Worth the wait

ASHER’s POINT OF VIEW

Maybe I’d made the wrong move.

Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.

Maybe I’d crossed all boundaries.

She was my brother’s wife, for goodness’s sake! What the hell was I thinking?

“Nae, I—‘’

“— We shouldn’t be doing this, Asher,” She wasn’t looking at me, but her voice was dripping with reluctance, and her hands went to my chest to push me off slowly. “I’m still married to Sage.”

I cut through her whisper with a heavy sigh, my right hand running over my face dejectedly. 

It hurt me that Sage was toying with a woman as good as Nadira. She was fucking loyal to the core.

How could she still think about him after everything he’d put her through?

I took a step backward, searching her eyes with mine, but she refused to hold my gaze.

“Nadira,” I wanted her to look at me, but she was fervently avoiding eye contact. “I’m sorry for crossing the line.”

She’d just had a miscarriage, yet all I could think about was having her beneath my body and making love to her all night.

Hell no, Asher… You’ve lost your mind.

I saw her pout her lips and tucked her hair behind her ear nervously. She wasn’t comfortable— I could see her jerky movements.

I decided to retreat, take a step back, and give her time to heal and relax. This wasn’t something I could force or make her rush into.

But she needed to let go of Sage.

I was going to make sure of that.

I’d only come back to LA for one reason— to make Nadira mine.

*

“What in the world are you doing with that horrible woman?”

I should have known Sage would tell Mother, but I didn’t expect her to wait this long to react.

I stood at the entrance, blocking her from entering the house. She’d loathed Nadira for the longest time, and even now that I was older, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the reason.

“Mum, stop—‘’

“— She’s going to ruin your life like she did to your brother,” I rolled my eyes at the interruption, snorting at how annoying my mother sounded. “Can’t you see what that devil is trying to do? She’s turning you and your only brother into rivals.”

That wasn’t Nadira’s fault, but Sage’s. Yes, we were rivals, and maybe Nadira had something to do with it, but it still wasn’t her fault.

I ran two fingers through my hair, ignoring my mother’s voice that was slowly fading into thin air.

“Talk of the devil…”

I spun around and caught Nadira, dressed in a floral gown that stopped just on her knees, and strapless. She had her hair into a bun, while her lips were fully glossy.

My heart stopped beating for a moment, and I found myself staring sheepishly, captivated by the beauty that fed my eyes.

She walked slowly towards us, but halted just a few steps away when she saw mother, and almost immediately, I noticed the change in her countenance.

Her eyelids dropped, and her eyeballs widened in fear. She fidgeted with her fingers before placing both hands behind her back.

“M—Mum?”

“Keep your cursed mouth away from my face!” I returned my focus back to mother, attacking her with my brows knitted in fury. “What are you doing here? Haven’t you caused enough trouble?”

“Mum, please—‘’

“— Sage threw me out of the house,” Nadira’s words cut through mine, and I heard her swallow hard with her face to the ground. “I had nowhere to go, and—‘’

“— you decided to walk in here and ruin my other son’s life.” Mother sounded accusing like Nadira had actually committed a heinous crime. “You tortured Sage for five good years, and now? You want to ruin Asher’s life too after he finally returns home? Are you crazy?”

I’d had enough of the yelling, so I stepped in front of Mother, blocking her completely from seeing Nadira’s figure that was already sniffing.

Wait, was she crying?

“You need to leave right now,” I saw Mother’s jaw hanging slack at how stern I sounded, and I knew my fiery eyes couldn’t be ignored. “This is my house, and you can’t come in here and harass my guest.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Your guest?”

“Yes, my guest,” I snapped at her, gritting my teeth in her face. “You’ve tortured Nadira for too long, Mother— you and your horrible son, Sage. She just had a miscarriage, and what did he do? He threw her out of his house. Wait, not his house— her house! Dad left that house for her.”

A brief silence ensued, and I heard footsteps running off. I turned back swiftly and saw Nadira rushing towards the stairs, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Have you seen what you’ve caused?” My voice grew harsher after seeing Nae in that situation, “Why are you so heartless? What has Nadira ever done to you?”

My chest was heaving up and down in rage. I was furious, and couldn’t understand why everyone was being so mean and heartless.

I heard Mum’s taunting laughter, and a scoff that sounded threatening. She raised both hands to my face, and clapped them twice to retrieve my diverted attention.

“Well done, Asher,” I knew she was being sarcastic, “You’re defending a woman who’s been nothing but trouble to our family? Someone who killed your father?”

“Father died from cancer,” I drew the words out slowly, reminded of the pain once again. “It wasn’t her fault that he passed away on her birthday.”

That seemed to have silenced Mum, or maybe I’d thought wrong.

She took a step backward, her eyes blazing at mine but I held her gaze. Her hands straightened the bag strap on her shoulders, and with one last look that spoke volumes, she turned and walked off.

I didn’t hesitate before locking the door. My fingers brushed through the hand rails of the stairs as I climbed, rushing to meet Nadira in her room.

Her door was locked when I got there, so I pressed my ears against the door, and heard her crying.

“Nadira—‘’

“— Please, go away.”

Her voice was shaking, and I could tell that her breath was shuddering. I didn’t retreat, rather, I began to pound my fists on the door.

“Nadira, open the door.”

I was replied to with silence. I guessed she decided to stop talking to me.

“Nae, please—‘’

The knob turned open unexpectedly and her figure stared at me from the room, her eyes red and bulgy. 

Her lips were quivering, and her whole body was shaking like she’d been placed out in the cold.

“Nae,” I pulled her into my arms immediately, allowing her to sob on my shoulders in a bid to keep her calm.

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t have to apologize. She hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Shhh…” I cooed, patting her back gently as she kept sobbing uncontrollably. “You don’t have to say anything.”

She held onto me tightly, making my heart beat increase as I tightened my jaw. Her warmth comforted me, and when her hands reached the nape of my neck, I froze.

“Asher,” she pulled away slightly, her hands still on my neck. “I— I want to ask you something.”

My heart skipped with uncertainty for a second.

I arched my brows, wondering what she wanted to ask me. I felt her fingers drawing an imaginary line on my skin, and it made me stiffen the surging sensation that was flooding through me.

“What’s that?”

She ran her tongue over her lips in a way that drove me insane. Her ocean blue eyes drew me in, staring at me like they had a mission to make me drown.

“I need you to tell me the truth, Asher,” her voice turned serious, and it made me swallow hard. “The eve of my wedding… and the incident that happened. What do you know about it?”

My jaw dropped.

Why was Nadira asking me this?

Had she found out the truth?

Did Sage break his part of the deal?

How could I tell her the truth? 

How could l look into her bright blue eyes without stuttering?