SINCE I AM UPDATING AFTER A YEAR, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO RE- READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS TO UNDERSTAND THIS ONE.

I AM SORRY ABOUT THIS!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!

Continuation...

MATURE AND SENSITIVE CONTENT!

Freedom!

Just one word!

Just one word that could mean so very much!

For Isma, it just merely meant, the end of a much torturous dinner.

Wishing to rather be even in the blazing fire of hell than to see her fiancé off, and as her sisters cleared up the kitchen, Isma just but stood by the front door along with her parents, very much emotionlessly; almost like a statue and as soon as she saw the much awaited golden opportunity, she did not waste even a single second in firmly saying...

"Goodbye, Yusuf!"

"Goodbye, Isma! See you pretty soon?"

No! Never! Or yes...maybe...in HELL!

Her choice of silence for a reply cried out loudly enough to be heard but as per usual, it only but fell on the very much self-chosen, the deaf, the dumb and the blind!

Intentionally locking her eyes with Yusuf's, Isma stared hard at him for a good whole minute or two; only and only so that he could see the immense look of triumph that clearly lay visible within just but the surface of her eyes but what she absolutely failed to see, as he stared back at her even harder, was the way too open challenge that lay within his.

Looking away only and only because he made her feel extremely uncomfortable and that too in almost every possible way, she very much impatiently waited for the next ten whole minutes or so; but upon seeing Yusuf try to make the smallest of smallest small talks, just so as not to make a point to leave; and of course not at all being able to take it any longer, she meekly turned to her father and asked...

"Dad, I have to go to work much early tomorrow. If you could please excuse me, I..."

Not giving her even a single moments chance to at least finish what she was trying to say, Karim wasted not even a split of a mere second to immediately hiss out...

"We MEN also have to go to work early tomorrow! I do! Yusuf does..."

"What in the world makes you so special?"

Tears stained her eyes at his answer or rather question and all she did was to simply stare down at her feet as she meekly shook her head in reply.

Special?

No! She was not special!

Absolutely not!

She did not even want to be!

Rather she was just but deserving!

Very much deserving!

So she had been told!

FLASHBACK...

Isma very much nervously knocked on the CEO's office huge glass door only for a huge wave of relief to instantly surge through her the very second she noticed that the room's only occupant was Hussein Hosseini.

The real CEO!

Well, for her at least!

Looking up from his laptop, Hussein nodded for her to come in, gestured for her to take a seat and with the warmest smile ever on his face, he said...

"Isma! Welcome!"

"Thank you very much, Sir. You called for me?"

"Yes! I did! I was just re-browsing through your resume here and it says here that you live on the complete other side of the city. Is that correct?"

"Yes, that's right, Sir!"

"Well, then how do you plan on coming to work every morning?"

"Ummm by taxi...no I mean bus...well it will depend actually!"

Hussein cocked up one of his eyebrows as he stared at her silently for a good few seconds and then said...

"Correct me if I am wrong but as far as I know, you would have to change at least two to three buses to get here and taxis are of course quite costly...

"Yes, that's right Sir but it's quite fine."

"Well it's not at all fine by me and therefore while taking everything into much consideration, I would like to double your travel allowance!"

Not at all believing her ears, it took Isma a whole minute or two to grapple the information and all that she ended up doing was stuttering back a heartfelt thank you followed by another and another and another.

Noticing that she was very much shaken to the core, Hussein just but continuously nodded his head in affirmation, a warm smile playing on his lips and as soon as she had stood up to leave, he stopped her and said...

"Isma, I just would like to make one thing very clear."

"Yes and would that be, Sir?"

"Me increasing your travel allowance has got nothing to do with you on a personal level. Each and every employee of mine receives a travel allowance based on their area of residence because that is what makes more sense."

"It's not about anyone being any kind special!"

"It's all about how much deserving one is!"

"You are deserving!"

***

Hot tears stained her eyes as she remembered his words and her long train of thoughts were quickly cut short when she heard Yusuf laugh out way much louder than he actually could, upon her father saying...

"You know what, Isma? Just go back to your room. You anyway seem to be already halfway asleep!"

Seizing the much awaited moment, she dashed up the stairs without looking back, gently closed her bedroom's door no matter how strong the urge to slam it as loud as thunder strongly coursed through her. She then roughly pulled off her hijab as she sank to the floor with tears of immense anger, sadness, frustration, you name it, trickling down her face.

She had barely cried to herself for even second when a knock sounded on her door and before she could even reply or even look through her tears to see who it was, Yusuf walked in.

Her very first instinct was to of course reach out for her hijab but before she could do anything of the sort, he roughly pulled her up from the floor, violently slammed her against the wall and with his eyes turning dark red due to anger, he seethed...

"How DARE you cut your hair?"

His one hand then painfully tightened around her tiny waist as his other hand tightly grabbed her throat and with every small and tiny stutter she made in reply, his hands tightened in both areas.

Tears trickled down her face, as she made futile attempts to gasp for air and after almost bringing her to the utmost verge of death, he let go of her throat, only for his steel like grip to tighten more and more around her waist as he psychopathically watched her wheeze for the next few minutes or so.

Barely giving her the much needed room to at least remotely stabilize herself, he once again tightly pinned her against the wall, his eyes dangerously staring down at her quivering lips and as he slowly began to move his face towards hers, Isma quickly placed her frail hands on his wide chest and before she could even muster up the very last of energy to push him away, her hands paralysed.

Paralysed upon remembering the promise she had made to her mother.

A promise made barely hours ago!

With a much heavy heart, she then helplessly let her hands fall to her sides and for the second or was it the third time since they got engaged, she let he fiancé have his way with her.

Things however didn't work out in his favour because barely five seconds into it, her phone very much loudly pinged.

Followed by another loud ping and another and another.

The pings being nothing but continuous.

Letting out a long hiss that did nothing to justify his anger and frustration, he reached out for her phone, swiped up, his hands shaking tremendously due to his growing anger and upon noticing that there was a password, he turned his face sharply towards her and with a voice that spat out nothing but venom, he asked...

"Password?!"

"Yusuf please..."

"I said, password!"

"Please it's probably just..."

"I SAID PASSWORD!"

"2201."

Furiously keying it in, he barely read through any of the messages or rather even the notifications before angrily turning towards her and with eyes that seemed to turn redder and redder with each passing microsecond and while seething like a bull, he asked...

"WHO THE HELL IS ETHAN?"

FLASHBACK...

Missing Hussein Hosseini in his office and luckily spotting him in the corridors, Isma had loudly called out for him, sprinted towards him and before she even got to him, he did not fail to quickly acknowledge her presence...

"Isma!"

"Sir, sorry! I had actually gone to look for you in your office but..."

A small shy smile instantly began to play at the corner of Hussein's lips, he then lifted his hand to stare at his watch and then said...

"Well you just missed me by a few minutes. I know there is still roughly about an hour left before working hours end but I have a beautiful wife who just called to tell me that there is a hot pot of tea brewing specially for me, so don't mind me but I was actually running out but you caught me."

A small laugh escaped Isma's lips only for her heart to sadden upon wondering if her father ever said the same thing about her mother at his workplace.

She however could not dwindle much on her thoughts because Hussein wasted no time in asking...

"So? Whatever can I do for you, Isma?"

"Oh yes! I actually needed a favour, Sir!"

"Well, yes of course! What is it?"

"As you already know, I really don't have much experience or rather none at all. I wanted to request for any kind of files from your previous projects so that I could try get accustomed to what you actually do!"

Greatly impressed Hussein couldn't help but beam back at her and say...

"Well yes of course! No problem at all but since I am actually in much of a hurry, I cannot be of any help myself because I wouldn't want to keep my wife waiting. However, you can still get some of the files from Ethan!"

"Ethan? Ethan the receptionist?"

Hussein let out a small laugh and then said...

"Yes, Ethan the receptionist! Do you happen to know him?"

"Yes, I've actually met him already. He is actually one of my first friends here. We even had lunch together this afternoon."

"Well, that's great to hear. Ethan the receptionist is actually Ethan the all-rounder. He has been my employee of the year every year for quite a few years now! I'll drop him a message to help you as I head out. Apart from that, can I help you with anything else, Isma?"

"No Sir, that would me more than enough! Thank you!"

"You're always welcome!"

True to his word, Hussein had left clear instructions with Ethan to help her out and as soon as the working hours had ended, she had made a point to quickly drop by the reception, before she headed back home or before he did.

Finding him swarmed up to the neck with paperwork, she had almost let it be but Ethan had still been kind enough to spare her a few of his minutes...

"Isma, hey! Sorry I couldn't bring you the files sooner! I am actually quite swamped. You know, new CEO and all. We are making quite a few changes here and there and everywhere! I really can't get you the hard copy files today itself but I can mail you some soft copy ones for the time being. Would that be okay?"

"That would be perfect, Ethan. Thank you!"

"Anytime! Can I please have your email address?"

She had then proceeded to give it to him only for him to quickly say...

"Well this is your personal email! You need to get the company's official email address! Tomorrow I'll talk to the IT department to get you one. We usually don't send confidential files on employee's personal emails but since Mr. Hosseini is aware I'll do it this one time!"

"However, you will have to allow me to send you the mails tonight! I am actually working late today and I will for sure send them by 8pm max!"

"That's more than perfect, Ethan! Thank you!"

He had then lent her warm smile, waved goodbye as he said...

"Just doing my job, Isma! Just doing my job!"

***

That's why her phone had continuously pinged!

He had sent her file after file!

Snatching her phone from Yusuf, she quickly read through the first mail and much to her relief; it was as official as and as short as it could get:

RE: REQUEST FOR SOFT COPY FILES FROM THE COMPANY'S PREVIOUS PROJECTS.

Dear Miss Taib,

Kindly find attached some of the earlier requested files!

Ethan.

He had even used his official email address to send it.

Letting out a really huge sigh of relief, she then turned to her fiancé in order to explain it out only for him to quickly snatch back the phone from her hand and literally every drop of blood drained from her face when he ran out the room, loudly calling out to her father.

Every inch of her body then turned numb in anticipation of what was to come but what made her turn number and number was the fact that she knew that she wouldn't be given a chance to give an explanation.

That's exactly what happened.

She had barely made it down the stairs when her father unbuckled his belt!

Then he whipped her!

Whipped her heartlessly!

Whipped her in front of her mother!

Whipped her in front of her sisters!

Whipped her in front of her fiancé who still kept jutting in comments such as...

"It's only but her first day at work and she already has random men messaging her late at night!"

"Makes sense as to why she wanted to rush back to her room!"

"Give me reasons as to why I should remain engaged to your daughter!"

"No other man would want a woman with such character!"

She had taken it all without shedding even a single tear in front of them and as soon as he was done, she had literally crawled back to her room, painfully plopped down on her bed after which...

She cried to herself!

Cried to herself for only but minutes!

Wiping away her tears, she then closed her eyes with only one thing running through her mind...

She was going to collect as much of her salary as she could and then when the time was right...

SHE WAS GOING TO RUN AWAY FROM HOME!

***

PLEASE DO VOTE AND COMMENT!

I CANT BELIEVE I AM UPDATING AFTER A YEAR.

I WOULDN'T BLAME ANYONE WHO HAS FORGOTTEN THE STORY.

I AM SORRY.

GRATEFUL FOR THE ONES WHO HAVE STAYED.

I PROMISE TO UPDATE THE NEXT CHAPTER VERY SOON.

I FINALLY HAVE SOME FREE TIME ON MY HANDS AND HOPE TO FINISH THE BOOK.

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

HISHAM AND ISMA CHAPTER COMING UP NEXT!

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

ASALAM ALEIKUM.