One evening, as Mariya was preparing dinner, Adeel's phone buzzed on the kitchen counter. He was in the other room, and without thinking, Mariya glanced at the screen. The message was from a girl named Zara, and it read, "I miss you. Can’t wait to see you tonight."Mariya's heart stopped. She felt a cold shiver run down her spine as she tried to process what she had just seen. Her mind raced with questions, but deep down, she knew the truth. Adeel was cheating on her.Confronting Adeel was the hardest thing Mariya had ever done. She waited until he came into the kitchen, and then, with tears in her eyes, she asked him about Zara. Instead of apologizing or explaining, Adeel turned the tables on her."Why are you snooping through my phone, Mariya? Don’t you trust me? You're always so insecure. I can't even have friends without you getting jealous."His words cut through Mariya like a knife. She had trusted him completely, but now he was making her feel like she was the one at fault. She tried to reason with him, to make him understand how much he had hurt her, but Adeel was relentless. He accused her of being paranoid, of overreacting, and in the end, he stormed out of the apartment, leaving Mariya in tears.Over the next few weeks, their relationship deteriorated further. Adeel's temper grew shorter, and he became more controlling and abusive. He would belittle Mariya, criticize her appearance, and make her feel worthless. When she tried to stand up for herself, he would lash out, sometimes even physically.The first time he hit her, Mariya was in shock. She had never imagined that the man she loved could do something so horrible. But Adeel was quick to play the victim, apologizing profusely and blaming his actions on stress and frustration. He promised it would never happen again, and Mariya, desperate to believe him, forgave him.But it did happen again. And again. Each time, Adeel would find a way to make Mariya feel like it was her fault, like she had driven him to it. He would apologize, and Mariya would forgive him, clinging to the hope that the man she had fallen in love with was still in there somewhere.
