Reena snorted. She couldn’t blame her friends for seeking a swift escape from the family drama unfolding. She only wished she could go with them.
The moment Marley, Shayne, Amira, and Duncan were out of the apartment, Dad sighed and sat heavily on that hideous green armchair. Reena looked from one parent to the other, wondering if she should offer them chai or vodka or anything that could cut through the thick tension in the room, but decided against it—Nadim’s coffee cups were packed. She motioned for Mum to sit on the couch and took the seat next to her. Ashraf and Saira took the barstools in the dining room, and Nadim sat on the other side of Reena, immediately putting his hand on her knee and squeezing shakily. She squeezed back, giving her husband the strength he was looking for.
She smiled.Husband, husband, husband.
She freaking loved that. Her hand covered his.
Dad cleared his throat. “I wanted to come speak to you alone, but all of…them insisted on joining us.”
“As they should,” Reena said. “This is a family, right?”
Dad gestured to Nadim with his hand. “Your father called me ten minutes after Reena did. But you probably knew that.”
“I assumed he would,” Nadim said.
“He thinks I forced you to elope so I could get his money back. That’s not true, but I had no answer as to the reason why you have done this. He wants you to get the marriage annulled.”
“We did this because we want to be married. This wasn’t about money,” Reena said, teeth clenching.
Nadim squeezed her even tighter. “I married her because I love her, sir. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. And I will spend the rest of my life showing her that.”
Damn. Why weren’t they alone? She wondered briefly if she could pull this man to his bedroom to kiss him senseless.
Mum frowned sharply. “So, you’re going against your father’s wishes?”
Nadim nodded. “He pulled his investment in the Diamond project, so it doesn’t matter what he says anymore. My life, and my job, are no longer tied to him. He wanted me to marry Reena, and I have. I don’t care that it’s not according to his terms, or that’s he’s suddenly decided she’s not good enough. He’s wrong—Reena is everything. More than I deserve.”
Dad’s face softened just a hint. “This isn’t a game. This is my daughter’s life.”
“Yes, Dad. It’s my life,” Reena clarified. “And you used us both. Used Nadim because you needed his father’s investment and me because his father wanted a good wife for him. So don’t pretend you’re suddenly concerned—”
Dad put his hands up to prevent her from saying more. “I know, Reena. I wanted you to get to know each other, not run away and get married so fast. If this is some sort of rebellion against us…you cannot gamble your life, or your happiness, because of your family’s mistakes.”
“Why can’t you believe it’s real? Why would you think either of us would marry someone as arebellion?”
“I don’t know what to think.” He looked at Nadim. “First engaged to marry Jasmine Shah, and now eloping with my daughter? So, tell me, how can I trust your loyalty to this family?”
Jesus Christ, Dad needed to stop. “Oh, hell, no.” Reena stood up and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you play thatGodfatherintimidation thing the day after I marry the man.Ourfamily…you say…well, did you think aboutourfamily whenyouboth lied to all of us? Mum’s off hustling cards with her badass seniors club while Saira smokes spliffs in the garage. And worst of all,youmade a deal with a man you barely knew to bring hismiscreantson here to marry one of your daughters because your company was swindled, and you won’t admit it! You had no idea of Nadim’s character or integrity, or his life before moving here, and yet you threw me at him like a prized goat! And now you want to talk about family loyalty?” She frowned and looked at Nadim, realizing this monologue wasn’t very generous to him. “Sorry, babe. Love you.”
He chuckled. “Love you, too. Please, carry on.”
She stared at her father.
“It’s medicinal marijuana,” Saira clarified.
“Hustling cards?” Ashraf asked.
Reena sat back down and took a deep breath. “Nadim and I aremarried. This is the life we chose, and you have to accept it. He’s going to Tanzania on Monday, and I’m planning to sponsor his immigration so he can come back as soon as possible. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try to move to Tanzania. We know it’s going to be a tough couple of months, or longer. So, what I need from you, myfamily, right now, is to please give me space. Support me. I’m going to have enough pain and turmoil…” Her voice cracked. She squeezed her eyes shut a moment. “For the next two days I’m celebrating, because it’s going to be torture to live without my husband for the foreseeable future. I amnotletting you guys and your barrel of secrets ruin these two days. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a wedding reception to plan.”
Everyone was silent for a while. Long enough to feel awkward. Reena wiped the tears in her eyes and leaned into Nadim, while he squeezed her hand tightly.
Finally, Mum shifted and looked at Reena. “Reception? You getting biryani, or tandoori and naan?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Reena’s family stayed after her little outburst, and together they planned the menu for tomorrow’s party. Mum finally dragged the crew out after chai and cookies, insisting she needed to make the catering order at her favorite Indian restaurant in person, and also had to squeeze time in for a trip to Little India for some emergency sari shopping. Miraculously, no one mentioned anything about the secrets Reena had told when she lost it on them, not the poker, the weed, or even the swindling architect. And that suited her perfectly. She needed to get through these two days—her family was welcome to implode under the weight of all the truths after Nadim left the country.
It was weird, though, interacting with her parents and Saira with no judgments, no forcing of their ideals on her, just healthy unconditional support—even if it was only short-term. If she’d known all she needed to do was elope to get some normal time with her family, she would have done it years ago.
