CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Sira, you have to make them understand what these men are like. What they’ll do!” said Hala in a panicked voice.
“They understand better than anyone in the world,” she said quietly, guiding her to the stone bench.
She said nothing for a few moments, allowing the sounds of the garden to wash over Hala.
The trickle of the fountain heard just above the rustling of the fallen leaves.
The breeze whispering through the hanging moss.
Hala took a deep breath, closing her eyes and then opening them.
“Better?” asked Sira.
“Yes. Thank you. I don’t usually panic but I’ve never attempted an escape from my grandfather before.”
“Not attempted. Succeeded in an escape. Listen, Hala. When Wes found me, I was trying to send him coded messages leading him to what my uncle was doing. I was in Istanbul when he saw me in a café. Eventually, I was back in D.C., finishing my law degree but my uncle was demanding my return.”
“Why? Was he going to marry you off?” she asked.
“No, honey. He was going to force me to marry him and then he was going to kill me.”
“Oh, no,” whispered Hala. “Sira, I’m so sorry.”
“I agreed to meet with Wes, alone. Of course, he didn’t listen to me,” she smirked.
“He showed up with the entire team at his back. When they heard my story, Wes simply said there was only one way to go around the problem. He would marry me. One hour and eleven minutes into meeting me, he proposed.”
“Holy cow!” she said staring at her. “And you’ve been married, what, twenty years?”
“No, honey. We’ve been married more than forty years.”
“Wh-what? That’s not possible. It can’t be possible.”
“The same magic that helped your scars, helps all of us to stay young. A magic that no one can know about, Hala.”
“Of course. Obviously. I mean, who would believe me anyway,” she frowned. “But it is fascinating to me as a physician.”
“Well, Gabi, Gray, and Riley can explain more to you but it’s an amazing gift we’ve been given. In the end, they ended my uncle and his terror. I was a princess of my region and I returned power to those that could help to make things right.”
“That’s very noble of you, Sira but I have no power. I have nothing.”
“Oh, honey, you have everything. You have a man that obviously has fallen in love with you. You have his family, his entire, crazy, amazing family behind you. You have an opportunity to work at a world-class hospital and research clinic. You have everything at your fingertips here. Everything to give you the happy life you deserve and desire.”
Hala stood and circled the fountain, staring back at Sira every few seconds. Sira let her have a moment to absorb everything. When she sat back down, she turned to Sira.
“What if, what if he realizes this was all too fast? It’s all a mistake and he wants out.” Sira shook her head.
“Honey, that won’t happen. It doesn’t happen here.”
“What if he hits me?”
“Never!” growled Ham walking toward the young woman.
“Oh. Mr. McDonald, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you,” she stammered. He gripped her shoulders and Sira kissed her cheek, walking back toward the cafeteria.
“Hala, you didn’t offend me. The men here are different than the men you’ve known. No one hits a woman. Ever. There is no cheating or lying. There is no abuse of any kind. It’s not in our DNA and it’s not tolerated even if it were.”
“He’ll hate me. Because of what my grandfather has done, what he’ll do, Cole will hate me.”
“Hala, take a deep breath,” he said smiling at the young woman. She took a shuddering breath, then another. “Better?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Hala, your goodness, kindness, and bravery saved my son. I will never ever forget that. Because of it, even if you decided not to marry Cole…”
“Marry!”
“Hold on. Even if you decided not to marry Cole, you would stay here and be safe, hidden from your grandfather. You are part of this family now.”
“I’m so confused. And overwhelmed. I don’t even know why except that I’ve never had anyone show me such kindness and love.”
“Well, that just makes me sad. And I have to tell you, it would make me sad if you weren’t my new daughter-in-law,” he said grinning at her.
“But he didn’t ask me to marry him,” she whispered.
“Believe me, honey. He will.”