Eternity

Chapter 40

As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

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Both women turned to him, startled by his sudden entrance. Ayzal’s eyes widened in fear, her face pale as she tried to sit up in the bed, her weakened body barely able to support her. Her mother, however, straightened up, her expression quickly shifting from surprise to something more guarded, as if she had been caught in the act.

"Zayan..." Ayzal’s mother began, her voice shaking slightly. "This isn’t what it looks like. Let me explain—"

"Explain?" Zayan’s voice was cold, seething with barely controlled rage. He took a step closer to her, his fists clenched at his sides. "You think you can explain this? I heard everything! You lied to everyone. You are the reason Murad is dead. You are the reason I have hated my own wife!"

Her mother raised her hands defensively, trying to placate him. "Zayan, please, you have to understand—"

"No!" Zayan cut her off, his voice trembling with anger. "You don’t get to twist this around, to make excuses for what you have done. Murad is gone because of you! And I have spent every day since then blaming Ayzal for it, hating her, punishing her for something she didn’t even do!"

He turned to look at Ayzal, and for the first time, he saw her in a different light. Not as the woman he had resented for so long, but as another victim of the same lies, the same manipulations. The weight of his guilt pressed down on him, crushing him from the inside out. He had wronged her in ways he could never take back.

"I..." Zayan’s voice broke as he looked back at his mother-in-law, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger and despair. "I need to know why. Why did you do this? What could possibly justify ruining so many lives?"

Ayzal’s mother stood silent for a moment, her eyes darting around as if searching for an escape, but there was none. She could see the fury in Zayan’s eyes, the devastation in her daughter’s, and she knew there was no way out of this. Finally, she let out a shaky breath, her shoulders slumping in defeat."I thought I was protecting her," she said quietly, her voice barely audible. "Murad... he wasn’t right for her. He was troubled, unstable. I was afraid of what might happen if they stayed together. I was trying to keep her safe."

"Safe?" Zayan spat the word out like it was poison. "You call this safe? You took away the one person she loved, and you forced her into a marriage with a man who resented her. You have destroyed both our lives, and you call that protection?"

Ayzal’s mother winced at his words, her eyes filling with tears as she realized the full extent of the damage she had caused. "I... I didn’t know it would end up like this," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I thought... I thought you would learn to love each other. I thought it would be better for both of you."

"Better?" Zayan’s voice rose in disbelief. "How could this possibly be better? Murad is dead! Ayzal is lying here in a hospital bed, broken and exhausted, because of everything you have done. And I... I have spent months hating her, pushing her away, because of you."

Zayan’s fury was a living thing, coursing through his veins like fire. The betrayal, the lies, the years of misplaced hatred—it all came crashing down on him at once, an avalanche of rage and regret that threatened to consume him whole. The room seemed to close in around him as the truth settled into his bones, a truth so unbearable that he could scarcely breathe.

His eyes locked onto Ayzal’s mother, who stood there, her face a mask of guilt and fear. She had done this. She had ripped his life apart, twisted his love for his brother into a weapon against the innocent woman lying in the hospital bed. The anger inside him flared hotter, brighter, until it was the only thing he could feel, the only thing he could think about.Without even realizing it, Zayan took a step towards her, his vision narrowing, his hands curling into fists. The thought crossed his mind—a dark, violent thought that seemed to come from somewhere outside of himself, a place so deep and buried that it shocked him even as it took hold. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted to make her feel the pain she had caused, the pain she had inflicted on him, on Ayzal, on Murad.

Another step, and then another. His breaths came in short, ragged gasps, his chest tight with the fury that consumed him. The distance between them was closing, and all he could see was the woman who had taken everything from him, who had destroyed his family and turned his life into a living hell.

Her eyes widened in terror as she saw the murderous intent in his gaze, as she realized that he was coming for her. She took a step back, her hands raised defensively, but it only fueled the rage burning inside him. He could hear her pleading, could see her lips moving, but the words were lost in the roar of blood rushing in his ears.

Zayan’s hands were around her throat before he even realized what he was doing. The fury that had been simmering within him boiled over, blinding him to everything but the overwhelming need to make her pay for all the pain she had caused. His grip tightened as he stared into Ayzal's mother’s terrified eyes, the world narrowing down to just the two of them—predator and prey, justice and retribution.

A strangled gasp escaped from her lips, her hands clawing desperately at his arms, but Zayan was beyond reason. The lies, the deceit, the years of hatred—it all culminated in this one moment. The rage that consumed him was raw, primal, and he could feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears, drowning out every sound, every thought. All he could see was the woman who had orchestrated the destruction of his life, and all he wanted was for her to feel the same pain, the same suffocation that she had inflicted on him and Ayzal.

But then, suddenly, there was a force pulling him back, breaking through the haze of anger that clouded his mind. Zayan felt a pair of hands shove him, and he stumbled backward, his grip loosening as he was thrown off balance. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, a sharp sting exploded across his cheek, jolting him back to reality.