Lahat ng Kabanata ng Double cross: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 56

The weight of the gold band in Mariam’s pocket felt like a leaden anchor, pulling her toward the pavement. She had never known a nightmare quite like the one that had haunted her since the ring came into her possession. Now, standing before the weathered concrete of the police station, her breath came in shallow, jagged hitches. Her mind was a storm of indecision—stay or flee?She hadn't forgotten the sight of Amaka. The world called it a suicide, a tragedy of a girl who gave up, but Mariam couldn't swallow the lie. Amaka had never worn rings. Not once. And yet, at the scene where Amaka’s life had ended, the ring hadn't just been lying there—it had found her. It was a silent, metallic plea for justice.Mariam, please, have the courage to walk through those doors, she whispered to herself, her hands trembling. I know you’re scared. I know they’ll ask why it took so long. I know you missed school just to stand here like a coward.She had been so determined that morning, fueled by the me

The air in the interrogation room was thick and stale, vibrating with the low hum of a single fluorescent light. Gbemisola sat huddled in the metal chair, every breath a battle against the searing pain in her abdomen."Madam, you don’t want to talk at all?" the officer asked, his voice a low, rhythmic thrum against her frayed nerves."Officer, I swear to the God who made me, I know nothing about her death," Gbemisola pleaded, her voice cracking. She clutched her side, the phantom pull of her stitches a constant reminder of her vulnerability. "Please, release me. I am not well. I had surgery just this month—I haven't even recovered yet. Have mercy on me, please."The officer remained unmoved, his eyes fixed on the small gold band resting on the table between them. "So, Mrs. Ajayi, are you saying this ring is not yours?""It is mine," she whispered, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I’ve been looking for it for a long time. I couldn't find it, so I... I just tried to forget about it.""A

The morning of my engagement party should have been a symphony of joy, the culmination of every dream I’d ever harbored. Instead, I woke to a silence that felt heavy, deafening in its intensity. A single, nagging question pulsed in my mind like a rhythmic ache: Does he have a first love?I had tried to bury my instincts for months, but the ghost of his reaction haunted me. I could never quite forget the way he had simply walked out—his silhouette retreating into the night—all because I had dared to ask a simple question: "Am I your first love?"Today, I was supposed to stand before the world and pledge myself to him. But the doubt was a poison. If he was truly over her, as Bella claimed, why the secrecy? Why did the mere mention of a past life turn his heart to stone? I needed to hear the truth, not for the sake of the past, but for the sake of our future. I reached for my phone to text him, my fingers trembling, but the door creaked open before I could type a single word."Hi, baby,"