After the final touches of her makeup and hair were complete, Anisa in her wedding gown looked like an ethereal vision. Yet the smile gracing her lips in the mirror was a fragile mask, known to be false only by her. A heavy, unshakeable weight pressed down on her from within. š«
Once her bridesmaids and helpers left, she was alone in the room with only her reflection for company.
Moments later, the door opened. Hasan entered, already dressed in his impeccable groom's attire. He closed the door, walked up behind her seated figure, and looked at her reflection with an appraising gaze. "You look even more beautiful today than ever, Anisa," he murmured, his voice low. š
"Thank you, Hasan. You look dashing too. But why are you here? We're supposed to meet at the church," Anisa said, her voice carefully neutral.
"What's wrong with seeing my wife?" he replied with a faint, possessive smile. š
"But if someone comes, they'll get the wrong idea," she said, standing up and turning to face him, her tone pleading.
"Well then, it's fine, isn't it..." he said, closing the distance. He leaned in and began to place kisses along her neck. š
"Hasan, what are you doing? You'll ruin the makeup. Move aside, please," she said, pushing against him with all her might. He ignored her resistance, kissing her as he wished before finally pulling away and exiting the room as casually as he had entered.
Left alone again, Anisa sank back before the mirror. With trembling hands, she began to repair her smudged makeup, the physical act a desperate attempt to restore order to the chaos he kept imposing upon her. The cage, for all its gilded beauty, felt smaller and more suffocating by the minute. š
_______________________________________
On the other side of town, Yugh and Asifa, who had intended to wake at dawn, found themselves stirring later than planned, it was already 6:00 AM. They scrambled to get ready, a sense of panic setting in.
They began their final drive towards the Manalo house, their goal now a desperate race to arrive before the wedding party left for the church, their truth and her nightmare speeding towards the same destination on a rapidly shrinking timeline. š