His Runaway Bride

|5|- five

Hayat

"That little snake!" Firdaus spat as she paced around the room, gripping the poor winny-the-poo stuffed toy so hard that white wool began to spill at its seams.

I sat on the plump couch that belonged in Barakah and Hassan's home, about to recount the tale of the previous day with tears rolling down my cheeks. I had been crying nonstop since what happened and the lack of sleep was already getting to me.

"I agree with Firdaus," Barakah nodded grimly, as she clasped my hands in hers. "Your uncle is not a nice man." She had been a great support, leaving her cooking to pick me up at a garden down the road because I was too exhausted and drained to walk down to her home.

Immediately after what happened, I had called my two best friends and we had agreed to meet up.

"Calm down now," Barakah said softly. And I wasn't sure if it was to me or Firdaus, who looked like she'd hit anything in her path. There was a trail of wool littered over the fine rug from the violated stuffed animal. Barakah handed me a cup of tea which I took gratefully. "Now, tell us how it happened. In detail."

My hands quivered around the cup as I recounted what happened, my voice hoarse from crying.

"Wait, what?" Kayra asked, looking from my uncle to my face in shock. I stood, unmoving. It was like my body was stuck in that frozen manner and except from my shallow breathing, I didn't exist.

My uncle beckoned to Kayra to leave. "You heard me right. Now leave. Hayat and I have something to talk about."

"I'm not leaving," Kayra replied stubbornly, looking towards me for approval. My uncle seethed and in his eyes, I saw something dangerous. It snapped me out of my shock.

"It's okay, dear sister." I said, silently pleading with my eyes for her to accept. Kayra could be headstrong when she wanted to be. Kayra nodded without a word, concern overshadowing her face as she left the room, slamming the door with a loud bang.

The windows rattled.

"What do you mean by my in-laws, uncle?" I asked softly, willing myself to believe that I'd heard wrong. My uncle could be cruel but I didn't believe that he could arrange my marriage without my consent.

"Your in-laws are downstairs," He repeated, moving past me to settle on my bed. His eyes roamed around my room and I couldn't help but feel like my sanctuary had been violated. This was the first time he had been here and it was obvious that he wasn't pleased by what he saw. His mouth curved in a scowl. "You're getting married next week."

To say the wind was knocked out of my lungs was an understatement. My lungs were ripped out of my chest and the wind played hide and seek with them.

I leaned against a chair. "Marriage? Why?"

"Why?" My uncle let out an harsh laugh. "Because you keep staying here, eating my food, living in my house without any use. You're marrying into a rich family with a thriving company. Your mahr is a great contract deal that'd make me rich."

I couldn't believe it. "I'm your brother's daughter. You can't do this to me."

"My brother is dead," He spat, disgust overcoming his features. "And you and your siblings keep staying here, using up all of my money. I'm not wasting all my money on children who aren't mine."

"I'm not attending to them. Tell them to leave," I said, hugging myself with my arms as I shook my head. "I'm not getting married."

My uncle rose up from the bed with amazing speed that I never knew his huge stomach would allow him. He wrapped his thick hands around my neck, causing me to choke. I tried to get out of his grasp but I was firmly held in place.