Amie’s eyes filled with tears and for the first time since that morning her stomach finally settled. “And you really want all those things with me?” she asked softly as he cupped her cheek with his hand. “Really?”
“Really,” he smiled. “We just need to finish this first.”
And there went her stomach again.
“Malik!” she scolded. “If that’s the case then I… I can’t be with you.”
“Why not?” he asked, his brows narrowed painfully.
She stared at him, hard, and put her hand flat on his chest, pushing for emphasis. “Look, as charming as the whole ‘mysterious bad-boy’ thing is, I promised myself I’d stop with those guys when I was, oh, I don’t know… 17?”
“A promise you’ve kept?” he teased.
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t play with me, Malik,” she said firmly. “I can’t be with someone who would do this to his family. Please… please, let’s just come clean about it, or at least tell them we’ve decided not to go through with the wedding until we can get both of our families together.”
“We’ve already lied, what’s the difference?” he asked harshly.
“We can still make it right. We can stop all this from snowballing out of control.”
Malik stood from her and stared down at the floor; the disappointment scrawled clear across his face. “You just don’t understand,” he said simply. “I’m sorry I put you in this situation, but we’re here now, and this is just what has to happen.”
Amie looked down at the ground and said nothing, her face a sad picture of resignation as she heard Malik walking away from her, closing the poolroom doors behind him as he entered the house once more.
She was wrong. He wasn’t going to turn it around. The future she had daydreamed about—it turned out it didn’t exist in the slightest.
SIXTEEN
The next morning proved to be one of the hardest yet. Amie had just one full day left in Rabayat: her wedding day. She spent the morning getting ready with Zafina and Sadira; slipping into her beautiful wedding gown and having her hair styled in a long side braid, complete with tiny, colorful flowers.
She felt like an idiot pretending in front of Zafina when she knew exactly what was going on. Sadira excused herself to begin getting ready as Zafina started applying a warm coral blush to Amie’s cheeks. “Just in case he doesn’t make you feel like blushing for real,” she joked, ending her sentence with the same laugh that Malik would give.
“Funny girl,” Amie said sadly. “I do love him, you know.”
Zafina brushed the peachy powder along Amie’s cheekbone and smiled proudly, setting the brush on her lap. “I know.”
“You do?”
“I can see it in your eyes,” Zafina said simply. “It’s why I decided not to tell my parents… whatever it is you guys are doing. That, and the way that he looks at you in return. I’ve seen Malik with a lot of women, but I’ve never seen him this way before.” She shrugged. “Sorry, I’m sure you don’t want to hear about all that right now.”
Amie raised her brows and laughed. “No, no… it’s fine.”
“You two… fit each other,” Zafina said with a grin—a rare but pretty sight on the girl. “Try not to worry so much.”
Try not to worry so much? Did Zafina think this was a real wedding, or not? Was she completely on to their scheme, or did she truly believe they were in love? She felt her heart sink and her whole body rush with adrenaline. It seemed Zafina’s cooing instruction had had the opposite effect.
“Do your parents know?”
“No,” Amie answered honestly.
“Ah. That sneaky Malik,” she said with a snap of her fingers. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and stared at Amie; her eyes searching for something else. “I think…” she paused. “I think you’ll be all right. Malik has his ways. His wiles and schemes, also,” she added with a laugh, “but you have his heart, so it will all work out.”