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Chapter 39
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Four months.
To some, four months might not sound like a long time. Not even when it is pronounced as sixteen weeks, 123 days, 2,952 hours or 4,250,880 minutes.
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Scarred For Life Chapter 40
*The curtains were drawn shut, as they always were. Somehow, though, a few inches remained between them so that a sliver of light crept into the room and onto the carpet. Slowly, meticulously, it crawled up the side of the bed as the sun rose higher into the sky until the light touched Afrah's sleeping face.
Scarred For Life Chapter 41
*Nafisa's scream echoed through the house."I knew it!" she squealed. "I just knew you were madly in love with her. I knew it!" "I said I want to marry her," Adnan pointed out. "When did I ever mention anything about being madly in love with her?" "Just look at the way you're grinning right now," she laughed. "Of course you're in love with her." "That's enough, Nafisa," their mother said, rising from her prayer mat. She walked slowly towards her bed, sinking into the mattress with a decided groan. "I'm happy for you, Adnan," she said, watching him as he walked towards the window. The sight outside was enough to instantly spoil his mood as he saw Zainab sitting beside their father out by the pool, smiling at something he said. "Adnan?" she called, her tone indicating that he had failed to answer a question. "Hm?" "Don't you think it's a bit too soon to be talking about marriage?" she asked. "I've known Afrah for nearly a year now," he said. "I think I'm fairly certain that I w
Scarred For Life Chapter 42
* "Marriage?!" Damn it! "Afrah, I can explain.""I don't want to marry you, Adnan," the words tumbled out of her without so much as a pause. Adnan sat up on the bed, his eyes drawn to the clock. It was 11pm, the ungodliest hour of the day. "Afrah, please let me explain." "Why would you think that I would ever want to marry you?" "Wow," he said, trying at humor. "That's a nice boost to a man's ego." "Why did you do this behind my back?" she asked. "I'm sorry," he said. "Truly, I am. But perhaps if you would let me get in a word, then you will understand my own point of view." "I don't want to hear it," she said. "Afrah, please." He sounded calm. Too calm. It wasn't fair, when her mind was spinning in a million different directions. Marriage to him? Of all people? Imagine that. But the terrifying part was that she actually could. She could imagine them together, and she could imagine him as her husband. It was exactly what she had been trying to stop herself from imagini
Scarred For Life Chapter 43
*Zainab's eyes flew from Adnan's bleeding knuckles to the spot where he had tried to put his hand through the wall. "Was that really necessary?" she asked. "Get out of my room," he said, his back turned to her. The blood from his knuckles trickled down onto the tiles, forming a small puddle at his feet. Already, all four of his fingers were beginning to swell from the pain. But it didn't matter. None of it did. Because no matter what he put himself through, no matter how much he tried to hurt himself otherwise, the aching in his heart was far greater than any other form of physical pain. Zainab gingerly stepped forward, ignoring the menacing way Adnan was breathing. "I heard your mother talking to your sister," she said. "And I just wanted to offer my condolences." "I don't want or need your condolences," he said. "I want to be left alone." "Cheer up already," she sighed. "She'll come around. I know she will." "You know nothing," he said bitterly. "On the contrary, Mr Adna
Scarred For Life Chapter 44
*Several days later, Afrah still couldn't decide whether she had done the right thing or not. Sometimes, she would look at her reflection and insist that she wanted this; that it was the right thing to do. Other times, she would lock herself in her bedroom and cry, unable to bear the thought of it all. But she had made her bed, and now she must lie in it. The uncertainty remained with her however, even when Adnan's representatives came over to formally ask for her hand. Afrah nearly had a heart attack when she was called to help with the food, but a stroke of luck saved her when she realized that his father wasn't there. Instead, her father's cousins had taken up the space in the living room, conversing loudly so that their voices bounced off the walls. They were talking about politics, which had never been her favorite topic in the world. Afrah kept her face down as she placed the food before them, hurrying back to her room. She left the door open however, so she could hear what t
Scarred For Life Chapter 45
* As expected, the news spread throughout the city like a highly contagious virus. It was the only thing anyone who was anyone talked about. Afrah Aminu, the rarest of them all, had finally gotten hitched. It was to be expected, of course. Growing up, Afrah had always been compared to her more vibrant and tenacious sister, and people always wondered why she never had any friends. Anyone who knew their family -and there were a lot of them- knew that Afrah didn't talk to anyone. She was different like that, and it had long since been accepted that that was just the way she wanted to live her life. Afrah's mother spared no effort in making sure that the wedding would be the most talked about event for months to come. Within a matter of days, invitations began to go out. The envelopes were a bright shade of gold, with the writing in silver and an elegantly designed A&A on the front. Everyone who received one smiled satisfactorily, while those who didn't found solace in complaining to e
Scarred For Life Chapter 46
*Afrah woke up to the sunlight creeping into her bedroom, and the sounds of the bird performing a sonnet right outside her window. She remained lying down while her brain booted up slowly. Her mother used to say that when it came to waking up, she was like an old computer, the ones with vacuum tubes. Having gone to bed late the night before, she took several minutes to recollect her thoughts. Fifteen minutes later, she crawled out of the bed. It was no graceful affair, more like a snail emerging from its shell than a princess rousing from her bed. Her footsteps were silent as she walked to the window, the carpet absorbing most of the sound. She pushed her hair out of her face, drawing the curtains aside. The sunlight poured into the room then, blinding her momentarily. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she knew there was something she was forgetting. Today didn't seem like an ordinary day. The sun was much too radiant, the clouds has gone on vacation, and the air felt intrinsical
Scarred For Life Chapter 47
*Adnan had always imagined what it would feel like to hold Afrah and call her his wife. He had imagined the feel of her hand in his, and the way his heart would flutter whenever she looked at him through the eyes of a wife. But nothing could have prepared him for the way his breath would seize momentarily whenever she turned to him, or the way his heart soared when she slipped her hand into his and smiled so brightly that his knees trembled from the effort of looking at her and remaining calm and collected. The moment they descended the stairs, a cheer erupted in the living room, so loud and deafening that it seemed to shake the building. The ladies swooned at the sight, the men barked out their laughter as they cheered him on, and somewhere in the crowd a woman stared at Afrah with a calculating look in her eyes, relishing the thought of all the heinous things she was going to do to her. Neither Afrah nor Adnan noticed her however. They were too busy smiling at everyone, turning
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