the damages done. She winced at the sight of her once beautiful body which is now nothing short of hideous, grotesque, horrid, ghastly and totally eye hurting. A thick gob rolled down her throat without her knowledge and for a second there, her heart shattered in her chest. Her ribcage literally bounced without her knowledge making her clench her hand tightly around her back, she don't want to do something stupid.

She has scars marring all over her once flawless body. One ran from her lower rib to her hipbone, it does not look like it would disappear anytime soon. There are little ones that are slowly fading away and the bruises are now dark purple which means they will disappear soon. None of the scars look permanent but it didn't stop her heart from tightening further in her chest. She swallowed again while looking away from the sight that will surely hunt her till forever. She's always loathed and abhorred scars, she hates them, she despise them from the bottom of her heart. They all describe one story or the other, this is not a story she wants to tell but it is a story that leads to a new beginning and a part of her life.

Slowly, she sat down by the sink on the floor stack naked after seeing a sight she never would want to see on her enemy. Her eyes brimmed with tears but she still didn't let them fall, she won't give home that satisfaction of being weak. They wanted to kill her right? To make sure she is not roaming around freely and cheerfully on earth, huh? She will rub salt to their wounds when she starts her makeover to make them swallow the bitterness she should have. Thank goodness her face is not marred with anything, it is clear except for her neck, that is another story. There are bruises turning dark purple all around that you could hardly see skin.

After a few seconds, she stood up and made her way to the cubicle to take a bath. The pain was bearable and tolerable so she took nice bathe to soothe her aching body and heart. Her emotions are going haywire, they are traveling to places she has never been to.

She lie down on the bed after locking the door, she don't want anyone to disturb her time for herself. She wants to think, go through what has happened and see what she should do next with her life. A lion onesie is what she wore, it was so comfy and soft for the moment like that. Her eyes started drooping slowly but a shrill sound of her phone awoken her up. This should be her brother calling her again, he is the only one who has her number and where did they even find the phone? The battery was flat the last time she used it, when she got beaten and tried leaving the country.

"Hello?" She questioned when her hand took the cool device off her bed, it was there all along and she didn't notice.

"Hi, sister in-law." Nafisa's voice rang through the other end of the phone so she sat up. She didn't give anyone her number and she is sure her brother won't contact them just to give them her number. Sa'eed probably took it and gave them when he was with her those days.

"Uhm, hey. How are you?" Her lips suddenly dried up, her heartbeat skyrocketing at the thought of Sa'eed listening to her talking or him talking to her.

"I'm fine but nothing is going good here, Sis. There is a huge problem here in the palace, really gigantic." Nafisa's voice is laced with panic, it throbbed at Suhayr's heart too. Something attached to her voice made her heart tremble too, something is really not going right like she's said.

"What is it, Fina? Don't hide anything from me please, tell me. Is Sa'eed alright? Aunt Urshia? Tasneem? Thuraiyah? Your brothers too?" She fired the questions rapidly like a broken recorder split into two.

"Everyone is fine but this is really dreadful. I don't know how to say this to you without sounding like a crazy woman." From the sound of her voice, she is crying like a baby. Suhayr jumped to her feet, this is serious and she might as well fly to Nigeria that afternoon.

"Just tell me already!" She snapped, she hates when people keep her in suspense and keep beating around the bush too.

"Brother Sa'eed got married to Tasneem earlier in the morning and the castle is now in chaos. No one is making sense, Si-" The phone slipped from Suhayr's hand and fell right on the cold tiled floor of her new room. Her head lulled to the side, sudden dizziness took over her and she felt nauseous for no reason. Her heart, it is another story she will tell some other day.

What the fuck did she just hear?!

Her best friend got married to her husband in her absence and that too the day she awoke? So he left her there in the hospital to rot while he flee to Nigeria to have another woman tied to his family name? Just a mistake she's made and he left her there to fend to herself like she's always done even after she thought she has him by her side. For once, she almost depended on someone to be with her through thick or thin but thank God she didn't let him get to know that. It didn't make it hurt any less though.

Hell is about to break lose!

BORNO EMIRATE COUNCIL.

She landed in Nigeria around six in the evening and went straight to the palace with determined strides upon one. She didn't even get to pack anything other than the money that will buy her ticket and a few other necessities. She left the apartment without telling Hakim about her whereabouts since he wasn't around but she left a note for him this time around, she don't want to be heartless and selfish again. He deserves to know that much about where she is going and whom she is meeting, that little is enough. If only she knows the plot he is plotting in his plate too.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid we won't be let through since we are not royalty." Her cab driver yawed around to look at her as she told him to drive through the palace gates. She is in a hurry and if this people delay her, she won't be held responsible for what happens.

"Just drive, they will allow you inside. I'm the daughter in-law there." She gritted her teeth in annoyance and he nodded, sweat dripping down his forehead. His hands get back to the steering wheel and she felt bad for scolding an older man like him but in her defense, she needs to sort out some people in there before it gets out of hand. She don't want her anger to cool down even a notch, no!

The guards opened the gates for her cab without questioning as soon as they saw her inside and they should be grateful for their consideration, she would've lashed out on them. The car glide through the castle and she became anxious, her ass moving closer to the seats as she grip the seat with her hands, her nails digging into it. Her heart began beating faster in her chest, roaring with fire along with apprehensiveness bleeding down from it, she felt the fury gripping her guts. Her legs are shaking like someone on drugs, like she is high on something. Maybe some strong marijuana, she wished she was high and heard things differently.

She gave him the instructions to Sa'eed's chamber then changed her mind and gave him the instructions to her aunt's new chamber. She needs to see what on earth is wrong with her mother's best friend for helping her daughter betray her like that. When she thought losing your loved one hurts more than anything, there is nothing that hurts more than betrayal. The feeling of betrayal is deep, it is the real definition of trouble. Her spirit died down, she can't even yell at the woman the way she wants to knowing her foster mother respected her a lot when she was alive.

We all create the person we become by our choices as we go through life. In a real sense, by the time we are adults, we are the sum total of the choices we have made.

All she wants to do is hurt them like they did her, to do something terrible to them too for doing what they did to her. Though she don't want to believe, she can't help it.

"S-Suhayr? What are you doing here?" Urshia has a wide smile as she stuttered but all Suhayr could see is her eyes filled with terror and fright, it only confirmed her dead fear.

When in reality, she was just threatened when she fell.

"I came to greet you, can't you see? And to congratulate your daughter who just got married without telling me too. Payback, huh? I mean, I got married without telling her too and she thought of doing the same to me. Tsk, tsk!" Suhayr shook her head, she didn't even want to enter inside the new gigantic chamber they now reside in.

"What on earth are you talking about right now? I-" she was cut shut from someone behind her who happens to be Thuraiyah wearing a guilty smile as she cut her mother off with a loud yawn of her own.

"Su, you are back?" She beamed and ran to hug her but Suhayr couldn't bring herself to hug her back, she felt too hurt to think about hugging her. Her older sister got married to her husband as soon as she got the chance to do so. She got her hand muddled in her husband's life because she is the behooved person she was talking about. Ah, the behooved person again!

"Yes, I have someone special to visit." She gave a sarcastic smile then turn around and left without as much as saying a goodbye. She could hear Urshia yelling her name but she didn't turn around, too heartbroken to do that. Her steps bounced in anger, thankful she didn't send the cab away, she won't be able to take too much anger as she strolls to their chamber. No, his chamber!

They soon arrived at the chamber and she paid the man times two of his money and ran to the chamber without waiting for them to open the door for her. Her heart is sprinting along with her too and her head is spinning with dizziness, feeling the thirst to hurt all of them for doing that to her. Just when she fell in love, he feels like getting another woman under his wing and he couldn't get any other woman but her best friend? And the girl agreed to marry him knowing her feelings for him?!

The more she thought about it, the more her head throbbed.

"Will she really like this? She don't like things getting too romantic, I know her." She heard Tasneem's voice questioning another person inside the chamber and it is coming from the backyard.

"Nah, they deserve this much. It is not at all exaggerated, they will love it so much like we do." Nafisa's voice filled with cheerfulness rang in the air unlike the trembling one that was crying earlier when they called her.

"Let's leave, she will be here soon." And she heard small sounds of footsteps disappearing before she could go and confront them.

She stepped out to the backyard and found the place decorated for two people in a dinner date romantic settings. A table is in the middle of the huge backyard she never bothered stepping into and there are two chairs facing one another. A bucket filled with ice meant for champagne is there with champagne inside and two flutes. There are lamps turned on and further inside the darkened sky enveloped with obsidian, came the man of her dreams, the love of her life.

"You came!" He beamed, the smile stretching across his face emphasising on his happiness to seeing her. His eyes shined with mirth, love, admiration and desire to have her in his arms again after so many days. God, he missed her so much. But something is missing in his eyes, something terrible is going on with him.

"I did you imbecile! You got married to my best friend huh? And all this setting is for your first night, isn't it? You've got what you always wanted, to be free from me and then marry someone else with more protocols and etiquettes than me huh? Kudos, you got the best candidate but don't forget that I am Suhayr, I don't let people that betray Mr go unscathed!" She seethed not knowing when she moved closer to him and started jabbing her forefinger to his chest till it hurts.

"How can I get a better candidate when I have you?" He smirked when she let out a look of flabbergast then she let the fire slip back into her eyes again, she don't want his words to weaken her fury.

"Of course! You have always wanted someone who would keep up to your big man picture and perfect reputation. You lied to me! You said you wanted our relationship to work and after we consummated the marriage, you don't need me anymore, eh? Just like other men, disgusting!" She glared wrathfully at him too, her eyes fierce like the day he's met her.

"There is no better candidate and I never lied to you, I won't ever do that. I love you, I want us to work our relationship out." His head immediately deepen to her neck, his hot breath fanning the hairs there. Her eyes droop low listening to his words, they were like drugs to an addict. Like cool water got poured on her after leaving Sahara desert.

"B-but, what about Tasneem?" She can't help the bitterness when she spatted Tasneem's name. She really don't want to hate her best friend but she can't help it, it ran deep without her knowledge. Or is it the jealousy?

"She is not you!" He kissed the back of her ear eliciting a shudder from her then his arms move to align her body with his then added, "I never married her, it was a plan to bring you back to me. I missed you so much, my love." He kissed her deep after that, he can't help it. He's missed her so much, so much..