My Emir ✅

Chapter 27- The fall

Indeed, a star has fallen.

Dignitaries from Kano, Katsina, Gombe, Alfawa, and many other states were present to grace the occasion. Media houses were specifically not allowed to the impromptu occasion.
It was nothing like Mariya has seen before. Even her parents were present.

The women's parlour was filled with women who had come to pay their last respects to the deceased. At one side of the confined space, Mama Aisha was seated with Hajia Laura, who was consoling her. Judging by the former's bloodshot eyes, one could tell that she had cried a lot.
Why wouldn't she cry? Nana had received her wholeheartedly as Sultan's second wife, despite the opposition. She looked up to the woman as the mother she never got to see.

Mariya couldn't stay in the parlour for long, so she went out to look for Yasmeen. The woman was nowhere to be found around the hall. She must have isolated herself in some secluded part of the palace.

Of course, Nana's death has taken a huge toll on her.

Come to talk of Zayn and the rest of the guys, they've been away for way too long. The funeral procession that went to the cemetery had already returned but they were not amongst them. She had spoken to Fareed over the phone. He wasn't keen on revealing their whereabouts to her but he stated that they were on their way.

She found Yasmeen seated at the gazebo where most of the family dinners were hosted__ and God! She was a crying mess. She had never seen Yasmeen that dejected before and it broke her heart so much.
It took her every single iota of her self-control to keep her tears at bay while consoling her sister-in-law.
Nazeera was holding up quite well, except for Ameer who made things difficult for her. He kept asking about the deceased's whereabouts.

*~*

Everything has been turned upside down. His life, his days__ and even the room he found himself in. Only Allah can intervene now.
Apparently, he was standing in the middle of a room in his manse. The very room he had once for some time prohibited Mariya from. The very room that held all the figments of his past. He hasn't been there since the day Mariya found her way into the room.
The shards of glass from the picture frame she had broken were still intact where she had left them.
It proved that he hadn't even come to clean it up like he said he would.

Every single thing in the room was out of place. The king-sized bed in the room was shifted a bit from its old position. It was the same with the vanity. The trunk he used during his days in the military had been emptied of its contents, which were now laying haphazardly in the room. The wooden box that contained Khayra's belongings wasn't spared. He had moved her belongings to his house after her death since there was no one else to do so.

He had completely moved on from his past with Mariya's immense aid. However, he has found himself trying to dig out that part of his past. It was only right for unknowingly, that past had been buried with some filthy mysteries. Those mysteries have to be washed clean before he finally finds utmost peace.

And as for Sa'eed, Zayn has already made a mental note to skin him alive if finds any more dirt on him. Even if were to be the size of a mustard seed.

One hour ago

Eskander was driving Zayn's car as Zayn sat in the shotgun seat. He didn't even feel like driving. Emraan and Fareed occupied the backseat. They were on their way to the palace from the cemetery after Nana's burial. The atmosphere in the car was grim and tense. None of them said anything to each other. Their car was in the middle of a long train of cars that had accompanied them to the cemetery. Sirens blared from security vehicles that secured their cars from the front and behind as they drive on a highway. The one in front had an emblem of the Emirates plastered on its hood. Anyone who saw the train of cars passing by stopped for a moment to utter a few prayers to the deceased dowager. A few held up their phones to capture the moment.