Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Songs for this chapter are:

Pain - 1k phew

Love again - Daniel Caesar ft Brandy

Gentleman - Ric Hassani

Aquafina - Whatuprg

Celebrate More - Lecrae, Hulvey, Andy Mineo

Two weeks later

Cassandra

"How are you feeling today?" My sister asks me as she walks in on me trying to feed Farida her meal but that single act has cost my precious, wooly hair shrunken and my shirt drenched, dripping with liquid milk.

I looked at my sister through my wet hair and smiled at her as a drop of milk running through my forehead fell on my lips like rain. I licked it.

I didn't need to answer her question.

Sister Yemisi started to laugh and she didn't stop till it began to look like the tendency of her stomach bursting open was a reasonable possibility.

I have so much work to do as a mother.

"Maybe she doesn't like cereal, " my sister said after taking a break from her duty as a 'laughing gas'.

"And twenty other meals as well. I don't understand why she's being this way today. She normally wouldn't object to any food I give her. Right now, I went to sell this girl, " I whined.

Then I paused and blinked for a minute. Then the last sentence I uttered echoed in my head. The pennies dropped.

Oh my...

I looked at my sister and she returned the look I gave her with a calm one.

"I didn't mean it like that I promise. You know how sibling relationships are. It's—"

"I know you won't sell your daughter. You don't need to explain yourself, " she waved a dismissive finger. "Farida is a troublesome baby. Ebun nearly smacked her head last week because she ruined most of her make-up kits. Together we'll figure how to take care of her. Bring her here."

"I feel so bad for Ebun. She must have had a minor heart attack because she doesn't joke with her make-up kits, " I lament.

"But Ebun is incredibly obsessed with Farida no matter what she does which is why I'm going to take Farida to her right now so she can take care of her. Farida seems to like her as well maybe that's why she likes to touch her stuff."

"That's a weird—" I said as I hand my baby over to my elder sister but irritating tenderly yelling and protesting throwing of legs interrupts my talk.

I nearly throw my baby into my sister's hands and somehow, that works because her irrelevant protests stop immediately.

"Zion was worse when I had him as a baby. Don't worry about it. Just wash up quickly and come back. I have something important to discuss with you. Farida will fall asleep in no time once I hand her over to Ebun."

Twenty minutes later, there was a decorum that I didn't believe could exist ever since I moved into my sister's house with my kids. My younger sister was a wonderful babysitter. I felt bad for my elder sister for always having to deal with my children's mess but on the brighter side, I always tried to remind myself of the fact that she wants me here.

Her children were grown-ups and were now far away from her. It was just her and her husband so I can understand why she wants me and Ebun around. Maybe she wanted to have people to look after which is true especially in my case.

"How are you Sandra?" she asked me as she settles in the armchair, sitting right next to me.

"I'm great."

"Is your state of mind conditional? I mean, If I ask you about Mustafa, would you reply to me with the same enthusiasm?"

"Well..." I tugged at my fingernails. My countenance changed immediately. I couldn't even hide the fact that I was still affected by it negatively. "I still feel guilty about everything that transpired between us but somehow, I feel a bit good knowing that Mustafa doesn't hate me completely. I mean he's still rooting for me and sincerely, I want to make it up to him for everything."

"And how do you intend on doing that?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I thought of a couple of things like dropping apology cards at his doorstep every fortnight with turbans which are his favorite just to show how sorry I am? But it sounds a bit dumb because he might start to think that I want him and I back together but at the same time, I'm not sure I've ever gifted Mustafa with something material during our years of being together as friends and as a couple so it feels like sending him gifts wouldn't be a bad idea as well because gifts do wonders. I don't know. It's a lot easier making it up to him for all the money I stole because I can easily refund it but the trust I broke?" I sighed. "I don't know how to earn it back."

After ranting, I raised my shoulders a bit high and brought them back down in an exhausted shrug.

"You will be needing his trust because you two would have to co-parent your children which will require you working hand in hand with him but I think he will forgive you completely even if it will take a while. If Dan can leave your life forever with absolutely no sign or memory that leads to him, then I believe you will be in the best state of mind because you don't get to live in the past or go back to your old ways but even if the unexpected happens, what is important is that you will be able to handle it the right way. Just become a better person. That's the best apology you can give Mustafa."

"I will become a better person, " I said with a small smile.

"You are already becoming one. I've watched you for the past two weeks now. Even if you make mistakes a few times, I see the effort you are putting in and your determination and I'm not critical about it. Also, remember you saved Mustafa's life once. He knows you're not a bad person. Trust me. I know that he knows. You just keep improving on yourself. It will speak louder than anything."

"Thank you so much for everything, sis. I'm surrounded by love that it sometimes overwhelms me. Life is a lot better for me now that I'm trying to focus on my kids and the best set of siblings one could ever have. God has been teaching me so many things. I'm so glad to be walking on this journey with him."

"Aw. That's my girl, " she placed her palm on my cheek tenderly. "Just focus on the people who love you and mean so much to you. Healing will be an easier process for you to go through."

"Yes. Anyway, you said you have important stuff to discuss with me, " I reminded her.

"Oh yes!" she snapped her fingers and her expression changed to a serious one effortlessly. "Now that I'm sure that you are relatively okay, I guess it's safe to let you know that we have another battle ahead of us. Are you mentally and emotionally ready to face it?"

"Yes, I am."

If it turns out to be that I'm not, I trust God to help me face it. Anything for my utmost redemption, I will do it. Yes. Anything.

"Dan's court trial is in ten days."

My heart betrayed the willpower I had seconds ago with the way it skyrocketed. I swallowed the thick lump of saliva that formed quickly on my tongue.

"And...?" I pressed for more information. "What do you need me to do to facilitate all the allegations made against him?"

"I will need you to be a witness at court but first, let's discuss some of the investigations I've made within the past month. I'm sure you've been dying to know what I've been able to find. I'll show you and tell you everything. If you have anything to add, just let me know. I've been waiting for you to be stable enough so we can have this discussion."

"I'm more than stable. Anything I can do to wreck that bastard, I'll do it. I have to do it, " I convinced myself in the attempt to dismiss every notion in my mind begging to differ and that subtle, dark side advocating for Dan's paternity over Farida.

Rubbish. He's an aberration; a monster. Not the father of my daughter.

"I'm so glad that you can make this decision, " my sister's eyes shone with joy but I knew she'd noticed the internal battle I was having. "I was unable to locate Mrs. Jones. She was among the few slaves who escaped amongst you and Dan and came out alive from slavery under the loan shark's tenure."

"I know her. Dan was the one who helped her escape that night that he escaped with me too so even if you had found her, she wouldn't want to testify or give evidence against Dan."

"But she doesn't even know that I'm related to you and she doesn't know that Dan grew up to become a piece of trash so if I'd found her, she would have given me information believing to be that she was merely exposing the loan shark and his wicked acts when he was alive. Anyway, I've been doing thorough research on that gun with the Hades inscription."

Krystal, I'm sorry you had to die but your death seems to be extremely useful for this investigation but don't worry, I love you and I miss you and when Dan meets you in the afterlife, I know you will give him a piece of your mind after finding out why he made all those 'sacrifices' for me.

"Apparently, " her voice slashed through my thoughts. "the gun leaves marks of fire on its victims. Dan inherited the gun and used to murder a few people in the ghetto where he lived and some of the residents who have stayed there for a long time were able to testify to the marks they saw. I was even lucky enough to get a photo even though it was taken with a poor quality camera."

"But you have the photo anyway which makes so thankful, " I expressed and clutched my shirt tightly not because it was dripping with milk this time but as a show of heartfelt gratitude.

Focus, Cassandra.

I watched her bring the photo out of her breast pocket and then handed it over to me.

The photo was truly of bad quality which made it difficult for me to see what was captured but after squinting my eyes at least ten times, what I saw had frightened me.

I wished I could explain it.

"Oh my! I saw this exact, rotten mark on Dan's uncle's legs. This is crazy!"

I saw the mark on his leg after I learned that he was crippled and I was able to see it just before the loan shark came to drag Dan and I into the dungeon that night. It was so big and it looked like the same scar that a survivor from a fire accident would have but his own looked like tetanus that wouldn't close or heal up.

I'd seen the same mark on my driver's neck just before Mustafa came to save me.

"Thank God you can testify to it as well which establishes the fact that Dan is a murderer. The residents of the ghetto gave me information that was beyond adequate. I also met some of the prostitutes he robbed and assaulted occasionally. They agree to appear as witnesses in the upcoming court trial. There are too many terrible things he did just to survive. If it were possible for me to visit the castle, Oh God! I will be too glad."

"No one has been able to. No one knows if it still exists or not. The only person who can give us that information is Dan because he was the one who set the castle on fire and Mrs. Jones is nowhere to be found. Even Dan ran away with me that night of my exoneration and he didn't look back to notice if the fire burned the entire castle down or not. Nevertheless, what we have is more than enough to make Dan pay for his sins."

"You know, I wish Dan could go to jail directly for making you suffer so much. I wish he could be guilty of human trafficking but he made his dad kidnap you when you were underage. I wish he could pay dearly for breaking your heart and using you for his selfish reasons."

"Either way he's going to pay for the death of those souls that died do nothing. He will be gone for good."

"I'm happy about that. Are you?"

"Of course, I am."

She rubbed my hand gently.

"I don't want you to be afraid on the day of the trial. Don't think about anything and do not let anything hold you back. The worst thing you can do is pity him. Doing that will make you have second thoughts and before you know it, you are hesitant to testify against him."

"Don't worry sis. I'm willing to face this battle, " I assured her and patted her shoulders.

"Farida will grow up without getting to know who her real dad was. She won't even bother to know if that is what you are secretly worried about. Farida will be loved adequately by everyone around her."

I nodded. Trust my sister to always give an accurate word of knowledge.

She gave me a big hug.

"Thank you, sis."

"You are welcome baby, " she gave me a friendly pat on my back. "I just realized that I have a meeting with my crew today and I'm super late. I have to go now. I wish you all the best with Farida when she wakes up,"

She winked at me.

"You are going to discuss the rest of the investigation with them right?"

"Yes. See you later."

"Bye."

Minutes after she left, my eyes shifted to the clock on the wall unconsciously and I realized that it was three o'clock. Which meant that it was time for me to pick Ahmed and Youssef from school. Biting my lip and wishing I'd just followed my sister, I text her, asking her to pick my kids from school on her way back.

I was just about to read her reply when I heard a distinct noise. More like noises. Like two people arguing about something.

"I can't let you see my sister. It's that simple."

The words became clearer. I was able to decipher that that was my younger sister snapping at someone.

Quickly, I started to walk towards the direction in which the noise was coming from. It led me to the balcony and when I got there, I saw below my view, my dear sister arguing with none other than Zoe who was trying to get into the house.

My heart did a few backflips. What is she looking for here?!

Zoe and I had not met one on one ever since the day I told her to make her move on Mustafa while I planned on getting married to him for monetary purposes which is approximately five years ago. If I do say so myself. Seeing her here today to visit me certainly doesn't sit well with me knowing all the dirty secrets and betrayals lying underneath the friendship we used to have but perhaps, she's here for something else?!

Nevertheless, I'm very curious.

Ebun's eyes met mine and held them with a large dose of fear loaded in them. In no time, Zoe stopped bickering and looked in her direction till her eyes landed on mine as well.

I took a deep breath as I walked towards the front door to face her and as I did, I saw Ebun beg me with the look in her eyes to go inside and she could handle this.

"Don't worry about it. You can go, " I assured her.

Ebun held my hand for a moment. I rubbed on it and gave her a nod. Reluctantly, she let go of me and walked into the house after looking back at me a million times.

I faced my adversary, with hands akimbo but beneath all that courage, I could swear that a million questions were racing through my mind as bullets and blood pumped faster in my system than never before.

"What brings you here today? It's quite a surprise. Are you here to bury the hatchet? Or...?"

"If I bury the hatchet, then I won't be able to make use of it, " she gave her parabolic reply.

Then it took me a moment for it to sink, then I swallowed.

Make use of it? On who?

Uh...oh...

Not this kind of drama finding its way into my life right now.

***

Exodus 14:14 - "The Lord will fight for you and you will hold your peace."