Introduction

SCARRED

A Novel

Fatima Rufa’i Nasidi

For every girl who mistook love for safety,

and is now learning to live with the scars it left behind.

The hardest thing is not the pain itself.

It is learning to carry it without letting it become the whole of you.”

Acknowledgements

A book is never written alone. This one is no different.

To my mother, Hajiya Sadiya Abba, for your quiet strength, and for a love that has shaped me in ways I will spend a lifetime understanding. You have been my steady place through everything, and I am grateful beyond what words can hold.

To my father, Alhaji Rufa’i Nasidi, for your discipline, your guidance, and the silent way you have always supported me, even when nothing needed to be said. Your presence in my life is something I carry with me always.

To my sisters, Amina, Aisha, Khadija, and Rukayya, for being constant. For your patience, your care, and the comfort of knowing you are always there.

To my brothers, Muhammad, Abdullahi, Yahya, and Abdurrahman, for your quiet loyalty and your steady presence. You ground me without trying, and I am grateful for that more than I say.

To my friends, Aliyu Muhammad, Batulu, Jidda, Yusra, and Aminatu, for staying close. For understanding me even in my quiet moments, and for being present in my life while this book was being written.

And to every reader who finds something of themselves in these pages, this story was written with you in mind.

Copyright © 2026 by Fatima Rufa’i Nasidi

All rights reserved.

Published as an eBook on Selar

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form without written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and events

are products of the author’s imagination.

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