Ten Years

Chapter Sixteen

Late September

There was nothing in the world Edward cherished more than catching up with Jabbar, enjoying a drink in the beer garden and soaking up some late summer sun. But Jabbar had other plans. "I told you that wasn't the smartest move," he said.

Edward took a long sip of his drink. The coldness hit his tongue and his throat. He licked the foam off his lips. "It's complicated."

Jabbar acquiesced. "That's an understatement."

Fair enough. "Look." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Anna is an amazing woman; she means the world to me. She's gorgeous and generous. And she's ambitious. I love how stubborn she is. She knows what she wants and just goes for it. I wouldn't have asked her to marry me if I didn't think that. But I feel like... we've grown apart."

"Right, so, this has nothing to do with Leïla?"

Leïla. The burst of pleasure at her mention was disproportionate, to say the least. Her smile made him dizzy. The constellation of freckles on her face twinkled in his brain. Finding her again, after all this time and against all the odds, left him questioning himself. How the hell was he supposed to feel about this? How the hell could he not feel about it?

Edward remained quiet for a moment. He concentrated on the bottle, digging his nails further into the label. "No," he said eventually. "Anna and I, we don't see to eye to eye about a lot - not anymore - way before seeing Leïla."

He was in London, with no intention of relocating back to LA, while Anna's patience wore thin. She had every right to feel that way. She had fallen in love with the version of him who, once upon a time, felt he had a score to settle with life. He had faced countless rejections before finally catching his big break. For a while, his thirst for movies, recognition, awards and red carpets had been bottomless.

Now, he recognised that kind of success had been fraught.

Now, he turned down every script that needed him to be on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, he yearned for days that resembled slow Sundays, where you wake up late, cozy up with a book or knitting needles, and savour a fresh pot of tea.

How long had it been since he last picked up those knitting needles and created something with his own hands? Anna used to tease him mercilessly whenever he embarked on a knitting project. Eventually, he gave up and never took them out again.

He furrowed his brows. "We have a lot of tiffs, you know? But I reckon there are things we can work on in the relationship."

Jabbar gave him a tight smile. "But do you want that? Do you genuinely want to work on the relationship?"

Edward robbed his hands on his jeans. His friend had a point. This was messy. He had made a commitment to Anna, and he needed to follow through on it.

"Anyway. How is my precious goddaughter? The last time I saw her, she was dragging that one-eared bunny of hers everywhere."

Jabbar chuckled at the vivid image. "Oh man, Zara is driving Mary crazy! You know what she said last time? We were having dinner, and Zara put her little fork down and said, mummy, it's not fair that you sleep with daddy, and I can't."

"Oh no, she didn't."

"Oh yes, she did. Zara shows up at three in the morning in our room every day, and tries to push her mum out of bed. Mary is at her end's wit. You know how she needs her sleep. And the worst part? I sleep through all of this like a rock."

"I bet Mary is mad at you."

"Oh yes she is."

They both laughed.