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“Now don’t rub it in the wound, you can keep the painting, the roses on the desk and the corneas—”
I smacked his chest, pulling him into a hug. “You stupid, stupid fool. I can’t believe it took you a month to pull your head out of your arse!”
“Ouch,” he muttered, hugging me back.
“I promised that I would wait for you, Khalid,” I said, pulling back to cup his cheek. Feel his warm skin on my hands. “I have been waiting.”
I felt a small drop on my cheek. “Are you crying?” I asked, my voice soft.
He sniffed, hugging me again. “Maybe. I didn’t think you would want me after what I did to you. I truly thought you hated me and would probably call security to drag me out.”
I chuckled, stroking his hair and kissing his neck. “I don’t hate you, but I am angry at you for ignoring me instead of talking to me about what troubled you, Khalid.”
He hummed, the vibration of his chest against me making me melt in his arms. I felt safe. I felt home.
“Don’t tell Zayed I cried.”
Khalid
A week later
“Stop tapping your shoes, Khalid, you are making me nervous,” Valeria said, sitting on the hospital bed wearing a mint green gown, her red hair in a braid. Even in such a bland setting, she looked like an angel.
“I am sorry, sweet one, but I am worried about you,” I said, waiting for the doctor. “They said I couldn’t be in the room when they perform the surgery.”
She chuckled, squeezing my hand. “Of course, you can’t stay in the room, silly.”
“Then who will look after you?”
“You are being clingy again, Prince Khalid,” she teased, her grin making me smile.
Valeria needed time, and space after I talked to her in her office. I had given her that and everything she wanted from me. Telling her why I never called back and ignored her. She had accepted me, ordering me to stop blaming myself for the circumstances. She had lived with her loss of smell and even though it was difficult, she could endure it. The doctors had told her that her sense of smell could come back in six months span or it might not and she had accepted either of the reality.
My Valeria was a brave woman.
It took her time to face that she could get her sight back and even though she would rather have her sense of smell, she didn’t mind having her sight back. After various checkups, the doctors had told us that there was a seventy percent chance of getting her vision. She won’t have twenty-twenty vision, but enough to live by. There was a chance of eye infection if her body rejects it but she had accepted it.
She was ready to regain her sight. So was I.
When I had dinner with Mabel and Benjamin at her house the night before, they had thanked me for making her the happiest she had ever been. I had cuddled with her in her room when she asked me,
“Why would you do so much for me, Khalid?”
“Because I want to. I care about you, I love you and because it’s my responsibility. I am never repeating the same mistake again. I want to make up to you. Forever.”
“You would do that all for me?” She had asked with a small smile.
I had kissed that sweet smile and said, “The question is what I wouldn’t do for you, my sweet one.”
* * *
“Areyou sure everything is settled? Did you keep the fresh roses in the vase like I asked you to?” I said through the phone, my eyes drifting to the surgery room where the red sign glowed red.
Zayed sighed through the phone, annoyed. “Yes, Khalid, I did. Are you done pestering with little things? The maids already decorated the room last night with you, and now you are just scaring everyone. Do all of us a favor, remove that cane up your ass and sit the fuck down.”
I sighed and sat down on the chair, glaring at the white wall in front of me. “You’re right, I am sorry. I am scared of what—”
“Of what she will think of you once she sees how ugly you are?” Zayed asked in a playful voice.