HARRY’S POV

He isn't even good looking. The audacity to think he can manipulate a girl with a face like that. Turns out, Akeeb has been looking for Aayat but on the wrong continent. He believed she would still be in the USA, since that's where he lost her.

But since I told Faisal to make this buffoon aware of my wife's whereabouts, he hopped on a plane and flew to England. I even threw a party for the motherfucker. Not really though. It’s costume party to celebrate my wife's recovery and her 27th birthday.

Everyone is here. My family, my extended family, Ananya, Faisal, their kids, even the annoying one, and the chief guests, Aayat's parents. I called them here, so I could rub in their faces what their favourite boy did. The knowledge that they chose him over their own daughter repulses me.

Their abused daughter tried to seek help multiple times, but because she was shocked and scared she couldn't tell them she was raped. It didn't help that the manipulative fucker told her that she is 'impure' and that her family would disown her.

But she kept pulling away and not once did these two think that something might have happened to her. All they thought was that she is an insolent child who needs punishments.

I'll get her the revenge she craves. I'll make everyone who wronged her kneel at her feet and apologise. And I'm going to do it publicly. Aayat is done hiding. Since working with a psychiatrist the last two months here and for a while back in India, she has learned to face her past. She isn't willing to hide from it anymore.

We will send the kids away to some bedrooms with interesting stuff to do so they don’t stay here and get traumatised at this age. I wish my wife was given that liberty when she was a child.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Faisal asks from beside me. He decided to be Aladdin while his wife is Mulan. Absolutely no coordination whatsoever. "Phantom, of course." I respond, pointing at the mask covering half my face. I'm dressed based on the 1920s to the best of my abilities.

And unlike the uncoordinated as fuck people here, my wife is my Christine. Only in our story, the Phantom will not sacrifice his love, so she can have a lovely life with her childhood friend. If anything my wife had a childhood nightmare and I'm going to get rid of it.

"Of course." Faisal says. "You know he dies of heartbreak right?" He follows with his question. I roll my eyes. "Yes, I've seen the play and read the book. Which is why I'm rewriting it. This Phantom, takes creative liberties and kills Raoul. Also Raoul's a dick in this story."

"Never liked him to begin with." He mutters. I don't have time for this. Akeeb didn't bother dressing up for the party so he is easy to keep an eye on. Or maybe that's his costume. He is dressed as the most basic middle aged man ever.

He keeps walking around the room, looking for Aayat and brushing past people in a hurry. If I didn't know better, I would've believed he truly had feelings for her but I know him. And I trust my wife more than anyone else. "So that's him." Faisal observes. I hum.

"He looks like a douche." He says. I appreciate the support. "To me, he looks like a pedophile that I'll drain dry."

"Geez, my kids are here. Maybe don't talk like a psychopath." He hits my chest. "Me being a psychopath is a big factor in them being alive. I'm sure they'll get over it."

My wife walks down the staircase, finally entering her own birthday party. My mother greets her at the bottom and takes her around the room. I join them when I see her parents approach.

"Happy birthday Inu." Her mother says, looking emotional after seeing her daughter. Her father has more control though he seems to have aged quite a bit since I last saw him. I believe Akeeb has pretty much drained them dry of their riches.

"Thank you." My wife answers robotically. "I saw Akeeb." Her father says. "Why is he here? I thought you didn't want him near you." Aayat's hand shakes a little. It’s not fear, it’s rage. I intertwine our fingers to offer her a steady support.

"I have some scores to settle with him." I answer instead. The score being his life and settled meaning his death. "If you'll excuse us." I say and lead Aayat away from her parents for a dance.

"He's here." I whisper with caution. Just because she is brave enough to agree to something, doesn't mean she isn't traumatised enough to not back away from it. Revenge is my plan but my wife's safety is bigger than that.

"I know." She says. "I can make sure he never gets a whiff of your scent." She shakes her head. "I want everyone to know what he did. I want to justify his murder to everyone who finds out he is dead." I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Whatever you want, darling." We dance for a bit before I roll Aayat out and she dances with another person. My wife has worked day and night to not jump at touch of another person. She still doesn’t like being touched by other people but she doesn’t panic at it either.

I step out of the circle and focus on each man she dances with. I'm keeping an eye on her just as Faisal is from the other side of the room.

We know this is the perfect opportunity to approach her and Akeeb might be a dick, but he isn't stupid. He will try to corner her when she is alone, only she never is.

~~~~~~

AAYAT’S

Some people are just stupid. The others are cunning but egotistic. And from everything I've learned till now, ego is the enemy of intelligence. And Akeeb has a lot of ego.

My current dance partner twirls me around and now I feel the touch of a monster. I can recognise him through everything though he didn't bother hiding here. "Long time, Inu." I shudder. I hate his fucking gut.

I don't bother responding. I don't even look at his face. He isn't worth my time and energy. All he is worth is wrath. "I see how it is." He says. "You're married now so you won't even look at me. Tell me, does your husband fuck you better than I did?"

I glare. "You didn't fuck me. You raped me. There is a difference." He chuckles. He has the audacity to chuckle after ruining my life. "My Inu would never talk like that."

"I was never yours. And the Inu you knew was a child whom you raped and groomed. I am not her." His hands start to dig into my back. He is mad now. Good. I've been mad for ages.

"I believe that blond Prince Charming has given you way too much freedom. Don't forget your roots. I was there throughout, in your head and I control you." He grits. He isn't wrong. Even after I married Harry, I was scared of touching him because this man was in my head, making me fear everyone. He was controlling me.

But only because I gave him that power.

My lack of response fuels his pride and he drags me away from the crowd. I'm not scared. I know I have eyes on me. He doesn't. He also doesn't know that I'm wired to the bone. Everything he says will be recorded.

I'm happy that he is taking me away so Ananya and Faisal can plug into the speakers and everyone outside, especially my parents can listen to what their precious Akeeb did.

He pushes me into a guest room and shuts the door behind him. The lock turns and he faces me with a cruel look in his eyes. I sit on the bed. As calm as I can be. "I looked for you. I needed you."

I laugh. I can't help it. I just do. "You needed me? Are you still trying to manipulate me into thinking you loved me?" I ask. "No. I never loved you and I know you know it. I loved my revenge. My anger."

I don't respond. I just stare at him silently and wait for him. All this relies on him admitting he raped me. "Your father," he starts, "killed mine."

I keep in the shock. I'm not saying I don't believe him but my father was very fond of his. They were best friends. They were like brothers.

"He took my parents away from me. He killed my family. The night of my parents accident, your father was with them. I heard them fight about money and property through the window of our house before they got in the car."

"That's your justification? Just because they fought a little before leaving?" He seethes before pushing a vase off the shelf near him. The glass breaks, volatile, just like his anger.

"You tell me? There were three people in the car but only one survived, how come?"

"Luck?"

"Why is your father the only lucky one in the family, huh?! He killed them and then acted like a grieving brother. He took me in out of pity but I know him. And I vowed to ruin him."

"Then why me?"

"I lost everything when my family died, Inayat. I lost because my parents were dead. I paid for their disappearance. You had to pay for your father's deeds. You were the most precious thing to him, so I destroyed it. You decided to disappear so while I looked for you, I decided to ruin your family's wealth.

All this happened because your father was greedy and he wanted my family's fortune too. He killed my parents for it. Do you know what revenge feels like in a young child's mind?"

I do. I know better than he could ever imagine.

"What now? What happens to your revenge now? Rather than confronting the culprit, you decided to punish me. So what now?"

"Nothing. I will still ruin your father. I've ruined his wealth and now I'll tell him that you're my whore. It will most probably kill him and that husband of yours will hate you now."

I look at my sandals. I've dreamt of throwing them down at his face but he is so ridiculous already. I don't care to fight him. "Tumhe kya lagta hai Akeeb? Ki Mai tumse darti hu?"

(What do you think Akeeb? That I'm scared of you?)

"Nahi darti?"

(Aren't you?)

"Nahi. Tum ab aisa kya karloge, jo tumne pehle nahi kiya? Aisa bacha kya hai mere paas jo tum le sako?" I ask.

(No. What can you do that you haven't done before? What else do I have that you could take away?)

"Do you want to rape me like you did every day since I was twelve? Do you want to kill me like you did each time you put your hands on me? Do you want to tell the world that something is wrong with me like you told my parents so no one believes me? What else is there? What other power do you have?"

He staggers a little. I believe this is the first time he realised what he did to me. "I didn't want to hurt you." He says.

I laugh. "But you did. You hurt me. You took my childhood away from me. You killed the little girl who dreamt of fairy tales and love. You hurt me a lot."

"I'm sorry." He doesn't even mean it. He says it like it is a formality so he can wash his hands off of crime. "If you're truly sorry then let me go. Let me walk out of here and don't ever come behind me." It's a bait. I know he isn't going to take it. But I want to see if he falters.

"No." I knew I'd fail. Giving him a choice was never worth it. "You're not going anywhere until I get what I want." He steps closer.

The door he locked doesn't rattle, it flies off its hinges and my husband grabs the back of Akeeb's neck before he could get close enough to breathe the same air as me.

I stay seated on the bed while Harry, dressed in his suit and mask as Phantom drags a screaming Akeeb out.

"Don't wait up, darling. Go to bed. I'll be there when you wake up." Those are the last words my husband says before he drags Akeeb out of the room and through the people who just heard everything.

They stare at him in disgust, cursing his name and throwing pitiful glances at me. I can see my mother crying and hitting Akeeb, telling him she trusted him and hoping he rots in hell. My father looks disgusted by him but he doesn't justify himself.

And that tells me everything.

He did kill Akeeb's parents. For money, for power, for whatever. He committed a crime and I paid for it with my life.

I wish I didn't grow up around the men I did. I wish my father was like Faisal's or Ananya's. I wish I had a friend like Faisal who has shown me nothing but kindness, and not a friend like Akeeb.

I wish my life was different. The only thing I would want again, is Harry.

~~~~~~