While standing in the long corridor out of Ines's room, i slowly stopped thinking about Azziz, and i started thinking about my husband.
I tried to predict his reaction when knowing that my ex was coming back to my life again, and that he was Ines's boyfriend instead, It sure wouldn't be so pleasant. The last time i met Azziz he merely spotted the both of us walking out of a restaurant together still the outcome was severe, now that this long ex boyfriend of mine is about to have deeper roots in our lives i bet Eliyas will turn into his monstrous self and ravage everything in his way, still no matter what would result from my actions.. I had to personally let him know of what was happening inside his family in his absence, otherwise my sun will rise from the west if he knew about this from some other source.
I decided to call him.
I took a deep breath.. And i dialed his number after reflexively looking at Ines's room direction to see if anyone was coming out of there. Although G country where Eliyas was having his business trip was rather far from Algeria, yet the time difference was only 2 hours between the two countries, since i was calling at 5 pm, it was probably time for dinner there.. So i hoped that i would not interrupt some important business dinner by calling him all at sudden.
It really feels awful to have a husband whose job i have no idea about, for example if i married a teacher i would have known all about his work because i have already seen so many teachers work in class along my long life of a student.. I could have even offered to help him correct the students papers and we could have laughed together at some funny answers. If i married a doctor then i would have visited his clinic just to sneak picks at him wearing the white coat, and hear him saying those French complicated terms while discussing some case with his colleagues, i would pamper him by cooking good healthy meals for his night shifts just so as i let the nurses know that there is no spot for competition with me and that this smart man is absolutely taken, i would as well feign sickness to make him take care of me.
In fact, growing up i naturally had fantasies about my future husband's job, i had imagined many scenarios for my happy ever after life, since i was always someone who wanted to inject fun and carelessness into every activity i inevitably pushed the possibility of marrying a business man to the back of my head for it being a boring job in which i can offer no contributions as a wife nor enjoy a funny married life, not to mention i had not a single idea about it.
unfortunately, that was the sad reality i got eventually.
In the beginnings i used to ask Eliyas about his job, in hopes to benefit from his vast knowledge and invest that in writing articles for the economics column of the news paper i worked for, but i had soon gave up that nonsensical aspiration, only god knows how much i hated the business field when that man spoke about it, and how much i wanted him to just shut up the moment he starts talking about charts, company acquirements, stock markets ..etc, i obviously gave up the idea of trying to build a knowledge in business all together subsequently. As for the happy married life i always aspired, although we were arranged i still hoped to have fun and share the most beautiful days of my youth with him, the problem was that he was too busy to spend anytime with me at all, he didn't have a fixed schedule nor any free time, As a CEO, If possible he needed to work 24/7 and that would be hardly enough, so being the wife of such a man my job consisted of watching him working on his laptop day and night while frowning in displeasure.
I find it hard to call him during his work as well, i'm usually forwarded to his secretary anyways, but still in the few times when i need him for an urgent matter i always have that fear inside my heart that i might be calling in the wrong time and that i will interrupt some crucial moment, the result of such mistake can be as huge as some small company being forfeited in the time i speak with him because i would be occupying him from conducting a crisis, thereby many people would end up losing their jobs just because i couldn't be patient and wait for him to come back home before speaking with him.
If you find this thinking of mine exaggerating, then i would like to prove my stance, this had already happened before!
It was in the time when we were newly married, my superior at the news paper promised the first person to collect hints about some big company's corrupt trading deal with a generous bonus, I thought that i was the luckiest among my journalist colleagues since i was married to the man who knew everything about everyone in this field!
So i started calling him repeatedly and fervently although my calls were refused every time, Eliyas finally picked up after so many tries, he asked immediately:
_"Noursine.. Are you ok? Did something happen?"
_"I'm ok, i'm just calling to ask you to help me investigate about Y corporation and its recent__"
I haven't even finished talking when he started scolding me from the other side:
_" Do you have any Idea the damage you had caused just because you called repeatedly and made me think something urgent happened with you? We were anticipating the blabla of blabla corporation then other blabla.. Etc"
The point is that i realised i made some small company go bankrupt because i interfered in a crucial moment and for some difference slot their stocks hit the bottom like a vertical arrow.. Of course this is what i understood.
Anyways i was thinking about this possibility happening again when i tried to call Eliyas in the long corridor, when my call wasn't picked up in the first try.. I decided to stop bothering his important work and just call again later.
It so happened that when i was still in the corridor thinking about what i should do next my mother in-law walked out from Ines's room to find me there, she commented right away:
_" why are you still here? I thought you had an urgent matter to do.. Otherwise what can be more important than giving your opinion about your sister's marriage?"
_" i was coming back to speak with Nana about my urgent matter, i need her help" i lied with a straight face.
Although she didn't buy my words, she still cheerfully said:
_" well, make sure you finish taking care of it by dinner time.. We'll be having a guest to dinner today!"
_" who?" I asked .. My throat already started to constrict.
_"who else? Of course Azziz is coming to meet the family!"
That was it, Eliyas had to know about it even if the whole freaking Filladi empire had to go bankrupt because of my call!
Once my mother in-law finished speaking and went down the stairs, i headed to my room, locked the door and i dialed Eliyas's number again.
Within the third attempt the call was finally picked up, but it was a female voice that spoke to me courteously saying:
_" hello master lady, this if the personal secretary of mr Eliyas, he's currently at a meeting and can not receive your call, if you have any message for him i will help transmitting it"
Being the one-line-thinker that i am, the first question i logically and curiously asked was:
_"how did you know that i am the master lady?"
The secretary was naturally taken aback with my question, still she replied:
_" your contact is registered as "my wife" in mr Eliyas's phone"
I felt somehow pleased with this, i then decided to finally ask about the main point:
_"will this meeting take long?"
_"probably will take another hour, we need to head to another working site for a night observation tour as well after the meeting"
By the time he finishes his work Ines and Azziz might as well be sending their kids to school! I couldn't wait for more, so i said:
_" if it is possible for him to speak with me right now then i will appreciate if you hand him the phone, the matter is urgent"
The secretary was silent for a bit and then she finally said:
_" i will inform him"
Few minutes passed while i was waiting for her response, i was just eying the time count of the call getting longer thinking of the money i was losing as i was wastefully just waiting for his almighty while making an international phone call.
When i was thinking about hanging up and call again a little time later, Eliyas's voice finally came from the other side:
_"Allo, what's the matter Noursine? Is everything ok with you?"
_" i apologize for interrupting your meeting, but i need to inform you about something"
_"go ahead" he suggested without a thread of hesitation.
I took a deep breath, and then i said:
_" your sister will soon be engaged, her fiancé is visiting today for a dinner"
_" i see, since i'm not invited and everything is done in my absence, then i assume the man is not someone to my liking"
I wanted to praise him for being such a smart person, but what is the point of drawing a smile on his face only to crush it with the next news i'd report, so i just jumped to the main point:
_"hmm ..it's Azziz"
There was a long silence after that.
He didn't even ask for the family name, as if there was only one Azziz in all Algeria, and he's my ex.
Realising that he probably won't speak, i asked:
_"should i refuse to go to the dinner to meet him?"
_"No, you should go.. And whatever he says to you i want to know of it, do you understand?" He replied with the coldest tone on the planet.
I felt so scared with his voice that i docily replied:
_" i will record everything if that is what you want "
_" no need, i'll take care of that my self, what i want from you Noursine is to be honest with about whatever he says to you, he sure will try to unveil his motives to you, and i want to know about them to take proper actions"
I haven't yet finished talking with him when i suddenly heard a knocking on the door, so i stood up and opened the locked door, i found my mother in-law standing there with her clothes already different from the ones she was just putting on few minutes earlier, she soon informed me:
_" Noursine! Zizou just notified us that he's on his way to the vila! Put on a proper dress and come wait for him with us at the hall"
Zizou!! What the hell!
Azziz hated when people nicknamed him Zizou even more than he hated dramatic girls! It was for this exact reason that i teased him by calling him this name!
Plus since when my prideful mother in-law started to come personally to my room to inform me, why didn't she only send a servant?
No matter how i thought about it, i still felt very suspicious about Azziz's relationship with Ines.
_"alright yemma (mother).. I'll get dressed and come down" i replied before she left and i locked the door again.
_"Noursine?" Eliyas called my name on the other side after noticing i went silent again.
I took a deep breath, and then i informed him about Azziz's near arrival, i further shared my suspicions with him saying:
_"it all feels so fishy.. I'm not sure what he exactly told your family about me, they are implying that my only relation with him is that we were college mates, should I__"
_"i don't like this" he suddenly interrupted me..
He paused for a bit before adding:
_"i'll wrap up everything here and head back to see about it, tonight i'll trust you dealing with him alone.. I should go back to the meeting now."
_"ok.. Bye" i said displeased.
And then i hang up right afterwards.
I honestly expected more drama from Eliyas, like he would yell: "How dare your ex ask the hand of my sister! Is he planning to keep you both close to him! Buy one and get an extra one for free!" or "Noursine.. Did you and your ex plot for this? Are you both planning to take the money of Filladi co and run away together afterwards?"
To my total disappointment, he dealt with this matter as if the man who was about to marry his sister was just any average person and he asked me to report everything about him just because i'm a journalist and what i do best is reporting news.
Anyways i didn't have the time to curse the cold blooded Eliyas, i opened my closet, selected some dark blue long dress fit for the occasion, i fixed my hair and my make-up, then i put on heels and went down to the hall to wait for Azziz with the family.
They were all already there, that is including my father in-law and even Nana. They were all dressed extravagantly, in fact i was honestly surprised with there speed in changing their looks, my mother in law literally emptied all her jewelry boxes on her neck and arms and emptied all her make-up tools on her face, As for Ines she looked simpler in comparison, wearing a white Quftan ( heavily embroidered traditional dress)Â which is Azziz's favorite color, she braided her long wavy hair and put on heavy make-up, all in all she looked stunning if the one ignores the thousand golden bracelets on her wrists.
If you wonder whether i put on jewelries as well, kindly refer to what i said above.. I just put on my dress, the only jewelries i had on me were my wedding ring that i always put on in the house and take off in work, and the golden necklace i bought with my first ever salary which is the most precious to my heart.
Nevertheless, my mother in-law refrained from commenting on my less "shiny" look for the simple reason that the dark blue dress i was wearing was in fact a very expensive piece that Eliyas bought for me because i complained about "the emptiness" of my closet once.
I took a seat beside my grandmother who was sparkling like the sun as well and then i whispered:
_" why didn't you tell me earlier that Azziz is going to marry Ines?"
She pinched the back of my hand so hard that i wanted to scream and then she scolded me through closed teeth:
_" you brat! I was only informed half an hour before you and had been interrogated throughtoutly until they lost hope that i will speak about him! I always was against your relationship with this negligent boy .. And now i'm involved with you and have to clean your dirty laundry!"
I kneaded my poor pinched skin after she released it and i said:
_"why do you have to clean any laundry for me? Eliyas already knows Azziz, as for his family i don't care about them at all .. We're on a very bad terms with them anyways, so just relax .. I'll take care of this by __"
_"Noursine!" Ines suddenly called my name interrupting me.
I turned to look at her, she gave me a wide smile and said:
_"Zizou told me that you were close friends in college but lost contact later, such a beautiful coincidence isn't it? I hope you cheer for us and wish us happiness."
I nodded with a courteous smile and didn't comment, i didn't know whether Ines genuinely liked that man or she was faking it, so i preferred to be cautious.
We didn't wait for so long before one of the servants walked inside the hall and informed us that Azziz arrived.
I stood up .. I walked towards the interior lobby with the family to receive him with my heart beating so fast from stress.
It is inevitable to have such emotions when meeting an old love interest or a partner, although i wasn't in love with that man anymore.. I still had that lingering effect when meeting with him which will never fade, because i truly treasured this person once.
The big Entrance door was soon opened by the servants and there he was standing behind them..
Wearing a branded suit on his clearly much more muscular body, having his hair and beard elegantly styled and looking much more handsome than i ever saw him.
Back when we were together he was skinnier and not so much taller than i was, at the time he believed that the only purpose of eating was to keep the one alive, the only purpose of clothing is to keep the one warm and decently covered.
Looking at the drastic changes in his looks i realised that the lively and careless college boy i once fell in love with was no longer there.
He walked inside the villa gracefully, greeted my in-laws .. Gave Ines a warm hug to my surprise because that man refrained from being intimate with me before, he greeted Nana despite the cold stare she casted him.
And then he stood in front of me with his unperturbed smile on the face.
And there i was.. Standing in front of my smiling ex lover again.