was the same.
She hadn’t expected Hussain to be that kind of man. He was so kind and thoughtful in so many
ways. He’d said all those things to Nudrat about her. Had he not meant them then, just as she’d
suspected? Was he really embarrassed, or just angry because she had unwittingly displayed skills he
didn’t have? Why was she even thinking about it? Why did she care?
“I wish you didn’t feel the need to keep me at such a distance, Shahira. I feel we’ve come a long
way since that stupid contract, and yet you’re determined to be a stranger. I get it. You were hurt. But
don’t let him win by turning away from love. Give life another chance.”
She wanted to say something but couldn’t.
“Every time I make an effort to make our relationship something more than this sad arid contract
we’ve got going, you do something, or say something to stress the damn thing. Like tonight. You’re
determined to shut me out. Don’t do that.”
Was that why he was angry? Because he’d felt shut out? She’d refused the earrings too. Or maybe
she was finding excuses for him.
“What do you hope to achieve with your effort?” she asked.
“I want a normal, healthy, happy marriage with you. Is that such a bad thing?”
“We hardly know each other. You know nothing about me, Hussain. You just said you didn’t even
know I could speak Arabic.”
“That’s my point exactly. Why don’t I know these things about you? I want to know. I don’t want to
feel like a stranger to you…just like every other man. I’m not, Shahira. Let me prove it to you.”
After a while he asked, “How do you know so many languages?”
“Only French and Arabic. I took the courses after my divorce. I like learning languages. I feel
empowered knowing things.”
He chuckled.
“Why’s that funny?”
“You still have a lot to learn. You know nothing about passion and desire and…”
“You…promised…”
Her voice was barely a whisper and she was immobile with something—was it disappointment in
him? But it was more than that. There was almost a sense of expectancy that was both thrilling and a
little frightening.
Hussain answered, slightly irate, “I know I did. And I remember that, but you didn’t believe me.
My word isn’t good enough. I’ve never been so insulted in my life, Shahira or been made to feel so
cheap.”
He was upset about the earrings, not about the Arabs. He was hurt at her refusal to accept gifts
from him, not because he felt she’d upstaged him.
≈
TEN
The next morning Shahira found her gaze magnetically turning to Hussain several times, so much so
that by noon, he wore a smug smile. Which chafed at her for no other reason than he was getting too
sure of himself. Probably because he had reason to be. Which meant that she was giving him signals
that were misleading. Because no way was she falling for him, that would be disastrous.
They spent their day sightseeing, Champs Elysees, again; walks along the Seine; they stayed mostly
on the Les Iles, the larger of the two islands that constitutes Paris. When Hussain wasn’t holding
Shahaan’s or Natasha’s hand, he was holding hers, which sent little shivers of thrill down her spine.
Or when he put his hand on the small of her back she felt a strange warm glow in the vicinity of her
heart. At times she caught him looking at her in a way that made her heart leap rather uncomfortably.
Sainte Chapelle was as beautiful as she had thought it would be, as was the nearby Notre Dame, in
all its Gothic glory. Both had gorgeous stained glass windows but the ones at the Chapelle were
breath-taking, she thought. The colors of the stained glass reminded her of glass windows in the
walled city of Lahore in the older houses. The Ile St-Louis, a small, almost village-like settlement in
the heart of Paris, had a wonderful provincial quality to it. Unlike the sleepy, quaint small towns of
England, this little town was loaded with another
She hadn’t expected Hussain to be that kind of man. He was so kind and thoughtful in so many
ways. He’d said all those things to Nudrat about her. Had he not meant them then, just as she’d
suspected? Was he really embarrassed, or just angry because she had unwittingly displayed skills he
didn’t have? Why was she even thinking about it? Why did she care?
“I wish you didn’t feel the need to keep me at such a distance, Shahira. I feel we’ve come a long
way since that stupid contract, and yet you’re determined to be a stranger. I get it. You were hurt. But
don’t let him win by turning away from love. Give life another chance.”
She wanted to say something but couldn’t.
“Every time I make an effort to make our relationship something more than this sad arid contract
we’ve got going, you do something, or say something to stress the damn thing. Like tonight. You’re
determined to shut me out. Don’t do that.”
Was that why he was angry? Because he’d felt shut out? She’d refused the earrings too. Or maybe
she was finding excuses for him.
“What do you hope to achieve with your effort?” she asked.
“I want a normal, healthy, happy marriage with you. Is that such a bad thing?”
“We hardly know each other. You know nothing about me, Hussain. You just said you didn’t even
know I could speak Arabic.”
“That’s my point exactly. Why don’t I know these things about you? I want to know. I don’t want to
feel like a stranger to you…just like every other man. I’m not, Shahira. Let me prove it to you.”
After a while he asked, “How do you know so many languages?”
“Only French and Arabic. I took the courses after my divorce. I like learning languages. I feel
empowered knowing things.”
He chuckled.
“Why’s that funny?”
“You still have a lot to learn. You know nothing about passion and desire and…”
“You…promised…”
Her voice was barely a whisper and she was immobile with something—was it disappointment in
him? But it was more than that. There was almost a sense of expectancy that was both thrilling and a
little frightening.
Hussain answered, slightly irate, “I know I did. And I remember that, but you didn’t believe me.
My word isn’t good enough. I’ve never been so insulted in my life, Shahira or been made to feel so
cheap.”
He was upset about the earrings, not about the Arabs. He was hurt at her refusal to accept gifts
from him, not because he felt she’d upstaged him.
≈
TEN
The next morning Shahira found her gaze magnetically turning to Hussain several times, so much so
that by noon, he wore a smug smile. Which chafed at her for no other reason than he was getting too
sure of himself. Probably because he had reason to be. Which meant that she was giving him signals
that were misleading. Because no way was she falling for him, that would be disastrous.
They spent their day sightseeing, Champs Elysees, again; walks along the Seine; they stayed mostly
on the Les Iles, the larger of the two islands that constitutes Paris. When Hussain wasn’t holding
Shahaan’s or Natasha’s hand, he was holding hers, which sent little shivers of thrill down her spine.
Or when he put his hand on the small of her back she felt a strange warm glow in the vicinity of her
heart. At times she caught him looking at her in a way that made her heart leap rather uncomfortably.
Sainte Chapelle was as beautiful as she had thought it would be, as was the nearby Notre Dame, in
all its Gothic glory. Both had gorgeous stained glass windows but the ones at the Chapelle were
breath-taking, she thought. The colors of the stained glass reminded her of glass windows in the
walled city of Lahore in the older houses. The Ile St-Louis, a small, almost village-like settlement in
the heart of Paris, had a wonderful provincial quality to it. Unlike the sleepy, quaint small towns of
England, this little town was loaded with another
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