The Silence Within

Chapter 35

Ire simmered deep inside his system as searing as a volcanic emission, hot and ferocious. It stirred within, voracious for ruin. Angry snarls left his joined teeth. His body itched. His hand trembled, eyes wide as he stared at the picture in the phone.

She was married. That man had stolen her from him. He had taken her away. Their wedding was nothing special. It had been done so low that no one except her family members and his knew about it. It was a simple court wedding. Nobody important was present.

Joshua Olamiposi Erinoso, that name had never been heard by him. Erinoso does not seem like a wealthy Nigerian family name. The Kola-Daisis are not stupid to marry their daughter out to a man who was not up to their standard. That's what had made him perfect for her. He has the money, the name and class for their daughter's type of man and not to forget, he has the looks.

The force of the storming depths of anger compelled him to roar, sending the iPhone 8 across the room. It smashed against the wall. Nothing was meant to happen so soon. She was his. His woman. She had always been his, his to love, his to take care of, and his to marry. He saw nothing, except red and the will to smash and destroy flowed in his veins.

He did as he willed, smashed the figurines on the table, pushed away flower vases and pots and anything destructible. She was going to pay, pay for the pain of the past and present. How dare she betray him? He shall destroy them, destroy their marriage and ruin her forever that she won't be able to rise again from the ashes. Laughter rolled out from his lips, the kind that was full of revenge and wickedness.

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A distressing shrill escaped Haseenah's trembling lips when his hand smashed against her face. The pressure of the slap sent her to the floor. Tears broke free without efforts. Her cheek stung. His fingers left red prints on it.

"What rubbish did you cook?" he threw the plate of food over the room making her scrambled away "Do you want to kill me? Did you not taste it to realise the salt was too much"

"I tasted it. The salt was not too much" He took a step forward. She cried, crawling back.

"So, you mean I am lying. You are calling me a liar!" He sent a kick to her stomach.

"No!" she shrieked to pain. "Wayo Allah na! (Oh my God!)" She wailed, a hand over her stomach.

"Ba kida hankali ne? (Don't you have sense?) Kunlun za giya mi ki abun za kiyi?"

"Ahmad! Dan Allah, ka yi hakuri! (For Allah's sake, I am sorry). It was a mistake!" She cried, her body shaking to every distressed sob. Her head banged from the hit of the night before. He had smashed her head on the wall because the food had not been spicy.

"Shut up! Shut that stupid mouth of yours. See the nonsense you cooked again. After paying so much on you"

"Ba haka bane fa! (It is not like that)" Her wails grew louder. In her heart, she bled without a silver lining in her dark world.

"Keep quiet! The same thing every time. Do I have to keep repeating myself all the time?"

"I am sorry"

"If you ever repeat such mistake again, I will hang you to death. Shagiya! Iskanchi kawai!"

Ahmad snatched his car key from the dining table and left for work. He left her to cry, to nurse her pain. She tried to get up, her body stinging and sore from his beating. Her side hurt. She might have broken a rib from the impact of his kick. She sobbed as she cleaned the mess he created.

Hot tears rolled down her face which was red from weeping. She saw a broken woman in the mirror, a helpless woman. It sent more tears down her cheeks. His prints were still there. Again, she will use makeup to mask it. Lola call came in on her phone. Haseenah looked down at the phone, her heart beating fast. She had avoided her friends because of him. He stopped her from seeing them. He said they were bad influence to her. She wiped her tears, cleared her throat and picked the call.