She turned and turned again—a sign of deep frustration. "Abbas, what's wrong with you?" "I... I... I..." she stammered, holding his hand. "Tell me!" "Because I took milk to Hibba, her siblings beat me up!" he said, tears streaming down his face. His mother couldn’t speak; she just wiped her tears. "They don’t deserve kindness. Everyone knows how much he loves Hibba—it’s wrong to mistreat him." She held his hand and asked, "What do you want me to do to them?" "Tell them to stop, all of them." She gripped his right hand tightly, even as his mother sobbed in the background. "Why are you crying, Mother? I thought you’d stop crying since God has given him life and health. And he’s a great engineer—big companies are looking for him. But seeing him like this, they assume he can’t do it. But you know what? You’re the one breaking his confidence. From today, Abbas, no bastard will ever trouble you again." She left the room, leaving his mother staring weakly at him.  

"Your father dragged you into this life. If he hadn’t pushed himself into that lifestyle, nothing would have hurt you."  

Xno stopped. "What do you mean, Mother?" "Nothing, Zenobia." She squinted her eyes and walked past her. She felt uneasy, but today was better than most days. She entered her room, closed the door, and retied her towel. "You just have no manners—always putting yourself above poor people. That attitude of yours will calm down one day." She smiled and continued getting ready, ignoring Hafsah Ameen in the room.  

The scar on her shoulder caught her attention, and she rubbed it, saying, "Hafsy? On the day you rescued me, was this the mark I had?" "Yes, we found you with this Oscar." "Hmm!" She finished dressing in an American-style suit, dark green, then draped some gold chains around her neck. Her hands looked like they were competing in a jewelry exhibition. Finally, she slipped on a pair of outrageously tall black heels.  

"Xno! Are you going to the office dressed like a madwoman?" She looked at herself in the mirror and said, "I’d rather be called mad than ordinary." No one dared challenge her—not even her father.  

Meanwhile, Xno didn’t care much for dressing up, though it wasn’t her fault. A life of hardship had given her more scars than any makeup could cover. She dusted her face with light powder, rubbed on some lip gloss, and slowly examined herself. "I respect the man who will dare." She turned and gave Hafsy a dismissive look. "Watch your mouth," she said, cutting her off before she could finish.  

"May God rot your heart, Daughter of a Scorpion!" She smirked and headed outside. Hafsy followed, pleading, "Please, don’t start a fight. I don’t have money to pay for bail in two days." She turned and looked at her friend. "Give me my bag." She handed it over while saying, "May God grant you success on your first day at the office!" With a half-smile, she replied, "I don’t have time for you."  

She headed downstairs in her palazzo pants—grey—and a black top, with gold chains around her neck. Her natural hair was neatly tied with a ribbon, topped with a black turban that gave her an elegant look. She descended the stairs slowly.  

"Good morning, Aunty."  

"Good morning, students."  

"Good morning, Daughter of a Scorpion."  

"Morning, Mr. Umar!"  

Once downstairs, she turned and scanned the house. "Anything new today?" Quickly, everyone turned to look at her, eager to see if she had anything worth noticing.  

"Nothing, Zenobia!" She squinted her eyes and said, "Where’s Abbas?"  

"He’s in his room," she replied with a smile. "Mummy, take care of him!" Then she told them, "There’s nothing."