‘Are you sure you want to marry this man?’ asked Jia.

Maria laughed again, and it filled Jia with a lightness, like hope.

‘I should go help him before Baba sees. By the way, you know Elyas is here?’

The lightness evaporated instantly. Jia nodded. She knew he was here. She just didn’t know if she was ready to see him.

She watched her little sister traverse the space, feeling both pride and envy at her youth. She handled the silk gharara with the same ease as she handled everything else in life. Sanam Khan had succeeded in protecting at least one of her daughters.

Back in his study, her father was thinking the same thing as he watched them.

‘You seem troubled, Brother?’ Bazigh Khan said.

‘A little. I want you to take these papers. There is a letter in it addressed to you. Open it tomorrow before you come to see me, and then burn it.’ Akbar Khan placed his right hand on his brother’s shoulder, as if to stress the importance of what he was about to say. ‘I know it is a strange request, but everything will become clear. Tomorrow evening, we’ll talk like we used to before things changed, yes?’ His voice was weary. Bazigh Khan had not heard him speak this way since Jia left. ‘I trust you above all others. And I know that you trust me. I know that you will stand by the family no matter what,’ he said. He locked eyes with his brother, unwilling to look away until understanding passed over Bazigh Khan’s face. The matter was too important to be avoided, yet too delicate to be ridden over roughshod with empty words. ‘No matter what happens,’ he said.

Bazigh Khan nodded. ‘Yes, Brother,’ he said. ‘You have my word.’

CHAPTER 11

He scanned the other guests with a mix of nerves and excitement. The thought of seeing her had kept him up all night. He wondered if this was what a mid-life crisis felt like. He wondered why he was here. He wondered if this was a mistake.

Across from him, surrounded by his closest friends and his children, Akbar Khan danced with his wife. The man who’d damaged Elyas’s life was still happily continuing his. The last time he had been in this place, words had been said and tragedy had followed. The last time he’d seen Akbar Khan was when he had left Ahad in Elyas’s care.