- Bianca told me the same, she does not want anyone to know about pregnancy, because of our customs. She hopes the people can accept her even if she is a foreigner, but if they know about pregnancy, the chances of supporting our marriage are almost nil.
Jafar rolls his eyes with the smug air, making me feel even more foolish.
-Thank goodness Bianca thinks for both of you.
I squeeze my lips, irritated and sprayed with his eyes, who does he think he is to say I'm an idiot?
He is the Chief of the royal house of Bahrain, my right arm and the thinking head of this palace, always rational and balanced ... And as the Westerners say, a tremendous stick in the ass, that is what you are Jafar Abdul.
I still smile with my mental curses at Jafar and I'm surprised when he gets up, goes to the drawer of his desk, hands me a cigar and says,
-When the baby is born, we'll smoke this cigar, my cousin.
I look at the cigar and giggle, Jafar is really amazing, I keep the cigar in my pocket and I laugh because he is following our tradition.
-Jafar, as far as I know, we do not smoke.
He shrugs and nods.
-That is true, but we can make an exception on that day, do not you think?
Before leaving the office, I hug him and he responds, even with his clumsy embrace, as if my back was surrounded by scorpions, still it's good to have my cousin around. Jafar, you stuck up man, what would this kingdom be without you?
I go up the stairs and back to Bianca's room, she's facing the closet, looking at it thoughtfully, then picks up two clothes hangers, puts them in front of her and asks me which she should wear. There is no way to choose, she looks beautiful dressed in black and red gives her a sensual air, the truth is that even wrapped in a bag of potatoes this woman is irresistible, more difficult to convince her of it.
-My hips are wider, oh my God, I'm naked, I have nothing to wear.
Bianca stares at the closet cluttered with clothes and I turn and cover my mouth with my hand so she does not see that I'm laughing at this absurdity. She holds a high heel in her hands and looks me in the eye, squeezing her lips, hands on her hips, about to give me a shoe of those. I disguise the laughter and I go to meet Thura who knocks on the door, she enters and asks me:
-Is Bianca ready?
I shake my head and she frowns, complaining.
-Raja and Imad just arrived, why is she taking so long?
I whisper so that only she can hear me:
-Now she thinks she has no clothes to wear.
- But how? This week we bought three dresses.
I shrug and Thura will talk to Bianca.
-What's the matter, my dear?
Bianca complains of her growing hips and swollen breasts, now that she has spoken is that I realize, how could I have been so distracted, that I did not notice the changes in my wife's body. Thura picks up a peach-coloured dress and puts it in front of Bianca's body, telling her how beautiful she looks with that kind of dress, she kisses Thura's cheeks and they throw me out of the room. Ever since Thura took Bianca as her protégé, that's how they treated me, as if I were a bundle of dirty clothes.
Wearing a navy-blue suit, I comb my hair with my fingers and when I leave my room, Bianca also leaves her suite, dazzling in a knee-high peach-coloured dress, gold-striped sandals leaving her legs more shapely, Her hair loose, silky and a red lipstick on her lips that only makes me want to turn around and drag her into our bedroom. I hold her hand and descend the stairs, going to receive Raja and Imad in the living room. They greet us cheerfully, I ask Imad how was Spain and we went to the dining room.
The dinner takes place lightly, Imad is a genius man, travelled, a citizen of the world, we talk about our impressions about foreign policy and the global economy, while Raja and Bianca discuss the importance of Egyptian art to humanity. Thura comes to ask us if everything is ok and Bianca asks her to join us. Dinner is served and Nair forgets and serves wine for Bianca, when Bianca is about to drink, I give a tremendous ball out screaming:
-No, it's better not to think, not to drink in the state you're at, not at all.
Raja looks at us without understanding my abrupt reaction and Bianca moves the napkin, all awkwardly, saying,
-It's because I have a migraine, it gets worse when I drink, better to drink a juice.
I call Nair and ask her to remove the wine.
-Bring some juice to Bianca, she loves pomegranate?
She nods and I give Bianca a laugh, apologizing silently for the blunder.
Raja asks Bianca about the preparations for the wedding and she is encouraged, telling her some details of the organization of the ceremony, my hand looks for her, small and soft. She drags my hand up to her belly and rests her hand over mine, playing with my fingers.
We finished dinner and our cheerful and relaxed chat lasts for a long time. Imad and Raja after making us promises that we will soon be staying at their Villa in Tuscany, leave, leaving us with a taste of wanting more ... It was fun, our first encounter as a couple.
QATAR- Capital Doha
FIVE DAYS LATER
SHEIKH HAFIQ ZAFIR BIN AL HASSAN
Tonia travels tomorrow and this animation is leaving me every minute even more irritated. Why is she all so agitated about going with Brenda to Cairo? We've already been to Egypt twice, what's so special about this trip for her to be so cheerful? This week I caught her twice whispering to Youssef in a suspicious way and a smell of confusion came right into my nostrils, what is she up to this time? Youssef knows I have real phobia for conspiracies behind me, so I enjoy sitting on the porch watching her and Brenda play in the garden with Kaled, Seth and Layla, and I get my message straight.
-Did you check with Thomas on the security scheme for this trip to Cairo?
Youssef takes a long sip of his tea and answers me without looking into my eyes:
-I personally guided the team, Antonia will be safe on this trip, rest assured.
I stare at Youssef and tell him bluntly:
-How to feel calm when I sense you're hiding something? You know I hate that they conspire against me behind my back. I don’t know, but you're strange too, Youssef, do you have anything you want to tell me?
Youssef denies it, is my impression and goes to meet Brenda.
I find it hard to be wrong, but who knows, my instinct could be wrong this time around.
Tonia fell on the bed tired, her routine is strenuous, my flower is divided into organize a vernissage in the gallery, receive two Brazilian painters who are passing through here in Qatar and still take care of the children.
Her cell phone rings insistently, but she does not wake up, I pick it up on the nightstand to answer the phone and the call drops, I look at the phone code and I see that the call is not local. I get up and take a shower, when I return the sound of a message arouses my curiosity. If she wakes up and finds me rummaging through her cell phone she'll be furious with me, but fuck, she thinks she's cheating whom? She gets tired of doing this to me, but I always close my eyes and pretend that I do not see her scrolling through my iPhone from the top to the bottom, certainly with the expectation of finding a hooker, which obviously never happens.
Shoot the first stone at me, the perfect man who never had the curiosity to look even for a few seconds to his wife's cell phone.
Especially when this said wife is a hurricane incarnated in a woman: intense, sexy as hell, with a body to go crazy for, damn it! I don’t admit it even to my mirror, but I just would not be jealous of Tonia if I were an idiot, crazy or devoid of dick, which is definitely not my case.
The message is short but effective enough to bring hell into me.
-Tomorrow I insist to meet you at the airport and to accommodate you at my house, I do not accept denials.
Thanks.
What is the point of hosting Tonia if she has a reservation at the Hilton confirmed? And who is N? None of Tonia's friends would sign as N ... What the fuck is going on here?
I start ba
bbling low, but I think with the increase of my anger, my tone of voice accompanied my indignation. Tonia wakes up in alarm, and I stretch my arm, showing her the message, she sits down on the bed and I get up in fury, walking like a caged animal about to go to the slaughter.
-What the fuck is this Tonia? Who is N? I'll give you five minutes to start explaining to me what's going on!
Tonia takes the cell phone from my hand with the indignant air, she reads the message and her gaze is transformed, I have not had a surprise for a long time: Tonia to be without speech is something rare to see.
-Is not that what you're thinking, when did I give you reason to be suspicious of me?
I rebutted promptly.
- Now. You, now, are giving me every reason to distrust you, Antonia Hassan. Tell me who N is, but I'll let you know soon, be very convincing, because this cat that spilled the milk face is giving you away.
Antonia sat on the bed visibly shaken, pulling her fingers as she always does when she is nervous. Our room suddenly became small for such suspicion, I keep pacing back and forth to vent my anger, but there's nothing that I can do to lessen it, other than Tonia telling me what's happening to us, why Is she lying to me?
The idea of being betrayed by the woman I love, for whom I would give everything, including my life if it were necessary, leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, a throb of pain in the middle of my chest. A hole, an open wound that can’t heal.
-Antonia, I thought we were fine, that you were happy, tell me what's going on here, now, tell me, why do I get the feeling that I'm losing you?
Tonia clings to my waist and I do not move.
-That will never happen, I will not lie to you, but I can’t tell you now what is happening, it involves other people and you know I hate to betray the trust you put into me.
-And mine, my trust, are not you afraid of losing?
Tonia gets up and ties herself to my neck, but I try to distance myself.
- No, because I love you and I know that you love me, I just ask you to trust me, have a little patience, love, as soon as I can, I'll explain what's going on.
Tonia stands on her toes and her lips rub against mine, I bite her lip hard to mark her and she moans. I push her onto the bed and rush up onto her hips, tearing at the thin sweater that covers her nakedness. She knows I'm on edge, scared, furious and possessive, it's an ugly face of my nature, but I can’t hide it, not when I tremble with desire and anger for the woman I love.
I fit between her thighs and she pulls my pants with her heels, licking the cleft of my lips as she whispers:
-Trust, believe me, there'll never be another man for me, only you Hafiq, make love to me, please.
I'm panting, and Tonia pants as she pulls my pants down her legs, my eyes twitching, and she does not look away.
Turn around, Tonia.
Tonia, without question, does what I ask and turns away, looking over my shoulders with her cat's eyes.
Below her tiny brief, buried in the butt and positioned between her tight thighs. I guide the penis to her entrance and I brush her sex with mine, masturbating her with my gland. Tonia moans and moves her hips for relief. I cup my hand and grasp her vulva, encircling her damp clitoris as I penetrate her in a single rush.
I take her hair and wrap it in my fist, circling and hitting her hips on her buttocks with each blow. I whisper in her ear, still seized by jealousy and desire.
-Who do you belong to, Antonia?
She opens her legs wider and pulls up her buttocks to get me whole inside, there's no way for me to go deeper.
- To you love, you Hafiq.
I circled and knocked, circled and knocked on her hips, each blow a simple order.
- Never. Forget. Of this, Antonia.
- More, more Hafiq.
She and I are close to enjoying, I reach a crazy pace with every rush, full of fury, jealousy and genuine desire.
- I give you, only I give you, nobody else, take love, take more.
Tonia enjoys roaring like a female in heat, and I undo myself in pleasure, ejaculating on her sex, on her thighs, lost by orgasm and anger.
-Tell me that only I am your man, your love.
- Only you Hafiq, believe me, only you are my male, my love, the father of my children, the man of my life.
I put the weight of my body on her and then I roll sideways, bringing her near me.
Antonia cuddles, I look at the open window, the moon entering my room and I think, even full of fears, I will believe what my heart tells me. But as much as I trust her word, I will investigate and find out what Antonia is hiding from me.
And above all, to know who this N. is.
I already know very well who to ask, once again my intuition was not wrong, Youssef tomorrow will have to start to open the beak and answer me some questions.
I wake up later than my usual schedule, Tonia is already standing, checking the items of her suitcase and asks me why I don’t go to my office, I disguise and tell her that I will take the day to rest a little. She locks herself in the bathroom for one of her long baths and I go to the garden to start putting order in this house of Mother Joan.
On the third ring of the phone Youssef answers.
- Sabaḥu Al-Khair, Youssef (Good morning, Youssef)
-Sabaḥu An Nur, Hafiq, alright? (Hello Hafiq).
I get right to the point, I've never been a rodeo man.
-No, for now it's not all right, but I know it will be, as soon as I make some tongues unroll, then everything will be perfect. I want to talk to you as soon as you get Tonia and Brenda to the airport. Is the jet ready to take them?
-Yes, Thomas has checked these details, he will command a group of eight security guards to accompany them.
-All right, after I hang up, get another group of twelve of our best men in touch with Rachid, he'll replace me for three days in my government duties, you and I will be traveling this afternoon.
The silence takes Youssef, he finally asks me, still searching for the firmness in his voice.
-And I can at least know where we're going, Hafiq?
-You're the one who's going to tell me, Youssef Hassan.
I turn off as Youssef stutters on the other side of the line.
I drink coffee with Tonia, who is silent and strangely thoughtful and then I put on swimming trunks for a swim with Kaled.
I take it that Kaled is playing in the shallow part of the pool and I get Layla and Seth from Ranya's hands, putting my twins one on each arm. They hit their little hands in the water and I enjoy having fun with my children, no matter how busy I have been, since I became a father, I decided that I would raise my children differently, I would have a happy family, totally opposite of what I had inside those walls of the palace of the sun. And hours later, looking at Tonia saying good-bye to the window of the car, I think of everything I went through to build my family, it's not going to be a son of a bitch, anybody who'll pull out what I've won, not so easy, Without me fighting.
Youssef finds me in the office and puts his head through the crack on the door.
-May I come in, Hafiq?
-Come in Youssef and you sit down, Tonia and Brenda have already taken off.
Youssef nodded, adding,
-An hour ago, why don’t you get it over with, will you start the interrogation or not?
-Questioning would be if I were talking to an enemy, you are my best friend, my cousin, to the kin, the approach is another, another kind of conversation.
Youssef stiffened on the couch, his jaw clenched in amusement.
-And, could I know what kind of conversation it would be?
I locked the door and came toward him.
- Torture itself.
Youssef's eyes widened and then narrowed, I don’t know which one of us started to laugh, but it was difficult to contain the crisis of laughter that we had, I sat next to Youssef and he began finally to say what I wanted to hear:
-I'll tell you what's going on, but you're going to promise me,
on Hassan’s name, you will not do anything stupid.
I crossed my legs and waited for Youssef to give me the truth.
-You have my word, Youssef.
An hour after I knew all that was happening, ever since Bianca was abducted here on my land, to this day I utter a curse and get up in fury.
-What the fuck do you and Antonia think you're doing, and if this same group of insurgents decide to kidnap and attempt against Brenda's life, are you eating shit, Youssef?
-I did what I could, you know very well how your wife is when she puts something in that stubborn head of hers, Hafiq.
And if Nahan is lying, this would be the perfect opportunity to capture my wife, I'm stuck around, biting my nails.
-Nahan may be lying, Youssef, and if he's lying, my wife and yours are at risk, have you thought of that? For I tell you, if anything happens to Antonia, I will never forgive you for it.
-I would be the first not to forgive myself, but I know I am right in my judgment. Nahan is just a man suffering, torn apart by the loss of his family. We got a clue to one of the perpetrators of the bombing, I forwarded this information to the Bahrain Intelligence service last night, Jafar Abdul, the head of the Bahrain Royal House, told me he was on the suspect's luck this damn man must be stuck for an hour or so already.
I called Dad and I explained the situation to him, Dad listened to everything in silence, two hours later, he arrived at my house with a suitcase in his hands, sitting in the living room.
-I'll go with you, I thought of everything you said, I think this is a chance fate is giving me to correct a great mistake of my past.
I looked at him and at Youssef, what did Daddy mean by that?
-Dad, you have nothing to do with this attempt on the Tarif family, or do you?
Dad threw me a cushion in his face, responding angrily:
-Of course not, you moron, if there is a family I would never dare do anything against, this is the Tarif family. Abdullah, Nahan's father, was a close friend and still has ...
-What's Daddy?
Dad gets up from the couch, hurrying to pack.
-Nothing, my business, I just know that I want to get to Bahrain soon, there's such a beautiful night, one of the most starry skies I've ever seen in my life.
Lovely Concubine Page 24