pte

ced by the village will burn

can p

ing, the house

ct that I was awake by 4 because I needed

was different t

ind that suffocates you, the kind that makes you afraid of breaking the s

he bruises from where Abhu had grabbed me, and the weight of everything that had happened the night before sat he

flection at first. I didn't want to see the reminder of what I had become - a broken, hollow version of myself. But the reflection stared

t clung to me, just like the memories of the night be

d, but I didn't have the luxury of time or money for a doctor. The kitchen was already in disarray; the remnants of las

en I he

He wasn't alone. My stomach twisted, a mix of fear and anxiety

umming against the armrest. A man I didn't recognize sat across from him, dressed in an expensive sui

shed tones, and I

voice smooth but with an edge to it. He looked around the room, hi

expression flat.

fro

be. My mind raced, trying to piece together wh

ulling out a large envelope and handing it to Abh

like all this American men,and made us call him abbu a name that was supposed to make us believe h

bled as I made my way back upstairs, my mind spinning. He was selling me?. I wasn

end of t

nown that Abhu hated me, resented me for reasons I would never understand. But this was different. This wasn

that I was finally escapin

ng blankly at the ceiling, but the sound of footsteps on the stairs broug

room swung open,

ocking out the light from the hallway. He cros

ordered, his voic

t him, my h

but I had que

"You're getting married at the end of the next. so

I couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. I star

pered, barely able

thing more than an inconvenience. "I've arrang

der me. "You can't do this," I said, my voice tremb

a burden to me. Do you think I'm going to let you ro

a future - it was a prison. A life sentence in the hands of

might tre

it were the most normal thing in the world. " I don't

ling out before I could stop the

. He yanked me to my feet, his grip painfully tight. "You don't get to decide," he

ger. My mind kept screaming to me to

a cruel, ho

o you want to run to? You think you have anywhere

how much they hurt. I stood there, defiant, ev

his voice quieter now, more dangerou

nd left the room, slamm

The future that awaited me felt like a deat

iage was Allah t

ool to believe in a