Zoya couldn't believe what had become of her life. It felt like only yesterday that she'd met Asad Ahmed Khan and fallen so deeply in love. She'd gotten swept up and in a matter of weeks he was asking her to marry him and she was so over the moon for him that she'd said yes. He was a private person so the wedding was a small one. Just family and a few close friends. He kept her close to his side after the wedding ceremony, his hands at her hips, his lips at her ear whispering sweet nothings to her. She was happy. The happiest she'd ever been in her life. She didn't think that life would get any better than that day and she was right!
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Six months after marriage:
"Zoya!" She flinched at the sound of his voice booming in the otherwise empty house. The servants came cooked, cleaned and then left. It was only after seven in the morning and they weren't expected until eight.
She hurried out of bed and forgetting to shrug on her robe she hurried into the family room where he was reading his morning papers. "Yes?" She asked softly looking away. The morning was cold and she shivered in her sleeveless nightgown and inwardly cursed herself that she didn't remember her robe.
"Coffee." Was all he said without looking up. She moved towards their room and shrugged into her dressing gown quickly and then back out to the kitchen. She made his coffee as quickly as possible just the way he liked it. Black and bitter.
She brought the coffee to him and he gestured to her to put the coffee on the table and then went back to the papers, ignoring her. He did that a lot. Ignored her. But most of the time she was thankful. Thankful because when he wasn't ignoring her things got ugly. It was a catch 22 because him ignoring her also stung. It stung and made her ache for the relationship they'd shared before they got married. Not a day went by that she hadn't regretted marrying him so quickly or at all. But her love that still lingered, her love that she couldn't rid from her heart, prevented her from leaving him. Not that she could anyway, she knew he'd find her. He would find her.
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Later that day, Zoya had dressed in a red sari, one gifted by her sister-in-law Najma, as she prepared to visit her mother-in-law Dilshad. She was a ray of light in Zoya's life. A mother in so many ways she'd never experienced. She gave herself a quick once over and then was headed through the family room when Asad came through the door. He barely gave her a glance until she was right about to exit then he said, "Where are you going?" His voice was deceptively calm. The calm before the storm. "To ammi's house." She answered quickly. She could hear his almost imperceptible footsteps coming up behind her. She gasped as she felt a cool fingertip slide down her exposed back. Her back arched at his unexpected touch. Her spine chilled and before an answer could form on her lips he had her pinned against the wall.
"Do you really think I'm going to let you walk out of my house in that?!" His face showed his barely concealed rage. "You want to walk out of my house showing everyone what's mine!"
Her eyes widened as she took in the anger on his face, "I-I . . . Najma gave me this."
"So now you're going to blame someone else for why you're leaving my house. My wife is leaving my house with her back exposed for any man to see. To want to touch." His voice was hard and cold.
His hand moved so fast she couldn't even have seen it coming. He punched the wall beside her head and she cowered into herself, wishing she could be anywhere but here.
He took his finger and lifted her face up to look at him. His fingers ran a trail down her cheek, "You're mine, Zoya and I don't share what's mine." His fingers reached her chin and tightened there. "I won't let you leave the house in this. Change or you're staying home."
She nodded and moved to go to their room to change but he pulled her back, his arms going around her waist, his face tucking into her long hair, "I love you. You know that right?" She felt her heart splinter and warring to believe him but this wasn't love. His hands tightened on hers around her waist, "I won't lose you." He pressed his lips against her exposed cheek and she felt tears fill her eyes. He'd never let her go.
His hands uncurled from hers and they dropped to her sides but his remained firmly around her waist squeezing her to him as if he were trying to make them one in his embrace. "I love you so much Zoya and the thought of anyone taking you away from me makes me-" He broke off and she could hear the anger building in his voice.
Zoya felt his hands untangle and his fingers slid along her waist coming to rest on either sides of her hips, his fingers digging into her skin. She flinched at the bite of his fingers. He spun her around abruptly, his hands holding her front tightly to his, his hands travelling a path up her back and stopping on the exposed skin of her backless choli. His eyes grew stormy. "Why would you do this? When you know how much I wouldn't like it, why would you wear this?" One hand stayed on her exposed back while the other came around touching her face with light touches, his fingers travelling down to her lips and touching the soft pad of her bottom lip, his eyes transfixed.
"You're so beautiful." He whispered almost to himself, "I knew you'd be my wife the moment I first saw you." His eyes grew soft and Zoya reveled in the piece of the Asad she fell in love with surfacing. She smiled slightly, "I love you, Asad." She said without thinking. His lips pulled up into a huge smile, "I know."
His face dipped and he pressed a small kiss to her lips, and she was taken aback by the gentleness of his kiss. He was usually rough and demanding. She felt her heart flutter stupidly at this small gesture. "Go and change and I'll go with you to ammi's house." She nodded and turned. "I can't stand the thought of you going out without me." Her heart splintered. When she was almost to the room she thought she heard him say, "You might just run away and I'd never see you again."
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After her visit with Dilshad ammi, Zoya felt heavy-hearted to go home. She'd felt almost free being with the woman she'd thought of her mother almost since the moment she met her. She wondered if he was waiting up for her. She doubted it. He'd decided not to go with her after all when his phone rang for a business call right before they left. He looked reluctant to let her go without him but in the end he did with a hard, unsure look.
She opened the door to their home and she saw the place in darkness. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked the short route to their bedroom, she was tired and wanted to just fall into bed. She was sure he was in his office working late as he always was lately. She didn't even glance at the bed when she entered the room, walking into the bathroom and changing for bed. She slid between the soft sheets with a sigh and yelped when she felt an arm wrap around her waist. She turned as much as she could manage in the tight grip and saw Asad asleep beside her.
She gasped as he pulled her closer to him and settled deeper into sleep. She sighed knowing she couldn't do anything and soon, with her tiredness, fell into sleep.
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The following morning, Zoya got herself ready to go to the market making sure that she dressed what he would deem appropriate and entered the family room. "Where are you off to so early?" He asked sipping on his coffee. "Market." She said softly. He nodded.
"I'll have Marsha go and get what you need." Her heart sank into her stomach. A heaviness settling there. "W-Why?" she dared to ask. "Because I said so." And he picked up his paper and started reading.
"You see I decided that unless I'm going with you, you aren't going anywhere alone." He said it so casually you wouldn't think he was trapping her here like a prisoner. His own wife. Nothing more than property.
"I can go just today then." She said softly. He stood up and leveled her with a hard stare and his voice boomed, "I said no!"
He dropped the newspaper and yanked her into his arms, his fingers digging into her shoulders, "You're my wife Zoya. You do as I say and that is how it's going to be. Get used to it!" He shoved her away and she was sure she'd have finger-shaped bruises just like the blue-black marks left on her waist from yesterday.
She nodded and swore she'd get away from him if it was the last thing she did.
What did you guys think. It's just the first part. I'm still coming up with ideas so your feedback would be greatly appreciated. It's not as good as I wanted but the next one will go deeper.
PMs later.