Arranged: Betrothed

chapter 28

We fell into a routine quickly where he would either pick me up or drop me off to university. I felt bad initially because he had to make an extra journey for me. But he didn't mind. And that's why he insisted every single time I refused him.

I had been at university for a month now and I was really enjoying it so far. It was a very heavy course, but he gave me enough time to work on all my stuff. I already had about 5 deadlines coming up by the end of Christmas and one by the end of this month. He was considerate enough not to disturb me while I was working on my assignments or research, and then we would have dinner together.

I tried to do most of my work at university so that we could spend more time together, but I only had a couple of hours to do that.

"Hey!" Juliet cheered from behind me.

"Hi. I haven't seen you in some time." I replied back with a smile.

"I know. I've just been busy, you know." She smiled, twirling her hair around her finger.

I nodded. She was probably busy with coursework, too, like me.

"There's a party tomorrow and I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come?"

"Oh... I will have to let you know later." I replied, already feeling slightly excited. I'm sure Samir would let me go. We went last time too.

"Please try to come. It will be lots of fun." She begged.

"I'll try." I smiled, giving her another nod.

"I'll see you in the lecture hall." She said before waving at me and leaving.

The day passed slowly, and I was eager to go home and sit with Samir. When he picked me up, he opened the door as usual for me and waited for me to put my seatbelt on before driving off to our home. Our home. Now I liked the sound of that. Before, it was just his house or a house that I felt imprisoned in.

Dinner went down as usual. We both talked about our work and what was new.

"Samir." I drawled, playing with the leftover spaghetti in my plate.

"Yes, doll." He replied, copying my tone. I smiled before putting my fork down. "There's a party on tomorrow... I wanted to ask if we could go together." I looked up at him pleadingly. He smirked at me. "Sorry, doll. I have a meeting tomorrow night and will be home late. We can't go."

I pouted at him. "Can I go by myself?" I asked, perking up. It would be nice to do something independently. Maybe that would help grow my confidence, and I wouldn't have to always rely on him to support me. I noticed that his face grew serious at my question.

"No."

"But why?" I asked, annoyed immediately at his denial. I didn't even need his permission. I'm an adult. Why did I even ask him?

"Because I said so." He answered. That wasn't a good enough answer for me.

"Are you serious? Is that your answer?" My tone made it obvious that I was mad at him now. He looked up at me and gave me a stern look. I narrowed my eyes at him and glared at him. He didn't change his mind nor his expression. I shoved the plate back and went up to our room, locking myself in the bathroom. This was exactly how my father behaved towards me when I asked him for simple things.

'Can I go out with Mary?'

'No.'

'Can I have lunch outside of college?'

'No.'

'Can I have a sleepover?'

'No.'

There was no explanation as to why I had to or why I wasn't allowed to do something. It was just hard no or hard yes. I thought Samir was different, but in this respective, he reminded me of my dad.

I wasn't going to let him treat me like a child. I came out of the bathroom after some time and saw him laying on the bed. I ignored him and laid down far from him, making sure he knew I was mad at him.

"Zahara." He called gently. I closed my eyes and focused on sleeping. I felt his hands grip my wrist to pull me back, but I jerked my hand out of his grip and crossed my arms. He sighed loudly and shifted behind me, throwing the blanket over me and laying down.

This was just so unfair. I was entitled to a reason, was I not? Just saying no isn't good enough. I closed my eyes, but all these thoughts left me incapable of falling asleep. I would've been more worried if I had any lectures, but at least it was my day off.

♡°•●○___________________________○●•°♡

I woke up the next day with a slight headache. I dragged myself out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. On my way, I looked back to see Samirs side already empty, which was normal. He went late on days I had to go too, otherwise he went early. And he was going to be late today as well. I brushed my teeth and washed my face before going down to make myself some breakfast. I was really hungry this morning. Usually, I skipped breakfast, but today, I was hungry enough to feel nauseous.

I filled up a glass of water and drank it with short breaks in between while I fried my eggs sunny side up. Samir didn't like the yolk runny, which is actually the best part, to be honest.

I placed my bread in the toaster in time with the second egg, so everything was nice and warm when it was cooked. I checked my phone briefly to see a message from Juliet asking me if I was coming. I sighed and put my phone down for and placed my plate on the counter and began eating.

A thought crossed my mind. He was going to be late. And the party was within the time frame of him not being home. Could I... sneak out? Was I going to become so rebellious?

Yes.

When else was I going to experience things? The first year isn't as important as the last two, and after that, we would probably start family planning. I couldn't picture myself becoming a mother, but it was going to happen eventually.

I took a sip of my water and thought about it more. I could do it. I just had to be back in time, and he wouldn't realise it.

That was perfect. I picked up my phone and replied. 'Yes.' As soon as I typed those words, I felt a thrill. It was the first time I would disobey anyone, and it was exciting. I had six hours to pass and then get ready to leave. I was only going to stay for a couple of hours and come back home. I smiled to myself and finished my breakfast.