The Broken Tale

Two relfections

Song: one dance remix by Drake

              Little droplets of water clung on to her skin even as she walked out of the shower. Layla found it strange that she stil had not grown used to the large and luxurious mansion that She had been living in for little less than two years now.
She looked at herself in the mirror as she picked up the hairdryer. The black jet darkness of her hair had always impressed her. Dark black hair and blue eyes. It was not a combination she saw frequently back home.
She began drying her hair before she changed. The room was warm anyway, there was no rush apart from him. She hummed a tune she remembered herself singing when she was younger.
"Layla?"
Layla sighed and put down that hairdryer.
He was calling again.
Sure he was calm, but that would never last long. And everytime she heard his voice, Layla would feel dragged out of the bubble she'd make to keep put the harsh reality of her life.
"Give me a minute, Ali." She replied as loudly as possible.
The mansion was large, her voice could scarcely be made out all the way down in the kitchen.
She quickly changed into a white camisole and black yoga pants. Layla didn't want to waste time tying her hair so she just let her half dried hair dangle on her shoulders and ran downstairs. She half tripped on the stairs but quickly pulled herself up. The last thing she want to do was be late.
She navigated down the stairs she jogged through the large mansion and found her way to the kitchen.
His very presence made Layla feel nauseous. With his tall, dark figure, always dressed immaculately, there was no doubt that he was eye candy for many girls.
She stood at the doorway, where she was still safe for now. Far away from where he was standing by the window, staring out up at the deep blue sky.
"Why are you standing there?" He asked after a long silence.
Layla sighed, there really was no escaping his sharp senses. He was like a tiger, able to sense every single move around him.
"Did you need something?" She tried to beat around and away from his question.
He knew the answer.
He shook his head and let out a disappointment sigh.
"Come here, sweetheart."
Layla swallowed.
What could she have done this time?
She thought and took a deep breath, gathering her courage. Her legs didn't seem to want to move, She was beginning to feel like life was trying to make her have to crawl there if her legs didn't decide to walk her there. She forced herself to walk up and stand next to him.
"Yes, Ali?" She found her voice from the bottom out of her stomach.
He didn't turn to look at her. She didn't either. She kept her eyes on the sky instead, slowly tracing the puffy clouds to calm herself down.
Everything went smudgy and mixed as what felt like a stone brick hit the side of her head, sending her stumbling down, Layle caught on the dinning table to regain her balance.
"How lazy can you get?" Ali spat at her, "How long does it take to get down here?"
Her temples felt like they were on fire after that blow. She pushed it with her palm and looked up at him. Layla felt her blood boiling with rage. She wanted to leap at him and choke him.
"What the fuck have I done this time, drama queen?" She shot as loudly and clearly as she could.
The same sight appeared in front of her.
Not Satan, not the devil himself. To her, he was much worse.
Ali went red with rage, and he clenched his hands into fists, but a deadly smirk curved the corner of his mouth.
"My beautiful wife is a little moody today, isn't she?" He bend down and cupped her face, "Maybe we should fix that?"
His hand crept inside her shirt, going up and down her collarbone before making its way up to her breasts. She felt nauseous at his touch. His touch had always been painful and firey to Layla.
"Don't touch me you fucking goblin!" She yelled and pushed his hands away.
She should have known better.
In the blink of an eye, he twisted her arm behind her back, and smashed her head against the wall. She hardly had even had enough time to scream at the sudden pain. The pain was no longer really pain, it quickly faded into a sudden wave of numbness sent rippling across her entire head, slowly spreading over the rest of her body.
"Did that knock your brain back to its place, Baby?" He growled against her head.
"At least I have a brain. Are you jealous that much?"
One more beating, one more bruise. But she was never going to sacrifice her dignity.
He hissed like a snake, it made her heart swell in fear. She hated this.
She hated his touch.
He pulled her around and threw her on the floor at his feet. Layla could barely feel her arms, and falling on them didn't help either. She winced as his black oxfords dug into her rib cage.
Once, twice, three times...
He didn't stop until she could taste the metallic flavor of her blood swell up in her mouth. He took a handful of her wet hair and lifted her up, only to send her crashing down with another blow to her face. She almost kissed the cold floor tiles, leaving blood smears over them.
She felt her anger turn into tears, she couldn't do anything with her anger. No matter how she felt about this situation, no matter what she was going through or who she wanted to strangle, she knew there was no way out. And that just turned her anger into frustration and sadness.
Ali finally stopped and slowly knelt down by her side. 
          He pushed a lock of hair away from her face and touched the river of blood rushing down from her lips and covering her chin. Layla didn't look up at him but she could see him through a corner of her eye. She could see how he smiled with satisfaction as his thumb traced her bloody jawline.
"You never learn from your mistakes, my Starry Layla. Remember what happened the last time you didn't answer me when I called you?"
No, she didn't remember.
"When your majesty beats my ass like a fucking punching bag three times a day, it's hard for one beating to stand out from the other." She thought to herself.
His hand crawled down from her chin to her neck, gripping it as if he was merely gripping a stick.
"But since I'm in a good mood today, Starry Layla, how about I give my gorgeous wife a chance to redeem herself?" He said in a charming tone that could've made any girl fall head over heels.
But little did any of them know what laid behind the mask of Prince Charming.
Layla gathered all her energy to push his hands away and stumbled onto her feet, she was struggling to find her balance after all those blows.
"Go fuck a tree, you bastard!" She yelled down at him.
He shook his head and laughed.
He slowly got up to his feet, it quickly made her feel uneasy on how tall he was. He towered above her like a giant, his huge figure did make him resemble one.
That laugh.
Layla hate that laugh!
It echoed through her head and kept her up at night, haunted her no matter what she was doing during the day. She felt like that laugh will slowly drive her insane.
Again, before she could protest, before she could tell what was happening, his hand gripped her neck again. She took quick desperate gasps for air. He smiled as how she was probably gasping like a fish out of water.
"I don't think I heard you quite right, Laili. What did you say?" He asked in a expectational tone.
Again, the same feeling of desperation found its way into Layla's veins. She knew she had no choice, Ali was, is and never will be someone who would hesitate in snapping a person's neck in half.
"O...okay...," She said with as much voice as she could muster.
He smirked and his hands finally left her neck.
She dropped to her knees and consumed lungfuls of air. He didn't even leave her enough time to breathe. He pulled her up and threw her across the room. She bumped against a chair and used it to stay on her feet, still gasping for air. His towering shadow blocked the daylight as he picked her up, throwing a chair aside and bending her over the table in its place.
She had little control over the rush of tears that rolled down her face as she felt him unbuckle his jeans. He ripped her leggings in one pull and tossed the pieces to the floor. Layla's blood run cold in her nose, toes, and fingers. They all felt freezing as he kept her waiting in anxiety and pain. Layla fought back a sob.
It feels worse everytime.
He put his hands on her hips, his cold hands made Layla shiver from fear. She bit down on her bottom lip to not let out any sobs. She gripped on the table cloth, desperately trying to focus her mind on something else but the world was blank.
"S...stop..." She mustered.
He paid her little attention.
Layla felt her blood rushing to head. She may look strong in front of his eyes, she considered that she may even be truly strong but it was all a facade.
A facade that she was determined nobody would ever see through. What good would it be even if anyone did? Who could liberate her?
Nobody.
Layla buried her face in the table cloth, completely giving up.
Run or fight, you always fall. Down on the floor at the mercy of others. Learn to use this mercy, Layla. Or else you'll always be tossed away with the wind. People are cruel, you need to survive not change them
Once he was satisfied, he took his hands off of her. She quickly turned around. She regained her breath and tears rolled down her face in relief.
"Th-thank y-you." Her voice cracked.
She turned around and helplessly tried to cover herself with her arms.
She defiantly didn't feel obliged to thank him, nor did She feel that he did her any kind of favor. But at the moment, the sheer relief of being free from his monstrous touch made her loose control over her own words.
He only smirked at her. Layla didn't look up at his face and she pulled her shirt down over her chest. She didn't cry, she to tried to keep a straight and blunt face on the entire time, She felt her warm and salty tears on her lips and cheeks. She wanted to vomit as she thought of what she had come to be. She was standing exposed Infront of a monster whom she had come to call her husband, "like a piece of spoiled meat, being thrown around here and there, kicked at every step, that's what I've come to call my life." She thought to herself.
"Who knew you were actually good for something." He said lightly.
Layla sniffed under her hair. What he was doing to her was little more than a joke to him.
She stayed quiet. She knew if she spoke a word then her control would collapse and curse at him. Then what? She would only end up with more scabs and bruises than make up could hide.
He cupped her face up to meet his gaze. No matter what he would do to her, or how weak he would make her feel. Anytime Layla looked up at his face, rage boiled up inside her. He gave her the energy to hate him.
"Cat got your tounge, Baby?" He mocked her, "Was I that good?"
Layla wanted to punch him. She grabbed his wrist and shoved his hand away.
"My tounge is safe and sound, Baby!" Layla spat back.
He grinded his teeth but she only stared at him without moving a single muscle. But she felt his glare slowly melting her confidence away.
His desire for reverence would not let her speak like that. He flung his heavy hand her across the face and sent her stumbling down to the tiles again.
"You better thank God that I have a meeting or else you'd have to clean your own blood off of the floor." He yelled down at her.
"Even if you kill me, I'll come back to haunt your miserable life, you insect!" She shouted back.
Layla immediately felt the consequences of that as the tip of his oxfords dug into her mouth. But kicking her in the mouth wasn't enough, he spat at her one last time before leaving.
And there she was, left alone, bleeding and coughing naked on the cold floor. Raped and hit around like a punching bag for a reason she didn't even know.
Layla heard Ali's car starting and driving off. Now that she was alone, She could finally put away the mask. She didn't even bother getting off the cold floor or putting on some clothes, instead she just buried her head in her arms and sobbed her heart out. Her sobs echoed through the empty grand mansion. Broken, alone and bleeding so deep.
"What had I done to deserve this? Why does he hate me so much? He's just like my... "
She sighed and sat up, pushing the thought away. She hate them, remembering them wouldn't help her. She touched the blood on her chin, "I hope I can cover the scab with concealer. The last thing I need is paparazzi getting glimpse of it." She thought and got up.
Layla found it amusing that blood could wash off just as easily the body can bleed, Layla always thought the human body was strong and could wistand more, but she had come to learn that that isn't the truth. The human body can bleed and bruise at every single step. The blood on her face rolled down with the clear water, leaving her with a dry but everything except pleasant face. Bruised on almost every inch and a huge scab on the corner of her mouth. Layla sighed and went back to her room.
She remembered the Turkish TV series she'd watch with her parents when she was younger. The abused female characters, their faces and injuries. She never thought any abuse could ruin and hurt a body that badly. Yet, when she look at her own body, the bruises that alternate between blue and violet and cover her legs, arms and chest, the cuts that ravaged her thighs had began to somehow heal. Layla now didnt just look like those characters but worse.
She grunted, Ali would make sure to replace the healed cuts in less than a week, and finally what she thought cursed her the worse was her black eye. Layla sighed and picked up her concealer, hoping for a miracle to happen. She managed to cover her black eye and the simpler bruises. She sighed with relief, all that was left were the bruises on her waist, thighs and chest. She'd just avoid crop tops and shorts for this month. Again.
Layla pulled out a blue Versace hoodie and blank leggings. "So much for my other one that that insect ripped to shreds."
Layla loved that hoodie, it had beautiful mismatched and colorful prints with a Versace logo on the righ corner. She changed and tied her hair into a bun, she had everything except the mood to style her hair after the perfect morning she just had. She sighed and took one last look at herself in the mirror.
"I look half decent, I guess." She murmured and laughed.
The eyeliner around her eyes blended well with the concealer and foundation, and there was little traces of the black eye and bruises. At least I've managed to looked half human, she joked to herself. She picked up her phone, notebooks and car keys and ran out. She can't be late, She was always late to her urban design class, Raina won't give her her notes this time if the world balance hangs on it.
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She ran as fast as she could and dodged people walking around at every turn.
Fuck fuck fuck!
She was fifteen minutes late already. She rushed through the corridors to their lecture hall. Layla stopped at the door and straightened out her clothes and jer crumbling posture. She whimpered through her teeth at the pain of her spine when she tried to fix her posture, "it's a wonder I'm not paralyzed yet."
She knocked on the door a little loudly because her Professor enjoyed explaining everything as if he's talking through a microphone.
"Come in."
She took a deep breath and went inside.
Professor Smith's eyes bloated to her as soon as She walked through the door, he was hardly the only one staring though.
"Ah, Miss-," he started but stopped with a grunt as the other students started whispering, "Mrs. Elmar, late as usual, are we?"
She grimaced at the way he called her "Mrs Elmar", it made her feel like an old lady. And she most certainly didn't take much pride in being Ali's wife.
"I'm sorry, sir. I-" She began.
"She probably just had a long night, sir." Grayson interrupted from his seat.
Layla took a deep breath and tried to fight the urge to choke him. Grayson loved mocking her for almost everything she did. She kept her eyes on Professor Smith and away from Grayson.
"Take a seat, Mrs.Elmar." Professor smith rolled his eyes, "And Mister Sutherford, I do not care for that language in my class."
Layla didn't look back at Grayson but she heard him chuckle a little.
She grinded her teeth at the boiling rage, she was in no mood to deal with Grayson. She nodded and looked around the class, there was only one seat left at the back. And thankfully, it was behind Raina. Layla grinned and walked back to her seat. Her back hurt at every single step she took. She wanted nothing more than to sit down. But no matter how much it hurt, she couldn't slouch. Ali isn't just anyone, and being the wife of the Elmar family wasn't really easy since everyone's eyes were always on her.
She put down her notebooks and sat down. Professor Smith resumed his class and most of the students went back to taking notes and listening. Layla took opportunities to glance over at what Raina was doing, maybe she could borrow the notes se missed. But she had her head buried in something else, another drawing. Layla smiled and examined the details of the drawing from her seat. A scene of a girl looking out at the setting sun, Raina was penciling in the details, she had some serious talent. Every strand of the hair was perfectly drawn, shaped and flowing in the same direction like a mermaid's locks. The eyelashes were thick and realistic and the skin and clothes were perfectly shaded. Layla shook jer head and tried to pay attention to the class, She couldnt fail, Ali would kill her.
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Layla sighed with relief and dropped her head into the desk as Professor Smith picked up his bag and left the hall. "Finally, that guy's class feels like being locked in a room with a screeching mouse." Layla murmered to herself.
"What took you so long this time?"
She felt Raina's hand on her back. Layla bit her tounge, the slightest touch on her back felt like being injected with needles.
"I slept in," She lied.
Lying had become something so common in her life.
"Raina, Layla, are you in here?"
They heard Leah yelling as she came inside with a chatter.
"Lord, why are you so loud?" Layla groaned and looked up.
Leah waltzed in, half dancing with every step and Noah followed her with his hands in his jeans pockets, flashing a bright laugh towards Raina.
"Why are you all moody?" Leah asked looking down at her.
It reminded layla of how Ali called her moody earlier this morning.
"I barely slept last night." Layla answered and buried her head in the desk again.
Noah and Leah chuckled but Raina stayed silent, probably glaring in disgust.
"Let's go, Professor Smith will be back any minute and his other students will be here." Noah said.
Layla sighed and got up. The left the class and Layla walked with the same straight backed posture with jer back feeling like it was on fire.
They sat around a round table down in the cafeteria. Layla sat next to Leah while Noah and Raina sat next to each other across from them. "Do you guys want anything to eat?" Leah asked and set down her bag. Noah shook his head but Raina wasn't someone to deny food.
"Get me a cheese sandwich," she demanded, "I'm too lazy to get it myself. Please!"
Leah rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Do you want anything?" She turned to Layla.
"Just some coffee," layla answered and passed her some money.
Leah didn't even bother denying the money, she had tried a lot before but they've all given up for the past few months. She took the money from Layla's hands with obvious dismay and got up. Layla turned to Raina and Noah, Noah sighed and wrapped his arm around Raina's shoulder.
"I hate urban design." Layla whined.
Raina laughed.
"I have an idea that might cheer you up." Noah beamed.
"It better be good." Layla whined without lifting her head out of her arms.
"We can go to the beach tomorrow."
"What about our classes?" Raina asked.
Layla laughed in her arms, Raina would love to skip their classes even if she hides it well.
"It's Saturday tomorrow, sweetheart." Noah laughed and Layla heard Raina chuckle the way she did when he'd tickle her nose.
"Thank God!" Her head bolted up, "let's go!"
Layla had completely forgotten that it was Friday. Itmhad gotten hard to keep track of time lately, everyday goes by so fast, like a dream, everything passing by quickly with little value.
"I got food!"
Leah screamed and came back with two cups of coffee, a soda and a sandwich wrapped in thin paper on a tray. She set them down on the table and gasped for a breath. Raina quickly grabbed the sandwich and a cup of soda.
"I got you some soda, Noah." Leah said while handing Layla a cup of black coffee.
Noah took the cup and nodded with a smile, "thanks."
"Noah says we should go to the beach tomorrow." Raina said as she but of mouthfuls of the sandwich hungrily.
Leah took a sip of her coffee and looked at them all by turn.
"I mean if we don't get chased by paparazzi again, then sure."
Layla rolled her eyes and they laughed.
"Layla should come in disguise." Noah added.
"We'll just get her a grey wig and a floral dress and she can pretend to be Leah's grandma." Raina suggested and finished her sandiwch, tossing the paper onto the tray.
"I'll hit you all with flip flops then." Layla said and crossed her arms.
Layla hated how she was chased by paparazzi everywhere she went. Being the twenty year old wife of a twenty-eight year old international billionaire never really had too many perks. And paparazzi was defiantly not one of them.
"Did you see the Vogue headlines from three days ago, Layla?" Noah asked in a more serious tone.
"What headlines?"
Oh lord. Help me, this can't be good, Layla thought.
Noah pulled out his phone and handed it to Layla. Layla crossed her fingers in her lap as she took the phone.