Chapter 47
Zioh
Cindy.
Her voice sent a surge of terror crawling under my skin.
I couldn’t breathe.
I fought with everything in me so my body wouldn’t become numb, but it had nothing left to give.
Everything about Cindy spun through my brain, but her words were louder than anything else.
I remembered it clearly: how my heart had threatened to stop, or how the nausea had kept crawling up to my throat.
Every time I had opened the door, she had been there.
At my door, sometimes in my living room. In my bedroom.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I spoke with a tremor in my voice, as if I were staring at a corpse instead of a human being.
“I’m your girlfriend! I need to know where you live!
” I glared at her, disgust rising in my throat.
“You’re not just a whore.” I snapped, my voice cold.
“You’re crazy, too.” “How dare you, Zioh?! You promised me everything! You’ll take responsibility—” I gulped.
“I never said that to you!” And in the blink of an eye, she surged toward me, pulling my head in her hand to whisper something before claiming my lips and forcing my shirt open.
Alongside Dad, she was one of the devils—a demon who never stopped shadowing us. Even my little brother—because of me, because of this cursed woman, Zeraiah was dragged into my darkness. He had to suffer, fell into the pit because of me.
My chest knotted whenever the memory surfaced.
Every word Dad ever spat was right…
I was defective.
When her brown eyes met mine, I wanted to end it right then and there.
My fingers curled into a tight fist. I became that crazy person again, opening the CCTV app, checking whether her face would show up, whether she’d find me again.
I could still feel the heat burning behind my eyes, how my cheeks were wet, and my head spun.
How alcohol littered the floor—because the moment Cindy was gone, I finally woke up to it.
To what had happened, to what I had done.
Whenever I even considered not listening to Zaeem, to wait until he found the ‘right’ way to fix everything, her damn voice would echo in my head.
“You wouldn’t dare try to get rid of me, again, Zioh!
Don’t even think about reporting me again!
You remember what I have, don’t you? It won’t just be you who will ruin, babe. Your little brother, too!”
One, two, three, four—breathed in. One, two, three, four—I exhaled my shaky breath, though it felt like nothing. My head was stuffed. It was so full and so noisy—one, two, three—“hhh.” Four.
I made myself glance around. Cars. Cars. Tsabinu. Zaeem. And… Tshabina.
I couldn’t feel my hands, but there was warmth.
Her touch.
I glanced at Tshabina; she was frozen at my side. She looked unsteady, but she was there, holding me tight. Her face tautened with tension, but her eyes… were speaking to me, carrying meanings so deep they settled my chaos.
At least… you, me, our past and our present… This was real. We were real.
She was the traitor. She started it all. She and your dad.
I swallowed hard, a heavy lump clawing down my throat. Sweat drenched my palms, pain prickled there, and the pain almost soothed me. I focused on Tshabina’s grip; it was warm and firm. She is here. She is beside me.
My eyes clamped shut. What did I have to say to her?
When I opened my eyes, I glared at Cindy, then my dad. To hell with all of you. And with a sudden pull, I seized Tshabina’s arm.
I had to get her out. I had to drag us both away from this hell. I headed for my car, ignoring the chaos around me. My name was shouted, there were curses, snarls, and even Tshabina’s voice calling after me. “Zioh, wait—”
She couldn’t be here.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Dad’s voice sliced from behind, freezing me. I glanced back over my shoulder, and his eyes burned into me. “You’re not going anywhere,” he repeated, his gaze flickering to Tshabina. The threat was clear, and it damn worked. My legs locked, and my plan collapsed.
“Dad! Stop it,” Zaeem snapped and strode forward. His breath was sharp. “You’ve gone too far this time,” he growled, squaring up to him before his glare turned on Cindy. His eyes blackened with fury.
Dad ignored him. His stare stayed pinned to me. Sharpened. “Aren’t you, Zioh?”
Cindy’s grin widened as I slammed my car door shut. She smiled as she’d already won.
I hoped she knew her death was coming, because I’d make sure of it. No. She’d suffer something worse. She’d lose her mind, and she’d think death was better.
Just the way I’d felt all these years.
And I’d make her feel it a thousand times worse.
I kept my anger caged, clutching onto Tshabina, reminding myself that I am still here and she is still here. I drew a long, ragged breath and pulled her with me. Leading us back into the house, ahead of the others.
In the lift, Tshabina kept calling my name. “Zioh… please, talk to me…” Her voice shifted from gentle to urgent. “Zi, please!”
But I couldn’t. I was scared out of my mind. To look at her, to lose her, to be lost. Slipping into craziness and hurting her again. I couldn’t trust myself.
All I could do was hold her tighter until the lift doors opened. I pulled her inside the house and dragged her with me until we reached the dining room, where Zeraiah was already sitting at the dining table.
At first, Zeraiah was lost in his phone, his eyes glued to it.
He didn’t even notice Tshabina and me entering, not until we sat down before him, and his head snapped up.
His eyes narrowed, studying us. He set his phone on the table, raising his brow.
“Zioh, Biba—” His voice cut off as we came into his clear view, perhaps realising how messed up we were.
My grip still locked tight around Tshabina’s hand, while I fought to steady my breathing. She kept staring at me, her gaze demanding an explanation.
“Are you both okay…?” Zeraiah asked, and neither of us answered.
He opened his mouth again, but the sound from behind me cut him short. He froze, his eyes darting past me. His face reddened, stiffening.
Zeraiah’s expression twisted with rage and disbelief, his gaze sharpened as Cindy waltzed in. Zaeem slipped into the seat beside me, his glare cutting through her.
Cindy sashayed past and planted right next to Zeraiah, directly across from me.
Dad took a separate seat near Tshabina at the head of the table, posturing like some damn monarch. Zeraiah still gaped, his brows knotted, staring daggers at the woman beside him. “Seriously, what the hell?” he snapped, his tone jagged. His glare flicked between Zaeem and Dad.
I wanted to scream the same.
Cindy ignored the murderous stares, and she sat as she belonged here. Zeraiah leaned in, his voice a low snarl. “What the fuck are you doing here—”
“Language, Zeraiah,” Dad cut in, cold and sharp.
Tsabinu arrived late, sliding into the seat on Zeraiah’s other side. He gave Tshabina and me a heavy, sharp look before trying to compose himself.
Zeraiah huffed, making sure the whole room heard his fury. When he turned his glare on me, I understood. I heard his unspoken words because I felt the same. We had to get rid of her before she opened her damn mouth and poisoned us again.
Zeraiah slammed his phone back into his hands; his fingers were flying, and notifications buzzed across the table.
I tried to keep breathing. My skin was slick with sweat, my muscles taut, and my head pounded so damn hard. Dad droned on with empty words, while Zeraiah kept typing with a rugged grip on his phone.
I’d warned them. I told them he’d never change, that he’d keep tormenting us.
The noise vibrated through my skull, harsher, and I wanted to smash my head against anything to stop it. I tried to count, ground myself, see, and feel—but nothing worked.
Pills. I needed my pills.
I needed to get out of here. Right now. My hand shook as I opened my phone. Messages filled the group chat “Z.”
Zeraiah: What the fuck is she doing here?
Zeraiah: Mas Zaeem?! You bloody bastard, Mas!
Mas Zaeem: Not me, Zeraiah. Watch your language.
Zeraiah: Then why is that bitch here?!
Zeraiah: Fuck, I’m not doing this. I’m leaving.
Mas Zaeem: Zeraiah, sit your arse down. I mean it.
Zeraiah: Don’t tell me it was Dad?! Your fucking old man is crazy, Mas!
See? Punishment. That was what this was.
Mas Zaeem: I’ll handle it. Zioh, are you okay? Everything will be fine, Zi.
Zeraiah: Zioh, she’s here because of you. That filthy bitch is insane. Remember this, Zi, she’s not her. You have to stay sane until we get rid of her.
Zeraiah: But I swear to God, I’m allergic to that urchin. If she keeps coming here, nah, I’m leaving.
Mas Zaeem: You won’t.
Zeraiah: If you don’t want your brother turning into a murderer, stop, Mas. You know what that crazy bitch did to me.
Mas Zaeem: Zeraiah, you won’t leave. Because she’ll also come here.
Zeraiah: What? Who?
Mas Zaeem: …
My hand trembled. I couldn’t breathe enough to keep reading. I tapped the top contact and typed.
Zioh: If I asked you to take me away from here, would you?
At once, Tshabina’s phone buzzed. She tore her eyes off me to look. She read it, and her lips pressed together. Then she looked back at me. Her hazel eyes met mine—tired, but deep, and steady. And in a strange way, it soothed me, so I typed again.
Zioh: If I ask you to trust me, would you?
Her eyes softened. Then she typed.
Sophie: I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.
Before she could look up, Cindy’s voice cut in. “We shouldn’t be on our phones at a dinner table.” Her words were sharp, and her stare stabbed into Tshabina before shifting to me. “It’s disrespectful.”
She then hummed, narrowing on Tshabina. Just watch out if you mess with her.
Cindy smiled like a wicked witch about to cast a spell. “Am I right?” she asked, fishing for support.
We all glared at her, except one.