BREATHE ✓ ⇢ [EDITING]

Her

Becca Hayek hadn't been more awestruck in her entire life.

She hadn't eaten anything since the snack that she had been given on the flight from London, and she felt extremely nauseous. She'd already vomited twice while she had been imprisoned in the Haiders' dungeon, and when she woke up from the blow that had caused her unconsciousness, all she thought about was how she could escape and find Hans.

Her mind became a complete jumble of thoughts when the door to the dungeon opened with a heavy thud and she barely lifted her head. Suddenly, she felt someone's familiar presence, and her mind became a blank sheet of paper when her eyes met her visitor's.

Hazel met light brown as the pair stared at each other in complete silence. Becca's fingers wrapped around the cool metal of the chains that hung her to the black concrete of the wall, and she heard the sound of his light footsteps padding towards her. Becca could feel her heart beating rapidly, and he stopped just a few inches before her. She could feel his cool breath against her skin, and Becca realized that perhaps this was the best way to die; to die at the hands of someone who had wronged her.

But Hans hadn't brought a weapon of any sort. Instead, his eyes told a story that Becca had never heard, and she could see the regret and heartbreak in the hazel realms. Becca had broken his heart not once, but twice.

Hans' hand reached into his pocket to take out a set of so many keys that Becca didn't bother counting, and he brought the edge of a particular skeleton one that was different from the others in his palm to the lock that held Becca's chains. The second he had turned the key into the lock, she dropped to the ground with a thud, and Becca could've sworn that all of her bones had been broken. She didn't move for several minutes, and when she finally pushed herself off of the ground, she heard the familiar venomous voice of the viper that had captured her. "Well done, son. She will die at your hands tonight."

Becca raised her head to see not only Hans, but Nicah Haider, as well. The older of the two had a gruesome sneer across his face as he placed his arm around Hans' shoulders. Hans didn't say anything, he only watched Becca with a blank look on his face.

Nicah Haider exited the room, and the pair could hear the mogul of their city ascend the stairs that led to the rest of the house. As Becca opened her mouth to speak to Hans, he grabbed her harshly by the arm and shoved her behind him up the stairs. She protested lamely against him, but Hans had turned into the man that she had feared; the ignorant beast. He ignored her and threw her into a room, only Becca ungracefully fell onto the bed. The curtains were closed, and the room was an absolute mess. Hans grabbed something red from his closet and threw it at her, his tone harsh as he ordered Becca to wear the wedding dress that she was supposed to wear nearly eight months ago.

Becca waited for him to exit as she stared at him with the most shocked look on her face, but he hadn't budged at all. Instead, he had placed his head in his hands, and Becca could see him breathe as his chest rose and fell.

And to face her impending death, she patted her hand against the walls until she felt the knob of a door. Becca turned the knob to the door until she felt her feet touch the tiles of the bathroom. She reached her fingers out to turn on the light, and was surprised to see a line of cosmetics on the bathroom counter.

And so, Becca stared at the wedding dress and realized that it was not the traditional Turkish wedding gown that was worn by nearly every bride in Turkey, but a traditional Afghani dress with a long cape that stretched from her head to nearly four feet behind her. Becca gently fitted herself into the wedding dress, adding the lightest amount of makeup to her face. As she met her reflection, she couldn't help but burst into tears. The door to the bathroom opened, and she felt Hans' hard gaze on her.

Becca couldn't help it. She threw her arms around Hans, who remained stiff under her touch. He pushed her off of him, and Becca straightened. Hans grabbed her, taking her down the stairs to meet his family. Nicah Haider nodded to Hans, and Hans turned the knob to the front door.

The sight before her melted Becca's mind until there was nothing left. There was a crowd of nearly a thousand people watching her in disgust as she was pushed onto the ground by someone from behind. Suddenly, she heard everyone moving away from her, and Becca heard the splash of a miscelannous liquid against her body. The stench was so strong, Becca had to plug her nose using her fingers, and as her heart beat rapidly, she realized what the liquid was and her stomach churned as she dreaded her death that was not so far away, after all. She had been wrong in dreaming about a peaceful death when she would be old beside her family, who would have loved her forever and watched in twisting agony as she took her final breaths beside the love of her life. She had imagined that she would be reminiscing about the past and feel nostalgic about all of the happy moments in her long life.

Instead, Becca was on the edge of nineteen, and the kerosene that had been poured all over her was about to be ignited. She only had happy moments from her childhood that then left her with a bitter taste in her mouth and an angry pang in her heart, nothing like she had imagined. She was in wedding attire and on the verge of dying as an unmarried woman who had barely left the four walls of Istanbul and had only spent seven months in London, where she had the time of her life.

And so, Becca heard the match being lighted, and she closed her eyes as the fire enveloped her like a long lost lover, and she felt the heat taking over her as she screamed in absolute agony, nobody helping her out of the fire as she burned. Her skin was slowly being peeled away from her, and her face was no longer that of a faithful youth, but that of a blackened woman.

Suddenly, Becca felt arms around her and the sound of yelling before the world became dark and was gone.

~

Author's Note: To those who wanted to cry after reading this chapter, I don't blame you. It was very nerve-wracking for me to write it, but it had to be told. Many societies still do this practice, not just parts of Turkey (BTW, I do not mean to insult any culture in general, this is just the story for entertainment purposes) . However, this practice is wrong and everyone has the right to live, despite their sins.

To cheer y'all up, the minions are back: