I read it through three times, yet remained in disbelief. My heart was pounding so loudly; I wondered if my aunt could hear it. I looked up to find her watching me closely.

"You know we need to tell Ma," She reminded me, "You need to tell Yilmaz," She said. "You also need to decide to move in with him seriously," she kept going on and on about things I should do and people I should talk to.

While she kept on adding to the long list, I drifted to the fact I had to face him. My eyes shifted as we both paused when we came in front of my grandmother's room as I prepared for a confrontation that couldn't lead to anything good.

A few seconds later, the door swung open to reveal my grandmother, who looked at us curiously.

"Why are you both standing outside my room ?" She asked questionably.

"Umm, actually, Ma, I'm going to go. Umm...Wahaj has something to tell you," Aunt Seren said hesitatingly as she shifted her weight to the other leg uncomfortably.

"Okay, bye! Wahaj, Bye Ma," with that she went downstairs and exited the house as I could hear the sound of the door.

"Look, don't freak out, okay?" I warned. "I-I'm married," I held my breath in silence as I waited for all Jahanam to break loose. All of a sudden, my grandmother burst out in laughter, breaking the tense moment.

"Oh my, Wahaj, for a second there, you almost had me fooled! Ohh, seriously, don't do that to me again. I nearly had a heart attack!" My grandmother looked visibly relieved when she thought that it was all a joke.

"Kerem died almost eight months ago; you are a widow!" She stated in assistance. "You and Elian didn't get married," she continued, "And I have raised you better than to go and marry from the streets," My grandmother finishes her conclusion.

"The Professor," I added. "I got married to him," I closed my eyes as soon as the words came out of my mouth, hoping I didn't see her face all disappointed.

She laughed again.

"No, Mama Ghada, it's true. I wish that I was joking, but I am not,"

I said hesitantly when I looked at her face as it was veered from amusement to disbelief in a matter of seconds. "I-I'm scared, Mama Ghada. What should I do?"

After I saw that my grandma didn't utter a word, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen. I just-" I stopped, "When, where and how ?" She tried to reason with me after she saw how serious I was.

"When I was missing," I replied. "My father took me, and I didn't remember anything — Wallah (I swear). I wanted to be near him because I didn't know what he has done, I wanted for him to repent for the Yilmaz's family," My voice stuck in my throat, knowing that there was no way I could reason with her after I saw the look on her face.

"So, couldn't find any excuse, could you? You're your father's daughter, you know? He broke my heart twenty years ago. And sure enough, Twenty years later, history repeats itself." My grandmother flung her arms away as if I was an infectious disease.

" I made a mistake; I didn't do anything wrong! At that moment, I thought I was doing the right thing, and I would have told you sooner but I didn't remember," I retorted back, hurt that my grandmother would treat me like this.

"While we were worried that you were kidnapped and murdered. You were having the time of your life getting married, being with your father while we buried my oldest daughter and I didn't even mourn her because I was worried about you," She grieved.

I saw my grandmother break in front of me as I wanted to hit myself for being the reason she was in so much pain, but at the same time, I wondered why she was hurt so much.

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM," She shouted from the top of her lungs. "Get out,"

***************

The next morning, I was on my phone as I noticed a quote posted on Instagram. "At times, you may think everything is going wrong. What you won't realize is that Allah is setting everything right for you!"

I stared at the quote for a second, as I laughed into the screen like a madwoman. I was celebrating. Why didn't I sleep through the night when I know that what Allah planned was the best of plans.

Why would I worry about my grandmother when I begged Allah to ease her heart.

Just a few seconds later, Grandma entered my room and behind her were my two aunts. "You won't meet your father?" She questioned, but it was more of a rule than a question.

I nodded immediately. I wanted my grandmother forgiveness. She put her head down for me to kiss it and I kissed her forehead, "You will go to your husband's house," She said, just like before as it was a rule.

"No, I-I'm not going to him," I stated.

"You are Wahaj," She began to get mad. "You married without telling us," She yelled. "We will go to his family, and we will meet, and you will go to live with your husband,"

"No, No, he is Mellisa's brother," I confronted.

"And you picked him," My grandmother said in an utter disappointment. "You will have to live with that,"

"But I can get divorced," I said. "Just like aunt Seren and aunt Nour (Allah yarhama)," I defied as I went in to sit in my bed while all three of them stood near the door.

"No," My grandmother replied, "What did divorce get them except misery, they were with good men, but they were too spoiled and looked high until they fell from the tree," My grandmother finished as I looked toward my aunt Seren whose face fell to the floor.

I was in shock when she said, "You are pregnant, don't be selfish Wahaj, think about it, think about the fetus you are carrying," My grandmother declared.

I didn't tell her I was pregnant, but I presumed that my aunt did.

"Wallah Wahaj, If you don't hear my words and do as I say fit, I don't know you, and I won't forgive you till the day of judgment," She swore as my aunts gasped.

"Wahaj, Get ready and in an hour, we are going to your husband's, or I'm dragging you by the hair to him!" She threatened through gritted teeth.

She didn't want me to end up like aunt Seren with a child and living with her till the end of my days, and she knew that no one would propose to me after I get divorced. Because unlike being a widow, being a divorcee means that something is wrong with you in this community. Even if my grandmother didn't agree with that, she had to live with it.

What I didn't get was why did she want me to go now?

When today is sunday?

Why did she suddenly accept it when yesterday she was broken about it?

Why was she hiding, I wondered...

In a matter of an hour, we left. My aunt Miray packed my bags. I wore my hijab and took my bag and left the house with only Ayaaz and grandmother as Aunt Seren stayed home with Khaled, her son. Ayaaz was with his friends for a job in construction, but he came back since my grandmother ordered him too.

I struggled against Ayaaz grip on my wrist, as he took me out of the car and in the front doors of Yilmaz's estate.

"How did you even know the address," I asked Ayaaz, worried as I he was still holding me tight for me not to leave.

He stood silently, not saying a word about it.

I looked away from Ayaaz and into the large estate. His family's company was soo big that I wondered why would he teach as a professor. It was so big that before you entered there was a security counter just like the Chamberlain's institute.

"Come on; I will teach this bastard that you have a family behind you and that you aren't alone. He needs to know that women aren't a game for him and if he is married to you, he needs to pay for his actions," My grandmother said as we pulled the car into the visitor's car park lot in the house. We made our way into the lobby where the security counter was located.

"We're here to see Ibrahim Yilmaz. Tell him it's an emergency," My grandmother announced as if the guards would grant her immediate access if he spoke as if she had every right to see the Professor.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, we do not allow visitors to enter the premises on a non-working day. Will you please make an appointment with Mr Yilmaz's secretary on Monday?" the heavyset guard suggested.

"I don't think you heard my grandmother correctly. She said it was an e-mer-gen-cy," Ayaaz pronounced every syllable of the word slowly as if the guard was slow or hard of hearing.

"That means it cannot wait till Monday! Call your boss and tell him, his wife is with us," He announced loudly and pointed to me, much to my mortification.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Sir. Our corporate office is closed today and I really cannot allow you in. Perhaps you should contact Mr Yilmaz directly and arrange-" the guard said firmly but was cut off by Ayaaz's indignant scream.

"You moron, if I had his number I wouldn't be here talking to an idiot! Either you let us go up to see him, or you give me his number, or I swear to God, I'm suing you and your company for –"

I had his number, but neither grandma nor Ayaaz knew that and I didn't want them to know. If they knew they would give me to him and I didn't want to.

I didn't know why my grandmother was forcing me to do it , I didn't know when my grandmother became so angry...

Ok, I wanted for this chapter to go on forever, but it's 5 freaking a.m. and I need to sleep. Hope you liked the progression!

As usual, like it, love it, hate it, please comment and vote the heck out of it.