His Captive 21+

44

The next morning, Anum woke up, stretching her arms, and noticed Irtaza sitting on the sofa, working on his laptop. She glanced at the clock: 10:58 AM.

"Ap office nahi ja rahe aj?" she asked. (Aren't you going to the office today?)

He looked up from his screen and smiled at her. "Nahi, maine socha hai ke aj tum aur main kahin bahir chalte hain" (No, I thought that today you and I could go out somewhere.)

"Par mujhe nahi jana kahin bhi," she replied sadly, remembering the events of the previous night. (But I don't want to go anywhere.)

"Abhi ka nahi bol raha, shaam mein chalte hain?" he suggested. (I'm not talking about right now, shall we go in the evening?)

"Mujhe shaam mein bhi nahi jana, raat mein bhi nahi jana. Aapko jana hai toh aap chale jayein," she said, raising her voice a bit. (I don't want to go in the evening, nor at night. If you want to go, you can go.)

His smile faded away. If this were the old Irtaza, she would've been slapped by now. In fact, she wouldn't have even dared to raise her voice or speak to him this way.

"Tumhe pata hai aj kya din hai?" he asked her. (Do you know what day it is today?)

She looked at him as if he were some "Ehmak." "Sundayyy hai. Par ap toh aj kal Sunday ko bhi office jaate hain, haina?" (It's Sundayyy. But you go to the office on Sundays nowadays, don't you?)

"Haan, theek bol rahi ho. Main office jaata hoon, kuch kaam ho sakta hai." He stood up, moving towards the door. (Yes, you are right. I'm going to office; there might be some work to do.)

She shrugged, not really paying any heed to his words. "Breakfast bana doon?" (Shall I make breakfast?)

"No, it's okay. I'm good."

"Okay." With that, she took out her clothes from the closet and headed to the bathroom.

...

Anum was watching a movie in the afternoon when she received a call from Mariam. Pausing the movie, she answered the phone.

"Salam Ami." (Greetings.)

"Salam beta, kaisi ho?" (Greeting, child. How are you?)

"Main theek hoon. Ap kaisi hain? Abu kaise hain?" (I'm fine. How are you? How is dad?)

"Ham sab theek hain. Irtaza kahan hai? Call nahi lag rahi." (We're all fine. Where is Irtaza? He is not answering my calls.)

"Irtaza toh office gaye huwe hain." (Irtaza has gone to the office.)

"Yeh larka bhi na, kisi ki nahi sunta hai. Har dafa office chala jata hai, mujhe laga shayad is dafa nahi jayega. Socha tha shaadi hogi toh thora sudhar jayega. Maine wish bhi nahi kiya, meri call nahi utha raha hai." (This boy, he never listens to anyone. He goes to the office every time. I thought maybe he wouldn't go this time. I thought marriage would change him a bit. I didn't even wish him, he's not answering my call.)

"Is dafa? Wish? Ap kya keh rahi hain Ami?" (This time? Wish? What are you saying, Mom?)

After a short pause, Mariam responded. "Anum?"

"Jee Ami?" (Yes, mom?)

"Tumhe pata hai na aj Irtaza ki birthday hai?" (You know it's Irtaza's birthday today, right?)

Anum was speechless. "Um... Ami... mujhe nahi pata tha—" (Um..Ami... I didn't know-

"Anum, Irtaza shohar hai tumhara. Tumhe uske baare mein sab kuch pata hona chahiye. Uski pasand, na-pasand, kab office ja raha hai, kab ghar wapis aa raha hai, kis se mil raha hai. Biwi ho tum uski." (Anum, Irtaza is your husband. You should know everything about him—his likes, dislikes, when he's going to the office, when he's coming back home, who he's meeting. You're his wife.)