FOURTEEN

“What do you want?” His voice echoed through the speaker as my breath got stuck in my larynx but the expecting eyes of Suzi and Areej made me clear my threat. Areej just rolled her eyes as she spoke up before he could hang up the phone out of frustration.

“Do you think I have patience for this?” His grumpy voice erupted making me gulp and Areej to make faces at the phone.

“Your wife wants to talk to you about something.” She informed as there was utter silence from the other side of the phone. He must have hated the word used by Areej…your wife.

“What is it?” After a while he asked again but this time it seemed like I had all his attention towards me. My palms got sweaty as I hated the fact that being a daughter of a strong independent woman, I still got panicked by just his authoritative voice. He had that affect one me or might be it was the fact that I was never around men before.

“I-I…” I trailed off as Suzi and Areej were looking at me with those rounded eyes as to warning me to complete the sentence in one minute.

“Can I go to the beach with Suzi and Areej?” I asked as I immediately closed my eyes although expecting to be something good and of just the beep of call ending.

“Why do you want to go?” He asked as if I felt he twitched his tongue but that was just my thought as how could he have any other expression other than that of the scary one. I looked at Areej and Suzi for help as they started thinking about a good reason to go to the beach that couldn’t irk the nerves of this…I think he is a business man. A person with a job couldn’t make such amount of money.

“I just…want to go.” I blurted out as I didn’t have any other thing to come in my mind but that made both of the girls to spank their foreheads with their palms. I assumed that wasn’t the good reason.

“Fine.” He said after few seconds. “Anything else?” He asked and Suzi’s and Areej’s faces were like as if they had seen a ghost. They weren’t expecting that neither did I.

“No.” I said as I was about to say thank you when Areej ended the call.

“I had to before he could change his mind.” She grinned sheepishly as I just smiled with a relief. Now I had his permission so I could finally go.

“Fine. Let’s go shopping.” Areej said as she took my hand in her to drag me out of the kitchen but my eyes widened when I realized that I didn’t ask for this from him.

I urged Areej about this but she shrugged off saying he wouldn’t know that and besides I needed shopping but other than that how could I do shop when I don’t have money.

“Leave it. My father takes a lot of money from your husband and that money eventually comes to me.” I denied her to take anything for me but she was Areej…second name of being stubborn.

We entered so many shops and Areej bought a ton of things for the beach as we entered Sephora only for Suzi and Areej to go haywire.

Both were testing and buying a lot of stuff although I knew nothing about of make-up but they both were buying useless stuff as if they were in Sephora then had to buy something or otherwise there would be no meaning of their lives.

“This shade would look good on you.” I assumed that Suzi was spending all her salary on make-up or The Shah’s were paying her enough to buy diamonds. Suzi came forward as she made me test the vinyl gloss that suited me perfectly. I liked that too as it went perfectly with my peach skin. Later on, I ended up buying a tint and brown colored mascara.

We spent half an hour in there as the staff there knew Areej so they were kind and good to us making us test their every good product.

“We should eat something now.” We all were tired as it was past maghrib time when we decided to go to the food court.

I was walking in center as they were treating me like a baby when my gaze fell on a white colored floral dress with small light pink colored leaves on it. It was beautiful as it was reaching the ankle of that mannequin.

“You like it?” Suzi followed my gaze when she asked.

“No…I have bought a dress for tomorrow already.” I denied and before they could drag me to buy that dress, we all turned pale hearing that voice that could make us dig our own grave.

“What the f**k you think you are doing?” The voice wasn’t harsh I had said before he was gentle with all of his actions but still there was something intense that scared people.

We turned around slowly to find him standing with Imran and few other guards with him. I never thought he would come himself to drag me out of the mall. I fluttered my eyelashes as I avoided looking in those forest green eyes and fixed my eyes on my fingers when I opened my mouth to say something in my defense.

“I-I…” I didn’t know what to say.

“Shouldn’t you have told us. Where are your guards?” He didn’t ask as his point of attention was Areej.

“I didn’t bring any…because…” She couldn’t say anything because I thought she was trying to come with an excuse. She seemed professional in that.

“How could you take her like that? Something could have happened.” He was frustrated. Even beyond that but my main focus was who is that her?

Is he talking about me?

“But no one knows she is your wife yet…” Areej tried to argue with him but his cold glare and clenched jaw made her mumble. “Yeah, your enemies have sources.”

“We are sorry sir.” Suzi said as his clicked his tongue as if trying to overcome the wave of fury washing over him.

“Take them.” He ordered as Imran and the guards took the shopping bags from us while Areej and Suzi moved towards the exit gate making me follow them when he grabbed my wrist to pull me gently towards him. I looked at him with dumbfounded expressions as his intense eyes were gazing me down.

I felt his eyes roaming around my lips with that vinyl lip gloss still on. A small groan erupted from the back of his throat as he looked above at me in the eye.

“Why didn’t you inform me?” He asked as I was standing so close to him that his woody scent engulfed me into him making me forget that we were in a mall.

“I-I…Don’t say anything to them. It’s my fau…” My words died down in my throat when he raised his hand and I clenched my eyes shut. I didn’t know why I suddenly got scared but I eventually opened them when I felt him rubbing his thumb at the corner of my mouth.

I looked above at him as his face suddenly turned dark as if a storm was swirling in his eyes but it soon subsided with surprise when I spatted his hand away. I realized we were in the mall.

I tried to maintain the distance looking around and to my shame we were gathering so much attention. Especially girls were swooning over him.

“What are you doing?” I whispered as his hand was still wrapped around my wrist and I couldn’t apply much force because then we would get more attention.

“Excuse me?” He raised his eyebrows at me as he was seemed surprised.

“People…” I looked around. “People think we are doing that.” I muttered as I could barely hear my own voice but he did perfectly.

“That?” He cocked his eyebrows as I finally looked at him. He was looking amused by my situation. I had to crane my neck upwards in order to look up at him as I was 5’2 and he was definitely above than 6. Even his hands were so big than mine that he could grab my both wrists and ankle in one grip. I must feel ashamed.

“I want to go home.” I asked as I knew he would do anything that would please him but the presence of people around me gave me enough courage to ask him.

“Fine.” He said and I looked above at him again to double check if his words went with the expressions of his face. He was serious and the thing that shocked me was that he agreed with me.

“Let’s go.” He dragged me with my wrist already in his grip but he didn’t move towards the exit door but towards the shop where Areej and Suzi were taking me.

I could have thought that he wanted to buy something for him but everything there was for women.

~•~

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