"Your Highness, I hope we find you in good health?" Salimat said, lowering her head in respect.

The King looked at her, admiring his only daughter's demeanor. With effort, he opened his royal lips and said, "I am well, Princess Salima."

Salimat remained silent, feeling embarrassed to inform her father of the matter. She had no one else to turn to for help, as her mother had passed away four years ago.

Knowing his daughter's shy nature, the King handed her a writing pad and said, "Princess, write it down for me."

With a quiet demeanor, she took the pad and wrote down the matter, her hand trembling. After giving the paper to her father, she regretted her decision immediately.

The King was quite surprised, and looking at his daughter with concern, he said, "Get up and leave, we will call for you."

Feeling weak, Salimat stood up, almost in tears, understanding from her father's tone that he was angry. She knew that what she had done was a serious offense in the royal household. As a Fulani, she was aware of their strict code of honor. She accepted her fate in love, realizing she was unlucky in finding true affection. Now at 25 years old, she had faced many challenges in love, mostly from people attracted to her father's wealth rather than genuine feelings.

Afra and Khadija were crying profusely after returning home from boarding school for the holidays.

As I tried to console them, Khadija said, "Wallahi, Aunty Rabiatu, you have ruined your life by giving yourself to a man and getting pregnant. Now, you have caused our mother so much grief that she has died."

Salimat added, "Wallahi, Aunty Rabiatu, I hate you with the deepest hatred in my life. We will never forgive you for killing our mother with your actions." She said this and left the room in tears.

Only Afra remained calm and said, "Aunty, even though I am only 15 years old, I understand life well. I am older than Khadija, who is now thirteen and a half, and she knows that your actions caused Umma's death. But we need to be fair and give you a chance to explain what happened to you. Wallahi, we will not accept anyone ruining your life."

Rabiatu gave a slight smile and said, "Afra, you still have your journalist instincts? May Allah fulfill your dreams."

Afra looked at her older sister with sympathy and said, "Aunty, I know you have a lot on your mind. Please tell me so I can be at peace too." She clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

Holding Afra's hands gently, I said, "I will tell you, Afra, so you can find peace. But in my life, I never wanted to expose anyone's secrets, though it has become necessary now."

With that, I stood up, leaned against our mother's chair, and began to tell her the story.