3| An Eye For An Eye

Hello there! Thankyou for all the beautiful messages and comments. It's the reason why I wrote again. Insha ALLAH will write and upload frequently.

Also, I am so accustomed to writing Humza's name that while writing this chapter, often instead of Tayyab I wrote Humza.😁

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Enjoy!

A N E Y E F O R A N E Y E

The moment Nouman efendi took Tayyab's name, the guards had to tighten their hold on Hayat, as she desperately started to wriggle herself free off their grip. "Ahmar." She screamed. "Ahmar." Her voice a mixture of panic, anger and dread. "Please. I don't want to marry him. Please! For the sake of ALLAH don't let them do this. Please." She was begging while trying to push herself out of the grip of those strong arms, that now held on to her wrist even more tightly. She was crying hysterically, her wet hair completely disheveled.

"I don't know what we've done but Aasif Ya Sayyidi. Plea..Please forgive us. We..We will leave the kingdom. Please don't do..do this. He is my only family. I.. I have no one." She managed to say despite her constant hiccups.

The sheikh looked at her with pity and not just him, even Umar sympathised with her. "My emir, with all due respect, you cannot marry anybody forcefully. It is not permissible." The sheikh finally spoke and it must have given Hayat hope for she turned towards him for help. "Save us please. We..we have paid all our taxes. We were nev..never part of any revolt or conspiracy against the ro.. Royal family. We do our duty towards the kingdom. I don't know what is our crime. What went wrong?" She repeated again, mystified at everything that was happening to her.

There comes a moment in your life where you know your best friend is going to make a decision that he will probably regret for a very long time, you try knocking some sense into him but you fail miserably.

Umar was facing a similar situation. He knew that Ahmar had said something to thrust Tayyab over the edge of lunacy. "My emir can I please speak with you privately?" Umar had tried. He had endeavoured to talk to Tayyab the moment he heard about this stupid Charade. Ahmar knew he was as good as dead but he wanted to make sure that even after his death, Tayyab would suffer and endure agony.

Tayyab had not replied, his jaw was set in a straight line. He wasn't even moving. He had always been a gentleman but ever since Meher's abduction, it was as if a part of him withered away with her. He acted as if everyone had conspired against him. He held a grudge against everyone. Umar knew that there would come a day when realisation would dawn upon his friend and then he would only drown in remorse and repentance.

Umar knew he shouldn't be speaking to Tayyab about it in front of everyone but Tayyab had left him with no alternative. He stood right behind him and whispered so gingerly that only Tayyab could hear him. "Tayyab you need to rethink this. We cannot do this. It's not permissible to force a girl to marry you. The kingdom will hate you all the more. They will despise you. They will revolt against the royal family. The king would not like it."

Tayyab shook his head with firm determination. "I don't care." He seethed. Tayyab was not spiritually very upright but he believed in the only creator, ALLAH and even then his decision couldn't be hindered because whatever lies Ahmar had fed him, it broke Tayyab beyond repair.

"Let go of her hand." Tayyab said turning around to talk to Hayat. The guards immediately let go of her. Silence befell, nobody uttered a word but the moment Hayat saw Tayyab's face, dread and terror reflected in her eyes. She threw herself to his feet, "Ana Aasif Ya Sayyidi. Mercy. Please. mercy." She held on to his left foot. "I .. I didn't know it was a crime to go near the death cliff. It was unintentional. Please." She chanted. Umar had no clue what she was talking about and Tayyab showed no reaction too except he moved a step back.

"Get up!" He commanded. Had it been a boy, Tayyab would have fisted his hair to get him up instead of asking him to get up, he had become that brutal now but she was a girl and Tayyab wouldn't touch her. She tried to get up but fell again as she accidently stepped on the hem of her own dress. She had no strength and she trembled while getting up again. Umar wanted to help but he knew it was not permissible for his rank and so he refrained himself from doing so.

Ahmar was barely conscious. He couldn't even open his left eye for it was swollen. His face was covered in blood but he didn't give any reaction at all other than the whimpers that escaped his mouth from time to time due to pain. His head was bent low. He was not even looking at the girl he loved. He looked ashamed and Umar assumed it was because she didn't know about his marriage with Meher.

This was Tayyab's way of torturing him. Marrying the girl Ahmar loved because Ahmar had married the girl he loved. An eye for an eye but what about the innocent girl who was caught between crossfire?

"You will marry me at your own will because if you don't, I will kill him right in front of you." Tayyab spoke carefully, the way you explain things to a five year old. Hayat gasped at that. "If I hear another word from you or if you do not marry me willingly, both of you will never see another day and that's my promise to you."

To say that Hayat was bewildered would be an understatement, her tears didn't cease. Fear was etched on her face, her legs wobbled as she tried to stand firmly.

Ahmar let out a sarcastic laugh but didn't try to tell her that Tayyab would kill him no matter what she did.

When she didn't say another word, Tayyab took it as a sign. A sardonic smile captured Tayyab's face, "See problem solved. I am no more forcing her." he said to Nouman efendi who looked bemused. He was completely baffled and so was every other person in the cell.

Tayyab was blackmailing her, he was indirectly forcing her and it was prohibited but nobody had the guts to tell it to the cruel emir of the Kingdom. The four guards, Umar or the sheikh said nothing, they turned a blind eye towards his madness.

Nouman efendi began to chant the sacred Arabic verses. Umar stood agitated, he didn't know what to do. He could only watch Tayyab destroy his own life as well as Hayat's. When Nouman seeked their permission, Hayat looked speechless at first, but a sharp look from Tayyab had her nodding her head. When Nouman asked the same question to Tayyab, he didn't reply. He instead turned towards Ahmar first, "This is your last chance, tell me you were lying and I promise you that I will not marry her. I will let you two go." He sounded desperate.

Umar stared dumbfounded. Hayat looked at Ahmar expectantly even though she was as clueless as Umar, but he gave no response.

Tayyab's face hardened, "I do." He said thrice. Hayat began to sob more loudly. The sheikh asked them to write their name on the parchment and they did.

Soon after pronouncing them as husband and wife, Nouman efendi began to leave hurriedly and a guard accompanied him out of Zindaan.

Now what? Umar thought as he looked at Tayyab for further orders.

"Please let him go. Honour your promise." Hayat said in between her whimpers.

The moment the sheikh left, Tayyab grabbed Hayat's arm and pulled her to himself. He forced his lips on her's whilst she struggled against his hold. Her voice was muffled as she tried to protest against his mouth.

Umar lowered his gaze and so did the guards. This was not Tayyab. Tayyab's madness for Meher had taken it's toll on him.

Within a few seconds, he shoved her back. She stumbled and almost fell. Tayyab wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked very frustrated. "I hope you burn in hell." Hayat spat, her eyes full of unshed tears and hatred for Tayyab.

Tayyab Didn't care, he looked even more infuriated and exasperated as he looked at Ahmar.

"I hope you've realised that I was not lying." Ahmar's voice was barely audible as he spoke.

"I will kill you." Tayyab raved in response. "Nooooo. You promised me." Hayat clamoured but she was late. "I know you will but then she will not leave you. Revenge will be served." It was the last thing Ahmar spoke before Tayyab took the sheath of one of the guards, pulling out the sharp sword and in one swift motion slicing it through Ahmar's throat.

"Nooooooo." Hayat fell on her knees as blood spattered on the ground, the walls and Tayyab's Qamiz. The beheaded face of Ahmar was thrown accross the floor and the rest of his body quivered before going limp.

Umar scrunched his face in disgust. Hayat fainted a second later. Her unconscious body remained flaccid on the ground.

Tayyab dropped the sword on the floor and made an about turn to leave. He looked appalled and Scandalized. He walked back towards the door in an awkward gait.

"Tayyab." His footsteps came to a halt at Umar's voice but he didn't turn.

"What about her?" Umar questioned.

"Execute her tomorrow." He replied before walking away. Umar didn't even had the chance to talk some sense into him.

Aasif means sorry.

Ana Aasif means I am sorry.

A lot of you might have doubts regarding the main protagonists decision but trust me you'll have answers to your questions as the story unfolds. Thankyou for your patience.

Hope you liked it! Incase you didn't vote and comment, please do. It would mean a lot to me. See you soon. ❤