MY JENN HUSBAND

Chapter 3.THE FAKE HUSBAND

*CHAPTER 3: THE FAKE HUSBAND*

The next morning, the house was full of noise.

Women singing. Drums beating. People laughing.

But Asabe felt like she was in a funeral, not a wedding.

Her mother dressed her up. White dress. Gold jewelry. Makeup on her face. She looked beautiful, but her eyes were empty.

"Mama," Asabe whispered. "Please tell me the truth. Who is this man I am marrying today?"

Her mother stopped. Her hand shook for a second. Then she smiled.

"His name is Yusuf. He is a good boy. From a good family. You will love him."

"Then who was Zayd? The man in my room last night?"

Her mother's face turned white. "Don't mention that name again. Never. Do you hear me? If you mention him outside, they will say you are mad."

Asabe kept quiet. But her heart was screaming.

An hour later, she was sitting in the big living room, surrounded by people. The Imam was reading. Everyone was smiling.

And then Yusuf walked in.

Asabe looked up.

Yusuf was handsome. Tall, dark, with a soft smile. He looked like a normal, kind man. The kind of man any girl would want to marry.

But when his eyes met Asabe's eyes, he froze.

He looked shocked. Like he had seen a ghost.

"Are you okay?" The Imam asked him.

Yusuf nodded quickly. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine."

But Asabe saw it. His hand was shaking when he signed the marriage paper.

After the wedding, when everyone was eating and dancing, Yusuf pulled Asabe to a quiet corner.

"Listen to me," he whispered, his voice shaking. "I need to tell you something. I didn't want this marriage. My family forced me."

"I didn't want it too," Asabe said.

Yusuf looked around, to make sure nobody was listening. "They paid me. They gave my family money. They said I should marry you and act like your husband in the day. But at night... I should not enter your room. I should sleep in the guest room."

Asabe's heart stopped. So Zayd was telling the truth.

"Do you know about... Zayd?" She asked in a low voice.

Yusuf's face turned pale. "So you have seen him too?"

"You know him?"

Yusuf swallowed hard. "Last night, he came to me in my dream. He said, 'If you touch my wife, I will kill you.' He said, 'You are just a shadow. She is mine.' I woke up sweating. I thought it was a dream. But now..."

Asabe looked at him. This poor man was as scared as she was.

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"We act," Yusuf said. "In front of people, we are husband and wife. In private, we are strangers. Please... don't let him kill me. I will not touch you. I promise."

Asabe almost laughed. A wedding where the husband is begging the wife to protect him from her real husband.

Night came. The guests went home. Yusuf went to the guest room, just as he was told.

Asabe entered her new room. Her new bedroom. The room she would share with a jinn.

She sat on the bed, waiting.

The light flickered. Once. Twice. Then it went off.

Cold air filled the room.

"You did well today, my wife," Zayd's voice came from the darkness. "You looked beautiful. But I hated seeing you next to him."

Asabe stood up. "He is my husband now. In front of everybody."

"He is nothing," Zayd said, and suddenly he was right in front of her. His red eyes were glowing with anger. "You are mine. Your name is written in my world, not his."

"Then why did you let me marry him?" Asabe shouted. "Why didn't you just take me?"

Zayd was quiet for a long time.

"Because if I take you now, my enemies will find you. This marriage... this fake marriage is your shield. As long as the world thinks you are a normal married woman, they will not look for you."

"Who are your enemies?" Asabe asked.

Zayd looked at the window. "The ones who killed your father."

Asabe froze. "My father is alive!"

"No," Zayd said softly. "The man in that house is not your father. Your real father died twenty years ago. The day he gave you to me."

Asabe's legs gave way. She fell on the bed.

Everything she knew was a lie.