“It is what it is. But I say we give them nothing to talk about.”
“Yeah?” Hena exhaled. “I’d like that.”
Irum’s expression warmed. “Good,” she said.
One of the perfume hostesses hurried over. There was a snafu with one of the scents. Irum excused herself to help, but they promised to catch up later.
Hena drifted to the terrace. Below her stretched manicured gardens, a winding path, a hedge maze just across from her.
Maybe now was the perfect chance to slip away and check out the grounds before the festivities began.
She stepped onto the raised wooden boardwalk running along the edge of the property, a dividing line between two worlds. To her right lay the manicured resort; to her left stretched the swamp—dark and untamed, rolling into the horizon.
Something tightened in her chest at the sight. This was the backdrop she’d grown up with. How many times had she wandered to the marshy water behind her childhood home, plucking reeds like these, thick along the murky shallows? Tucked a spider lily behind her ear?
This place set her teeth on edge. But it was also home.
Farther up, she walked past a metal dock glinting against the sun. A rowboat was tied loosely to its side. The water was deeper here. Darker.
Taking in the property from this vantage point, the glitzy venue seemed so big it felt like it could have its own zip code. She passed three pools, a white-fenced butterfly garden tucked near the parking lot, and a koi pond set toward the back of the premises.
As she walked, her thoughts drifted to her conversation with Irum. She was relieved they’d had a chance to clear the air early on. They hadn’t seen each other since that fateful evening in the boathouse. When Irum held her own mother back, tried to talk her down from her torrent of accusations against Hena. This had always been Irum’s role in Hena’s relationship with Nasir—the peacemaker. When their parents had threatened to disown him, it was Irum who had intervened. Who pushed them to let it go.
It wasn’t that his parents had an issue with Hena specifically—more so her family. Wealthy though they might have been, the Mirzas were not respectable in his parents’ eyes, having accrued their money through a hotel business rather than something prestigious, like Nasir’s father, a vascular surgeon. Hena, they had told him, was not part of the plan.
But Nasir hadn’t been part of hers either.
Her goal for college had been simple: to get as far from this place and these people as possible. Princeton’s campus, with its Gothic buildings and crimson fall leaves, was the perfect place to escape the never-ending summer of her past.
She couldn’t have predicted how lonely she would feel four weeks in, clutching her tray in Frist’s food hall, questioning everything. Or that she’d spot Nasir across the room having dinner with friends. That their eyes would meet. That he would smile.
Until then, she’d only seen him as the boy who played football with Haris at childhood potluck parties. Her sister’s friend’s brother. She hadn’t expected him to wave her over. Hadn’t expected a friendship to bloom—or for their friendship to grow into something more. Nasir wasn’t just the gentlest soul she’d ever known; he had been the first person who made her feel like she didn’t have to run from who she was. Who saw her, flaws and all, and loved her anyway. They’d been together nine years. Most of those years were good. The best she’d known. Because she hadn’t known what lay beneath the surface—that their foundation was built upon a lie.
The leaves of the mangroves rustled in the distance. Hena shivered. Not for the first time, she wondered: What if she’d declined his invitation all those years ago? What if she could’ve undone everything that followed?
The boardwalk curved before abruptly ending at atrailhead, where a tilted wooden sign showed an illustrated map of the property. Ten different paths branched off from there, winding past brush and trees. She studied the map as a door at the far end of the resort slid open.
Haris stepped onto the grassy lawn, phone to his ear. When he hung up, he stretched and spotted her. She waved him over.
“Taking a hike?” he asked as he approached.
“Tempted, but not the best idea in these heels.” She pointed to her four-inch Aquazzuras.
“Good thinking. Plus, the trails will be crawling with alligators this time of year.”
She was pretty sure she’d take her chances with the alligators over the aunties. Though—
“You sure you’re okay talking to me?” she teased. “I don’t think your mother would approve.”
He winced. “I’m sorry about that. I’ve had a talk with her.”
“She’s always been super protective of you.”
“Doesn’t make it right. I hope that’s not why you skipped the South Beach outing this morning. This is your family wedding. No one should make you feel unwelcome.”
“That’s sweet of you, but no. I was busy.” She gestured to her outfit. “Apparently the clothes I’d packed weren’t cutting it.”
He gave her outfit a quick once-over, then met her eyes. “You look nice.”