"You look very pretty aunty" Zahir said with a cheeky smile and Ameya laughed out loud.
"Aren't you a little charmer??" Ameya asked lightly pinching his cheeks
Ava shook her head in disbelief.
At five, Zahir is flirting like a pro. Twenty years from now she can't even imagine how he is gonna be.
They are travelling on the Ahmed's private jet to US for a business meeting and Ava took the triplets along with her.
She needs an armor when facing Zayed
After seeing the divorce papers, she hadn't
had wink of sleep.
She looked at Zahir, charming the socks off Ameya and a pretty air hostess and she remembered the call she got from the triplets class teacher on a friday evening
Apparently Zahir has been promising the girls in his class marriage.
"Mrs Ahmed, Zahir had promised to marry two girls in the class and they both were fighting over him today. Just warn him not to do it again" the teacher had said.
Ava had called the triplets for a talk
"Zahir? Did you promise to marry two girls in your class?" Ava had asked
"Yes" he said shrugging
"Why??" Ava asked stunned at the ease with which her son agreed to it. To think that he is the son of a commitment phobe. She shook her head
"Lily asked me will I marry her and I said yes"
"What about the other girl?"
"Oh Misha asked Zian to marry her and he said Zahir would marry her" Zada quipped in between.
"If I said no, she would be sad, right momma??" Zahir asked expectantly. What the hell is he expecting?? A pat on his shoulder saying how thoughtful he is.
She looked at Zian and raised an eyebrow.
"I dont like marriage" he said with a yuck face. So that's where that particular gene had gone, Ava thought.
"And Emily got so angry that she ripped off Zahir's drawing from the wall" Zada added helpfully earning a dirty look from her elder brother.
"Why was Emily angry?? Did you promise her also marriage" Ava asked
"No" Zahir protested so loudly, but Ava was fascinated by the red streaks spreading across his cheeks.
Oh my! Is my little daredevil blushing, Ava thought and grinned mischievously at her son.
"Oh! Someone has a crush on little Emily, huh??"
"Emily is Zahir's girlfriend" Zada whispered loud enough for all of them to hear.
"But they broke up the next day" Zian added and Zahir grumbled
"Why did they break up??" Ava asked, enjoying the misery on her elder son's face. It doesn't happen every day after all.
"Because, Zahir is being a badboy" Zada said in a duh tone asking as if isn't it obvious..
Ava sighed looking at her triplets. They are growing too fast.
Next time she looks up, Zahir might be
standing their already married to Emily
Who knows??
Ava was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Zahir asking Ameya
"Are you married aunty??"
"Now don't go and offer to marry her. You cant make all the girls around the world happy" Ava said rolling her eyes earning a chuckle from Ameya.
****
"Papa" Zada screamed and launched into her father's waiting arms at the airport.
"Hello, Princess. How are you?" Zayed asked, placing a kiss on his daughter’s
head.
"The aeroplane was so big. There was a big bedroom. I slept in there for a while. There was also a big television. I watched cartoons. Then Zi wanted to watch dinosaurs." Zada went to a tirade of sharing her day. Zayed patiently listened to his daughter after giving a hug to both his sons.
"Where are we staying?" Zahir asked
"In a hotel" Zayed said and turned to Aveline
"I have booked a presidential suite. There are three bedrooms in there. I hope that's alright for you" Zayed said, looking at Aveline to which she simply nodded
****
Throughout the meeting Zayed watched Aveline.
She looked pale.
And she wasn't even meeting his eyes.
Could he blame her?
He had been avoiding her ever since that incident in Paris.
And what would she be thinking now?
That he might have used her for sex? Just like how it happened six years ago.
Oh lord! What a mess he has created out of his life.
After the meeting, he got a message from his friend Benjamin Lockwood.
'Hey, Zayed. Heard that you are in US. Wanna meet up? Julian is also free. Come over to my office if you are free' the message said
****
As the meeting got over, Zayed asked her to go ahead without him, as he has got some other pressing issues to deal with.
Ava walked out of the conference hall and was in the elevator when she received a text message from an unknown number
I got to know you are in US. I would like to meet you in private. Brianna
Aghast at the idea while noting that the word private was emphasised, Ava looked at her phone as though it had jumped up and bitten her. Her husband's ex girlfriend was actually texting her?
Was it for real?
But for what possible reason would anyone try to set Ava up with a fake text purporting to be from Brianna?
Assuming the text was genuine, how on earth had Brianna Cooper got Ava's phone number? Had she taken it from Zayed's phone?
It was the most likely explanation and as such hit Ava's already down spirits hard because it was not long since she had got
a new number and if Brianna was in possession of it, it suggested very recent contact between Zayed and the other woman.
Are they planning to rekindle their relationship once the divorce is final.
Is what Cassandra told true?
Has Zayef been spending the past four weekends with Brianna
Last time he left, she had three kids to take care of.
This time, it would be four.
More if somehow she has conceived a set of twins or triplets again.
As soon as she accept that, things would be better....
Possibly meeting Brianna Cooper in the flesh would be a sensible first step in that much-needed process.
****