Malika

07 Lightning

"I agree." Noura leans back in her chair, her gaze lingering on them a while before flicking away. "They sure are made for each other."

"Just like you and shahzada Adam."

She gives Roya a small, fleeting smile, her cheeks growing warm at her remark. "Thank you."

"He has been looking for you, khanum."

"Who?"

"Your husband. The prince."

"When?"

"When you went inside the house. He was scanning the crowd for you."

"Ah."

"Should I send someone to inform him?"

"What for?"

"That you're here now and would like to meet him?"

"No."

"But would you not like to see him?"

"I already did. Twice."

Roya seems ready to push some more, but then reconsiders and falls silent. Noura already met him briefly at the start of the banquet, where they only exchanged greetings before she fled from his presence. And then later when they happened to cross paths where he was nothing more than a glimpse she caught. This avoiding of him is absurd, she knows, but she's both hurt by him and yearning for him, the contradiction of her judgment and feelings making it difficult for her to take a side-- whether to forgive or to punish. She dangles somewhere in between.

But she doesn't get to dwell much on her thoughts as Roya clears her throat, bringing her attention back to the present. "He's coming here."

Noura looks up to find Adam walking towards them. "Don't leave," she asks Roya but her maid is already out of her seat and shuffling away to give her the privacy with her husband. Noura feels her heart leaping to her throat and sticking there.

"Zawjati." He greets her with a faint smile, welcoming himself on the seat Roya has left empty and bringing it closer to hers. "Anti jamilah, Noura (you look beautiful, Noura)."

"Thank you," she mumble, holding back from telling him that he too looks nothing less.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

She nods, keeping her gaze straight up ahead so she wouldn't faint in this proximity with him-- so she wouldn't lose reason in his eyes and give up against him so easily. The scent of his fragrance he's wearing is an intoxication in itself. He makes her feel so helpless against him. She remembers a time when it wasn't this hard to resist him-- ages ago when it wasn't love.

"We've only married, and you're already so upset with me that you wouldn't even look at me?"

"I'm not upset with you. And we were already married before now."

"Yes, but we did it properly this time. You didn't know who I was the first time. They call it a bluff."

She doesn't say anything. He reaches to place his hand atop hers folded onto her lap. Her skin tingles at his touch. Everything feels new to her to the point of foolishness. She scolds herself mentally to calm down.

"You've every right to be upset with me, Noura. But I've my reasons which I hope you'll understand. You do trust that I would never willing hurt you, don't you?"

"I'm willing to give you a chance to explain yourself, sayidi."

"By shunning me away?"

"Definitely not."