Once Upon A Sultan ✅

Chapter 38.

-ZAINAB SHAMAKI'S POV-

Maroudi, Nigeria.

They said I was crazy. No one believed me, or at least, wanted to help.

How they simply closed my parent's case without much investigation agitated me. It's obvious they were murdered. But just like that they closed the case because there's no evidence that will point to anyone as the culprit.

If only they had looked deeper and actually done their jobs right, then I wouldn't be here right now.

When I heard they were going to close the case, I went to the station times without number. It started with me pleading with them to help, then it was simply me creating a ruckus for days...or was it months?

You can call me crazy too. I was crazy back then.

But, try to be in my shoes. Maybe you won't act that way but I did, and I don't regret it.

My parents didn't deserve to die like that. I didn't deserve to live a life without them and neither did my brother of only fifteen years then.

If they had died in a simple accident, or of any other natural cause, I wouldn't make a fuss because that's how it was written to be.

Why tell me that they were murdered, when they'd close the case like that?

They were obviously asking for one crazy woman on their tail and yes, I gave them a run for their money.

I never gave up though. I simply told myself to get stronger, because in the state I was in, I couldn't do anything. The police wouldn't do a thing, and no one else was willing to help so I could depend on no one but myself.

Sultan Sunusi and Hakeem were the ones by my side, who albeit never said it out loud, obviously thought it would be better for me to leave the issue aside. And when I did leave it, to pursue and grow my career in journalism, I could tell they were happy.

For a while, I thought I was over it—that Hakeem was helping me get over it. And then Nadine came into the picture. I truly never liked her because I felt like it was only a matter of time before she shed off that fake skin of hers and show her true colors.

I'm good at reading people. Or at least, after the whole Azeez thing I learnt to do so. Besides, it was helpful in my line of work.

I knew Hakeem liked me then, and I liked him too even though I denied it but her marriage with him came.

Was I devastated? Yes.

Was I angry at Sultan Sunusi? Yes. For a moment, I was.

But he didn't know a thing about I and Hakeem then. And even if he did, he never showed it. However, I trust him more than anyone else.

If he got Hakeem married off to Nadine, then he has a good reason behind it.

I guess because of the marriage, mine and Hakeem's relationship started to fall apart slowly. Apparently, the speed wasn't to Nadine's liking because she decided to confront me and tell the secret Hakeem has been hiding for over a year then.

The secret that he knew who killed my parents, and he simply watched me slowly begin to lose my mind without telling me who it is. Did he think it wouldn't be of importance?

I'm sure not. It would've been important to me even if it wouldn't be that helpful.

That's why I can't seem to wrap my head around how that is actually true. That he kept something like that from me for years.

So, yes. The feeling of betrayal hurts more than I expected.

You know on more than one occasion, I felt bad for hating him without knowing whether it's true or not. And then I blamed my lack of mental stability for looking for hating him simply because I was going through a tough time. But, I was right to hate him. I was right to venting all my anger out on him.