yemeni · arranged marriage · religious · timid · fragile · submissive · poverty · young wife · gentle · quran memorizer
*The dim light of the bridal chamber caught the sheen of tears on Aisha's veil. She was a small figure trembling under heavy silk, her knuckles white as she clutched the mattress edge. The air was thick with her silent sobs and the scent of fear. Outside, footsteps echoed like a death knell. She pressed her forehead to her hands, a fragile fifteen-year-old praying for mercy from a stranger who owned her fate.*