A Prayer Heeded

by Samreen Ahsan

  “You were craving me, baby? Why didn’t you say so? I was just a whisper away.” He bites my neck, which makes me giggle. He turns me around again and envelops me completely in his arms.

  “Why have you kept me blindfolded?”

  He breathes into my neck. “That’s because you have the power to see directly through my soul. It is not fair.”

  I chuckle at this truth. “You are not going to show me the wild beast trapped in you?” I tease him purposely.

  “I don’t want to scare you off with my beast, love,” he whispers in my ear. His touch, his voice, everything feels so cold on my skin. If there weren’t hot water pouring over us, I would have frozen at his touch. He feels so different tonight; yet, I can feel the passion in his touch and his voice. It seems like he has been craving me for ages.

  “Take me any way you want. I want to see how beastly you can be. I want you to let loose that animal on me.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “I know you will never hurt me, Adam. I trust you. Let it out; I won’t get scared.”

  His lips rake over my shoulder, to my arms, all the way to my fingertips. After drugging me with his passionate kisses, he pulls me closer to him. I still feel coldness in his touch, and wonder why is he not hot like me. He turns me around and picks up my legs from my knees, and I wrap them around his body. He leans my body against the tiles and enters me in a jerk.

  “Say you are mine,” he says loudly and possessively.

  “Yes.”

  “Only mine and no one else’s.”

  “Only yours.”

  “No one is supposed to touch this body and soul other than me.”

  “No one, other than you.”

  Our bodies keep synced in a passionate rhythm as he claims me through his words.

  “I have waited crazily for this moment, for so long.” What? It’s only four days since we made love. “I have longed for you to touch me like this.” His pace speeds up and he starts banging me against the wall. It is hurting, actually, but I don’t blame him. I was the one who gave him the okay signal to free his animal from the cage. “I have longed for your soul for so many years, Kiya.”

  On hearing the name, my body suddenly stiffens. What the fuck? He locks my hands immediately, not giving me enough time to react and push him away. Shit, shit shit, he can’t be…no way. My mind suddenly stops working, but I keep feeling his wild thrusts in me, forcing me to submit to him.

  Suddenly every emotion, every sound, every feeling recedes to the background. I feel myself drowning in a dark well, deep—really deep—where no one can hear me, where no one can find me, not even Adam.

  Adam—I never wanted to betray you.

  AN UNHEALED WOUND

  ♂

  Love—the most spectacular, indescribable, deep euphoric feeling. It is a very powerful, yet dangerous feeling that can make you do anything, make you sacrifice or kill to sustain it. Rania is the gravity that pulls me to life. A reason for me to breathe. Before, my life was monotonous. I never thought I would encounter this feeling, that I would fall in love with a woman who would enslave me forever with her presence, and make me go down on my knees to submit myself for eternity. I never thought I would fall in love with her so madly that the whole world would seem invisible to me and in the end, after her, I would not even desire the rest of the world.

  Love is a complex, yet primitive madness I feel for her. Now, when she is mine forever, my feeling is still the same as when I saw her the very first time. It is still new, raw, a craving and a hunger, and I don’t know if I will ever be able to get enough of her. I know she is mine physically, emotionally, her whole soul, and there is no one in this world who would ever dare to come close to her. The promise I have made to protect her from the humans and the Jinn has taken me to the limit to safeguard what is mine.

  Still, after months of being together, when she looks at me, I melt inside. When she touches me with her tantalizing fingers, she has no idea how much of an emotional web she weaves around me, which holds me in thrall, making me want to dissolve in her forever. The euphoric memories that she gave me on our honeymoon have made me realize that I am the luckiest man that has ever been created by God. I never thought that just the one step toward Him would shower so many blessings on me, in the form of true love. I can never thank her enough for how easy she made it for me to take that step toward Him, and how she showed me the path that I never thought existed. I wish I could bring those two months of privacy back. I wish I hadn’t come back to this cruel world, leaving her alone at home.

  That first evening, I know she waited for me for a very long time. I realize she had prepared dinner for me—that I kept her waiting, and yet, she was patient enough to listen to me. She didn’t question why I was so late. I know she noticed I was drunk that night, but still, she never asked me the reason. I’m sure I hurt her that night and for the next few days, because those were the first nights that I didn’t make love to her since we got married. As much as I loved making love to her, kissing her and touching her, I knew it would lead me to a frenzied state. I had to refrain from all of it, and I wish I could tell her the reason.

  The very first morning when I reached my office, I found Mike waiting for me.

  “Hey, good morning, Mike.” I greeted him as soon as I entered the room. “Your friend is going to kick your ass for your absence from the party last night.”

  “I know.” He shook hands with me. “I’ll make it up to her. Don’t worry.” He seemed quiet and restrained. “How was your honeymoon?”

  Really? Is that what he came here to ask? I smiled at him. “If you want me to put it in two words—it was mind blowing.” I was sure he could easily read my expression, and he grinned at me. Still, I felt there was something cooking in his mind. “Did you call Rania? She’s expecting your call and an apology, so mind you…she’s going to give you a hard time.” I gave him a friendly smirk, but he gave me a poker face in return. What’s eating him?

  “Adam.” He looked around the room, and then spoke out. “Can you hire security for Rania?”

  I looked at him with concern. “What’s wrong, Mike? You’re a cop. Are you telling me that Rania’s in danger? Why does she need security?” He remained quiet. “What’s wrong, Mike? Are you hiding something?”

  “No,” he said instantly. “And I don’t want to hide it from you, but I’m afraid of how you’ll react.” His eyes wandered, but I could sense a warning in the air.

  “What is it?” I was getting upset.

  “I want this to remain between us. Please, make sure Rania doesn’t find out. This will break her, Adam.” I looked at him with shock, and he continued. “Jibran is still alive. And…he’s here.” His words floated into the room and turned into hard bricks falling on my head.

  I instantly got up from the chair and went over to him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  He sighed. “According to Rania’s background check, her marriage with Jibran has been registered in the Canadian courts.” He looked out the window. “You can’t register your marriage in City court unless a divorce is filed between them.”

  “No. That’s not possible. Her record never showed anything like that.” I was in a state of denial.

  “I thought so too, Adam. It was registered around January. When did you get her background check done?”

  “It was last November.” I couldn’t say any more.

  “Right. She was listed as single at that time. Her marriage has been registered with a copy of her passport, signature, Islamic marriage papers, and all other legal documents. I learned about this last week.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You guys had disappeared. There was no way I could contact you. And Rania was with you. I didn’t want her to know this.” He took a deep breath. “But that’s not the main issue, Adam. There’s a bigger problem than that.” He stood up from his seat and walked around, perhaps searching for the right words. I waited for him
to continue. What could be worse than knowing that my wife is legally registered under some asshole’s name in my own country?

  “Jibran has filed a complaint against you, that you have illegally kept his wife imprisoned. And he has also asked for a restraining order against you.” His announcement pulled the rug out from under me, and I had no place in this world to stand. “I learned about it because luckily, this case fell in my lap. He came to me to file the complaint. I’m sure he didn’t know I know Rania.” He looked at me once and faced the windows again. “I’ll try to drag this case out as much as I can, but you need to protect your wife. Hire a security guard for her. Make sure even his shadow doesn’t chase her.”

  “Does her father—”

  “No, I haven’t told anyone. Not even my dad. Because I know he’s going to share it with Uncle Bari. And since she’s your wife, and your responsibility, you should be the first one to know.” He took a deep breath and looked at me. “He’s playing it safe right now. If he brings this news to the media, I don’t know what they’re gonna write. Keeping a married woman, claiming that she is your wife—”

  “She is my wife, dammit,” I shouted at him. “I took vows on the words of God. And after the party last night, the media knows she is my wife.”

  “That’s what you’re saying, Adam. She is registered as Mrs. Jibran Al-Jofi, according to Toronto City Court. That man is carrying a damn legal marriage certificate in his hand, which is approved by the District Council.” I was so lost in his words that I didn’t even hear a knock at my door. Mike walked to the door and opened it.

  Ali stepped into the room and scrutinized us both. He realized something private was going on, so he apologized and left instantly. Mike walked back to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

  “We can hide everything from Rania, as long as she doesn’t hear the news from anyone else. If you can keep the media away from writing about it, then it may be okay. If she doesn’t know that he’s alive, then let him be dead for a while, at least as long as we can drag it out. I know you’re her husband religiously, but legally, according to this city’s law, she is not your wife.” He walked past me and stood by the glass window. “I know her, Adam. If she learns about Jibran, she will feel that your marriage with her is void. She will blame Uncle Bari for hiding this from her. And if she learns that you knew Jibran was alive, it will break her.”

  “But our marriage is REAL. It is not void, Mike.”

  “I know. But you’re living in this city. And being a lawful Canadian citizen, you are bound to follow the court’s rules.” He saw my baffled expression. “I’m trying my best to suppress this restraining order—”

  “I have a fucking restraining order keeping me away from my own wife? Do you think I’m gonna buy this shit?”

  “You’ll have to. You don’t have a choice, Adam. If this hits the media, then I have no power. People will want to know how you married a woman who already had a husband. If you can get a divorce put through, then she is free to marry. But that’s going to take time. And we don’t have time, Adam.”

  “Fuck it. She’s my wife. I’m going to kill that bastard.”

  “That won’t work, either. He’s mentioned in his complaint that if he gets killed, by any chance, you are his only enemy. The police will come searching for you, so there’s no way you can even touch him.” He sounds devoid of all emotion.

  “He has to divorce Rania,” I say blankly.

  “Yes, there’s no other option. But I mentioned to him that you’re a very powerful man here, and you may not agree to leave your wife. He said if you don’t settle things out of court, then he will drag you into the court and rip you apart in front of the media.”

  “Settlement? What kind of settlement?”

  “I don’t know. He said he wanted to meet with you in private, and I told him I could make it happen for him. He still doesn’t know that we know each other, so let’s pretend to be strangers when he’s around.” Mike looked at me for a few minutes. “I brought him with me, Adam.”

  “That prick is here?” My eyes widened. He nodded in silence. “Bring him in. What are you waiting for?”

  On hearing my approval, Mike made a call to someone. “Bring him upstairs to Gibson’s office. Yes, fifty-fourth floor.”

  “Where was he?” I was getting impatient to see the man who had hurt my love so much. Who treated her like a slave and tortured her almost to death. I wanted to peel his skin off and let him savor the taste of death, like he did to my Rania.

  “He was in the car downstairs. I told him I would try my luck.” Mike shrugged his shoulders.

  After five minutes, a tall broad man, with chestnut-brown hair and deep brown eyes, entered my lavish office. As soon as he stepped inside, I felt the aura of malevolence around him. His very presence, his soul, emanated hostility. I wondered what Rania had seen in him. I didn’t see any reason for her love-at-first-sight attraction to him. He was just a normal man. Am I jealous? I thought for a moment. Yes, I was jealous, knowing that he was the first man in her life. She gave him her heart, body and soul, and the way he maltreated her…well, he would have to pay for his sins before he died.

  “Mr. Gibson…this is Jibran Al-Jofi.” Mike’s words broke my thoughts as he gestured toward the man. “Mr. Jofi, this is Adam Gibson.”

  Jibran put out his hand for a handshake. First, I thought I shouldn’t offer my hand to him, but then I thought if I didn’t, he would guess I knew the reason for his visit. I asked him to sit in the chair where Mike had been seated earlier. He glanced at Mike and then looked at me.

  “I would like to speak to you in private.” He wasn’t asking us. It was a very commanding tone. I could sense the dominance in him. Perhaps Rania was right. He had a commanding nature, like a master, wanting to rule over everything. I could easily sense how Rania would have felt around him. But not anymore. I would not let him enslave her again in his fucking prison. He would have to crawl over my dead body to reach her.

  “I’ll be leaving now,” Mike said. I was expecting that. He gave me a look that said he would get in touch with me later on.

  After Mike left, I walked behind my leather chair and watched the world outside. It felt so different, seeing it after so many days.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Jofi?” I didn’t look at him. I was still watching the world, hoping it would change for me.

  “Did that cop tell you anything?” His voice was very rough, way too edgy to talk to any woman. I still didn’t understand why my woman fell for this man.

  “He said you wanted to talk to me about some settlement.” I turned around and sat in my chair, trying to look relaxed. He looked around my office, like a child who had stepped into a magical kingdom for the very first time. I could see greediness in his eyes, and if I was not mistaken, he was here for something monetary. I could read it clearly.

  “You own this company, Gibson?” he asked rapaciously, trying to absorb the surroundings. I nodded in silence. “The entire building is yours?”

  I smiled at him. “Didn’t you notice the name on the building? It says ‘Gibson Enterprises.’ Yes, it’s my company and my building.” I said it with pride.

  He chuckled for a moment. “Rania has spread her legs really wisely this time.” His words burned me deep inside. I wanted to throttle him and hide his body somewhere where nobody would ever be able to find it.

  “Hold your tongue, Jofi. That’s my wife you’re talking about. She is my pride and my honor.” I glared at him and tried my best to control my temper, because I knew if I lost it, he would go straight to her.

  He laughed like a hideous beast and shook his head in disgust. “Honor?” The word from his mouth gave me a loathsome feeling, as if it was an infectious disease I was talking to. “Your honor is going to cost you a fortune, Mr. Gibson.”

  “She is my fortune. Come to the point. What do you want?”

  “You know what I want, Gibson. I want my woman back, whom you have kept hidden in your damn castle.�
� He gave me an angry piercing look. “I’m sure that cop must have told you that legally, by the city laws, I’m her husband.”

  “What about Islamic laws?” I fired at him.

  “She is still my wife. The marriage you made with her is annulled because neither was I dead, nor did I divorce her. So accordingly, I hold all rights to claim her. Your marriage with her shouldn’t have happened.” His words pierced right through my chest. No way! This is not possible. I couldn’t argue with this man, because everything related to Islamic laws was new to me. I cursed Bari for letting his daughter marry me, knowing Jibran was alive. But he’d told me he searched for him, and when he couldn’t find him, he got the approvals from the court.

  “I have your death certificate, Jofi. If you want to live in this world and don’t want me to make that death paper real, then stay out of her life.” I gave him a warning look and walked toward him, placing my hands firmly on his shoulders. “You are messing with the wrong man, Jofi. I am not naïve like Rania, who would bend down in front of you and submit to you in your slavery. This is my city, and I rule this place. If you ever try to put your filthy hands on my wife, I swear I will send you to a place where all you would do is beg for your death.” He went still and speechless at my warning. “But sadly, that place would be unknown even to the angel of death.”

  He stood up instantly on my threat. “Are you trying to scare me, Gibson?” He looked straight into my eyes. “If you even dare to kill me, your wife would be the first one to know that the man she married, either for his fortune or for love, is a goddamn killer. You cannot touch me, Gibson.” He paused. “I searched for her for five bloody years, but I never had a clue that her father would send her here. I’m quite lucky that she ended up with a rich, famous man—a real celebrity.” His voice was full of sarcasm.

  It seemed like my wealth and fame was the key to him finding her. If I weren’t famous, she wouldn’t have appeared in the news. Bari’s anger at that time was so justified. If I felt my daughter was in danger, I would have reacted the same way. But damn, had there been any way to stop myself falling for her? No, because I only started living when she accepted my friendship. And there is no fucking way I would let him take my life from me.