10 Chapter 9

Slowly, her eyelids opened only to be squeezed shut when a searing pain radiating from her right shoulder while a sharp throbbing pain rooted from her left arm. Wincing, a low whimper escaped her mouth as her hands went up to her chest. Looking down, she realized that she was dressed in a loose white satin night dress that covered her entire body.

Who the hell changed me?

However, that thought left her as her hands touched her chest only to hiss in pain. Unbuttoning the collar of the dress and pulled it down her shoulders, she lightly grazing the gauze that covered her left arm below her deltoid while a white bandage and gauze covered the region of her pectoralis major just below her clavicle. All the memories came rushing back to her—Shehryaar had proceeded to brand his name on her skin. The pain was too much for her to bear that she passed out from it.

She felt disgusted at herself—how could this have come to pass? He striped her off everything that she was, everything that she made herself into.

She felt violated.

She felt degraded.

All her life all she ever wanted was to be recognized for who she was and not for what she looked like. And Shehryaar made all her efforts wash away. How was she ever going to face herself again or moreover, how was she ever going to face her parents. She felt like the small dignity she had left was gone and thrown away into the wind. Her hate and loathing for Shehryaar grew by the second. Her tears wouldn’t cease—considering how she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for so long she was surprised that she didn’t get dehydrated but the emotions she was feeling surpassed the feelings of her body.

She wanted to scratch that brand away but the pain was too much for her. She couldn’t even move her right arm or shoulder properly without feeling excruciating pain.

He had no right to mark me like this! What did he want to accomplish? He branded me like an animal, reducing me to nothing but a property. He’s a devil. I hate him so much.

She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the door open. Her heart accelerated and she quickly pulled the collar back up, covering her shoulders and buttoned it up to cover her skin.

“There isn’t anything that I haven’t seen already darling.” He said, chuckling.

Of course, this bastard changed my clothes. Her eyes welled with tears of humiliation and frustration as she shot him a withering glare. Through blurred eyes, she saw Shehryaar approach her, a huge grin plastered on his handsome face, making him look breathtaking. It was shame that he was an evil man otherwise Anissa wouldn’t mind thinking differently about him. He stood dressed in an immaculate grey tailored suit that complimented his smoldering grey eyes that shone with a certain mischief.

“Did you change my clothes?” she grated out. She smirked, causing her cheeks to heat up.

“How are you feeling?” he inquired, clearly dodging her question. He sat at the edge of the bed. His hand, wristed with the large dial of an impressive black Tag Heuer, rose to her face but she winced away. “Don’t touch me!” she hissed. He didn’t heed her and proceeded to caress her cheek, wiping her tears away.

“You’re mine now. You can’t stop me from touching what’s mine.” He stated nonchalantly but there was an edge of possessiveness to his tone.

“I’m not yours!” she seethed, ignoring the pain that radiated form her shoulders upon the slightest movement.

“On the contrary, you are mine. I have the brand on your skin to prove my claim.” he stipulated. A low whimper left her escaped her lips. “Don’t you get it! I don’t want to be yours.” She cried, another torrent of tears streaming down her temples.

“Calm down Tara,” he said in a gentle voice, his face blank yet his eyes held amusement. His masculine musky scent filled her senses when he leaned in further. Anissa couldn’t detect any remorse in him for what he did to her. “It’s all new to you. You’ll get used to this lifestyle soon enough.” He mumbled, his hand gently cupping her cheek. She quivered under his touch.

“God, you’re crying is turning me.” he murmured, his fingers gently caressing her cheek. Anissa saw his eyes shine with lust. Her cheeks blazed further, she slapped his hand away and tried to sit up but he gently pushed her back down to the bed. “You need to rest.” He commanded and stood up. He went to a table and brought a glass of water along with some tablets. “These are painkillers. Have some to ease the pain.” He told. And to her surprise, she saw him pull out her iphone and hand it to her.

“Call your parents and make any excuse that you can come up with. You’re going to be here for some time until you’ve healed enough to move.” He informed. But when the phone landed in her palm, he swiftly caught her wrist and squeezed hard, earning a cry from her. “Try anything and tell them about your circumstance or else,” he let the sentence hang. She gulped as her bold ran cold. She knew he meant harm to her family if she let anything slip. She nodded.

“Compose yourself.” He ordered. She took several breaths and cleared her throat. Wiping the tears away, she shifted her shoulder a bit to lean her head against the headrest of the bed. She saw the date and time on the phone, learning that it was Wednesday morning whereas she had left her home on Monday morning. There weren’t any calls but she received many worrisome texts indicating that her phone was turned off. The messages were from her parents as well as Haris and Ramsha.

Kaash, I had never left my home that day. She thought ruefully. She had no idea what she was going to tell her family.

Dialing her father’s number, she waited.

“Turn the speaker on.” Shehryaar ordered and she complied.

Mr. Musa answered on the third ring. “Anissa? Bachay, where are you?” he asked almost breathlessly, his tone laced with worry.

“Asalam alaikum Abu,” she greeted, a lump rising in her throat as she tried to control her tears. Clearing her throat, she sighed lowly.

“I’m sorry Abu my phone was dead. I didn’t get any time to charge it. Actually my department had to send me with a team to Sialkot for an emergency excursion. I was so busy that I didn’t realize to call you because I thought that I would be back by night but unfortunately, they still need the extra help.” She lied so smoothly that even she was surprised at herself. All that she could think of was the sudden excursion she had to attend a few months back but then she had immediately contacted her family and even Haris knew. She feared that if she told Haris then he would easily figure out by inquiring from the hospital.

Please, I hope he buys this lie. She thought as Shehryaar’s glare pinned her down.

“I’m so sorry I know that I should’ve informed you but there were so many cases that we had to work fast.”

“I’m just relieved that you’re alright. You gave us all a fright. Haris told us that he didn’t see you at work so we got really worried.”

“No need to worry Abu.”

“When will you be back?” she looked at Shehryaar and he showed her four fingers.

“Um, I’m not sure. Maybe three to four days. There was a bus accident so there were some casualties. And they also need us internees to see there departments so it’ll take some time.”

“Oh, alright. Just please take care of yourself.”

“I will Abu. Don’t worry. I have to go now. I shall speak with you later.”

“Of course. Allah Hafiz.”

“Allah Hafiz.”

She ended the call and laid back down. Shehryaar stretched out his hand and she immediately gave him back the phone. “Rest up now.” He said but She ignored him and turned her face away from him. She was relieved to talk to her father and felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders.

“Anissa!” he shouted, causing her to jump and yelp in fright. He made no move to touch her and stood by the side of the bed, towering over her shivering lying body. Her heart furiously thundered in her chest with fear. she saw his clenched fists by his side and feared him hitting her again.

“Don’t you dare turn away from me otherwise I’ll make you pay for it. You still haven’t figured out what I am capable of. If I can brand your body then keep this in mind that I can do far worse. You test me, Tara.” He stated through clenched teeth, his steely hard gaze burning holes into her.

So, he doesn’t like to be ignored, huh?

“After you’ve rested enough, we shall a discussion of what’s to come next.” He informed, more calm now and left to her relief. When he was gone, she tried to get up again, ignoring the pain. She tried to get off the bed and staggered towards the door from which Shehryaar exited the room. She turned the door knob only to find it locked. Falling down, she wept her heart out.

“Why me? what did I ever do to deserve so much pain in my life?

She had been asking herself this question for the longest time and yet, she could never figure out the answer. Her life was one messed up hell.

**********

Shehryaar didn’t come and see her for the rest of the day. A maid came in with three course meals and she ate with reprieve. She hadn’t realized that she was starving. She was also brought in a change of clothes—a designer suit from the latest casual wear. It was made of rich and expensive material. The same as her room. Everything looked like it came from expensive showcases. She had no idea whether she was still in Islamabad or not.

She could only wonder how rich Shehryaar was. Of course, he was a mafia leader—of course he was rich. Everything came from the black money that he earned through violence and corruption. He was a criminal and he wanted her. For her, looks or money didn’t impress her—what she wanted was a decent personality and compatibility in her companion for life.

How could she even come to marry him? From what she could tell, he was evil with no sense of a conscience—he lacked any sort of empathy. And these all conflicted with her nature. He didn’t fit the criteria she had for her husband. He was too dominant, forceful and harsh and not to mention abusive.

He freaking kidnapped her and was imposing his will upon her. There was no way she could marry him. They were too far apart. He came from a darker part of life while she came from a simple background. From what she could tell, he had no sense of morals and that was something she couldn’t compromise on.

She couldn’t even begin to think about her life with Shehryaar. However, she still had one more card left to play and now was the time to use it—she knew that Shehryaar wasn’t willing to compromise in the least and he was determined to have her. So she’ll use one final tactic that she had left.

Shehryaar had called her to his office later that night. The pain in her shoulders had subsided a bit thanks to the painkillers Shehryaar had her take. By now, she had also collected her thoughts and her wits. She knew that she needed to use her head now and blocked all emotions from entering her mind.

The maid escorted her. The rest of the house was the same—luxuriously and richly decorated. But the theme of the room was darker with an intimidating aura surrounding it.

Shehryaar was sitting behind his large mahogany desk reading some files that he was apparently engrossed in that he didn’t even notice her come in. he had on a pair of translucent spectacles that almost took the breath out of Anissa—he looked devilishly handsome in glasses. It accentuated his features and made in look so sophisticated. He was in his white dress shirt as well as grey vest, looking elegant and smart.

“Like what you see, Tara?” he asked, his head bent and his eyes still trained on the files. She blushed deeply and looked away.

“Sit.” He commanded, throwing the files on his desk. She breathed in deeply and took a set in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“How is the pain?” he inquired. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Barely manageable.” She replied in a low voice.

“You know, if you had just followed my rules, then we could’ve avoided such conflict.” He stated, his eyes trained on her face blankly. She swallowed as she felt anger boil in her blood. The bastard had the audacity to pin the blame on her? How dare he? But she wasn’t here to argue with him. She was about to reason with him one last time before she would decided to take drastic action.

“Never mind, I’m sure that once we’re married, you won’t have any problem following my rules. After all, a good wife must obey her husband unconditionally.” He said, his face relaxed and void of all emotion.

She badly wanted to retort back but refrained.

“Why do you want to marry me?” she inquired, her voice leveled.

He simply shrugged. “Because I can.” He stated smugly.

Oh my Lord, this man is so damn arrogant. She badly wanted to wipe off that smug look from his face but controlled on her emotions.

“But there are so many other girls out there—from rich backgrounds and social standings as well as so much more beautiful then me. Why do you still want me?”

“Like I said,” he started, his eyes boring into hers—grey against hazel.

“I do whatever I want to do and take whatever I want to take. Why wouldn’t I want you? You’re breathtakingly gorgeous, educated, humble, modest and best of all, you’re a shareef girl. One I know who isn’t tainted. Whose character is pure and innocent. I want those qualities in my wife.” He stipulated. Anissa felt her heart jolt. In any other circumstances she would’ve drowned herself in self-pity but this was it—this was her chance at escape. She felt utter relief wash over her.

“What if I told you that I wasn’t pure? What if I’m tainted?” she inquired.

His brows furrowed in confusion. His face hardened and his grey eyes became cold steel depths. “What the hell are you implying?” he hissed, his jaw ticking as he leaned forward in his seat.

She gave him a small sad smile. “I’m not the woman for you Shehryaar. I’m not pure. I’m tainted. I’m damaged.” She told, her voice small yet audible. She gathered up all of her courage to say what she was about to say.

“Stop speaking in fucking riddles and say it already.” He gritted through clenched teeth, his anger rising and he slowly began to see red.

Sighing, she replied. “I was raped two years ago.”

He felt his heart stop at her words.