Accidentally Engaged(92)

Mum and Dad were not happy. In fact, it took Reena a while to get them to believe she was married at all. And once they did, Mum was so furious, she hung up on Reena.

Well…at least it was better than yelling? Hopefully with time their anger would mellow a bit. Reena shrugged as she put her phone down, not really caring too much what her parents thought right now.

“What’d your father say?” she asked Nadim as he walked out of his room. Reena did not see it as a good sign that he had been in there for less than fifteen minutes.

He squeezed his lips together before smiling sadly. “He’s not impressed.”

Reena didn’t know if he wasn’t pleased that Nadim eloped, or if it was his choice of bride. Either way, she could see how upset Nadim was about the damage to the relationship with his father. Reena crossed the room and put her arms around her husband. She wouldn’t press—if he didn’t want to tell her what his father said, it was fine. She wasn’t fooling herself—she knew they were building something, and they weren’t there yet. But they would be.

They held each other tightly for several seconds. He inhaled deeply into her hair. “Love you,” he whispered.

“Love you, too.”

Shayne and Marley appeared soon after, squealing with joy over Reena’s texts about last night’s wedding. Amira and Duncan, who were still across the hall in Reena’s apartment, heard the squealing and came to join the party. And it really was a party, because she was still telling Shayne and Marley about their moonlit wedding when there was a loud banging on Nadim’s door.

Reena took a deep breath before opening it. She knew who it would be.

“Reena, is this some joke?” Mum said the moment the door was open. Her father was there, too. Both with tight faces and stiff postures. Saira stood behind them, a wide smile on her face. And Ashraf stood behind her, looking bewildered about this family he’d attached himself to. She didn’t blame him.

“C’mon in. The more the merrier.” She motioned her family into Nadim’s apartment. It was a tight squeeze. Ten people in a small apartment covered with boxes and suitcases.

Mum walked in, dropped her purse on the counter, and turned, glaring at Reena. “You really married him?”

“Yes. We eloped last night. I’m very happy, Mum.”

Mum somehow managed to make her frown bigger. “Without your family? And what is this…eloped! That is not a wedding! You need a Nikah in the Jamatkhana, and mehndi, and a big reception. Maybe at the Toronto Ismaili Centre, or—”

“Wait—so you don’t have an issue with who I married, or that I did it so quickly, only that I didn’t have a big wedding?”

Amira stepped forward. “It was a lovely ceremony. Outside, under the stars.”

Mum glared at Amira for three seconds before turning back to Reena. “She was there, but not us? Not your sister?”

“Actually, I was there,” Saira interjected. “I was sworn to secrecy, though. It was so romantic! Might think about eloping myself!”

Mum glared at Saira this time. She was really getting good mileage out of her frown today. This must be how Mum made those Vegas high rollers quiver in their seats.

“Um,” Marley said, inching awkwardly toward the door. “Hey, Duncan and Amira, why don’t we go upstairs to my place. Duncan said he wanted to see my…um…Gucci bag?”

Reena snorted. She couldn’t blame her friends for seeking a swift escape from the family drama unfolding. She only wished she could go with them.

The moment Marley, Shayne, Amira, and Duncan were out of the apartment, Dad sighed and sat heavily on that hideous green armchair. Reena looked from one parent to the other, wondering if she should offer them chai or vodka or anything that could cut through the thick tension in the room, but decided against it—Nadim’s coffee cups were packed. She motioned for Mum to sit on the couch and took the seat next to her. Ashraf and Saira took the barstools in the dining room, and Nadim sat on the other side of Reena, immediately putting his hand on her knee and squeezing shakily. She squeezed back, giving her husband the strength he was looking for.

She smiled. Husband, husband, husband.

She freaking loved that. Her hand covered his.

Dad cleared his throat. “I wanted to come speak to you alone, but all of…them insisted on joining us.”

“As they should,” Reena said. “This is a family, right?”

Dad gestured to Nadim with his hand. “Your father called me ten minutes after Reena did. But you probably knew that.”

“I assumed he would,” Nadim said.

“He thinks I forced you to elope so I could get his money back. That’s not true, but I had no answer as to the reason why you have done this. He wants you to get the marriage annulled.”

“We did this because we want to be married. This wasn’t about money,” Reena said, teeth clenching.

Nadim squeezed her even tighter. “I married her because I love her, sir. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. And I will spend the rest of my life showing her that.”

Damn. Why weren’t they alone? She wondered briefly if she could pull this man to his bedroom to kiss him senseless.

Mum frowned sharply. “So, you’re going against your father’s wishes?”

Nadim nodded. “He pulled his investment in the Diamond project, so it doesn’t matter what he says anymore. My life, and my job, are no longer tied to him. He wanted me to marry Reena, and I have. I don’t care that it’s not according to his terms, or that’s he’s suddenly decided she’s not good enough. He’s wrong—Reena is everything. More than I deserve.”