The Marriage Demands (#Wattys2017)

Chapter 24

We returned to Karachi much earlier then expected. To say that having a honeymoon of only three days was disappointing is bad enough but having your wife disappear on you as soon as you come back to your normal routine is just plain unacceptable. When we got back, Amber excused herself and has been at the hospital since. It's been two days already.

At first I thought that maybe they called her in an emergency or something but then I realized that it wasn't that: she was purposely avoiding me so that we wouldn't have the chance to talk about anything especially her parents. The house was absolutely silent and cold without her. I understood that she needed some space right now that's why I didn't bother her much but if it were up to me, I would've strapped her down on a chair and would make her come into grip with reality.

I was so worried for her: I had no idea how she was feeling right now. Of course I figured as much that perhaps she was angry and upset but maybe she had no idea how to channel those emotions. If only she would open up to me: I'm her husband after all and I want to be there for her but she just isn't willing to see that. The walls that I was working so hard to break suddenly became more stronger and now I had no clue as to how I should break them down.

Behind those walls, I sensed was a broken and defeated Amber. I wanted so badly to shield her from that hurt and protect her from anything that promised to cause her harm. I wanted so badly to reach out to her.

She doesn't seem to have any faith in others. is that why doesn't trust anyone? Perhaps. But I wanted to restore that. I want her to believe that she can trust me.

I have decided to live the rest of my life with her but I won't have her attitude be always indifferent and cold towards me. May Allah give me the strength to work hard and bring her towards the light, Ameen.

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Waking up to an empty cold bed was not what I had wanted. I sighed and took my phone—getting into the gallery, I clicked on a photo of us together in Mall road in Murree. I had asked a passerby to take it. I had grabbed her by her shoulder and even though she protested because we were in public, she still managed to give a serious and uptight expression for the photo. I chuckled to myself. She'll always amaze me. Her stoutness was now becoming amusing to me; it was almost cute.

But a grim reality was constantly gnawing at the back of my head; this marriage has been a constant test from the start and I don't want to complain but sometimes I just felt as if I should've been more wiser before marrying Amber: I should've gotten to know her better but in my excitement and thrill, I had abandoned logic and went ahead with her rushed decisions. Of course, these feelings were only from the doubtful part of my heart—while the optimistic part of my heart encouraged me to keep going and look for a positive outcome.

After all, I think if I charm her enough, she'll start to open up to me a bit. Maybe if I pamper her a bit, she'd come around. She did show me a side of herself that wasn't

Of course, I have to fulfill that wager—I need her to fall in love with me so that she may trust me. Even if it is just a little. I swiped the screen until a picture of me with Gran surfaced. I looked at it ruefully, trying hard not to feel sad. I wish that Gran was with me right now. How much I longed to talk to her and ask her for her advice.

I was done with Fajr prayer. I went ahead and laid back in bed to sleep but after a few monets, sleep had completely evaded me so I headed for the kitchen for breakfast. Maybe I should pay Amber a visit and bring her fresh breakfast. I do hope that she's eaten properly. I know her and whenever she gets so engrossed in work, she forgets to eat or sleep. When I got back to my room, I took my phone. There was a message from Haleema. I sighed and opened the text only to have my breath get caught in my throat when I read the text: