Submission

14

In the next few days, Zafar somehow managed to increase her workload, overburdening her with the chores. And combined with a reduced meal, she gradually began to lose more weight. He wasn't satisfied until her boney structure was visible. 

Although it displeased him while f*****g her, since it was vital to his plan, he went ahead with it anyways.

Haya was always tired, as she hadn't had much exposure to household chores before and suddenly everything was thrown at her altogether. But she went ahead and carried on without much complaining. 

Now at least, she was able to talk to her family for comfort, and that was nothing short of a blessing for her.

▪︎▪︎☆☆▪︎▪︎

Today was her result day, and she was anxiously waiting for Zafar. It was a crucial day today, as her future would take a decisive turn from today. Whether she would forever stay with an incomplete degree or would she progress ahead.

Finally, the evening arrived, and Zafar came home. He had a folded paper in his hands, which he handed over to her, with a straight face. Haya's heart sank, thinking that she hasn't made it through.

Haya quickly opened it, to find her result enclosed within. 

She was shocked and surprised by what she saw. She had scored excellent grades in all of her subjects; a wave of happiness passed through her. How was it even possible? She didn't have enough time to study, and in one of the exams, she wasn't even fully oriented. 

It was the first time in her life that she had scored such good marks. She was just an average student back then. But still, her parents celebrated even her bare passing marks. 

But now, when she had scored some decent grades, she had nobody to share it with—someone who would be genuinely happy to see her succeed.

What an irony!

She smiled faintly first, and then her tears took over, she quietly left for her room. She was indeed becoming like him!

Zafar saw the rainbow of emotions which passed through her face, disbelief, happiness and sadness. She quietly thanked him and left for her room. 

She would soon be a graduate as she had wanted.

Good for her! He dismissed her thoughts and got busy in his work.

▪︎▪︎☆☆▪︎▪︎

Zafar was getting ready one day when she knocked on his door.

'Yes'

She opened it to enter his room. And hesitantly looked at his form, he was fixing his necktie. 

'Zafar, I want to talk to you regarding something ', she said hesitantly. 

He glanced at her with a raised eyebrow and prompted her to go on. 

'Zafar, Can I do a job? Something part-time would also do. I stay at home all day, and I don't have much to do anyway', she paused.

She looked into his emotionless eyes,  which were so difficult to read. 

They were simply emotionless and so deep, she could drown trying scaling their depth.

But she noticed a brief pause in his movements; he wasn't expecting this. 

He slowly came towards her, as a reflex, she inched two steps away. He moved further until he stood right in front of her.

'What did you say?' he asked her again.

'J..job', she muttered, she was already regretting her decision to come here. 

He raised his hand and slapped her hard on the face, making her fall on a nearby sofa. 

She didn't look back at him, but her tears started flowing on her face. 

He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.

'Just be thankful that I am allowing your filthy presence around me. Don't test my patience more', he hissed in her ear.

'Is it understood?' he asked.

'Ye..yes', she sobbed. 

'Get lost!'

She quickly left his room, with heavy steps and rainy eyes.

☆☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆☆

Zafar's mistreatment and manhandling only worsened with time, scarring her mind and body. She almost forgot that once she had loved him so deeply that it almost hurt. Now, the only thing which remained was a pain! 

One day, when he returned from his office in the evening, he rang the doorbell, but nobody opened it. He stood outside for no less than half n hour, but still no response. He eventually called the security and managed to open the door with the master key.

It was raining heavily that day, and the open windows only worsened the situation inside the apartment. It was now wet and cold by the showers of rain entering through the open windows.

He was fuming in rage at her.

He angrily kicked on her door, waking her up, and when he found her sleeping, it didn't take long for his anger to shoot up to the sky. 

He dragged her out and pointed out her folly.

'Oh..', Haya was dismayed by seeing the wet floor and drenched drapes.

'I am sorry Zafar ', she quickly apologised,'I overslept. I will clean it right away.'

She removed all objects near the windows and began closing the windows and the door to the open roof area. Suddenly, he stopped her by placing a hand over hers; she looked at him, surprised. 

He looked into her scared, half sleepy eyes and smiled evilly. He tightened his grip over her wrist and opened the door again. 

London's chilly air combined with rain only worsened the impact of cold, it was almost freezing. 

He pulled her along into the pouring rain and faced her.

'You seem to be ignorant of your current situation, let's take this opportunity to open up your eyes', he said and left her in the pouring rain.

She was shocked at his heartlessness and decided not to protest anymore. She just stood, where he left her. It's better to die once, rather than suffering daily in his hands.

He stood near the window, observing her and lightened his cigarette. He was looking at her while she also stared back at him. 

Something inside her died that day; it was probably her love for him. And she was glad that it rained that day, she doesn't have to bother wiping off her tears. 

Countless minutes passed, and they stood staring at each other. Zafar was hoping that soon she would beg for his forgiveness and he would take her inside. It intrigued him that she stood there silently, without protesting. He was getting restless,  watching her getting drenched in the outpour. 

Damn! Why isn't she begging ?? He was frustrated by her indignance. 

Suddenly, his phone rang, and after seeing who it was, he picked it up and left to use his laptop. 

Haya stood there in the rain, crying over her fate. However hard she tries, he would never love her back. She had finally accepted it. 

▪︎▪︎☆☆▪︎▪︎

Zafar almost forgot about her that she was still out, he was busy in his work. The time for her to visit him was fast approaching, and he was almost finished. He wrapped up the remaining tasks and began waiting for her. 

She was late again, he thought angrily and barged inside her room. She wasn't there! 

He suddenly remembered that he had left her outside as her punishment that day.

's**t!' He ran towards her. 

When he reached out, although the rain had stopped, she wasn't there. He looked around and found her on the floor lying unconscious; her face was almost blue. And her body freezing.

He picked up her frail body and ran inside the house. He quickly discarded her wet clothes and set the thermostat at the highest, quickly warming the insides. He lighted the fire and waited for her colour to return. But she appeared far from it. 

He didn't want to lose her; during those moments, he realised how important she was for him. He hugged her tightly, trying to wrap her naked body around him, hoping to rewarm her cold body. 

He put a mattress near the fireplace and discarded his clothes. He took a blanket and wrapped them tightly inside it; he wanted her to be back. He was so desperate that he forgot everything else. It pained him to see her fragile body marred with scars he had given her. He was frantically rubbing her hands between his to warm them, he dried her hair and then rubbed her feet. 

Slowly, he noted that the bluish tinge was fading and colour began returning to her face. He was relieved. He cuddled her tiny body in his embrace and hugged her tightly to himself, trying to warm her by his heat.

☆☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆☆☆