“It’s important to keep your promise,” she automatically replied, trying to keep track of all the different conversations going on at once.
When Ashar started rambling off a stuttering list of things, more than half of which Midnight missed because Badr and Ihab kept speaking to her, she stopped trying to keep up. She finally rolled her eyes at the round little man when he looked at his watch for the hundredth time before pushing the pen in her hand closer to the paper. Fed up with the entire mess and needing some peace and quiet, she signed the line with a flourish and slammed the pen down with enough force that everyone became quiet again.
“I’m going out. If anyone follows me, I'll kill you.” She gave a pointed glare at Junayd before she dared Issa or Ziya to stop her.
Badr hurriedly handed her a bottle of water, cautioning her to always remember to drink plenty of fluids. She pushed past the guards and headed for the poolside path.
Minutes later, she was sitting in the shade on the ledge. It would be dark in a couple of hours. She didn’t know if she wanted to try spending the night on the ledge or not. Earlier, she had been ready to figure out how to drive on the fly, but now... she was exhausted and she wished like hell that she had read the contract she had signed. She should have just broken the pen and ripped up the contract on principle.
She scooted back against the rock wall, sipped the water, and worried. She could have just given away her first-born! She could have agreed to never work again. She could have.... Closing her eyes, she drifted quickly. She wasn’t used to being awake during the day.
Just a few minutes of rest. Then I'll figure out what to do,she thought.
* * *
“Is she still up there?” Melik asked.
Junayd nodded. His gaze had been focused on the ledge for the past two hours. It would be dark soon. He didn’t like the idea of Midnight climbing down in the dark even if she had already done it once.
“She is unusual,” his father commented.
“No more than Idella,” he replied.
“Ah, yes… Idella isveryunusual,” his father said.
Junayd frowned at that. Did his father know Idella's secret? He quickly forgot about it when he noticed Midnight swinging down along the cliff using just her hands and feet. He didn’t realize he had been holding his breath until she landed on the ground. She wiped her hands on the back of her pants.
She seemed calmer than earlier. He hoped so. Ashar had been somewhat flustered about whether Midnight really understood what she had signed. Technically they were married, though nothing would be official until Ashar filed the paperwork with the proper channels. Once his parents left, he would talk to Midnight. If she was vehemently opposed to their union, he would call Ashar and have his assistant shred the paperwork.
“Midnight, please join us,” Ihab requested, stepping outside to sit next to her husband.
Midnight paused as she looked at the seating arrangement. He saw her glance at the ground by the furniture, and he wondered with incredulity if she was actually considering sitting on the ground rather than choose the only available seat next to him. She sighed, walked over, and sat next to him, her expression weary.
“I’m sorry if I appear rude. I’m… not used to being around people.” Midnight directed her comment to Ihab.
“I’m the one who is sorry,” he murmured near her ear.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She stiffened at his touch.
Compassion filled him. He had handled this entire situation poorly. The plan had been for Ashar to drop the paperwork off at the house so it would be available to them when she was ready. He had planned to court Midnight, ask her to marry him, and have Kalil and Badr witness their union. He wanted it to be almost like the night they met, just him and Midnight in the moonlight, pledging their lives to each other in his favorite place on Earth. It never dawned on him that his parents would show up, or that things would escalate out of control so quickly.
“I don’t think I ever told my sons about what happened three days before our wedding night,” Ihab shared.
“Ihab,” Melik grumbled.
Junayd raised an eyebrow when he saw his father’s cheeks flush a darker color. Intrigued, he waited for his mother to continue. Even Midnight sat up a little straighter.
Ihab winked at her husband. Midnight’s lips twitched at the affectionate gesture. Junayd caressed Midnight’s shoulder, encouraged by the sign that she was beginning to relax a little.
“What happened?” Junayd curiously asked.
“Your father thought he was the boss of me,” Ihab announced.
“I did not! Well, maybe a little,” Melik conceded with twinkling eyes. “I was testing her to see how far she would let me go.”
“Let you go? Posh! You were full of yourself, always thinking you knew what was best for me,” Ihab dismissed with a wave of her hand.
“Wow! So, this runs in the family?” Midnight dryly inquired, still refusing to look at Junayd.