MY JENN HUSBAND

*CHAPTER 1: THE MARRIAGE I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT* It was night. Asabe sat alone in her room. Tomorrow was her wedding. But she still didn't know who her husband was. Her mother had only said, "Be quiet. It is a promise. A promise from our ancestors." She looked at the mirror. Her bridal dress hung on the door. White. Beautiful. But her heart was beating like it wanted to escape her chest. Suddenly, the light went off. The room went dark. Cold air rushed in, like someone had opened a fridge. "Hello?" Asabe whispered. "Mama?" No answer. Then she smelled perfume. Strong perfume. Not human perfume. Cold, like water and flowers in the night. The door opened by itself. Slowly. Without anyone touching it. Asabe moved back until she fell on the bed. "Who... who is there?" Her voice was shaking. Then she heard a voice. A man's voice. Deep. Cold. Like it was coming from far away, but also right beside her ear. "Are you ready, my wife?" Asabe looked up. In the middle of the darkness, she saw two eyes. Red eyes. Not human eyes. They were glowing in the dark. "Who are you?" She screamed. "I am your husband." "Lie! My husband is a human! Not... not a jinn!" The voice laughed. A cold laugh, but also sweet at the same time. "You say human? Then why did your father make a promise to me before you were even born?" Asabe froze. She remembered. When she was small, her grandmother used to tell her, "You, you don't belong to yourself. You were promised a long time ago." She thought it was a joke. An old people's story. But now... The man came closer. Slowly, the moonlight came through the window and fell on his face. He was handsome. More handsome than any man she had ever seen. Tall. Fair. His eyes were red. But there was something on his face. Something not human. "My name is Zayd." He said. "And from today, you are mine." He stretched his hand to her. Asabe looked at his hand. She looked at the door. If she ran, where would she go? The whole house was silent. Like everyone was asleep. Like there was no one in the world except the two of them. "Don't be afraid." He said, his voice becoming soft. "I will not hurt you. I have waited for you for twenty years. I will not let anyone touch you." He touched her cheek with his finger. His hand was cold like ice. But her heart... it beat in a different way. Why did she feel like she knew him? Like she had seen this face before in a dream? "What if I say no?" She asked. Zayd smiled. A smile that made her heart beat harder. "You already said yes, Asabe. Before you even knew how to talk."