Hey, Stranger

OLD SKELETONS

Hello people!!!

So as I said the book is drawing to an end so i'll be updating more frequently than usual and I'll try my best to be consistent.

Enjoy!!!

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ZARAH'S POV

"She's just a friend" I said getting up to collect my phone from him but he was fast and drew his hand backwards.
"I said who is she?" He said with much authoritativeness dripping from his voice as he looked at me intensely. He was trying to read my emotions I could tell but this isn't one of those secrets you let out, this was a secretly I was willing to die hiding.
"An old acquaintance" I replied looking at him straight in the eyes so it looked like I was saying the truth.
"Old acquaintances don't get scared when they see the others pictures" He said dragging me close to him so we were dangerously close to each other and his breath fanned my cheek as he whispered into my ears.
"I was just surprised not scared and I am sleepy so how about we cuddled up and sleep ." I said sliding my hands down his cheeks as I raised my head so our eyes were looking into each other. I successfully got him to drop it but by that our lips were locked in a kiss soft but needy, long but filling and minutes later I was under the sheets clothes on the floor and body connected in love and once again I felt safe. Safe from this world, safe from my demons and safe from my thoughts as we spent the night consummating our marriage. My mind, body and soul deep into the kisses he trailed between my bosoms and hand trailing down my lips, he raised his head close to ears and read out the dua before going back to what he was doing. We are tired and by the time it told me it was far into the night and finally we stopped and once again he whispered the words 'I love you' before encircling me in his arms and a peaceful slumber came.

I woke up hours later and felt the bed empty, scared I opened my eyes to look around and I saw him coming out of the toilet with his pajama pants hanging dangerously too low away from his waist. "Morning babe " He said climbing into bed and giving me a longing kiss.
"Morning husband" I replied feelings his kisses on my eyelids.
"How about we stay in the whole day?" He asked longing for an affirmative answer and as I nodded my answer my phone beeped indicating a message, it was from an unknown number and it read 'Remember the 23rd of August 2013' It was her, she was really back in my life.
"Who's that?" He asked sitting up to read the message that kept me Mum and starring into space.
"I have to tell you something, not now maybe by nightfall but right now I need to clear my head" Scurrying out of bed forgetting I was naked I said as a walked hastily to the toilet. I washed my face once again trying to clear my head as memories of that night came crashing in my head and I lost balance losing my consciousness waking up what seemed like hours later.
"You're awake" I heard reassuring me that I wasn't dead. What happened? You can't scare me like that you know.
"She made me. She lied to me and I made a mistake. All I wanted was to see my child but I lost her. I lost it all. I swear I didn't to. I could never have done that in my right mind. I just want it all to go away." Tears covering my face I said as I shook trying to make coherent sentences but words seemed to fail me, she made me a monster and now she was back to destroy me.
"Shuuu... calm down first and then we talk" Pulling me into his chest and brushing his hand through my hair he said. If only he knew the monster he married he would never love me.

It was evening and I had calmed down and said my prayers also remember to give my self a mental talk on why he needed to know everything about me, so right after dinner I told him to meet me at the beach in thirty minutes, I wanted to say it in a place where he could shout and scream and do whatever to me but mostly a place where I felt close to nature. This was my last chance at a life, I was close to giving up. My son would be fine he has a grandmother that loves him and more than enough family to take care of him, but this was it for me if Arif couldn't hold on then I was done with life.

"Hey you!" He hailed sighting me by the bank of the water sitting with my hair uncovered.

"It's a long story but it's one you've got to listen to" I said patting beside me for him to sit, we sat quietly for a few minutes and then I started

"When I was a child I was bubbly and friendly and I always had a smile on I guess that was why everyone loved me. At the age of 13 I started seeing my monthly period and my grandma started hinting at the fact that I should be married off but my parents refused, when I was 15 my cousin Firdausi was getting married and that was when things got worst since we were age mates and all. During the festivities of her wedding, since it was in the same city and their house wasn't large enough we had to help keep some guest, this including my uncles too. I had an uncle, he was more a father to me or more a friend than an uncle we were close and I spent most my days with him during that time, it was barely days after the wedding although the house had cleared up he was still around, he one day invited me to follow him out for Pizza and since I was a naive little girl I did follow him. I was naive but I had beautiful black skin and I had the body of a woman already, well that's what I was told" I stopped to catch my breath tears already welling up as he sat quietly looking at me.

"We never went for pizza instead he took me to a hotel where he and his friends raped me one after the other." I paused unsure if I should continue as I saw his face go from sad to angry all in the same minute but I went on because I needed to clear the air between us

"He made sure to threaten me not to say a word or that he would poison my Mum and a bunch of other things. I kept quiet, too quiet. I went from the bubbly girl that everyone knew to an introvert, I stopped playing around, stopped talking I had just one friend... Aisha. No one knew about that day till weeks later when I started showing symptoms of pregnancy and my parents noticed and I was taken for a test after which confirmed it. I was beaten to a pulp for the first time by my father and I was forced to spill the beans. He got arrested and I was advised to keep the baby or have further complications in life so I kept it. The day I gave birth I woke up to the news of a dead child and that was the beginning of it all for me, I spent years treated obstetric fistula, going to the psychiatrist and I finally found myself or should I say what was left of me." He moved to hold my hand but I pulled it out of his hold.

"It was a hard time for me but I had my family by my side and I did it all. I finally got to the university where I met a girl named Fadila, Fadila was rich, beautiful, intelligent and all any man would ever want but Fadila chose to be friends with me. I mean the nerd that was me and since I didn't have Aisha then because at that time she lost her mum I gave in to Fadila. We were friends for a whole year before I found out that she was into drugs, trafficking and so many other vices, I said nothing till the day I walked in on Fadila with a girlfriend of hers, turns out she was lesbian too."
"She made me promise not to say a word of it in exchange of some classified information that she had, so I said nothing. She told me the story of how she looked into my life and found that that my child wasn't really dead and all that and I believe her." I paused to take in air before continuing.
"One night she woke me up and told me we were going to meet my daughter and I was ecstatic about it, it was like I was on cloud nine and I put on just my hijab and hurried out with her. Fadila wanted to sell me and it was already late when I found out because I was standing in front of the buyer himself, luck was on my side and I found a gun beside him. I shot both of them making sure I shot the buyer dead and ran off and I completely deleted that day from my head till yesterday when she resurfaced again in our house and the only person that knew of this was Aisha. Years later I met Amir and all that happened with him only to find out that it was all a lie and my daughter had actually died in the hospital, till when we finally met."
"You know a part of me no one else does so now it's up to you to decide what you want to do with it" I concluded wiping off the tears from my face and getting up to leave since it was minutes since I was done
talking and he just sat there looking away deep in thought.

"Zarah wait...."
__________________________

Helloooooooo
It's me
You've been wondering if after all this months If I remember
I did and I'm sorry
It was rude of me to forget about y'all I'm sorry
I hope that you read and find this worth the wait☺️
Okay so real talk, I know, I know what i did was wrong but school resumed and I got too busy but don't worry my exams are next week and then I'll have all the time in 6 months to finish up the book and possibly publish another but that depends on how well the statistics of the book grows in months. I know it's not long but the book is drawing to an end.

So if you liked it as much as you claim show some love by...
Commenting
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Quda Hafiz
Meenah💕