Page 182 of Masters of Control

Asad huffed a laugh.

“No, we’re not going to do that.” He shook his head. “Besides, I can guarantee my mom already knows we’re here. Even if it wasn’t for the security cameras, I bet she’s peeking out one of the windows as we speak.” Sighing, he gave her fingers a squeeze back, then let go so he could unbuckle his seatbelt. “We’ll be spending all week with them. Might as well go ahead and get the party started.”

Asad

“Mom, Dad, this is Morgan. Morgan, these are my parents, Lena and Darius.”

“Hello.” Despite the death grip Morgan had on his hand, her greeting was cheerful and warm.

His parents looked a little shell-shocked.

He wondered what kind of girl they’d been expecting him to bring. To be fair, the last girl they’d seen him with had been eight years ago, and Molly had been deep into the goth scene. She’d had spiked hair, black lipstick, and rarely wore anything that wasn’t ripped to hell. They’d had a good time together, enjoying each other’s company without ever getting serious, until she’d moved to New York. He hadn’t formally introduced her to his parents, of course, but they’d seen him and Molly together out in public. His mom had done her best to cover her horror when she’d questioned him about the ‘young lady’ they’d seen him with, but she hadn’t entirely managed it.

It had been funny as hell, and Molly had thoroughly enjoyed playing her part.

Now, his parents were staring at Morgan like they were waiting for her to explode.

“Hello, dear, it’s so lovely to meet you.” Seeming to have gotten over her trepidation, his mom stepped forward and wrapped Morgan in a big hug.

Only Asad knew that Morgan had rocked back for a moment before his mom got her arms around her. Giving him a glance, as if looking for approval, Morgan gingerly hugged his mom back, patting her shoulder with the hand he wasn’t holding.

“Um, hi, Mrs. Khan.”

“No, no, Lena, I insist.” Was his mom blinking back tears as she pulled away?

Asad was acutely aware of how uncomfortable he felt under this parental scrutiny. He hadn’t grown up with his parents much caring what he did. They hadn’t needed to because he’d been a good kid, so they wouldn’t have to worry about him and Cyrus, up until he’d hit his rebellious years, which his parents hadn’t appreciated at all. This show of emotional approval from his mom was weirding him out.

“Come on in. Cyrus and Anna should be here any moment.”

“Ah, the boy wonder is running late,” Asad joked, earning himself a ‘look’ from his mother. His dad frowned at him. That was more like it. Now, they were back in his comfort zone.

“It is his wedding week. It’s expected they’re a little busy,” his mom replied in a repressive tone. Criticizing the boy wonder was a no-no.

“Of course,” he replied mildly.

“You have a beautiful home,” Morgan said, interrupting what was sure to be a devolving conversation where Asad made general remarks and his parents leapt to his brother’s defense. “Is that a family portrait?” She was looking up at the painting that hung in the back of the foyer, underneath the double staircase to the second floor.

His mom brightened. Turning so she was standing on Morgan’s free side, she linked her arm through Morgan’s, pulling her away from him.

His hand felt suddenly very empty.

“It is. We had it done when Asad was ten and Cyrus was eight. Aren’t they adorable?”

What his mother wasn’t saying was that they’d had it done when Cyrus had been going through a particularly bad period, and they hadn’t been sure he was going to beat the cancer. The artist who had done the painting had taken a lot of artistic license when it came to Cyrus’ appearance, working more from photos than from what Cyrus had actually looked like at that moment in time. Asad’s gut tightened as he remembered how gaunt his brother had been, how unnaturally pale, with huge shadows under his eyes.

He'd spent every night terrified that he was going to wake up in the morning to the news that his brother was gone.

But Cyrus had pulled through. And now the boy wonder was getting married. It was the happily-ever-after all of them had hoped for.

Which was why the bitterness Asad tasted in his mouth was so hard to swallow. He didn’t want to feel this way about his brother, but sometimes, it was hard to push the resentment down. Cyrus had gotten better, yet somehow, the family dynamic had never changed.

“Let me show you around,” his mom said to Morgan before glancing over her shoulder. “Asad, dear, do you want to join us?”

That resentment buried in the pit of his stomach flared again, and he wasn’t sure why. This was good. This was what he’d wanted.

Yup, for my mom to only approve of me once I brought a girl home, that’s exactly what I wanted.

Asad squashed the thought. It wasn’t as if he’d acted like he wanted his mom to approve of him otherwise. He’d hit a point in his life where he’d stopped being her good little boy and started doing the opposite of anything she and his father asked of him. Looking back, he realized that.