"I hate you so much," I say, making sure to meet his intense gaze, my voice dripping with playful venom.
His lips curl into a smirk, his sharp eyes never leaving mine. He takes another step forward, and I instinctively take one back-only to feel the...
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"𝗦𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗵, 𝗸𝘆𝗮 𝗮𝗮𝗽 𝗸𝗼 𝘆𝗲𝗵 𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗮𝗵 𝗾𝘂𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗶?" The Kazi's voice resonated, and I felt a chill run through my body.
My instincts screamed to flee, but I was paralyzed by the weight of the moment.
I was getting married to a monster!
I didn't even notice when the nikah started; I was zoned out.
For how long?
I can't.
No.
No.
I can't.
I started shivering, wanting to run away.
A lady approached me, whispering menacingly in my ear, "𝗦𝗮𝘆 ,𝘆𝗲𝘀, 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲."
Terror surged through me, knowing they could do anything.
I couldn't risk my grandmother's life.
Lost in my thoughts, I felt her grip tighten painfully on my wrist.
"𝗦𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁," she demanded.
"𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱," I pleaded, writhing in pain.
Her grip tightened further, and I whimpered, "𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱."
As soon as I said it, she released me and stepped back.
The Kazi repeated, "𝗦𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗵, 𝗸𝘆𝗮 𝗮𝗮𝗽 𝗸𝗼 𝘆𝗲𝗵 𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗮𝗵 𝗾𝘂𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗶?"
Without a moment's hesitation, I replied, "𝗤𝘂𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗶."
I was lost in my thoughts, so when the lady tapped on my shoulder, I said, "𝗤𝘂𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗶."
I repeated it one more time, each utterance feeling like 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈.
The lady handed me the nikah papers, her eyes full of unspoken sympathy. My hands trembled as I took the pen, each stroke feeling like a leaden weight on my heart.
