18| Punish Me

P U N I S H   M E

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The air in the room felt suffocating, thick with the tension that coiled like a serpent ready to strike. Anaabiya's body was rigid, her breath shallow, heart hammering in her chest. She wanted to speak, to explain, but the words lodged in her throat.

"Hum... Humza..." she barely managed to whisper, her voice betraying her fear.

He silenced her instantly, pressing a single finger against his lips. His eyes burned with malice, his expression unreadable yet terrifying.

"Shhh. Not a word," he said, his voice deathly calm. "It will only make things worse for you."

Anaabiya flinched at the sheer venom in his tone.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that!" Uzair stepped forward, positioning himself between them, his stance unwavering. "I swear, if you lay a finger on her, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Humza chuckled, the sound sharp and mocking, void of any real amusement.

Anaabiya felt a flicker of something—was it relief? A sense of protection? For the first time, someone had stood up for her, had spoken against Humza's cruelty. She turned to look at Uzair, gratitude softening her expression.

That was a mistake.

Humza's entire demeanor shifted. His jaw locked, his eyes darkened with something far more dangerous than anger. His grip on the pistol tightened as he took a step forward.

"Get away from him," he snarled.

The way he shook the gun slightly as he spoke made Anaabiya's blood turn to ice. Her pulse pounded in her ears, and the brief moment of solace she had felt vanished.

She knew Humza too well.

He wouldn't hesitate.

He wouldn't think twice before pulling the trigger.

Anaabiya stepped back immediately, putting distance between herself and Uzair, her hands trembling at her sides. She saw the brief flash of surprise in Uzair's eyes, but he said nothing.

Humza smirked. "Good," he murmured. His eyes locked onto hers, dark and unyielding. "I'll deal with you later."

His words sent a shiver down her spine.

He turned his attention back to Uzair, circling him like a predator playing with its prey.

"So," Humza drawled, tapping the pistol against his palm, "tell me, who the hell are you?"

Anaabiya's heart stuttered.

She knew what was coming.

"Uzair Imam," Uzair answered steadily.

The air shifted.

Humza stilled, his expression turning impossibly darker. He turned his head slowly toward Anaabiya, his stare piercing. His fists clenched at his sides, his entire body vibrating with suppressed rage.

Anaabiya swallowed hard.

"Uzair Imam," Humza repeated, as if tasting the name on his tongue.

"What's your relation to my wife?" he asked, his voice eerily composed.

"We grew up together. I am her cousin," Uzair answered without hesitation.

Humza laughed. It was a bitter, hollow sound.

"Interesting."

Anaabiya could feel the shift in the room, the sheer weight of the fury building within Humza.

"You ever think about dying, Uzair?" Humza mused, tilting his head.

"Humza, listen to me," Anaabiya cut in desperately. "He has nothing to do with this. He didn't know anything."

Humza's head snapped toward her.

"Did I tell you to speak?" His voice was sharp enough to cut through steel.

Anaabiya's lips parted, but she quickly shut them.

"Humza, let him go. He's her family," Bibijaan interjected, stepping forward. Anaabiya had almost forgotten she was there.

Humza exhaled sharply, clearly losing patience. "Go inside, Bibijaan. I don't want you to see this."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said firmly. "That boy is leaving. You will not hurt him. Don't you understand? He is her family." She repeated.

Humza let out a bitter chuckle. "Family? Does she even have a family? You mean the ones who practically sold her to me? The one's who don't even check up on her?" His words were cruel, but Anaabiya couldn't deny their truth.

Tears stung her eyes.

But Humza had ordered the guards to remove Bibijaan, and despite her struggling, they forcibly escorted her out of the hall.

"I am her family," Uzair spoke up, voice steady. "My parents made a mistake, but I won't. I'll return whatever money was given to them by you. Just let her go."

Humza cocked his head, amusement flickering in his expression. "Oh? That's cute. Too bad I don't want the money anymore." His smirk faded, replaced with something far more sinister. "And unfortunately, you just trespassed onto my property. That means you owe me."

Anaabiya's heart dropped.

"Humza, I'll do anything," she blurted, desperation creeping into her voice. "Just don't hurt him."

His gaze flickered to her. "And why would I listen to you?"

She inhaled shakily. "Because I'm offering myself. Do whatever you want with me, just let him leave. . You can punish me."

Uzair's eyes widened in disbelief. "Anaabiya, no! I can take you back! Don't do this—"

"Don't forget your promise," Humza interrupted, his voice like ice.

Anaabiya swallowed, her throat dry, and nodded.

Uzair's frustration was palpable, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths as he stared at Anaabiya in disbelief.

"Why are you doing this?" he demanded, his voice laced with frustration and something else—hurt. "Don't you trust me? I can handle this, Anaabiya."

She wished she could believe that.

She wished Uzair understood.

But he didn't.

He didn't know Humza like she did.

She turned to look at Humza, and the chilling smirk on his lips told her everything she needed to know. This was a game to him. A sick, twisted game where he was always in control.

"Maybe I can help you understand," Humza said, his voice deceptively calm.

Before Anaabiya could react, before Uzair could even take a step, the pistol that had been aimed at Uzair was now pointed directly at her.

Time stopped.

Anaabiya's breath hitched, her body freezing in place.

"Trust me," Humza said, his finger casually grazing the trigger. His expression was terrifyingly blank. "I would love to press the trigger right now."

His next words shattered her completely.

"She doesn't mean anything to me."

Her heart stopped.

Her stomach dropped.

She believed him.

For the first time since she had met Humza, since she had been thrown into this nightmare, she saw the truth staring back at her. There was no hesitation in his stance, no bluff in his voice. If anything, there was almost an eagerness in his eyes—like he was itching to end this right here, right now.

Anaabiya's throat ran dry.

He would do it.

He really would.

Uzair's face paled, his eyes widening in sheer terror. His fear wasn't for himself anymore. It was for her.

"No," he whispered, taking an urgent step forward. "No, no, no—"

His hands shot up in surrender, as if the gun were still aimed at him.

"Okay!" he choked out. "Okay! Stop! I'm leaving. Just don't hurt her."

Anaabiya watched the despair in his face, the helplessness weighing down on his shoulders.

Humza tilted his head, seeming to enjoy the way the control slipped from Uzair's grasp.

"That's more like it," he murmured, lowering the gun ever so slightly, though his grip on it remained firm, his eyes staring at her blankly.

Humza turned back to Uzair, expression blank. "You have ten seconds to get out of here."

Uzair hesitated. His hands clenched into fists. "I will come back for you," he promised Anaabiya, his voice fierce. "I will never leave you here." Humza only laughed at it.

Anaabiya couldn't bring herself to answer.

She wanted to believe him.

She wanted to hope.

But hope was a dangerous thing when Humza was involved and she knew better. She was trapped here. At Least for a year.

Uzair stepped backward, nearing the door.

And then—

"Uzair," Humza called, voice smooth.

Uzair turned, just in time to see the gun shift from Anaabiya to him.

A deafening gunshot rang through the house.

Anaabiya screamed.

Uzair crumpled to the floor, clutching his right leg, pain twisting his features.

"NO!" Anaabiya lurched forward, but before she could reach him, Humza's hand wrapped around her wrist in a vice-like grip, yanking her back.

"You cheater!" she spat, struggling against him. "You promised!"

Humza tightened his grip, pulling her so close she could see the storm raging in his eyes.

"Consider it a warning," he murmured darkly. "Next time he dares to touch you, I won't miss."

Blood pooled beneath Uzair, dark and thick, staining the pristine floor like an unforgivable sin. His face twisted in pain, his breathing ragged. Anaabiya's body trembled uncontrollably, her vision blurred with tears. If Humza hadn't been holding her arm in a vice-like grip, she was certain she would have collapsed beside Uzair.

"Take him to the hospital," Humza ordered, his voice indifferent, as if he had just asked them to dispose of trash.

Anaabiya's heart clenched as Humza's men moved forward, lifting Uzair's wounded body effortlessly. His head lolled to the side, his features twisted in agony, but she couldn't tell if he was still conscious. A strangled sob escaped her lips.

"Uzair..." her voice broke.

She wanted to run to him, to hold him, to make sure he was still breathing, but Humza's grip on her tightened, keeping her firmly in place.

She cried and cried, her body convulsing with grief. The man beside her remained silent, unmoving.

And then, as soon as Uzair was carried out of sight, Humza released her as if she were something filthy, something beneath him.

Her knees buckled, but she caught herself, glaring up at him with raw fury through her tears.

"You're a cheat," she choked out, her voice shaking, yet laced with undeniable hatred.

Humza let out a humorless laugh, tilting his head as if her words amused him. "Really?" he sneered. "And what does that make you?"

Anaabiya felt her blood boil. How could he call her a cheat when they weren't even romantically involved.

Her nails dug into her palms as her body trembled with anger.

"You promised me!" she accused, her voice rising. "You said you'd let him go home!"

Humza exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders back as he regarded her with a look of pure disdain. "And I did," he drawled. "I let him go home. I never promised he'd walk out unharmed." His voice turned mocking. "Besides, why are you overreacting? He's alive. My men are taking him to the hospital. What more do you want? I haven't killed him..." he paused before saying, "yet." A sinister smile painted across his face.

The sheer cruelty of his words shattered something inside her.

A fresh wave of rage boiled in her veins, eclipsing her fear. She didn't know where the courage came from, didn't stop to think about the consequences.

All she knew was that before she could stop herself—her hand flew.

The sharp crack of her palm meeting his cheek echoed through the silence.

It was the hardest, most forceful slap she had ever delivered in her life.

And Humza felt it.

His head snapped to the side, his jaw tightening.

Anaabiya's chest heaved, her hand still suspended in the air, her heart pounding so hard it physically hurt.

And then he turned his head back towards her.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

The air around them grew heavy, suffocating.

A muscle ticked in his jaw as his lips parted ever so slightly, his breath controlled but dangerously slow. His eyes—dark, deadly, unreadable—locked onto hers.

The moment stretched unbearably.

And then—he took a step forward.

Anaabiya instinctively moved back, her pulse hammering wildly against her ribs.

She had made a mistake.

A grave mistake.

Anaabiya knew she was dead.

The moment her palm had connected with his face, she had signed her own death warrant.

Humza's entire body was rigid, his jaw clenched so tightly it looked like he was holding himself back from snapping her in half. His eyes burned into hers, a storm of barely restrained fury, but she didn't care. She wasn't sorry.

If anything, she was glad.

It had been worth it.

One more thing to cross off her bucket list.

She met his glare with equal rancor, her hatred a searing flame that refused to be snuffed out.

"Out. Everyone. Now!" Humza's voice thundered through the room, sharp and commanding.

It was only then that Anaabiya noticed the silent spectators—the staff, the guards—all frozen in place, watching the scene unfold with wide, uncertain eyes.

At his furious order, they scrambled into motion, some hesitating, others casting worried glances in her direction.

But no one dared to defy him.

Within seconds, the room emptied, leaving only Anaabiya trapped in the storm of Humza's wrath.

"This was a mistake," he finally seethed, voice like gravel, laced with an ominous promise.

"You are a mistake," she shot back, her voice shaking from fury, not fear.

His lips curled into a humorless smirk, but the madness in his gaze sent a shiver down her spine.

"You have no idea what you've just done," he murmured, almost amused. "You'll regret this."

Fear twisted in her gut, but she refused to show it.

"What will you do, huh? Kill me?" she hissed, stepping closer, challenging him. "Go ahead! You already said I have no family, no one who would care if I die. So do it!"

She grabbed his hand and forced the cold metal of his gun against her forehead.

"Pull the trigger, Humza!" she shouted, eyes blazing. "Isn't that what you do best?"

His expression didn't waver. He just stared at her, his grip on the gun unyielding, his finger resting dangerously on the trigger.

A silence stretched between them, thick with tension, with the weight of a thousand unsaid things.

Anaabiya's heart pounded against her ribs, her breath shallow. She had never been more terrified in her life, but she wouldn't back down. She couldn't.

But Humza didn't pull the trigger.

He just stared at her, something unreadable flickering in his gaze, something dark and twisted and terrifying.

"What?" she taunted, her voice hoarse. "Afraid, Mr. Mafia?"

The words had barely left her lips when he snapped.

His hand shot out, grabbing her wrist in a bruising grip, yanking her so hard she stumbled.

"Aren't you pushing your luck too much, woman?" he growled, his breath hot against her face, his rage radiating off him in waves.

All she remembered was that this man had hurt Uzair, had taken away her only shield, Her only hope.

"I'm just getting started," she spat, her own fury matching his. "You said I'd regret it, right? What are you going to do, punish me?"

His fingers tightened, his nails digging into her skin.

"Is that what you want?" he murmured, his voice laced with something far more dangerous than anger.

And then—he moved.

Without another word, he wrenched her forward, dragging her with such force that she nearly tripped.

"Let go of me!" she screamed, twisting, kicking, trying to pry herself free.

But Humza was relentless.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." His voice thundered through the foyer, a raw, guttural command that shook her to her core.

Her pulse skyrocketed as he hauled her through the house, up the stairs, his grip like steel around her wrist.

"Humza, stop!" she gasped, her legs struggling to keep up with his long strides.

He didn't stop.

He didn't even slow down.

He was a storm, a force of nature, dragging her through the halls with a singular purpose.

She didn't know where he was taking her.

She only knew one thing—

She was about to find out just how much she had pushed him.

"You were desperate to find out your punishment, weren't you?" he taunted, his voice laced with mockery.

A cold shiver ran down her spine as she felt the blood drain from her face.

This was the Humza from the ruthless stories she had heard—the same man who had terrified the children at the party. Over time, she had dared to stand up to him, but now, that defiance was costing her everything.

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E D I T E D on 17.2.2025