“I’m not seeking sympathy. I know whatever happens to me, I deserve it. I just wanted to thank him and ask you to look after your mother if I end up in prison.”
“She doesn’t want me around.”
“Adley doesn’t know how to ask for help.”
“No, Dad, she doesn’t see me as her daughter. Or anything, I suppose. And to be honest, I’m okay with that now. You asked me to look after her, and I will. I won’t disappear from your lives, but I won’t let my mother poison my child, who will be born far from her prejudices and malice.”
“I understand, and your promise not to abandon her is already generous enough.”
“When is the trial?”
“In a few months, but for now, I’m under house arrest. Well, I hope you’ll be fine, my daughter. I just wanted you to thank your fiancé for me. I tried to do it myself, but he didn’t take my call.”
Because he didn’t do it for you; he did it for me and our child.
I know how much Kamal despises dishonesty. My heart overflows with love; even though it goes against what he believes and as much as he disdains them, he also considers my dysfunctional family his own.
“I have to go,” I say, before kissing my father on the cheek.
Inside the car that Christos sent for me, I get the new phone Kamal gave me the day after I left the hospital.
“Madeline?” the voice of the man I love asks.
“I just left my parents’ house. Thank you for everything, but you didn’t have to do this.”
“I didn’t do it for them; I did it for you.”
“I know. I love you, Kamal.”
“Ya ba’ad shabdi[1],”replies my fiancée.
My heart quickens when I hear him say that to me after so long. “Are you not going to tell me what that means?”
“Not yet.”
One week later
“You’re not living, Maddie. You’re merely surviving, and that’s not good for the baby.”
“He hasn’t called me, and since the day I left my parents’ house, he’s only sent texts to check if I’m eating and sleeping properly.”
“Kamal is giving you the space you asked for. For someone like him, it’s the greatest proof of love there could be.” She sighs. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but I don’t think I’m doing any good by keeping silent, even though I promised him.”
“Promised him what?”
“Since the moment you set foot in Boston, Kamal calls me every day to find out every detail of your life: whether you’re eating well, sleeping well, if you need anything.”
“He does that?”
“Religiously. You asked not to be suffocated, and he’s fulfilling his part of the deal.”
“I’m being foolish, that’s what I am. Bringing suffering to both of us.”
“No. I think you did well by stepping away. Both of you needed some time after that meteoric start to the relationship, but you need to make a decision, Madeline. If you don’t want to be with him, if all you want is to maintain a good relationship with the father of your child, end it now.”
Just hearing that, I feel physical pain. “I have no choice, Zoe. I love him with all my soul.”
“You’re mistaken, cousin. There’s always a choice. You told me you wanted to grow up. Stand on your own two feet. Do that but do it right. Don’t let the man you love slip away.”
