Suddenly, I screamed at the top of my lungs and shoved him away with an instinctive force until he fell to the floor. He looked at me in shock and said in a trembling voice:
"What's wrong with you, Rana? I'm your husband. I have the right to touch you and kiss you."
I replied coldly:
"Not today."
His eyes flared with a mixture of desire and anger. Then he said firmly:
"No, today, Rana."
He grabbed me roughly and threw me onto the bed. Then he began treating me with a brutality I had never known before. As for me, I lay there like a lifeless body, neither resisting nor responding.
That heavy night eventually passed, and when I woke up the next morning, I was completely exhausted. I turned to my side and saw him sleeping peacefully as though nothing had happened. A deep feeling of disgust washed over me at the sight of him. I hated him in that moment. He had forced me into things I did not want and had shown no respect for my feelings or my fear.
I went into the bathroom to wash away the traces of that terrible night, but the sound of the doorbell interrupted my thoughts. My family had arrived to prepare the traditional bridal breakfast.
I welcomed them with a faint smile, then went to wake Ziad. He got up, took a shower, and joined everyone in the living room. What made things worse was that he shamelessly started talking about the previous night, boasting about his masculinity and strength while everyone laughed.
I sat there in silence, my regret growing with every passing second.
How had I agreed to marry him?
A little later, he walked into the bedroom and called for me.
"Listen, Rana. Since your family is here, I'm going out to meet my friends. I might be late."
I simply nodded.
I returned to the living room, which was filled with laughter and conversation, yet I felt like a stranger among them. I was nothing more than a body sitting there. My soul was somewhere else... with Malik.
I clung to the smallest hope that he might come to see me, even once. Yet deep inside, I knew I had already lost myself before losing him.
As my family prepared to leave, my mother said:
"Come on, let's leave the newlyweds to rest."
My aunt laughed and replied:
"But Ziad isn't even here."
My mother smiled and said:
"The moment we leave, he'll come running back to his wife like a rocket."
Everyone said their goodbyes and left.
I remained alone in that gloomy house, a place that felt more like a prison than a home.
The hours crawled by painfully slowly. I tried to convince myself to give him another chance. Maybe we could fix what had happened. Maybe I was judging him too harshly.
I called him several times and suggested that we go out together, but he didn't answer a single call.
Eventually, exhaustion overcame me. I stretched out on the couch and drifted off to sleep.
I don't know how much time had passed before I heard the front door opening.
Ziad had finally returned.
His clothes were soaked with the smell of cigarettes and a strong feminine perfume.
He looked at me mockingly and said:
"Oh... you're still waiting for me? Do you know how many girls would love to get just one glance from me, while you reject me and lie in my arms like a corpse?"
I didn't answer.
He moved closer, his anger rising, and began lashing out at me violently.
I ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Sitting on the cold floor, I cried silently, unable to say a single word.
I spent the rest of the night there.
The next morning, I was awakened by the sound of his crying.
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and found him standing behind the door, apologizing desperately.
He said he didn't know what had come over him, that he had been under immense pressure because of his move to a new country. Then he began insisting that perhaps it had been the evil eye or some demonic influence.
When I finally opened the door, I was surprised to find that he had brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and prepared breakfast himself.
Smiling cautiously, he said:
"I want us to go out today. Let's spend some time together and start over."
We ate breakfast in silence.
Afterward, I moved toward the gifts our relatives had brought, but his voice stopped me.
"Don't open them now."
I turned toward him in confusion.
"Why?"
He answered casually:
"Because I'm going to sell them. We furnished the house before the wedding, and we already have everything we need."
I objected gently:
"But this is a vacuum cleaner from my aunt, and we don't even have one."
His expression darkened instantly.
"Have you become the decision-maker in this house? I'm the man of this house, and my word is final."
Lowering my head, I replied:
"As you wish, Ziad."
Then I went into my room and closed the door behind me.
The moment I closed my eyes, I found myself standing before a strange vision.
I saw a massive prison stretching endlessly through the darkness. Behind its bars stood a man, bound by shining golden chains.
He was struggling to reach the outside world, but those chains kept pulling him back.
And then, suddenly, I heard a voice...