Dare You To Love Me

«24» requiem of trust

Fou’ad’s hold tightened around her waist, and Yaseerah winced slightly, when he pressed a little too hard on her ribs.

Slightly dazed, Fou’ad pulled away from her, a frown creasing his brows as he began to check her body out for any sign of injuries.

His dark, expressive eyes scanned her face, searching for any clues, a hint of remorse and panic flickering in his gaze. His concern, genuine or not, clashed with the storm brewing in her mind.

Is he concerned for me? After everything? A bitter laugh threatened to escape her lips, but she swallowed it down, the turmoil inside her more profound than any external display she could put on.

“Are you okay?” he queried, the frown on his face deepening, as his features contort with genuine concern.  “Did I hurt you?”

The concern in his voice grated on her nerves. And angrily, Yaseerah swatted his hands away from her body, as she stepped away from his hold, the weight of betrayal hanging between them, heavy and suffocating.

“Yaseerah—”

“Just stop.”

The words shot out like arrows, sharp and piercing, cutting through the charged air.

“Stop what?” Fou’ad’s eyes smothered with offense. “Stop worrying about you? Stop caring?”

His words were like salt on an open wound, intensifying the anguish she felt, as she whirled around to face him, jabbing a finger against his chest. “You do not get to act offended right now. You do not have the right to do that. You do not have the right to worry or care about me, you gave up on that right when you lied to me!”

“I never wanted to lie to you, Yaseerah.”

“Why would I believe anything you say now? Huh? I feel like such an idiot.”

Everything between them had now shattered like fragile glass under the weight of his lies, their fragments cutting deep, only leaving scars that may never heal.

“No, no, I am the idiot. I am the idiot, Yaseerah. I wanted to tell you everything, but I just didn’t know how.”

Is he genuinely remorseful, or is this another act?

“Just stop. What does it matter now?” her voice was resigned, as she leveled her gaze on him.

“Yaseerah I—”

He saw the moment she closed off to him, her eyes frosting over, her shoulders high, and back straight, as she uttered the words he never thought he would hear from her.

“I want a divorce.”

Beneath the icy veneer of her determination, a tremor of fear quivered–fear of facing a future untethered, fear of the void left by shattered trust, but she would never let him see her break again.

“What? No! Yaseerah, you’re upset and you have every right to be, but you’re not thinking clearly.”

“Don’t you dare tell me what to think!” her eyes filled with tears and it broke something in him because he knew he was to blame for everything she was feeling.

“Yaseerah, it’s our wedding day.”

“Not ours, yours! I never wanted this, I never asked for this. My whole life, everything has been decided for me. What I eat, what I drink, what I wear, what I study, even my friends. But Fulan? He was mine! I chose him! And you took that away from me! You took my choice away!”

Yaseerah had never raised her voice before but in this moment, she felt free, and she reveled in it.

“I’m still the same person Yaseerah.”