Affianced By Force

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN- As Open As A Book

Umamah halted. Why was she even trying to escape his presence? It is he who had ignored her for the best part of the week. She took a few deep breaths and then turned around, recounting in her head. 'Umamah, you can do this.'

"I can't recall walking out on someone I never began a conversation with in the first place." She braved.

Faisal raised a brow. "Is that so?"

She shrugged, making a farce about checking out her nails. It was a petty childish act of saying 'I don't care.'

"What do you want Sir? It's time for salat."

Faisal didn't know what he wanted. He wanted to ask her why she was giving him the attitude. But most importantly, he wanted to know if she went out looking as she did in the videos she sent, but he asked, instead,

"What happened with the boys? I have never seen Farid cry until today."

Umamah was stupefied. What? That was it? It was about the boys?

"It's time for salat." She repeated, this time between gritted teeth and she made to leave, but his commanding tone returned.

"Don't you have something to tell me?"

She wasn't the one with something to tell him. If he had something in mind, he should out with it, already.

She straightened her shoulders. "No."

Faisal was struggling for patience. He recalled how she had troubled him around seeking his attention. He also knew when she pulled back. He was still angry with her for the going from work to Abdul's, and now she is putting up an attitude?

He didn't understand why it bothered him so much what Umamah did with her life. He only told himself it was because she was his wife, and ward. Even if it were in name only, he still had to protect her. She was a trust him.

Since she was going to play ignorant, he had a plug to pull.

"Maybe I should fire your Mu'allims."

She turned to him, sharply.

"Oh yes. They don't seem to be doing their jobs properly. Teach you the right thing. Right knowledge. That's what I pay them for."

"You have no right to just fire my teachers..."

"Don't I? When all they teach you is nothing about Tabarruj..."

"They have nothing to do with yesterday."

She finally mentioned it. He turned away from her. "Yesterday?Pray tell me what happened yesterday, my darling wife"

"This isn't fair!" Umamah protested, her voice also rising on a pitch. "You can't ignore me, push me aside, not listening to my explanations and still boss me around."

He ignored all her lines, but the last phrase.

"I am your Boss. First at work, and then at home. You might not want to remain married to me Umamah, but I have told you this before. While you are, you will act like it. I will not have my wife going around like some uncultured young star. No mater how young she is."

He stressed the young, so much so that Umamah felt a pull at her heart. Was he using her age against her, right now? Was her age an obstacle between them m?

"Young? Now you know I am young?"

"Your age isn't the subject here, madame." He tried to return to the subject.

"Then, what is?" She was beyond angry, now. It seemed all her pent up anger had no leash anymore.

"You married me at 16. 16, Faisal Abdur-Rahman Aadam. You didn't disagree with my father's death wish. I might not have had a choice, but you? You jumped at the opportunity to marry a kid so young knowing she and her siblings depended on you..."