Anissa woke up with a start but the abruptness of it caused her to wail as her head throbbed with pain.

Her mind was hazy and when she opened her eyes, her vision was groggy. Her throat and mouth were dry.

Groaning, She moved her hand to rub her forehead only that she felt that a cold hard restraint around her wrist. And the metallic clank made her mind jerked and the haziness cleared away.

The previous events flashed in her mind. She looked down to her wrists and came to realised that she was chained. And what's more, like always, she didn't find herself in a warm bed rather she found herself chained to a cold wall and lying on her back on stone ground.

The room was unfamiliar as she looked around. It was small, cold and dark. The air was putrid and stagnant. She couldn't see much but had inferred as much that she was in a cell of some kind.

She tried to sit up but her arms get drained. But she tried anyway.

Oh Allah, please help me. She prayed as she sat with her back against the cold wall and pulled her knees to her chest and her waterworks started again.

He's going to kill them. That was the only thought that ran in her mind.

How could I have been so stupid? Why didn't I think? She chided and cried harder. The familiar sensation of dehydration washed over her but she didn't care.

Oh Allah please take me now. I'd rather be dead then to see my family hurt.

She couldn't do anything but loathe herself for her wretched fate.

If only she had thought things through.

But at that time, all she cared about was getting away from her psychotic husband.

She was barely fighting to keep her sanity intact. Her whole psyche was at the risk of collapse. Maybe that attributed to the fact that she went ahead with a crazy flawed plan in her intense emotional state where her logic was clouded.

She had completely disregarded that Shehryaar was a ruthless mob boss.

And one who held no conscience.

And now because of her recklessness, her family was once again at the mercy of a psychopath killer.

She winced and screamed when the harsh click of a door opening echoed off the silent walls.

Shehryaar walked in.

Anissa began to dry heave in seeing him.

He was dressed in a white dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up to the elbows and black dress pants. He held a silver slick object in his hand. Two more men came in and placed a steel table and two chairs in front of Anissa.

She was too scared to move as cold unaltered terror croaked her being like a shroud.

Shehryaar placed the object on the table and snapped his fingers. The two men immediately left.

Shehryaar strode towards Anissa's frightened paralysed frame. She screamed and braced herself when his hand made its way towards her. She was certain he was about to hurt her but he only roughly tugged her arms up and made her stand. The chains around her wrist and ankles clanked against each other as her limbs moved.

He pulled a chair out and harshly threw her in it. She didn't have any time to react as Shehryaar came down to his knees and took her forearms and cuffed them to the chair.

She cried when her skin rubbed against the cold rough surface of the cuffs.

Already her wrists were chained to the wall and now her arms were retrained to the chair and her ankles also chained.

She was completely bound.

Chained.

Caged.

Striped of all liberties.

She didn't know what to feel.

She felt so many emotions all at once.

And the most dominant was her fear and terror and shame.

Her sobs raked her chest and her tears rolled down.

She didn't dare look up to meet his eyes. He was so close to her that his warm breath felt cold against her tear stained cheeks and their nose met.

Shehryaar harshly gripped her chin and made her look into his eyes.

Anissa stifled a whimper. Her heart skipped a beat and shuddered.

But her lips parted to release a shocked gasp when she gazed into his intense smouldering grey eyes.

His usual blank soulless eyes weren't empty; he made no attempt to mask his emotions as they portrayed his anger and rage. The grey of his eyes was so dark and hard with the fury he felt that they were hidden away in the black dilation of his pupil.

His jaw was clenched tight, the muscles in his mandible ticking. His handsome features were completely hardened and overshadowed by his rage.

This was the first time she was witnessing this.

And she saw something else as well.

She saw the pain and the hurt he was feeling. He almost looked human and vulnerable.

Maybe, maybe if I try to reach out to him, he might listen. She thought hopefully.

"Sh-Shehry," she whispered softly and tried to calm her breathing. She fought against her fear and tears and managed to choke out as much as she could.

No wits would work this time.

It was pointless.

All she could do now was beg.

She didn't care about her pride anymore.

"Shehry please. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She muttered.

Shehryaar's eyes kept their uniform glare on her.

"Please Shehry," she whimpered. "Please forgive me. I won't ever try to run away again. Please I was wrong. Please just spare my family. I swear I'll do anything." She pleaded. But Shehryaar was unfazed.

"Please please, Shehry please," she begged in a low whisper. She felt so shameful for apologising and begging for something that was right and within her capacity to do.

He finally reacted when his lips smirked viciously. "I really like you begging like this. It suits you well." He uttered coldly. He was completely unaffected by her pleas.

"Shehry please!" She cried loudly.

Shehryaar stood up. He moved towards the silver object that Anissa realised was an iMac. He switched it on and faced it towards her. Shehryaar walked behind Anissa. Her breath got held in her throat as she felt Shehryaar stand behind her.

Nothing but danger and power radiated off of him and exuded from his entire being.

She knew he was the one who held the cards.

He had the power over her.

At present, Shehryaar acted as if he was God.

Shehryaar took her head in his hands and made her face the laptop. The scream viewed a scene being shot live from CCTV footage.

Anissa gasped and her eyes widened to hard that they could've fallen out of their sockets.

On the screen, she saw her parents seated comfortably in their living room enjoying tea. Her mother was watching tv while her father was busy reading newspaper.

Anissa choked back a sob her the blood in her veins ran cold.

Her heart cried out to them. They were so oblivious of their circumstances. She had missed them so much and she wanted nothing but to rush to their arms.

Feel their warmth.

Feel safe.

She wanted to desperately get away from Shehryaar.

Oh Allah please make this nightmare go away already! she mentally screamed.

But again, this wasn't a nightmare. It was reality.

"You see them, living so comfortably." Shehryaar spoke. "It's so amusing seeing them be so nonchalant and oblivious of what's going on around them." He chuckled dryly.

"If only they knew that inside their home, in their very kitchen, there is a professsional assassin awaiting my orders and two skilled snippers present on their neighbours' roofs." Shehryaar stated.

Anissa's breath hitched.

***********

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