“Then welcome her over lunch,” Zayn insisted genially, putting his arm around Julia’s waist and stroking her hip in a rhythmically seductive pattern.
“If you’re sure?” Amal asked his brother and Julia forced a welcoming smile to cover her frown. It was immediately clear which of the brothers held the upper hand, and it was not the one destined to be king.
Zayn said something indecipherable in Arabic, earning a small laugh from Adina.
“Your house is your palace, and at the head of your kingdom, is you, Zayn.”
And though she really liked her new sister in law, she felt an unwelcome jab of envy towards the beautiful woman now. Her relationship with Zayn seemed so easy, so relaxed, with none of the fierce undercurrents that were threatening to turn Julia back into a nail-biter.
Zayn was not helping her mental state.
In the company of his brother and sister in law, he was the perfect new husband. He was so attentive, his behavior almost bordered on doting. Except that Zayn was incapable of doting, of course. But slowly, he explained each of the dishes to Julia, using their Arabic name and then translating them into English, describing the ingredients and the history, and making suggestions for combinations she might enjoy.
And she took his suggestions, because for once, he wasn’t bossing her around, nor telling her what she should enjoy, he was simply advising her. Julia scooped some of the amusingly translated “slippery beans” onto her plate – snake beans in a mild coconut and spiced sauce, and added a fragrant yellow rice to it.
“You’re right, Adina,” Julia said to the woman who sat opposite her. “Namani food is exquisite.”
“And you haven’t had our coffee or sweets, yet,” Adina said, clasping her hands to her chest in an exaggerated impersonation of a swoon.
“Darling, not everyone is as big a sweet tooth as you.” Amal said with a laugh. “How she has avoided a run in with diabetes is beyond me.”
“Julia prefers fruit,” Zayn said quietly, catching Julia’s eyes as she was lifting her water glass to her lips. She forced herself to drink, though the passion in his gaze made her hand quiver unevenly. “The day I proposed to her, she was eating just-picked blackberries by the handful.”
“That’s right, I was,” she said with a small frown. It was a detail that reminded her of the day, and the way he’d spoken to her. It was so at odds with the man opposite her now that she felt a jarring sense of confusion.
“And the first time we met, you absconded from your father’s party with a platter of mangoes.”
“Mangoes,” Adina, oblivious to the torrent of tension whirling between Julia and Zayn interjected happily, “are fruit from heaven.”
Julia replaced her water cup on the table top and turned her attention away from Zayn. His gaze was so mesmerizing. If she fell under his spell, she would forget what he was capable of. And she couldn’t forget.
He had brought her father’s company to the brink of bankruptcy, and then paid above the market value, all to secure her as his wife. Why? There had to be any number of women in Naman who would have made excellent marriage prospects to a man such as Zayn.
She expelled a quiet sigh and tried to tune into the conversation that swirled around her. Theirs was such an easy dynamic; it confused her even more that he hadn’t invited his family to their wedding. He had intentionally kept them apart until it was official. Why? It was another question she wasn’t sure she would ever have an answer to.
“Are you close to your parents, Julia?” Adina asked, almost as if she’d read her mind.
Beneath the table, Zayn’s hand caught hers and squeezed it sympathetically. He was the last person in the world she should take comfort from, given that he’d shown up and turned her life on its head in a matter of minutes, but he knew how her mother’s absence in her life had affected her. To his credit, he waited quietly for Julia to respond as she wished.
“I never knew my mother. She passed away shortly after delivering me.”
Adina’s face contorted into a mask of pained understanding. It was one Julia had seen many times in her life, and she’d learned not to let it bother her. But it did. Losing the chance to even know your mother was a cruel deprivation. She didn’t have any memories of the woman who’d cherished her into being. She didn’t know how it felt to be held in her arms, nor what her hair smelled like, or her laugh sounded like. All she had to remember her mother by was a collection of incredibly expensive jewelry and photographs she’d long since stopped looking at, because it upset Colin too greatly.
“I’m sorry,” Amal spoke in his quiet voice, and his expression was so somber that he reminded her for the first time of Zayn.
Julia sought to lighten the mood. “I am close to my dad, though. It was just the two of us growing up, and he’s always counted on me.”
“How will he cope with you living in Naman?” Adina asked, genuinely interested.
Julia shrugged. “I expect it will be a difficult adjustment for him initially. He is young, though. He only turned fifty last year. I’m hoping he’ll use his new-found free time to change his routine.”
It was a lovely, cheery speech, and in her usually effortless way, Julia had steered the conversation onto less serious ground. Why did it bother him that she wouldn’t meet his eye? Because she blames you, he thought with a small frown. She has no mother, and you tore her away from the one person she loves in the world. As a small pang of regret formed in his gut, he forced himself to remember her childish cruelty, when she’d sent him those photos four years earlier. That she’d cheated on him was bad enough. But that she’d wanted to flaunt it to him in some juvenile act of spite, perhaps to make him jealous, showed her true character. His sympathy was not warranted on someone like his wife. With a hardening heart, he pulled his hand away under the guise of pouring some wine into his glass. He could not let himself forget what she was capable of, or he would be in danger of falling in love with her all over again.
CHAPTER SIX
Julia followed behind the tall, reed-thin woman, curiosity and nervousness jangling for equal space in her swirling gut. Amal and Adina had left hours earlier, and shortly after their departure, Zayn had taken himself off. He’d said he had to work, but Julia had sensed something more. A concealed annoyance that she couldn’t understand. But she wasn’t going to ask him about it.
He’d manipulated things to get her into his life. And though she knew in her heart of hearts, she’d fallen into line with his plan because she wanted to, she was still too proud to show weakness to him. And so she’d sat stoically in a large study, surrounded by books written in a language she didn’t comprehend, and pretended not to feel bored and lonely.