“It’s your defective brain that made you believe it. But that’s okay, son. We’ll fix you.”
Even in the UK, not a day passed without me scanning my surroundings—checking and rechecking—because I knew he was watching. He was always there, waiting to punish me for everything I knew, and for every defect in my soul.
I spun around, everything spinning, everything noisy. My eyes caught the CCTV cameras mounted on the ceilings. Heknew.He knew Tshabina was the only calm I had left. My peace. My happiness.
And he wanted to steal her away.
Because that was what he always did.
My breath came faster. My whole body trembled—fuck,I hit my head like a punching bag. I tried to steady it, but the dark flooded over, spilling uncontrollably.
With my fist clenched and my vision blurred, I stumbled towards my eldest brother’s room. When I reached the third-floor hallway, I grabbed the door handle and shoved it open with a crash.
Zaeem, fresh from the shower, nearly jumped out of his skin. He was half-done buttoning his shirt, staring at me wide-eyed. “What the hell are you—”
I lunged at him, jabbing a finger towards his face. “You’re going too far!” My voice cracked into a snarl, and I dragged a hand over my face. “You can’t ask Tshabina tocome here!” I roared, yanking my hair. “She can’t be here, don’t you understand—”
“Calm down,” he cut me off, already stepping forward. “What? Why?” His eyes searched mine, his brows furrowed in worry. “Understand what?”
What kind of bloody joke was that?
He knew!
The muscles in my jaw locked tight. My fists shook. “You know what I mean.”
He couldn’t pretend he didn’t understand. Tell me I wasn’t the only one sane here!
“Zioh…” His tone softened as he started to realise. “It’s just in your head, Dek,” he said, edging closer, trying to find my eyes. “Besides, Zeraiah agreed too.”
Zeraiah as well?
What the actual fuck was wrong with them?!
Fuck all of them!
I couldn’t believe it. Their thoughts. Their reasoning. They should understand what happened now! They’d always known! How that old man ruined us all. And now he wanted to destroy this, too. Leave me with nothing.
My body felt as though barbed wire was tightening around my chest, and I couldn’t breathe.When could we ever breathe a sigh of relief?
I clawed my hair, fists striking my head. “No, no, no, shit, shit, shit—”
“Dek—” Zaeem reached for my shoulders, but I shoved him harder than I meant to.
Sweat poured down my temples, stinging my eyes. I stared at my brother through the blur. “Mas—”
“What happened?” Zeraiah’s voice cut through the chaos as he stepped inside, startled, mouth agape. His eyes flicked between Zaeem and me as he hurried over.
What happened?
I whipped my head towards him, a burning snap in my eyes. “You let Tshabina come here, Zeraiah! That’s what happened!”
He stiffened, then looked at Zaeem. “Zioh—”
I jabbed a trembling finger at him, my voice a raw snarl. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Zeraiah’s expression softened, and I noticed a subtle shake he forced himself to contain. “I met Biba some time ago, and I promised I’d call her back.” He blew out a breath, searching for my eyes. “And Zaeem reached out to Bibu directly for dinner, and I asked Biba to come along. It’s just a bloody dinner, Zi. Like old times. We’ve all been falling apart lately—”
I barked a harsh laugh, cutting him off.“That’s your excuse?”
