Behruz shot to his feet and stumbled backwards, knocking the leather chair on its side. He dropped to his knees, praying with eyes sealed closed and hands clasped in front of him. He prayed for forgiveness, ashamed of the way his body reacted to the sight of that wicked woman, naked and open. Even with his lids shut, he could still envision the petal-soft beauty between her thighs. Her mystifying scent still lingered in the air, cloying to the remaining shreds of his resolve. Behruz prayed for strength in his conviction and the love he felt for his wife, Shirin. “Please, show mercy,” he repeated, over and over. “I will not betray my wife.”
“Oh, but you will.” A small hand gripped his shoulder and Behruz flinched from the unwanted contact. The unforgiving hold moved to cup his chin and yanked his face upwards. “Look at me! Open your eyes, and look at me!”
Amirah. The conductor of his torment gave Behruz her name after releasing him. But his reprieve would only be for a night. A night to say goodbye to all he loved and wanted in the world. A gesture meant to make Behruz more agreeable. A better lover. A willing slave. He imagined Amirah was used to getting what she wanted without much fight. He had no intention of conceding, no matter what she threatened to do with him. However, his plans for refusal derailed when she fanned out a series of photographs on the floor in front of him. Pictures of Shirin and the children. She was not above exacting her revenge on his family if he failed to cooperate.
Behruz wept at the woman’s feet and she somehow took an ouce of pity on him, giving him a chance to look upon his family one last time. She warned him though. She promised that if he tried to betray her kindness in any way, the punishment of sex slave would be trivial to what she chose to do instead. She then pointed to one of her guards, holding up a picture of his wife and remarking about her beauty. The guard agreed with a menace that froze Behruz’s blood. He would not let Shirin pay for his cowardice.
The small jet touched down on to the private landing strip. Behruz gripped the armrest tight, nerves and fear getting the better of him the closer he came to his home. How would he be able to say goodbye? Perhaps it would better for them all if they thought he died in Dubai. If Shirin sold the company, she and the children would have more than enough to live off of, in comfort. But the truth of him leaving her for another woman, regardless of the circumstances, might in fact break her.
“You have until sunrise,” said the guard escort. By the pictures Amirah showed him, he knew her men hovered all around. There would be no hiding from them. No words said that could not be overheard. Behruz exited the plane, head down. A sight that should have brought him so much joy, in turn, brought him unbearable pain. Fahim, his trusted friend and assistant, waited beside a black sedan with a huge smile on his face. The short path towards the handsome man he also regarded as a brother, felt like an eternity to Behruz, the weight of all the lies to come heavy on his shoulders. The two men embraced once he was close enough.
Behruz stared blankly as Fahim searched his features deeper, sensing something hidden beneath. “Friend. Brother. What troubles you?”
“I am weary from my travels. I just need to see my family,” Behruz replied.
With a nod, Fahim opened the car door and Behruz slid into the passenger seat. Together they drove the few miles in desolate silence. Before they reached Behruz’s home, Fahim shifted the car into park on the side of a dirt road. “Do you want to tell me what is really going on or do I have to beat the information out of you?”
Behurz glanced over and shook his head, eyes swimming in tears he refused to let fall. “You cannot help me, friend. Not this time.”
“Try me.”
Behruz told Fahim everything about Amirah. Her beauty. Her ruthlessness. Her contempt for him.
“Maybe she can be swayed.” Always the voice of positive thinking, Fahim continued, “maybe if she knew your true character. She is judging for something you had no control over. You are good inside, Behruz. You are my one true friend in this world and there is nothing I will not do for you.”
Behruz rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder, smile weak. “Thank you, but I can’t risk it. She had pictures of Shirin and the children. I have to go back. I have to do as she says.”
“Then I will go back with you. I will offer myself to be her slave on your behalf.”
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