My husband hates me

Chapter 36

The true measure of progress is the status of women in society - Savitribai Phule

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Seher followed Saad to his room, her expression unreadable as he held her hand. He made her sit on the bed and gently tried to comfort her.

"Seher... I will love you more than him. You see, God sent him to make me realize how much I loved you."

Love? Right, because nothing says 'love' like breaking my bones.

She stared at him, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.

For a moment, an urge to burn him alive flared in her chest. But she caught herself. Not yet. Not until she had everything she needed.

She glared at him, holding up her broken finger, wrapped in a plaster. "So this is your love?"

"You make me weak, Seher. I’ve never felt this amount of rage for anyone except you. I thought I hated you, but I guess it was love all along. You'll realize that too. You actually love me. There’s a thin line between love and hate, and this—" he gestured to her broken hand, "is our way of expressing love."

How convenient for you that my suffering gets packaged as 'love.'

His grey eyes were almost moist, believing every twisted word he uttered. There was a strange sadness in them, the kind that might have made her feel pity once. But not anymore.

"I will never love a man as cruel as you," she said with all the conviction she could muster. But then she paused, watching the way his face tightened with pain at her words.

Oh look, I hurt his feelings. Boo-hoo.

But she knew she had to tread carefully now. He was most dangerous when wounded.

"You’re upset," he murmured, getting out of bed. He removed his belt, and Seher instinctively trembled, fear momentarily clouding her resolve.

But instead of attacking her, he placed the belt gently in her non-fractured hand. "Take this and beat me. Just don’t leave me. I love you so much. You made me realize how powerful I am, you made me get over my childhood traumas…"

Ah, the classic ‘I broke you so you can fix me’ routine. Newsflash: I’m not your therapist, and I’m certainly not interested in being your saviour.

She stared at the belt, her mind racing.

If only you knew how much power I actually had now. You think this is control? Watch me flip the script.

She softened her posture, letting her body relax just enough to make him think she was considering his offer. The belt slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. Her gaze flickered up, and she saw the hope glimmer in his eyes.

“I… I don’t know what to think anymore,” she whispered, her voice low, deliberately trembling with confusion. Let’s see how fast you crumble, Saad. You're nothing without my submission.

"You don’t have to decide now, Seher," he said, kneeling in front of her, taking her hand with uncharacteristic gentleness. "We’ve hurt each other, yes. But maybe that’s because we’re meant to be. We’re alike—you and I. The fire between us is what makes us special."

Alike? Please. The only thing we have in common is that we’re both stuck in this room, and I’m counting the seconds until I leave.

She stared at him, pretending to consider his words. She let her expression waver, giving him a sliver of hope. "You really think… we can fix this?" she asked, her voice small.