Dania {18+}

Chapter 30

I felt something tickling my neck. When I tilted my head to rub my cheek to my shoulder to block it off, I was prevented by something warm and rough. I opened my eyes, with a groan. A chuckle and soft kiss to my shoulder could be heard and felt as my vision came into focus.

"Good morning, love." He groggily greeted me, burying his face back into my neck. I let out a satisfied hum and tangled my fingers in his hair, softly rubbing.

I heard a ringtone go off beside me.

"Your phone's ringing," I grumbled, wincing at the sudden, loud sounds.

"That's your phone, baby." He mumbled into my neck. The ticklish feeling made me giggle.

This was strange. I hardly ever got phone calls. Usually, it was just texts. I thought Reyn might have changed his ringtone or something.

I reached over and felt around on the side table until I felt the smooth, cool object under my fingertips.

Mama.

I shot up in bed. Any sense of sleep had evaporated and been replaced by weariness.

"What's wrong?" Reyn quickly got up beside me and read the screen. "Do you want me to answer it for you?"

I shook my head. It was better I did it myself. She was my mother; there was no way I could keep from talking to her no matter how badly I wanted to. I dragged my finger hesitantly across the bottom edge of the screen to answer the call. My chest felt tight.

"Hello?"

"Your father and I will be there tonight. We want to meet the man's parents."

I looked over at Reyn apologetically. My mother's voice was so loud he could easily hear it even if he wasn't trying.

He nodded at me in agreement, encouraging me to agree.

"Okay, that's fine. I'll check with Reyn's father and let you know the time."

My mother ended the call. The abrupt tone only made me even more anxious. This was going to be a disaster.

"I-I'm so sorry. I know you don't enjoy seeing your dad. This is going to be a huge inconvenience for Mr. Sadiq, too." I played with my hands in my lap.

"Don't worry about that man, baby. He retired as soon as I was ready to take over the firm. He spends his days lazing around. I'm sure he'll love this." Reyn huffed with an exhausted shake of his head. "You really made an impression on him at the banquet."

"He was messing with me the entire time. But I don't get the impression he really means any harm." I scoffed with a small smile.

"He's always like that. He always has his nose in everything... I'll call him now to let him know. They can meet us here so we can kick them out if necessary."

I hated that I had to speak about my parents like this. But I was too old to be pushed around by my mother. Lashing out at me like this due to her own broken heart wasn't fair. It made me desperately miss the days we used to be a happy family. Before my father's indiscretions.

I hated him for it for a long time. I blamed him for ruining our family. He didn't get anything more than civility from me, even now.

Eventually, I reconciled with myself. Despite him being a shitty spouse, he was still a great father to me. He provided for me and cared for me as any father did. Hating him only made me tired and bitter. And while I didn't forgive him for what he did and for the grief he inflicted on my mother, I didn't harbor any animosity towards him either.