Innocent Imaan

Chapter 36

Imaan quickly left, the breeze from the hot air tickled her face as she made her waydown the hallway. She felt a knot in her stomach, a mix of anger and sadness, as the words from Wahid's mouth echoed in her mind: "I will never love you." She knew it was time to leave him, but for that she needed some time alone, away from Wahid.

When she was young, she had made a promise to herself: she would never settle for anything less than true love, the kind that fills your heart with joy and sets your soul ablaze, and that's why she tried her best to make him love her,

But his words, "I will never love you," reminded her of the reality she has to deal with,

Imaan tried calling her sister Noora, hoping for some comfort, but her call was declined , Her heart sank, and she felt more alone than ever, not being able to control her emotions, she randomly threw her phone away,

She walked out of the hotel and onto the bustling streets of Hawaii.

As she walked, her mind wandered, and she forgot where she was going. She didn't have her phone or any money, but she didn't care. She needed to clear her head,

After a while found herself sitting alone on a bench, watching blankly as people go by.

Suddenly, a man with a beautiful smile appeared before her, entranced by her beauty, He started flirting with her,

"I don't know which is prettier today, the water, the sky or your eyes," The man said, shamelessly staring into her eyes,

Imaan immediately felt uncomfortable. She wanted to leave, but the man wouldn't let her go.

"Don't leave me here, all alone, lady" he whistled as he grabbed her wrist,

Imaan started to get scared when suddenly, Wahid appeared out of nowhere. He was raging, and his eyes looked like they could shoot daggers. He grabbed the man and started punching and kicking him almost to death. People were starting to gather, and Imaan was horrified as she saw the man bleed.

Finally, Wahid stopped and grabbed Imaan by the arm, He looked at her with fury and dragged her away from the crowd, They walked for several minutes until they reached a quiet street.

Imaan felt shaken and was too numb to cry, Wahid finally spoke,

"Why did you leave like that, Imaan? We need to talk."

But Imaan didn't want to talk. All she wanted was to get on a plane and go back to her father's house. She remained silent and looked down when Wahid suddenly grabbed her face and kissed her on the lips.

It was a kiss filled with anger, passion, and desperation, Imaan felt herself getting drawn closer to him, forgetting why she wanted to leave in the first place, he has never kissed her like this before and she couldn't help but try to push him away,

Wahid quickly pulled away when he felt her resistance, he looked into her eyes with anger in his own, he couldn't accept the emotions he felt when he wasn't able to find her, he searched for her everywhere, only find her with another man, the anger he felt couldn't be contained as he yelled,

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Yes! I'm out of my mind to love you! How did I fall in love with a man like you! I hate you! Leave me here, I don't care!" Imaan screamed, her heart aching with uncontrollable pain,

Wahid didn't say anything but dragged her back to the hotel, his face filled with fury, he pushed her inside the room,

"Don't even think about leaving again," he said coldly as he left the room, shutting the door loudly,

Imaan leaned against the wall, tears streaming down her face, she suddenly remembered her phone she left on the lobby and found it in the table, it was probably left there by Wahid,

Making a decision She dialed her brother Amir's number, She needed someone to talk to, someone who would listen and understand her pain, After a few rings, Amir picked up the call.

"Hello?" Amir's gruff voice came through the phone.

"Amir, it's me, Imaan," she replied, her voice trembling.

"Imaan? What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath and tried to steady her shaking voice. "I'm in Hawaii with Wahid, and...it is awful. He treats me terribly, Amir, I don't want to stay with him anymore, I want to come home,"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Then Amir spoke, and his words were like a slap in the face.

"You need to obey your husband, Imaan," he said sharply. "That's what you agreed to when you got married. If Wahid isn't happy with you, it's probably because you're not doing your job as a wife."

Imaan's heart sank, She couldn't believe what she was hearing from her own brother. "I can't believe you're saying that, Amir. I thought you would understand. I thought you would be on my side!"

"I'm on the side of what's right, Imaan," Amir retorted. "And what's right is for you to submit to your husband and do everything in your power to make him happy. That's the only way your marriage will work."

Imaan felt like she had been punched in the gut. She couldn't believe that her own brother was telling her to put up with Wahid's abuse and mistreatment. "I can't do it, Amir," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I can't keep living like this. I feel broken, like my spirit has been crushed. I don't even know who I am anymore, and even you are supporting him!"

There was another long pause on the other end of the line. When Amir spoke again, his voice was softer, but still firm. "I'm sorry, Imaan. I may came off as harsh, You know I love you, right?"

Imaan nodded, even though Amir couldn't see her through the phone. "I know, Amir. But I can't keep pretending everything is okay. I need to do something, I just don't know what."

"Maybe you should talk to Wahid about how you're feeling," Amir suggested. "Maybe he doesn't even realize what he's doing to you."

Imaan scoffed, "Wahid knows exactly what he's doing, he hates me!"