Echoes of Agony

Chapter Three

Zaytun whimpered in her seat, unfocused and nervous. Her smile seemed forced, and her eyes panicked. She thought the next time would not be this soon. Then she received a text from an unknown number asking if she would be available for a night date. She was so eager that she replied instantly, then blamed herself for being excited. She shouldn't have shown AbdulJalal that she was desperate for him this much.

That was how she found herself sitting opposite the man who looked at her like she was the most beautiful girl on Mother Earth. Again, it was his fault for having such a strong aura.

After that, a wedding Fatiha was conducted because their parents seemed eager to finalize the marriage. Zaytun couldn't understand the sudden urgency, as she had just returned from her classes and was informed that she was now legally AbdulJalal's wife. She felt a mix of emotions—happiness at the prospect of marriage and confusion over the unexpected timing. Her mother noticed her bewilderment and gently consoled her, assuring Zaytun that everything would be fine. She promised her daughter that there would be a proper wedding party later, complete with all the celebrations and traditions that Zaytun had always dreamed of. This promise gave Zaytun some comfort, though she still had many questions swirling in her mind.

They later on went on many dates, and by now, Zaytun knew AbdulJalal more than anyone else. The man was very demanding, she noticed. He would come to the house unannounced and be welcomed warmly by her mother. Sometimes he visited her at the university. And she HATED when he came to her university looking handsome, making the whole student body talk about him. At this point, everyone knew they were married. Their photos were seen more than once on popular social media. AbdulJalal's PR team had to take down the viral post. They became more formal and less tense in each meeting. And Zaytun started calling him "Abdul" most of the time, and he didn't seem to mind it either.

But what made her heart go crazy about AbdulJalal was the way he was engaged in the matter. He wasn't acting disinterested in her. He was trying to make small talk and get to know her. He was kind too, if he wanted to be. But not like those moments.

"I want to change up our next date, so I hope you will have some time off so that we can visit Gombe. You'll stay with your aunt while I have some business to do there before our parents sit to set the wedding party date."

Zaytun hadn't yet processed this whole Gombe trip, and there was no argument that she had not been informed about any wedding party setting. But she didn't let this get into her head for the moment, so she acted as if she was aware of it.

"Sure. But I'm not going to give you my final decision on this because I have a busy schedule for the next few weeks." Zaytun smiled at him, knowing so well that she was lying and there was no schedule for her anyway. Her brother managed everything. She was just needed in a limited area of her father's businesses. She was a lady after all. Even though she knew that her father's family discouraged her from working in the company, her parents encouraged it, and her father's party went from having one thousand supporters to one million when a viral post was published with Zaytun as the cover issue. So she pretended to stand by what people said about her. As she was pretending now too. Her parents had decided on the wedding party setting day, but none of them bothered to mention it to her or ask for her opinion, or if she was okay with the date. She wasn't hurt because she was used to being treated like she was worth not more than the name of the family she was born into, but she was angry for not being informed about her wedding preparations. She would have a talk with her parents for sure.

"You don't have any schedules, Zaytun. You're on a month-long vacation to prepare for the final session of your university courses. And as long as I was informed, there are no business schedules for you either unless there's an omission. So be prepared for our trip. I'll text you all the details." Saying that, AbdulJalal put on his sunglasses and turned his attention to his phone.