Royalty Overnight

23: A Chance

Maalik went out to the garden to sit and think. He had hatched out a plan on how to lessen the gap between him and his wife. It has been two weeks since, and he had done absolutely nothing. No progress whatsoever.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting outside, but it was long enough to see Nakita walking in the distance. She was mending the garden; she looked beautiful. Her soft brown hair tied into a tight bun that he wished to touch; to pull the band until her hair cascaded down her back. Her light day dress flowed with the wind, caressing her skin that only he wished he could.

She hadn't noticed his presence, fully focused on what she was. After staring for more than what was appropriate, she walked back inside the house, still unaware of him there.

Was this how he would live his life, watching his wife from a distance, never to be close to her, to touch her, to hold her, or even kiss her? Even 15, 20 years from now?

What a pathetic existence.

It was at that moment he knew he had to take action. He couldn't continue to live like this.

Immediately, he stood up and headed inside. It took some time for him to find her, but eventually did. Nakita was in the library; she enjoyed using the library as her place to relax and some paperwork that required her full attention. Maalik liked the library as well, but always avoided the place the moment he saw her there.

But not anymore.

He stepped into the massive book filled room. It only took a few seconds to find her sorting some open books and scattered papers on the table. She mustn't have heard him enter the place, and if she did, she was doing a good job pretending she didn't.

"I want to talk to you."

"About what, exactly?" Her indifference and disinterest were evident in her voice. She busied herself with putting books and papers in order.

"About anything. I just want it to be something."

She wanted to let out a scoff in disbelief. What was this man on about? "You can get started with talking." Nakita turned away, still not looking at him. She had a few books in hand to put back on the shelves.

"We have to talk about how all this started, Nakita."

He watched her body tense, but she kept on sorting the books.

His footsteps moved toward her direction until he was right behind her. Maalik knew she was aware of how close he was to her with the way she stopped what she was doing and her breathing became hectic.

"Nakita. My darling." A hand wrapped itself around her waist, while the other gently pulled out a book she held, dropping it to the floor.

Maalik grabbed her hand onto his and ran a thumb over her hand, as if to memorise the shape of it in his grasp.

"You know I would never betray your trust."

She remained silent, her back still turned to him.

"Why don't you trust me, just this one time. I promise I won't disappoint you." His lips touched her neck and shoulder.

This caused her to shiver and immediately move away from him. Nakita turned to look at him. "It doesn't matter if I trust you or not." Her lips then curled up into a bitter smile. "I'm here, aren't I? That should be more than enough, unless you have someone else in mind to replace me with?"

"No, I want no one else." Maalik was quick to defend. He felt insulted. After all the attention and affection he has been giving her unconditionally, her mind still went to him entertaining other women.

Nakita let out a sigh, not knowing what to do. She wanted to trust him, but the hostility that built up over the years had thickened the walls around, making it hard, impossible to break down.

Almost impossible.

Her subconscious mind decided to chime in. Perhaps it was possible. Just a bit.

"Alright."

Maalik's gaze intensified, completely on edge. "What do you mean?"

"I am...willing to be more open to this...proposal."

"Really?"

Nakita noticed his eyes were brighter, more hopeful. "Yes, but I am only considering it. Now, if you will excuse me, I will have to leave."

"Okay. But before you go, can I at least get a hug?" he asked.

Nakita almost said no, but stopped herself. She had to give this a chance, and the first step to take was a hug. She then stepped between his arms, and Maalik pulled her into a gentle hug, careful not to crush her into him.

He stroked her cheek, and his eyes turned soft, more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him before. What was wrong with him? His arms around her, and warmth radiated from him. His heart hammered hard against his chest.

"That's enough, please let go," she said, wiggling her way out of his embrace. "I'm leaving now."

Maalik moved away to let her pass, watching her leave. "Wait!"

She turned around to look at him. "Yes."

"I..."

Her brows frowned in confusion and slight curiosity. "What is it?"

"I love you."

"I want this to work between us. Thank you for making it happen," he said.

Nakita didn't say anything, but gave him a short nod before leaving. Her heart pumped hard against her chest. She had just agreed to giving him a chance. Why did she do it? Did she still like him? Could things really function between the two of them? Only time could tell.

•••

Over the next weeks, Nakita saw the amount of effort Maalik was putting into making her happy. He was more attentive to her; he asked her about her day, what she liked, bought her things that had meaningful thoughts behind it.

Even the children noticed how they interacted with each other, and for the first there were actual conversations at the table between everyone. She saw how happy he was, and she was, too.

Maalik looked at his wife as conversed with the children in the car. They were on the way back home from an amusement park. It was entertaining, especially when the children convinced Nakita to take one of the scarier rides; she was so terrified after the ride that she refused to leave his side.

It was adorable how she clung to his arm and trailed behind him like a scared puppy.

Maalik looked at her hand. His fingers brushed her hand, his eyes glanced up at her. Nakita's gaze just stared at his hand, she didn't pull away.

Taking that as an approval, his hand fully covered hers, squeezing it lightly. She took in a shaky breath, but still didn't move her hand away.

Maalik's heart almost skipped a beat when her brown eyes found his own, but shyly looked away. His chest filled with happiness as they both sat in silence, their fingers now intertwined.