𝐂𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐕𝐨𝐰𝐬

Chapter 13

°°°

The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again

°°°

Aamirah sat in the quiet hospital room, her eyes drifting between her father’s still form and the door. The surgery was done, and the doctors had said it went well. Her father was stable now, but that relief was overshadowed by the storm brewing inside her. He was coming.

She could feel the weight of his arrival pressing down on her even before he stepped into the room. Her heart raced with a mixture of dread and resignation.

She had left his mansion, not telling anyone where she was going, even after he denied her but who is he to dictate her what she should do? They are not married yet. Thus, he is no one to her.

The moment from when she received the call about her parents’ accident, her heartbeat had stopped every second felt like a year, atlast everything is over and her family is now all fine, in such a critical moment she has to be with het family. But why would he see it that way? In his world, control was everything.

And who he thinks he is to order her  around? Okay she got intimidated with his huge self and among all those people with guns in that huge mansion but she is not going to accept his every baseless demand and order.

Aamirah was indirectly cursing him in her thoughts as she knew that she won't ever say these things to him. She remember her conversation with her mother about an hour ago.

Aamirah sat at the edge of her mother’s hospital bed, her heart pounding in her chest. The room was quiet except for the steady beep of the heart monitor, a stark reminder of how fragile her mother’s condition still was.

Her mother, though pale and tired from still look beautiful as smiled softly at her, as if trying to reassure her daughter that everything would be okay. But Aamirah knew the truth she was about to share would shatter that fragile peace.

“Mama, I need to tell you something,” Aamirah began, her voice barely above a whisper. She could feel her hands shaking, so she clasped them together tightly in her lap.

Her mother’s gentle eyes turned to her, sensing the tension. “It’s about Baba… and why his surgery was possible.”

Her mother’s expression shifted from curiosity to concern. “What is it, Aamirah?”

Aamirah took a deep breath, feeling the lump in her throat grow larger. She didn’t want to burden her mother, not now, not when she was already recovering from the accident. But there was no way to avoid it.

“Osman,” she said quietly, “he’s the reason Baba’s surgery happened so quickly. He arranged for everything—the doctors, the care. But…” her voice faltered, and she struggled to get the words out, “there was a condition.”

Her mother’s eyes widened in confusion, her hand reaching out to grasp Aamirah’s. “What kind of condition?”

“I had to agree to marry him,” Aamirah finally admitted, her words tumbling out in a rush.

“I had no other choice, Mama. Without his help, Baba wouldn’t have made it. He… he wants me to be his wife, and to care for his son. And today… today, we are supposed to get married.”

For a long moment, her mother was silent, the weight of Aamirah’s words hanging heavy in the air. Her mother’s face paled even more, her expression a mixture of disbelief and heartbreak.

“Aamirah, no,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “You can’t marry him… not like this. Not out of obligation.”

Tears welled up in Aamirah’s eyes as she looked at her mother. “I didn’t want to, Mama,” she choked out. “But I couldn’t let Baba die. I couldn’t lose him.”