"What… what did you just say?"
Rick stared at Arif as if lightning had struck him.
Arif frowned immediately, clearly irritated by Rick's language. His voice dropped into a cold warning.
"Watch your words. And yes—she is my wife."
Rick blinked. Once. Twice.
"You're serious?" His eyes moved from Maya to Arif and back again. "You're actually husband and wife?"
Maya, who had been standing silently all this time, slowly nodded her head.
"Yes."
At the same time, Arif answered, "Yes."
Rick pressed his left hand to his chin, deep in thought. After a moment, he suddenly raised both hands to shoulder level.
"Okay… so you're telling me you two are married?"
Maya nodded again.
Rick turned to Maya, disbelief written all over his face.
"How old were you… fifteen years ago?"
Maya answered softly, "Nine."
Rick froze.
"Nine?" His voice shot up. "How is that even possible? What were your parents thinking?" He turned sharply toward Arif. "And you—how old were you?"
Arif exhaled heavily.
"Seventeen."
Rick grabbed his head.
"This makes no sense. A nine-year-old girl and a seventeen-year-old boy? That's impossible. Are you messing with me, Arif? Is this some kind of sick joke?"
He paced back and forth, completely losing his composure.
"The person who performed this marriage—were they out of their mind? And your families—unbelievable."
Rick clapped his hands sarcastically, shaking his head.
"Bravo. Just… bravo."
Arif watched him silently for a moment, then spoke in a calm but firm tone.
"Our marriage happened under critical circumstances. Blaming the families or anyone else won't change anything. The situation forced it."
Rick stopped suddenly and pointed at Arif.
"Don't talk about 'circumstances' like that explains everything! Move away from me. If I talk to you for another minute, I'll lose my sanity."
He shoved Arif lightly and stormed off down the corridor.
Maya turned her head and watched Rick disappear. Then she looked up at Arif.
"Does he have a problem in his head?"
Arif glanced at her briefly and replied dryly,
"He didn't before. He probably does now."
"What does that mean?"
Instead of answering, Arif turned and started walking toward his bedroom.
Maya hurried after him, her steps quick and light.
"At least explain what you mean!"
Arif didn't slow down.
"It means exactly what I said."
"That doesn't help!"
They reached the bedroom door. Arif opened it and stepped inside. Maya followed him immediately.
"I'm asking nicely. What does it mean?"
Arif walked a few steps, then stopped abruptly. Maya nearly bumped into him.
"Why did you stop?" she asked.
Arif turned slightly, clearly annoyed.
"I'm going to the bathroom. Are you coming too?"
Maya recoiled, disgusted.
"Disgusting! You're so shameless."
Arif stepped closer, his tone sharp.
"You're the one glued to me like super glue, and now you're calling me shameless?"
Maya instinctively stepped back.
Arif stared at her coldly.
"Go sit on the bed. Stay quiet. I'll take a shower. After that, we need to talk—seriously."
Maya crossed her arms.
"But you already showered earlier."
"So what?" Arif shot back. "Is that a problem?"
"No… why would it be?" she muttered.
Arif grabbed a towel and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
The moment the door closed, Maya's expression changed completely.
She began scanning the room carefully. Her eyes moved from wall to wall, from ceiling to corners. She searched for anything unusual—but found nothing.
Just as she was about to give up, a faint beep… beep sound reached her ears.
Her body stiffened.
"A camera…"
Her heart started pounding. She was certain now—there was a hidden camera somewhere in this room.
Maya focused, carefully scanning again. Minutes passed. Still nothing.
Frustrated, she ran to her room and pulled out a small bag. From it, she took out a second phone and a compact hidden-camera detector.
She returned quickly to Arif's bedroom and activated the device.
The detector beeped sharply.
There.
Maya followed the signal and finally located the camera, cleverly hidden and almost impossible to notice with the naked eye.
Her blood ran cold.
"So… he installed it himself?"
That meant everything she had done until now had already been recorded.
Without wasting a second, Maya used her second phone and dialed a number.
"Hello," she whispered urgently. "This is AK7. There's a surveillance camera at my current location. I need it hacked immediately. Delete all recent footage. I'm sending you the camera details now."
A calm voice replied,
"Understood, ma'am."
Maya's hands trembled as she waited.
Minutes later, her phone rang.
"Yes?" she answered quickly.
"Ma'am, the footage has been deleted. But hacking this camera was extremely difficult. These cameras are controlled from a central system. The entire house is under surveillance, and the technology is very advanced."
Maya's breath caught.
"We can't hack them again. They're already attempting to breach our server. AS4 sir is extremely displeased. You made a serious mistake on the first day."
Maya swallowed hard.
"This mission can't be assigned to anyone else—that's why he hasn't pulled you out yet. But if you want to survive… be very careful."
The call ended.
Maya stood frozen in the middle of the room, her heart pounding violently.
"So this house… is a cage."
Just then, the sound of the shower turned off.
Maya quickly hid the detector and phone, forcing her expression back to normal.
The game had only just begun.
To be continued…