<p>I shook my head. “I don’t believe you. I heard her call me dirty! I’m calling off this marriage! I won’t marry into a home where I’ll be insulted. I bathe twice a day, yet someone dares to call me dirty?”</p><p>He watched me rant, even kicking my feet in frustration. Then he gently called my name in a soft voice.</p><p>“Niimatullah, when you move in with me, I’ll get you a separate house.”</p><p>I sat up straight. “A separate house? No, I don’t trust you. I’d rather stay where there are people. You know I’m afraid of being alone.”</p><p>He smiled. “Oh, so you’re still a little girl at heart.”</p><p>He pulled me into his arms, and I struggled to get away, but he held me tightly. He whispered in my ear, “Niimatullah.”</p><p>I quickly responded, eager for him to let me go. “What?”</p><p>He spoke softly. “Will you help your husband?”</p><p>I widened my eyes. “What kind of help? Do elders even need help?”</p><p>He covered my mouth playfully. “From now on, stop calling me an elder. Call me baby.”</p><p>I gasped. “You? My baby? Never!”</p><p>He smirked. “Oh, you will. One day, you’ll even bathe me.”</p><p>I scoffed. “Bathe you? May God forbid!”</p><p>I struggled to escape, but he held me tight. “Let me go, or I’ll scream for my mother!”</p><p>He smirked. “Go ahead. Everyone knows you’re my wife. No one will stop me.”</p><p>I pouted. “You always do what you want to me. I won’t come near you again!”</p><p>When he left, his wife raged at him. “That little girl will never live peacefully in this house!”</p><p>He shouted back. “I’m tired of your selfishness! You denied me my rights as a husband and wouldn’t let me marry. You expect me to become immoral? Accept your fate—I’m already married to her!”</p><p>She laughed mockingly. “That little rat? I’ll turn her into my housemaid.”</p><p>He glared. “That ‘little girl’ is better than you in every way. You may have more education and experience, but she knows how to take care of a husband better than you ever did.”</p><p>That night, he called me, but I ignored his calls. My mother answered and handed me the phone.</p><p>He sighed. “You embarrassed me in front of your mother, Niimatullah.”</p><p>I pouted. “If you touch me again, I’ll tell her!”</p><p>He chuckled. “Everything between us is halal in Islam.”</p><p>I sighed. “Well, I’ve haramized it.”</p><p>He laughed. “We’ll see about that when I get my hands on you.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
