Bound To YOU

Chapter 10: The Horrow News

"YOU STUPID GIRL?!" I heard uncle saying as he threw a cup filled with hot tea on the floor.

The glass shattered into pieces and the hot tea spilled on the floor.

"What took you so long?!" He yelled.

"I am sorry, uncle," I said, holding a tray of food filled with his breakfast.

"Sorry?! The heck I care about your apologies!" He yelled, slamming his fist on the table. "Bring my breakfast to me now!"

I said as I began to walk with my painful ankle. The pain increased from yesterday but I didn't stop doing household chores because I knew that if I stopped doing it then he would have hurt me more.

"Stop," he said as I stopped walking. "You deserve punishment!"

I looked at him, hoping the punishment wouldn't be too harsh.

"Walk on the broken glasses," he ordered, sitting on his chair. "And then put the tray on my table."

I looked at him in shock.

What the heck?

My feet already hurt. I had to go to school in an hour. I couldn't go to school with a bloody foot!

"Walk!" he yelled.

"Uncle -"

He took a knife out of the table drawers. "Do you remember this, Yumna?"

I looked at the knife and stepped back. He was always harsh with knives. He would cut into my skin but would never slow down or stop.

"If you don't want me to use the knife on you then walk on the broken glasses. Let me see your feet bleed," he said.

I nodded. I knew how the pain was and how it felt. I had done this before. I could do it again.

Encouraging myself, I took a step forward and stepped on the hot liquid tea where the glass pieces were broken. As my feet touched the broken pieces, I winced in pain.

The sharp edges of the glass cut through my skin. The hot tea burned through my exposed flesh, making the blood drip down my feet. I winched as I stepped forward.

'Just a little bit,' I told myself as I walked out of the glasses and went near his table and put the tray on the table.

"Good girl," uncle laughed. He looked at breakfast.

I stood there still, waiting for him to finish his eating. My feet didn't stop bleeding though.

Uncle begins to eat his breakfast when grandma came into the room and saw us. Her eyes widened as her eyes fell on my feet.

She gasped. "Radi! What have you done?!"

Uncle ignored her and ate his jammed sandwich.

Grandma rushed to me and bend down to see my feet. "You again did this to her?! How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Chill," he said as he licked a bit of jam off his finger. "These hard works will pay off once she gets married."

I winced at the word, 'marriage.'

Uncle had tried this before. He had tried setting me for marriage interviews so he could marry me off to somebody and get some business deal out of it.

But of course, grandma had always ruined his plan and even threatened him a few times about getting me married at an illegal age.

"What are you planning now?!" Grandma growled as she put stood upright, wrapping her arms around me, as if she was shielding me from her own son.

"Don't give me that growl?! She is not underage anymore. She turned 18 a few months ago! I don't have to carry her burden in my shoulder anymore!" He said.

I hugged my grandma tighter. I didn't want to get married at this age. I had bigger dreams. Bigger plan in my life that I wanted to fulfil!

"You are not getting her married to another man!" she yelled. "We have talked about this!"

Uncle laughed. "Like I would listen to you?" He mocked.

Grandma's eyes widened. "Did you already choose one of your bastards for her?! Again?!" Grandma yelled. "I have been tolerating enough of your abuses. If you force her to get married this time, that too with men of your choice then I will-"

"You will what?" He laughed. "You have no evidence against me. Nothing."

I hugged grandma tighter. Tears rolling down my cheeks.

I was like a puppet of his hands. He always did wherever he wanted with me and now, he was planning to get me married for his financial benefits.

"You have found a boy for her, didn't you?" grandma yelled. "Even though I told you that I am only handing her over to-"

"No, I didn't! And, I am not in the mood of listening to you and your shitty talk right now!" He yelled. "I am going to arrange a boy for her soon!"

"Radi, do you dare!" Grandma growled.

"Shut your stupid mouth, old woman!" He yelled. "I let her stay in my house! I gave her food when she was hungry! I gave her home when she was homeless! Now, she must become some use of me!"

Grandma and I looked at him, shocked. Tears rolling down my eyes.

"I am not keeping her as a freeloader!" He yelled. "My business is going down and I need her to marry off to one of the richest men so I can get some business deal out of her."

I sobbed harder. "Uncle, why are you doing this to me . . ."

Uncle laughed. "Because I don't want to carry a burden around my shoulder."

He finished his breakfast and left the tray on the table. He got off his chair and made his way out of his room. Just before he left his room, he turned his head around and looked at me. "Oh and I am going to find a suitor soon for you, Yumna. So, you should prepare yourself for a marriage interview soon." And with that, he left the room.

I collapsed on the floor, on my knees, and burst into cry. I sobbed hard as grandma bend down and rubbed her hand on my back.

Why?!

Just why did this happen again?!

I didn't want to get married?!

Not now, at least!

And if uncle arranged my marriage, then, the man who I might get married might not be even a Muslim!

I sobbed harder.

I couldn't get married to a non - Muslim! I had believed in the Oneness of Allah since my childhood. I couldn't sacrifice my faith for some guy!

And then . . .

I gasped.

What would happen if the guy was older than me? Like 20 years older than me? Or like 30 or even 40 years older than me?

My uncle wouldn't care but . . .

I knew a lot of women were okay with it, but I simply wasn't!

I couldn't spend my whole life with a man who might be the as same age as a senior man!

I cried harder.

'Please Allah ( S.W.T.),' I prayed in my mind. 'I have never missed a prayer unless I was in a situation where I couldn't pray. I have always tried my best to practice Islamic believes. I don't want to marry a guy who would force me to not practice my beliefs. I don't want to marry a guy who would be much older than me. These are not the things I want. Please, Allah ( S.W.T.), oh please, please help me. Please help me to get out of this cruel situation.'