I winced when the sound of utensils clanked with each other in the early morning, my feet light as I kept them on the vast island of the palace kitchen. I had to wake up before Zain to sneak out of the room to the kitchen. Knowing he was on our bed, naked and alone, with a pout on his lips when he slept made something tug at my heart.
I am doing this for him.
Without thinking too much, I got to work wearing the apron. After I had prepared the sugar syrup and the filling, I started working on the crust, knowing Zain would start looking for me in a few moments. I worked quickly, putting the sweets in the oven.
“What are you doing?”
I let out a surprised gasp and turned around to see Khalid frowning at me, standing near the door of the kitchen.
“You scared me,” I said, lowering my hand from my thundering heart. “I was making something sweet for your brother. And the family.”
“Liar,” he said with a smug smile. “You are only making it to impress my brother.”
I didn’t reply, twisting my fingers nervously.
“You don’t need to do that. He worships the ground you walk on and can never shut up talking about you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Why is everyone awake so early?” Zayed said groggily, yawning as he walked in the kitchen. He was a close friend of Khalid and Zain, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him at the palace. He was in the stables, in the study with Zain, in the art studio with Khalid, or teasing Zara.
“My sweet sister-in-law is making kunafah for my brother to impress him.”
“Can I get some too?” Zayed asked, his bottom lip jutting out, “Please?”
I chuckled and looked at Zara when she trudged into the kitchen in her pyjamas, her short hair all over the place. “Whatever Zayed is having, I will have it, too. But more.”
He flicked her forehead, and she punched him, which resulted in a morning duel between them while Khalid watched them with crossed arms, letting out a sigh.
I smiled at all of them and said, “I think I might like Zain.”
“Right,” Khalid drawled, a teasing glint in his eyes.
Zayed and Zara stopped wrestling to give me a look. “Of course, you like my brother, who doesn’t?” Zara said.
“No, I meant,” I look around, trying to express it. “That I more than just like him. That is why I woke up early to make him kunafah.”
“Aw, that’s really sweet, Nasrin.”
“Will I get a piece of kunafah or no?”
“So you love him.”
I smiled at Zara, remembered to make kunafah for Zayed when he visits next time and froze hearing Khalid’s words. He gave me a long look that made me shiver. His eyes were more intense than his brother’s and seeing him look at me like he knew what I was feeling made me feel weird.
“I have never felt it before, so I wouldn’t know,” I confessed in a small voice, thinking about the night where Zain had confessed on his knees. I had wanted to say it to him, but I couldn’t because I was confused.
Zara came up to me and gave me a side hug. “It is as simple as waking up early to make something sweet for someone that you care about.”
“Is that how simple love is?” I asked, blinking at all of them.
Khalid gave me a smile. “Yes. You both care about each other even when you two have different opinions and fight in the study.”
“We don’t fight,” I said. “We just… argue politely.”
When they gave me an amused look, I huffed and muttered he was right. With a cloth, I pulled the hot tray of kunafah from the oven and let it cool down, smacking Zayed’s palm when he tried to touch it.
“Well, love or not, you are definitely good for him. For Azmia and for our family,” Zara said with her bright smile, a dimple on her cheek.
“Why is everyone in the kitchen?” Zain asked, looking at all of us and the kunafah cooling between us. “Is that kuna—”
“We just came to drink water,” Khalid lied terribly and dragged Zayed out by his shirt when he said that he was there for kunafah. Zara gave me a thumbs up behind Zain’s shoulder and closed the kitchen door, leaving me alone with Zain. And the delicious kunafah.
He frowned at the door. “What were they doing here?”
“Talking. We all were talking,” I said. “Sit, I made this for you.”
“For me? So early in the morning?” Zain asked, eyeing the kunafah when I cut it, the cheese stretching out when I served a slice to him on a plate.
“Go on, eat it,” I pressed when he eyed the plate and me.
He finally did. I grinned when his eyes went wide at the taste and he took another bite. “This is delicious. The best kunafah I have ever had, Nasrin.”
Zain pulled me on his lap, feeding me a bite and making me promise to make the delicious sweet every week. I chuckled at him and gave him my promise.
“Zain,” I said, cupping his jaw. “I want to tell you something.”
He allowed me to continue, his hands resting on my waist, watching my lips when I licked them.
“I have been thinking about it for a while and realized that… that I…”
“Go on, Nasrin. Tell me.”
“ThatIloveyou.”
“What? I couldn’t hear you.”
I took a deep breath and said, “That I love you, Zain.”
Zain stared at me, his pupils dilating. Cupping my cheeks, he said, “Say that again, Nasrin.”
I blushed, smiling at my husband. “I love you, Zain.”
He kissed me, and I kissed him back. Our kiss was sweet like kunafah. It was beautiful and… loving. We were smiling and murmuring ‘I love you’ when Zayed opened the door with a yell.
“My kunafah!”
We were so shocked with our confession and the sweet kiss that we didn’t even blink when Zayed stole the sweet and ran out of the kitchen.
“Did Zayed steal my kunafah, or did I imagine it?” I asked Zain.
He rubbed my waist. “It really happened, Nasrin. Do you want me to fight to get it back for you?”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. Can we go back to what we were doing before?”
He gave me a mischievous smile. “Of course, we can, my wife. Tell me how much you love me when I fuck you—”
“Zain!” I exclaimed when he laid me on the island. “Not in here.”
“Fine. But I am not letting you out of the room until lunch.”
“Such a bossy, Sultan.”
I chuckled at him when he held my hand and ran with me to our room, ignoring the curious glances of guards and maids who saw their ruler and his wife running around the hallways of the palace like little children with huge grins on their faces.
THE END
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