LOGINKIMBERLY
The man was an egoistic prick and totally disrespectful, I fumed as I sat straight in my chair.
The party was over but Azeena had invited me to stay for dinner and I did not refuse.
I wasn’t going to give her father the satisfaction of bolting back home just because he had decided to be some pervert.
I sat beside Hassan while Arthur sat beside Azeena and it still wasn’t far enough from the overbearing presence of Asif.
It is Mr Farouq to you, Kimberly, I thought to myself as we all waited for the meal to be properly arranged.
“Kimberly, I hear that you are in the same class as my
Zee” Mr Farouq said.“Yes I am, Mr Farouq” I said firmly.
He quirked an eyebrow up at the non-use of his name but said nothing, merely smirked like he considered me a little child and could not be bothered with me.
I remained calm while all I wanted to do was smack him across the face for even trying to seduce his daughter’s friend. It seemed like a habit for him but it wasn’t something I could inform Azeena right away, I had to figure out some way to tell her about it.
I was saved from further questions by the arrival of our meals and I watched as Asif… Mr Farouq bent his head and said some quick words in Arabic while Hassan and Azeena muttered something with him.
I was lost and so I said nothing until they finally picked up their spoons which told me it was time to begin eating.
I moaned as the delicious taste of the food hit my tongue, it was amazing and my taste buds were simply rejoicing at being graced with such exquisite taste.
“What is this?” I blurted as I took another spoon
“It is…”
“You are having what is known as the hummus bi-t-tahina and it is one of our delicacies made with mashed chicken peas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic” Mr Farouq interrupted.
“It tastes absolutely incredible” I responded, staring up at him in wonder as I relished the awesome taste in my mouth.
“It does but you should consume so much and it should be eaten slowly so you can properly savor the taste… like this” He said and then picked up a spoon while I watched and scooped some of the chicken pie or whatever he called it.
He raised dark eyes up to my face and slowly cut bit and pieces out of his spoon, licking his lips as he did so.
It reminded me of someone… his son had done the same thing with the food at the cafeteria and I wondered if this was something they taught the men in their family to do.
“Dad! Stop teasing my friend” Azeena snapped, breaking off the connection… the spell he had cast upon me.
I heard him laugh, ever so richly as he placated his daughter while I grabbed my spoon and fed my mouth until it was full.
I was blushing so furiously and knew that if I looked up, I would probably die of embarrassment and lust.
There I had said it!
I was lusting after a man old enough to be my father and I felt no remorse, maybe a little sadness that he was the father of my best friend but other than that it was pure wanton lust.
I hadn’t seen a man I wanted more than I wanted the man at the head of the table right now and beside him Arthur who sat quietly beside Azeena and Hassan who I noticed was glaring furiously in my direction seemed insignificant.
It was late before we concluded dinner and Azeena insisted on dropping me off at my house with the limousine that had brought us.
“I will do it” Hassan said from behind me.
“Hell no… see your own friend off” Zeena snarled
“Azeena, Let your brother do the seeing off and he can use the SUV instead.”
Zeena huffed but she was powerless against her father’s decision and so I reassured her that I was going to be okay and bid her goodnight while Hassan went ahead to start up the car.
I had no idea Mr Farouq was following closely behind me until I heard his voice, so close… so provocative.
I yelped and turned around, my eyes darting behind him to see if Zeena was anywhere in sight, she wasn’t.
“What?” I asked, trying to get out the door.
He was so close and affecting both my thinking and breathing facilities
“I said it was a pleasure to meet you, Kimberly” He muttered, stretching out his hand.
The hands I had imagined one thousand times at dinner choking me as he made me call him Asif or even…
What the fuck was I doing?
I took a deep breath and met his hand with my own, electricity shooting up my arm as he closed his hand around mine. My breath hitched in my throat and the word heat took on a whole new different meaning inside my body.
“Stop it” I snapped at him.
He eyed me like a tiger would eye his prey right before pouncing and devouring it.
“You are beautiful when you blush like that and I mean to have you, Kimberly… soon” He said softly.
My eyes widened in shock as I stared up at him and then he smiled… like the devil before closing the door in my face.
I walked slowly to where Hassan stood waiting for me, trying to regulate my breathing and illicit thoughts about his father
“What did he say to you?” He asked as we slid into the car
“What?” I asked although I already knew what he was talking about
“What did my father say to you?” He asked again, glancing at me with hooded and almost violent eyes
“Nothing, he only thanked me for coming” I said.
I was lying and I was shaking and I really hoped he did not notice this because I did not want to have to tell anyone what he had said to me and how I had reacted like some whore.
“You shouldn’t trust him. He does this a lot and I do not know many girls who can resist my father’s charm. That is his kink, you know… little girls like you” Hassan said with a scowl on his face.
I said nothing; there was nothing for me to say.
KIMBERLY“Happy Birthday”I stared at Hassan’s Instagram message one more time before I turned off my phone and slipped it into my pocket.It had been two weeks since my mother died and her body was cremated per her wishes.Aunt Catherina had been so helpful with the details of everything while I just floated in a haze of self loathing and anger.After my mother’s farewell, we packed up and left to Italy.I was yet to meet my father’s family. Aunt Catherina had mentioned they were excited to me and were only getting things in order but the truth is, I did not think they wanted to.From what I had been able to gather from sneaking around and eavesdropping on her phone conversation, they hated me. In fact she was the only one who thought it was a great idea to bring the unacknowledged daughter of Matteo Massimo to Italy.Today however, she did mention I would meet my grandfather.Surprisingly, we shared a birthday and he was hosting a party so I was going with her as a plus one. I had a
KIMBERLYMy palms were pressed against one another, clammy and twisting in my lap.The doctor was watching me, his eyes soft in a way I hated. I did not want his pity and who the hell was the woman anyways.“Kimberly,” he said “How are you doing?”How am I doing?I almost laughed. A bitter sound caught in my throat, but no air came out. How could he ask me that when my world had been split apart only minutes ago?“I…” My throat burned, and I shook my head quickly. “I don’t know. I just…” My words caught in my throat. “Where is my mother? I would like to see her.”“That can be arranged,” he said gently. “And I am so very sorry for your loss, Kimberly.”I swallowed hard, my eyes stinging. “You said… that can be arranged?” I repeated. “So she is here? Where is she?”“Yes.” The doctor nodded, but then his gaze flicked to the woman seated in the corner, the one I had not wanted to acknowledge. “That is why she is here as well.”“What do you mean?”The doctor folded his hands on the desk.“
HASSAN“What did you say?” I askedAzeena stared me down, her lips curling in disgust.“You heard me, brother,” she spat. “While you were up here in your little cave, fucking my best friend, her mother was dying in the hospital while the doctor rung her up.”I could feel my body run cold. This was not happening… this had to be some sort of bad dream.I turned to Kimberly, who was still frozen in place, her face pale as death. Her lips were parted but no sound came from them. She looked like she was stuck between horror, disbelief and grief and she wasn’t sure where to begin.Azeena’s gaze snapped to her next.“I hope whatever this is with my brother was worth it,” she said “Because Kimberly, you are dead to me.”With that she spun around and stormed out, the slam of the door shaking the walls.There was silence in that nanosecond as Kimberly’s ragged breathing filled the air.I rushed forward attempting to touch her but when I did, she jerked back violently, her eyes wild.“Kim…”“Don
KIMBERLYI asked myself what the hell I was doing for the umpteenth time that day as I kissed Hassan right back.His lips were so demanding, hungry and full of a need that both terrified and thrilled me. I should have pulled away, I should have thought about Azeena and Asif… even my mother. I should have considered everything this could unravel but instead, I let him reach for the corset ropes of my dress and loosen them, my breath hitching as his fingers trailed down my spine.The fabric gave way easily, sliding from my shoulders like it had been waiting for this moment.“God, Kimberly…” he whispered against my mouth, his forehead pressing to mine as his hands rested at the small of my back. “Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?”I swallowed, my throat dry.“What am I doing?” I croaked.His laugh was low and laced with disbelief.“Everything” He said as he kissed me again, deeper this time, as though he was trying to consume me, to make me forget every thought but him and f
KIMBERLYAnd dance I did… with Hassan whom by the way was an interesting dance partner.He knew how well I struggled with dances and he took his time to twirl me around, making sure I did not trip on my shoes or his.I did not think Hassan had one gentlemanly bone in his body but he surprised me and soon enough I had almost forgotten Asif with that woman… almost.The dance ended and we headed to our seat when Asif cornered Hassan and I.“I would like to introduce my son, Hassan and my daughter’s best friend, Kimberly” He said to the woman in red.Her smile widened as she took us in and my fingers itched to drag itself across that pearly white perfect skin. She was beautiful… stunningly beautiful and it wasn’t helping my broken heart.“It is a pleasure to meet you, Hassan. Your father has always spoken with great pride about you” She brought out a hand to Hassan who took it reluctantly, his smile tight.“And you, Kimberly… I must commend how beautiful you look. I see you have Italian b
KIMBERLYI tried so hard not to cry but my tear gland refused to cooperate with me.I was glad there was no one there to witness my breakdown and when the morning came… the morning of Azeena’s birthday, I lied to her that my eyes were swollen because I had thought about my mother and cried.She comforted me and then rounded it up with an invite to her birthday party. I had to be there and I had to let go of my sadness because in her words, it wasn’t my fault that my mother was ill and I was allowed to be sad about it but not guilty.Hassan knocked on the door that morning to wish his sister a happy birthday and present her of course with his gift for her.He did not look at meHe pretended like I was not in the room as he teased her on turning 21 and then rolled his eyes when she asked him if he would show up for her party.“I don’t think I will, Zeena”“You have to. I do not want to hear it. What the hell is up with you, Hassan?”He cast her a smile and then his eyes met mine across







