Shattered and confused, I found myself holding on to the car seat as Iyaz drove me straight to his office and led me straight to his empty waiting room. I had no idea what going on his mind. After having me sit on a couch, he simply left.

My heart...I didn't know what to feel. Scared, tormented, overwhelmed and confused...I had no idea what was my husband was going to do. I was worried for Pinky's family so didn't dare defy Iyaz's instructions. He wanted me to stay here. Soon, after minutes of leaving me to just think, he then showed up again with a file.

"I am so glad I keep a record of my investments." He gave me a rather crooked smile.

Frowning, I peered down at the file and back at him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Mahira. First, tell me what the heck was up with that childish act?" he scolded while lowering his gaze towards the file and skimming through its pages in a business-like manner. He was in work-mode now,

"Childish antics?" I gave a bitter chuckle. "Realizing you never cared, that you lied, have another family and have been just wasting my time is not a childish epiphany. "

"Who the heck gave you that absurd idea that I don't care...that I lied?" He quickly walked up to me with a firm and stern look, seeming as if he didn't approve of me having such absurd thoughts.

"You," I retorted, feeling a bit intimidated by his attitude. "You think that you could hide the fact that you have another family. You never cared." Immediately his gaze blazed and his grip on the file tightened.

"I don't want to listen to such idiotic thoughts, ever again. I care, and even you can't change that." He reprimanded in a firm manner. He was making me feel silly and childish.

"Are you serious?!" I scowled.

"Extremely." This was insane. He was not even excusing for his cruel ways and blatantly had the audacity to scold me. Did he think I was so naïve that I would be even okay with his chauvinistic ways?

"I know about your other wife and kid," I emphasized once again, glaring at him. "You can no longer fool me. I know that I have been given you so many chances, but you can no longer treat me as a doormat" I announced.

"Still so innocente..." He simply chuckled in fondness and began reading pages from the file again.

What was he taking this seriously!

"Iyaz-"

"You don't need to stress yourself over my choices. Just know that I will protect you from any harm." He smiled. I scoffed at that. Seriously?

"Protect me?" I reiterated, rhetorically. "Stop lying to me. You care for your own self, and I am finally done with this. Just let me leave!"

"Lying to you?!" Immediately, his eyes flashed furious temper, his calmness vaporizing. "I don't lie. In fact, I think I am going to leave you here for a while to have you think over how foolish you acted today." He sneered. I trembled at his tone. He had never been this harsh and loud with me.

My eyes widened at that. "What?"

Still looking malicious and sinister, he threw the file before me and coldly gestured me to pick it up. I was seriously terrified at the moment; he seemed so heartless and dangerous. I couldn't even maintain a brave façade.

Not even daring to gulp, I hesitantly picked up the file and began reading it. I blanched at the context. According to this file, my grandmother owed Iyaz a lot of money. If we ever had a divorce, my grandfather was to lose the 20% of the share in Iyaz's family business and would have to pay back a lot of money to announce his exit before time. This was the reason my grandfather had arranged Iyaz and I to get married. I couldn't believe it. My grandfather had died, so that meant that now my father would have to pay back the money.

"Iyaz, what's wrong with you? Why are you doing this?" I fearfully asked, looking at him, huge tears had started to gather in my eyes.

"I am doing this to tell you that my home is yours forever." Iyaz smiled, patting away one of my stray tears with smug possessiveness. The maniac sensation behind that smile froze me.

This wasn't the guy I knew and cared about.

Iyaz had always been sweet and considerate. His anger and cold ways were meant for the world, never me. He had never scolded me, never threatened me. I was immensely scared of this 'Iyaz' and didn't want him to hurt me. Which reminds me, would he actually destroy my family? Would my wounds seem darker due to the fact that they had been inflicted by someone I had adored? I had no idea what was going inside Iyaz's head, why was he acting this way. I had told him that I knew about his other family, and this was his response. Was his chauvinistic attitude going to make me stay against my will? 

I won't tolerate this. 

I won't accept a lying husband and let him treat me as a doormat.

 My heart won't be able to take that.

Sniffing and shaking over how monstrous Iyaz was actually being, I jolted as the waiting room's door opened once again, and in stepped someone who made the tears in my eyes immediately disappear and my expressions morph into a confused frown-his second wife.

What was she doing here?

Her presence made my heart get consumed with a strange sense of dread. Why did Iyaz call her here? She seemed so confident and happy, unlike me. However, despite being struck by intense pain at her sight, I still couldn't comprehend her presence here.

What did she want?

Thus, with a creased forehead, I watched as her expressions morph into an arrogant smirk at my teary sight, and she haughtily spoke, "So this is your second wife? Interesting." she mused, moving to stand next to Iyaz. Her wicked tone made me feel more confused and embarrassed. Second? Was I missing something here? It didn't make any sense.

Was Iyaz...No, my mind couldn't accept that Iyaz had been such a huge traitor. I could believe that he had chosen another after our marriage, but this... I just couldn't accept him to be that despicable and cunning. I was still delusional.

Still eyeing the woman with a confused-embarrassed expression, I watched with a hurt expression as she stood so confident and respected. Iyaz and her did make a good couple. It was this picture before me...how I was the only fool here, which made me break. Both Iyaz and his first wife were a family. I had just been an outsider, all this time.

So this was my punishment?

This was how Iyaz wanted to break me? 

I couldn't help but hate myself for caring about him in the first place. How could Iyaz be so cruel! Had his morals sank so low! Was this his way of being a truly sadistic and declaring how easily he had fooled me and actually cared about someone else! I had been so naïve and stupid. Iyaz had been able to fool me so easily and I let him. The pain of betrayal and jealousy was coursing harshly in my veins. And soon, being unable to deal with the rampant of emotions, I turned my head away from the crushing sight and sobbed; sobbed at the feeling of jealousy, betrayal, heartache and pain. Iyaz had turned out to such a narcissistic form. He had always loved himself, and I was a fool not to see that before. A silly little fool-yet a fool.

Sniffing with pain, I suddenly gasped as the woman shrieked out of nowhere.

Iyaz had taken out his gun and was pointing it in the direction of his first wife-traumatizing the woman.

What the heck!

However, instead of looking at her, his gaze was fixated at me

"What is the meaning-" The woman started to say...

"Shut up!" he growled out loud, causing both the first wife and me to jolt in fear. His first wife seemed so embarrassed upon being harshly snubbed in front of me. The gun had been lowered now.

"You," he then sneered at me, causing me to whimper. I had never seen him act like this before. His new form was literally petrifying me.

"Do you see how I treat her? How little she means to me?" he rhetorically asked, with a dark glint in his eyes. I couldn't dare to respond. He seemed so scary.

"I-I..."

"Mahira, don't you dare look away!" He immediately bellowed out loud as I momentarily lowered my gaze, to keep myself from crying. He was resembling so much to a vicious beast, right now. I knew that he could be cold and arrogant to people when in mood, but this was a whole new side of him.

Anyhow, despite wanting to ignore him, the harshness in his tone made me hesitantly listen again.

"Y-y-yes?"

"This is how I treat the people I don't care about." His eyes slightly softened at my shattered sight, yet he still looked furious and border-line crazy. "You wanted me to prove my sincerity, well here it is!"

"This is what I do to others," Iyaz explained, darkly chuckling. "You are the one whom I protect." He announced, turning to glare at first wife who literally ran out the door. Her pitiful sight made me fear Iyaz even more.

He was deranged!

"But I would never do that to you," his voice abruptly softened by octaves. "I would never hurt you." He calmed down, sounding like the Iyaz I knew and cared about.

"Iyaz, t-this is not right. W-why are you doing this?" I quivered, eyeing the gun in his hands with immense fear.

"Because I want you to know that you have been a fool to think otherwise; to believe that I don't care. I hate that you have doubts about my obsession." His wrecked confession literally made shivers run down my spine. He was totally psycho, insane. The gun in hand needed to be removed!

Whimpering, I watched as he smiled at me and gently sat on the floor before me.

"Don't be scared. I hate it when you cry." He tried consoling. This was the man whom I cared so much about? He was literally so messed up and I never knew that. How?

"This is such a mess, Iyaz." I finally wailed out loud, digging my face into my palms. "What happened here is so insane. You can't be like this. You can't be so m-messed up," I spoke with slight hesitance, knowing that I had to be extremely careful about not triggering him enough to hurt me. 

"I am. But I won't let you get hurt. I will crush whoever dares to do so."

"But I am feeling hurt." I pressed, sobbing. "This entire situation is hurting me immensely." I tried to convey how badly hurt and scared I was. 

"Never! Now completely finish reading this file, see how I am going to gift you all of my wealth. After that, we will head back home. There is someone whom I want you to meet."

"Who?"

"My son."

So, well, I had something slightly different in the drafts, but please do remember this story is twisted, so it isn't everyone's cup of tea. I wrote it like 4 years ago. It is messed up, insane and slightly deranged. I don't even know why I am publishing it here, lol. I might even remove it-after completing it because I don't like disturbing anyone's reading journey. But, just know...this is messed up.

Have an awesome day.