Innocent Imaan

Chapter 33

Wahid waited for Imaan to come out for more than an hour when finally, Imaan slowly opened the bathroom door, her eyes were red, it was obvious that she cried a lot,

"Looks like the princess finally came out of her crying room" Wahid said sarcastically as he looked at her,

An hour was a lot of time to think, so he thought over what happened and realised that she was in the wrong and not him! He had to even leave his meeting because of her, his feelings are totally valid and he even regrets apologising to her, maybe what he said is wrong but that doesn't mean she didn't deserve it,

Imaan tried to walk pass him in silence, she didn't feel like having another round of sobbing in the bathroom, but unfortunately for her, Wahid quickly grabbed her hand and prevented her from leaving,

"Please, let me go" Imaan whispered as she tried to pry his hands off her, Wahid didn't let go and tried to look into her eyes, "Let's talk"

"I don't want to!" Imaan said stubbornly, the last thing she wants is another argument,

"Gosh, you're such a coward, you can't do this all the time!, Why don't you marry that bathroom if you like staying there so much?" Wahid yelled at her,

"Why are you like this! I didn't do anything to you" Imaan yelled back,

"You're so useless, all you can do is run to the bathroom like a little girl. Grow up" Wahid said cold-heartedly, not leaving her hand,

Imaan couldn't take it anymore as she slid down to the floor crying her eyes out,

'Why is he doing this to me?' she thought bitterly,

Wahid got concerned about her leg and picked her up in bridal style while Imaan cried,

'Jee, it's like she never runs out of tears"

As Wahid carried Imaan to bed, she couldn't help but feel a mix of guilt and anger. She knew she shouldn't have run away without communicating with him properly, but at the same time, Wahid's words had hurt her deeply.

"Wahid, I'm sorry," Imaan said, tears streaming down her face. "I shouldn't have run away like that. It just felt like too much."

Imaan felt small and insignificant when he yelled at her like that, but she couldn't say anything because he's her husband, she thought in sorrow,

As they reached the bedroom, Wahid gently placed her on the bed and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry, Imaan. I didn't mean to call you useless," he said, his voice softening, seeing her apologise, softened his heart a little,

"It's okay," she replied, wiping away her tears. "I just... I don't know how to handle it when you get angry like that."

Wahid sighed, "I know, and I'm sorry. It's just frustrating sometimes when I feel like you're shutting me out."

Nodding Imaan took a deep breath, "I know I do that, but it's not intentional. Sometimes I just need a moment to calm down and gather my thoughts."

"I get that," Wahid said, his hand reaching out to gently stroke her hair. "But you should know it's not the right thing to do"

"I guess," Imaan agreed, leaning into his touch. "I love you, Wahid, please don't say those things to me again"

His ears turned red quickly, and he felt his heart starting to beat wildly, it was not the first time he was being confessed to, and he always felt disgusted by them before, but now as he looked at Imaan tearfully confessing, he couldn't help but feel helpless,

Imaan's heart sank as she watched Wahid squirm uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding eye contact with her after her confession of love. She had expected a response, any response, but the silence that followed was excruciating. She had bared her soul, and now she was left to wonder why she had even bothered.

She wanted him to at least acknowledge her feelings, but instead, he seemed eager to change the subject.

"Yea, Um... why don't we watch a movie? Something to lift our spirits?"

Wahid asked with awkwardness evident in his face, the rejection was clear,

Imaan felt a mix of emotions coursing through her. She felt hurt and embarrassed at being rejected, unworthy of love. Meanwhile, she felt angry at herself for confessing her feelings in the first place, she thought after all this time together, he would atleast have some sort of feelings towards her,

"It's okay, Wahid, I understand," she said quietly trying not to cry again,

Wahid cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. "Listen, Imaan, I...I appreciate your honesty, but I can't reciprocate your feelings, I like the way we were before, like friends, but that's all it is for me- friendship."

Imaan felt like someone punched her in the gut. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her emotions in check. She didn't want to make things any worse.

"I understand, Wahid...I just wanted to be honest with you. Don't worry about it," she replied, the pain evident in every word.

'How funny, I must be the most miserable wife in existence, even though he treats me like an enemy, I love him but he still considers himself as a friend' Imaan thought woe-fully in her mind,

She couldn't shake off the feeling of being rejected, and it stung even more because he's her husband.

Not withstanding the awkwardness anymore, Imaan decided to break the silence,

"I want to watch Shrek 5"

Wahid smiled in relief, nodding in agreement, "That sounds nice."

Wahid got up to grab the laptop, and Imaan pulled open the blankets, inviting him to join her. They settled in together, As they watched, they would occasionally comment or laugh, enjoying the light-hearted distraction from their earlier argument, but the feeling of bitterness still remained in Imaan's heart,

'Maybe one day he'll love me, until then, remain strong Imaan!' She encouraged herself,