“naseeb mai jou likha tha,

woh tere naam hua

hazar mod mude fir

safar tamam hua...”

°°°

"Maa. She wanted me to marry Jo-n-a-a-h."

Her voice was shaking and her body was trembling with fear, she was sweating even when the air conditioner was on. She was feeling like she is standing all alone in the dessert and was thirsty for water. She was trying to calm down her anxiety but she couldn't. Even saying his name was another level of phobia for her.

"Subahan Rabbiyal Azeem."

She had one hand placed on her heart, trying to calm down her anxiety by remembering her Lord. Because there's no one to fear Except our Lord, Allah SWT. Fear him not because you're afraid of Him, Fear Him so that you didn't involve in Wrong doings.

"Zahiah."

She looked up at him and took the glass of water from him. Dawood was looking at him with pain. She can see him holding his tears back. She wasn't the Zahiah who broke his heart so effortlessly. No this Zahiah was different! A broken doll with a list of flaws and Flaws.

"Zahiah please calm down. You don't have to remember a thing just relax."

Dawood stood up from his sit and stand by the window looking outside and thinking how much he had lost. He was cursing himself, if only he had stayed and fought for their love. Zahiah would've been in a better condition. He closed his eyes and tried to let it all sink. When he heard her voice, her voice wasn't Shaking, her voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Maa Wanted me to marry Jonah Fernandez. Jonah was a good catholic Christian. He was an obedient son and a good friend. He was working with a multinational company as a legal advisor. He was charming, has wealth. And my mother thought he's the best man for me. I wasn't ready to marry him. I wanted to be a lawyer because my papa wanted me to be one.....and."

Zahiah stopped talking and looked at Dawood whose still standing by the window.

"And that i fell in love with you. I didn't wanted to but i did. You're everything I've ever wanted. But i guess life's too cruel to grant our wishes. Maa was on the last stage of Cancer. I was terrified. She was the only family i had left and i didn't wanted to loose her. She made me chose between her or my priorities. Ofcourse i chose my maa and left it all. My dream of becoming a lawyer and You."

Zahiah was looking at Dawood but he was standing their motionless.

"Jonah Fernandez, My husband."

Zahiah laughed very loudly and Dawood turned around to look at her. She was laughing and her laugh, her laugh broke his heart into tiny little pieces. All he thinks about is this, That man had broke her laugh too.

"Jonah Fernandez on our wedding night told me that you look like a slut in this dress ready to get fucked he made me feel worthless. He didn't stopped it their, he tear of my wedding gown with his knife. The knife he used to experiment on me in different ways. After tearing of my gown, he threw me on the bed, pulled the pins out from my hair harshly. I was feeling like he was ripping my hairs out. I screamed. I Shouted. But nobody's their to listen to me. He beat me till he was satisfied and then left me to die or live with the wounds that would never heal. It continued everyday he left me alone in the house, locking it up like I'm a prisoner. At night he comes back and torture me, beat me, Cut me with his favourite knife till i can't breathe and when he was satisfied. He just left. And you know what in all this torture, he didn't abused me sexually. He didn't even touched me like a man touches his wife. He was keen on torturing me and applying physical torture. And soon i found out why he was doing all of this. He had banished me from any kind of contact with the outside world, but one day he brought a man with him. Matthias George, Jonah Fernandez's one true love. They both chained me in the basement and beat me with leather belts. They're taking out their frustration on me because apparently i was responsible for their sufferings. They couldn't be united as one infront of the world, because they're homosexual, gay. Just because of societal norms they tortured me. They had sex infront of me, they used to tie me up and force me to watch them doing all those things. Cutting me with knives, beating me and doing inappropriate sex was a daily thing for them. I was in that hell hole for two years, two years went by and i didn't see the sunlight because i was locked up in the basement. Two years went by and my maa didn't bother to check up on me. You know what it hurts me everyday, i had no hope left. And when i started to loose my mind, a voice pulled me out of the darkest time and that voice was of my father, my papa....i started hallucinating, he used to say, Do not lose hope nor be said Allah is with you, you will be okay. This keeps me from passing out on a little piece of hope and one day it really ended. Matthias George came alone one night he was heavily drunk and he passed out in the basement after beating me up. He had the keys and i took it from his pocket. I left that house didn't looking back. After two years, four months, fifteen days i was free. But i was wrong because when i came back, the police had already been searching for me. Because apparently Jonah had murdered my mother and he had put the blame on me. He killed her and made it look like i had killed her. After everything I've went through, i was caged again. I was a prisoner again. Until Aisha found me. I had been in the Custody for a month and it was the day of my court hearing when Aisha met me, she bailed me out. And provide me shelter. She filed a divorce case, but for three years she's getting death threats because of me. Jonah has Mafia ties and she couldn't stand alone against him. I don't know what to do. I didn't Wanted to burden her. I was leaving her alone but she made me stay here. She taught me how to live again. I was always jealous of Aisha, because she had that aura around her, calm and peaceful. I wanted to be like her. I started doing Hijab, it was meant to give me peace it did, but i wasn't content and then i started praying. I became what i was running away from. I spend a huge part of my life hating Muslims and being a islamophobic. Now here I'm. A Muslimah helped me through the darkest of my times and now I'm trying to be like her. I started believing in Allah and since that day i hadn't felt an ounce of fear. Whenever an attack hits me i just took His name and he made it all easy. Everything I've been through, there's no one to help me out but even in my darkest time Allah SWT guided me towards light. Seven years of pain, fear, torture, hurt, being lost and finally being able to found myself again."

Zahiah was sitting their holding her hands together. This time she had a little smile on her face. She was healing and trying her best to move forward but the past hasn't gone yet.

Dawood has no words to say. He can understand her pain. He can understand what she must have gone through all this time, after all he was also once locked up in an basement deprived of any human rights. A memory flashes through his mind and he felt like he's breathe stopped.

"Daryab."

A name left his lips and Zahiah heard it clearly. She looked at him and saw the same agony & pain on his face which she was caring in her soul for the past seven years.

"Dawood."

He looked at Zahiah and his eyes were filled with the same emotions love, warmth, respect but now they're thousand times clearer. He sat beside her and holding her hands, looking deeply into her eyes, he promised her, "I will not let Jonah Fernandez and Mathhias George see another daylight. They will pay for what they did to you."

***

She was standing outside the court, winds were blowing heavily. She was trying to walk properly but she couldn't. She was going to fall but someone came behind her and held her. She looked back and saw the face of her saving angel.

"Aisha."

She hugged her tightly and smiled brightly.

"Zahiah Joseph. You're finallllllyyyyyyyy free. We won Zahiah. We won."

Aisha was chanting on top of her lungs holding Zahiah with her.

"I don't know what to say. But I'm happy it feels like I'm starting over now."

"You're Zahiah. You're and insha'Allah all will be fine. I'll be with you from dusk till dawn."

Aisha sing along like she was Zayn Malik.

"Let's go. We have to get out of here. I think its going to rain today."

They both walked back to their car laughing and giggling.

Zahiah has finally been out of the grasp of that forceful relationship. She got her divorce and Her mother got justice. Jonah and Mathhias both are sentenced for life imprisonment. And now she can breathe in fresh air freely.

Who would have thought that Zahiah will befriend a girl whom she find hypocrite, just because of her faith. Who would have thought that Zahiah will get free from all the allegations. Who would have thought that finally Zahiah will made peace with losing her mother but it all happened. It wasn't easy but she didn't lost her HOPE. She carried it with her all the way.

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