CHAPTER 33

Shulamite arrived home and was

very emotional because of the

way her family welcomed her back.

she got very emotional as she

remembered the story of the

prodigal son who despite all the

wrong that he has done, he came

back home and his father still

welcomed him with a feast and

she saw herself as the prodigal

son. When she saw how happy

her parents were to receive her,

she promised herself right there

that she will do everything to make

them happy and proud of her and

the first thing she wants to do, is

do away with men because

whatever you put your mind to do,

you can always achieve it.

She broke her sim card and threw

it away, got a new phone, and

also a new sim card because she

has decided to do away with all

the numbers of her old friends

who never influenced her life

positively. Just overnight,

Shulamite became a changed

person and that change was

surprising even to her parents.

Chris got tired of being weighed

down by her pregnancy and

decided to go out and do

something fun all by herself. She

left home that evening and

decided to go for a karaoke night.

Chris is a very good singer and

songwriter which has always

made her friends wonder why she

chose modeling instead of music.

She stopped singing or even trying

to sing well over the years because

she felt like she was losing her

talent already as she wasn't

practicing. When it was her turn

to sing at the karaoke night, she

stepped up on stage held the

microphone, and began to perform

and the crowd went crazy because

she was singing like a star. Many

people began to dance towards

the music and some even thought

that she was a musician. She

wasn't just singing and dancing,

she was performing and many

people began to record videos of

her performance. Chris made

sure that she Partied all night

before going home exhausted.

The next morning, the first call she

received was from Doja and as

usual, she refused to pick up the

call. Doja laughed while holding

his phone because he expected her

not to pick up his call and she did

just that. "This pretentious Chris. I

was here feeling bad for her because

I thought that she was sad about

the whole pregnancy saga but I

never knew that I was deceiving

myself because the person that I

was feeling sad for, was somewhere

performing for everybody. Does

she think that she can make those

moves for the public to see and

not give me a private performance?

We shall see about that."

One thing that Chris did not know

was that a video of her singing and

dancing at the karaoke has gone

viral on the internet and people

are really going crazy about it. Her

friend Jay also called her that

morning and when she saw that

it was Jay, she picked up the call

as Jay's happy voice flowed into

her ears. "Good morning babe,

have you finally decided to follow

your true calling? Have you seen

the video of you that's trending on

the internet? Get ready because I

will come to pick you up this

afternoon for a studio session. I

would like you and me to work on

a song which I'm very sure that you

will like." Chris felt that she has

nothing to lose if she sings for

Jay as a backup singer, so she told

him that she is interested.

That afternoon, Jay picked her up

as scheduled and they drove down

to his studio. He gave her a written

song and asked her to sing and

also make any corrections that she

feels like making. Chris went through

the song and felt that there were

some loopholes somewhere, so

she made adjustments to the

song. When Chris started singing

Jay felt very sorry for her. He felt

that she has thrown away her

talent and wasted so much time

in the modeling industry struggling

for resources when she could

have made herself great in the

music industry. He couldn't help

but post that recording of her

singing on his Instagram page.

When people listened to the model

singing, most couldn't believe that

she was actually singing and not

lip-syncing. When they were done

with their studio session, Jay

couldn't help himself anymore and

had to speak up. "Chris, what do

you think that you are doing to

yourself? Do you think it's fair that

you have all this talent but you are

trying to bury it because you want

to model? You can do both if you

want to. You and I were very good

together back then because the

music was one of the things that

kept us going even in our dark times.

I kept wondering why you quit

music till today but I still can't find

an answer to that. You have always

wanted to make money, be famous,

and leave behind a legacy for your

generation but how are you supposed

to do that with just walking down

the runway. If ever you change

your mind to do music, I have a

platform for you and I hope that

it wouldn't be too late by the time

you start." By the time that Jay

was done talking, Chris already

had tears in her eyes as music

has always been her first love but

she was forced to quit music

when different producers were

negotiating to have her body first

before they could produce her. She

didn't let them and had to quit

because she had no money and

contacts back then to help her

drive her music.

She smiled between her tears

and told Jay that she would like

to give it a try. Many people started

wondering if Chris wants to quit

the modeling industry for music

the same way that Shulamite retired.

Many people who were thinking that

Chris was not talented and that she

is like some models who only use

their bodies to get what they want,

changed their perception of her

after seeing her recent musical

performances.

Zahid and his wife were already

back from their honeymoon but

he still refuses to see his third wife.

She has tried different tactics and

means to see him but he still

refuses to see her. His other wives

whom she went to meet in Saudi

Arabia were both giving her attitude

despite the fact that she came

humbly. It was almost like they

could say through her act. Nothing

seems to be going well for Na'ima

both in her marriage and career as

she was recently dropped from a

movie role which was later given

to a younger actress who is willing

to go nude. She already knew that

all of these were happening because

her husband has withdrawn his

support from her and the only

reason that she was at the top

was because of her husband's support.

 Na'ima knew that she had to do

something very fast, else she will

soon be kicked out of her marriage

and career and she was not

sure that she will be able to

survive the pain and shame that

comes along with that. Only a

month ago, she was still the queen

of her home and the industry. She

laughed sadly and imagined how

life can change within a twinkle of

an eye. She thought back to the

words her mother told her about

the violent taking what they want

by force because life is too deceitful

to ever hand anything to you on

a platter of gold and she decided

to grab whatever she wants from

life by force.

She went to her husband's company

and although she was told that he

was not in, she still forced her

way into his office and found him

there. "Zahid, I finally decided to

come and find you myself since

you have been avoiding me. I

have no words to justify my actions

and even if I tell you how it all started

you will never believe me because

once a thief, is always a thief. If I

tell you that Najiba called me first

and I only returned the call, you will

think that I am trying to defame your

wife in your presence and also defend

my actions. I am not here to defend

my actions or defame anyone. I am

here because I want to save my

marriage. If you want me to apologize

to her on my knees, Zahid, I am

willing to do that because I love

you." Zahid was writing and

pretending not to hear her but

suddenly he burst into laughter and

said "are you sure that you are in

love with me or you are in love with

the support that I provide? Na'ima

have you forgotten that you and I

have been married for quite some

time now and I know you better than

your fans do. You do not want to

lose me because you know that if

you lose me, you will lose your career." 

She ran towards her husband in

tears and said "Zahid, you are

mistaken. It is true that I bask in

the support that you provide but I

love you more than any support

than you can ever provide for me. I

just want you to forgive me so that

we can go back to being husband

and wife again. I don't care if my

career fails but I don't want my

marriage to fail. Zahid please I'm

begging you, forgive me." Na'ima

fell to the floor in tears and her eyes

were red from crying.

Zahid looked at this wife of his

and couldn't tell if she was acting

or being real. But one thing he

knew was that whatever it is he

has done to her this time, it really

got to her because the Na'ima that

he knows will never come begging

him on her knees for any reason

rather, she will demand what she

wants with authority and command.

He laughed and said "so all I needed

to get you back in line was a new

wife. You can get up and go and I'll

think about forgiving you." She stood

from the floor like a bird that was

drenched by the rain and walked out

of the office with her shoulders

down. When she got outside the

building of his company she smiled

to herself and said "well done

Na'ima. You have done great

today by putting your acting skills

to proper use." She brought out

her phone and called Najiba.

Recently, Najibaa has been in

the clouds as everyone keeps

talking about her and she is

getting more popular because of

her husband's support. She was

surprised when she saw Na'ima's

call and she quickly picked it up.

"Hey loser, why are you calling me?

Have you decided to divorce Zahid

because everyone knows that he

no longer loves you?" Na'ima

swallowed her anger and tried to

speak calmly and she replied

Najiba saying, "it doesn't matter

if I have fallen out of grace with

him. What matters most is what

I am about to tell you and if you

are interested in hearing it, pick a

restaurant of your choice and let

me know the address." Najiba

laughed and wondered what

Na'ima has to say. "I am currently

at a restaurant so you can meet

me there and with a little humility,

I will buy you some food because

I know that money comes short to

you these days," Na'ima said

nothing and just got the address

from her as she is going there on

a mission to take back everything

that has been stolen from her.

Just like her mother told her some

time ago, she has decided to hide

her anger and not react to everything

that people say to her. That's the

reason she has been quiet despite

all the horrible words and Najiba

has been saying to her. She met

up with Najiba at the restaurant

and the first thing she said when

she arrived was "you don't have to

gloat in my face anymore. I know

that you and your mother have

won already, so I am here just to

talk." Najiba clapped her hands

and laughed. "If you know that

we have won then why are you

here and what do you want to talk

about? You had better start talking

because I only have five minutes to

listen to what you have to say as I

am now a very busy person." Na'ima

poured herself a glass of water and

drank before replying to Najiba. "I pity

you every time that I see you

advertising yourself as the most

beloved wife because very soon, you

will become a laughing stock just as

I am today because, with Zahid,

there's always a pattern. Get a

new toy and abandon the old one."

Najiba stood, smiled, and said "well,

that pattern has changed already

because I will make myself so

important that he will feel like he

can't live without me" Na'ima also

stood and said, "then, you are more

foolish than I thought." She smiled

and said goodbye to Najiba as she

left the restaurant.

Najiba could not understand what

that visit meant because she saw

no sense in the conversation that

they just had but the next notification

that she got on her phone almost

made her scream and pull her hair.

She just realized that she has been

played for a fool by Na'ima.

When Na'ima came into the

restaurant, there was someone who

came along with her. She only set

up a meeting with Najiba because

she wanted to take pictures with her

and make the public see that they

are now a happy family living in

peace and harmony. Najiba thought

that she has one but she never

knew that the game has just begun

because Nima has grown wiser after

learning from her mistakes.

Chris's manager called Chris and was

very excited about something. She

told Chris that videos of her singing

which have been trending on the

internet have attracted the attention

of certain people in the movie

industry. "Chris you can't believe

that you have been noticed by some

producers in the movie industry. I

received some calls today and I have

scheduled some meetings. So, be

prepared girl because very soon

you are going into the movie industry."

Chris looked at her manager and

said, "for God's sake, I am a model.

When did I ever tell you that I wanted

to delve into the movie industry? You

should have asked me first before

taking those decisions for me. Well,

the truth is I am not interested in

acting, so I would like you to cancel

those meetings." Chris's manager

laughed and said "girl, I think that you

have forgotten who I am. I refuse to

sit and watch you throw your whole

life away because you feel that you

can't do something. I will attend that

meeting and you are also coming

with me even if it means that I have

to tie you up and drag you down there."