Unsealed Fate

Chapter 27: What The Heart Wants

A Quick Warning

There is a sensitive scene at the end of the chapter. Please do well to skip it, if you are not comfortable reading explicit romantic text. And you are going to see more of such scenes in later chapters. I know most of my readers are Muslims and probably think it's inappropriate to read such contents, so I want you to feel relaxed. That is why I chose my language carefully.

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What The Heart Wants

There had been a familiar glance being passed around the table and it only started when I entered the room. As everyone was laughing and roasting me, I felt my boss's eyes on me. I looked at him as he sat there with a cheeky smirk as if he knew what went through my head. He seemed to enjoy making snide comments about my childhood days. 

What is he even doing here?

"Teslim, I swear I didn't know she was your sister." He said, taking a large sip from his glass of cold drink. 

"Really? How come?" She asked, relishing the morsel of spaghetti in her mouth, a bit confused.

"She works at Bremin Tech, didn't she tell you?" I saw him reaching for his fork, and I sat planted on my mother's plush dining chair, watching as everyone feasted on the meal I made with my sweat and blood. I was a bit nervous because I wasn't so confident about my cooking skills.  

"As a receptionist." I quickly added, as if it was no big deal. Zayn's dark eyes stared at me, making me uncomfortable being in their midst. There was something so accusatory about the way he was studying me. As if he didn't like that I was there, perhaps I'm too young to dine with mature men like them. That is one thing I didn't like about him; his pride.

"Wow! You didn't tell us you work with him."That was my mother, calling my attention.

"How was I supposed to know he was the Khalifa everyone spoke about."My boss had gone from some mythical man I had only heard about from friends and seen pictures of on Television and the Internet to a real-life person, sitting in our house and even dining with us. Who could have thought he was someone related to me or a family friend?

"Omar left town when she was barely eight, I don't see how she could recognize him after so many years."Ahmad pointed out and I saw my mum nodding in agreement with a light smile.

"That was a long time ago, look at you now."My boss said, eyeing me and an unintended smile made its way to my lips. "You've grown into not just a beautiful but a wildflower."He said in a tone that could easily be either playful or flirtatious. I didn't know him well enough to tell which, but the way he looked at me made my skin crawl. And hell, if it were not for my mother that forced me to sit at this table with them, I'd prefer to be in my room.

"So how are you? How is school?" He asked, and to be honest, it felt kind of strange talking casually to my boss. For once I could imagine the excitement in Kulthum's voice when it came to him. I always wondered what she saw in him. Not that he was not attractive, but it kind of baffled me when people hurt over what they couldn't have. I have matured with the realization that I can live without a man.

"I'm okay, and school is fine. Well, it's fine for now, since it's the beginning of a new semester, everything is going smoothly, Alhamdulillah." I gave an honest reply and I couldn't help but notice Dr. Zayn quietly eating his food, the one I made. What did he think about my cooking? My interest grew deep when I looked at him chewing on the morsel in his mouth.

"If I remember correctly, you said you are majoring in nursing?"My boss inquired and for a moment I saw Zayn's eyebrows shifted from their relaxed position as though something my boss said picked his interest. It was funny how I craved his attention. Part of me wanted him to be the one asking such personal questions.