Zarnab screamed as she pushed off a series of vases off of her mother's table. Slamming her palms against the hardwood, she sobbed, "Curse the day, curse the day I was born to this wastrel!" She shut her eyes, bending down so her forehead touched the wood.
Behind her, her mother entered, closing the doors behind her.
"Childlessness is from GOD! How can anyone blame a woman for it?" She roared.
Her mother didn't reply, walking towards the fireplace to Zarnab's right. Zarnab turned around, looking at her mother. "He humiliated us for his whore and you said nothing?" Samina Begum sighed as she continued, "Why do you never have anything to say?" Zarnab screamed.
"Because that whore has bore him three sons!" Samina Begum yelled back turning around. That shut her up real quickly. "And I haven't even bore him one, which is why even though I am his legally solemnised wife..." Her voice quivered before she added, "I am below his whore."
Zarnab swallowed as the silence stretched between them. Then, Samina Begum frowned, stepping closer to her daughter. "And you, Zarnab? What about you?"
Zarnab blinked. "What about me?"
She raised a brow. "Childlessness is from GOD. That is true, but is your childlessness truly from GOD?"
"I don't..."
"I was not born yesterday, Zarnab. I know the reason behind your lack of…" She looked at her daughter from head to toe before saying, "... progress."
Zarnab's nostrils flared. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
She flinched as her mother dug her nails into her arm, pulling her towards her. "You insolent woman," Samina Begum hissed. "Ten years, ten years and you are still a virgin?" Zarnab's eyes widened as her mother inhaled sharply. "No shame, none whatsoever."
"Amma, I..."
"You what?" Samina Begum grabbed her by the shoulders. "You what Zarnab? You what?"
Zarnab's lower lip quivered as she struggled to find words. The sharp tongued Zarnab who was used to lecturing others about their prejudices and biases against women suddenly couldn't form a single coherent sentence. "Amma I... I was scared."
Samina Begum looked at her in shock. "Scared? Scared? You were scared for ten years?"
"No, I... I was scared when I first married him... because..."
"Who the hell is scared from their own husband Zarnab?" Samina Begum hissed at her daughter.
"I was a child," Zarnab replied slowly, staring at her mother without blinking.
"You were a woman!"
"I was scared!" She screamed, springing away from her mother. "I was terrified and angry! At you! At the King! At Imaad! At everyone!" Hot tears dropped out of her eyes. "And that too to a man ten years older than me?" She placed her hands on her face as she turned away. "Every night I couldn't sleep because I was afraid…" She dropped her hands. "... afraid of him coming in and ripping my clothes apart!"
Samina Begum's face softened as she saw her daughter weep into her hands.
She sighed. "You know that is how it works here. It is neither the first time nor the last time. Everyone else in the nobility also got married at that age. I did too. But no one is creating a scene unlike you..."
She paused as Zarnab's sobs grew more audible. She walked towards her daughter.
"Well.. what about now?" Samina Begum inquired. "You aren't fourteen anymore. Haven't been for a long time. Then why?"
Zarnab swallowed, stealing away her gaze. "He never comes."
Samina Begum frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Stopped having dinner with me a long time back too. This time when he left, I actually learned it from others."
Samina Begum's gaze was fixed on her daughter. "All of a sudden?"
Zarnab stole her gaze again. "Yes."
Samina Begum inhaled sharply. "Well that is unfortunate."
She turned around, walking away from her daughter. "Zarnab, I will be frank with you. You need to make this work."
"I know. I..."
"No, you don't," she interrupted. "Your father isn't going to be alive forever. It is beyond apparent that Imaad is the future king. But should you fall from his good graces, should you not bear him any children, your worth will be no more than old furniture during his rule."
Zarnab froze. She knew her mother was right.
Samina Begum continued, "I was only able to bear a daughter to your father, and see that he has never spared me a second glance because of his disappointment. Now imagine, imagine what would happen to you because of Imaad's disappointment?"
Zarnab's eyes welled up again. "I just told you he won't touch me! What do you want me to do?" She screeched in desperation, clutching her fists by her side.
Samina Begum shot her a look from over her shoulder. "Then go to him."
Zarnab stopped, joining her hands together. "What do you..."
"His caravan should arrive here by next week. Approach him. Make him do it."
"But..."
"He is a man, Zarnab," Samina Begum interrupted, annoyed. "No matter how hurt, no matter how humiliated, he can't turn away a woman when she approaches him."
Zarnab looked down at her hands, twiddling her thumbs. "I..."
"Your father will probably announce his successor in the coming month." Samina Begum straightened her back. "And if it is Imaad Uddin, then no one can stop him from taking another wife." She looked at her daughter from over her shoulder. "This is your last chance, Zarnab. Make good use of it."
Zarnab blinked multiple times, as if the words hadn't registered to her well. Then, she nodded slowly before curtsying and turning to leave.