Makhfi

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Mahnoor's POV

It has been 3 hours since Zubaid and his family had left, yet the fear still clung to me. His threat still echoed in my mind. I sat up on the bed, lifting the covers. My feet found the cold marble floor. I sat straight, staring in the abyss. My fingers interlacing with my hair as I pulled on it, strands falling on my face as my braid unraveled. 

How did I end up in this position? How could I be so careless. How could I even let this happen? 

My eyes teared up as I picked up the jug to fill the glass with water. 

I gulped it down, trying not to think about today. Just a few month more, then hopefully after marriage things will be different. What if the situation only worsens?

What if after the wedding he does something worse?

Breaking things off wasn't an option I could afford. Telling someone about it wasn't something I could muster up the courage for. I was blocked from every way. It was either freedom and face the consequences or stay and be afraid of his next move my whole life. 

I still remember how the conversation took place.

"Our parents should see this," he said casually, scrolling through the gallery like he was flipping through a photo album.

I froze.
My pulse pounded in my ears. 

The screen glowed.
Just a few seconds of me, laughing. Just me, standing and conversing with a friend. But the clip was edited, cropped, and framed to suggest something entirely different. The subtlety didn't matter. To my father, mother, my sisters, it would say a lot.

I opened my mouth, trying to yell, but the words got stuck in my throat.
Every instinct told me it was fake, that no one would believe it. And yet, the fear that they might, that they could see it and think the worst tightened around me like a vice.

"Mahnoor," he said, his voice calm but sharp, and I felt the threat settle deep in my chest.
"You know what this means. You need to behave. Not just in front of me, but in front of everyone."

And it all happened because I refused to go with him. And now whenever he wanted me to do something, he would flaunt about his evidence in front of me.

Tears began falling one by one each screaming of my helplessness. I wiped them and took a deep breath. I could do this, I can handle this. I am not that weak.

the same mantra repeated in my head like it head for months.

Zunaira's POV

The house was enveloped in a deep wrenching silence. One that eats you alive. 

Baba had locked himself in his room after he had a thorough discussion with Muneza and Mehrma regarding the topic. I'm not sure if he was furious or just shocked. The extended family left after Muneza's outburst. 

As if our own family drama wasn't enough, that they also came to add us into theirs. Apparently Dada's health is really critical. And Taya Abu wants Baba to meet him. But baba refused and since then it has been back and forth. 

I don't know much about why we left the house, but I do know it was due to dada or something that he did. I tried asking Mahnoor about it a few times, but she always redirected the topic. Mehrma wouldn't even budge or let alone even hear anything about them. 

Talking about them was forbidden in this house, not just them but about are mother too. Baba would usually end up leaving the room if her name ever came up. He treated her as if she was dead. Which was the extremes for my father as he was really a sensitive person and someone who cared about his loved ones more than himself. 

Everyone seems to know something, except me. why??? I believe I am old enough to hear the gossips.

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Hope you liked the chapter.