Twenty minutes before, at Camellia’s house. 

She was drinking water in the kitchen when her mother and aunt entered. “The food was fantastic,” Pakinam remarked.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Layla said, known for her love of cooking without the help of the maids or Camellia when there was a gathering at her house. “However, I’d like to see you cook one day.”

“Keep wishing, honey; I’m not going to ruin my beautiful hands in the kitchen.” Camellia chuckled at her aunt’s reaction; Nadine’s mother, Pakinam, was not a fan of cooking; she had an outgoing, self-centered personality. She was more concerned with her social standing than with anything else.

Camellia’s phone kept vibrating. When she looked at it, she noticed the voice messages from Nadine. She walked out of the kitchen and into the garden to listen to them. “Lena is on her way to your house, Camellia. I want you to take a letter from her and don’t let anyone see her.” — “Call me when you get it,” Nadine said, her voice shaking.

Camellia was perplexed, but she phoned Lena’s number to find out where she was. “Lena, where are you?” she asked after Lena answered the phone.

“I’ll be right there. What exactly is going on? Why did she request this letter from me?” Lena appeared surprised. “She called me, and her voice was strange, and she told me to write a letter of termination for Adam, and the letter was bizarre” — in the background, the sound of a car door closing — “I’m outside, could you come out now, she wants me to give it to you in person.”

Adam began working for Nadine’s family corporation the day they graduated. Both were engaged and planning to marry. Camellia pushed open the door, revealing Lena on the other side, clutching the letter.

She tried to persuade Lena to come in for a cup of tea, but she politely declined because she had left her friends, who were about to go to the movies. Lena handed Camellia the letter before returning to her car and driving away.

Layla was leaving the kitchen when she met Camellia halfway. Camellia’s gaze shifted between the letter and her mother, who noticed her perplexity. “Who came?” Layla asked.

“It was Lena, she needed her to get some work papers,” Camellia explained.

“This girl is becoming a workaholic like her father,” Layla said as she walked into another room.

Camellia examined her mother’s moving body before opening the letter when Layla was not nearby. “Shit! She’s really firing him” — she went upstairs to her room, took her phone from her jeans back pocket, and called Nadine to find out what was going on — “Nadine! what happened?”

“I’ll tell you everything, just do what she told you,” Nadine said calmly before cutting the call, leaving Camellia even more confused.

“What?!” Camellia said, looking at the phone.

Twenty-seven minutes later.

Nadine and Adam arrived at Camellia’s house. Adam followed Nadine as she led the way to the garden. She took her phone from her bag and called Camellia. “I’m in the garden,” she said as she quickly hung up the phone.

“What’s going on?” Adam inquired nervously.

“Just wait,” she said, not looking at him. Camellia appeared in front of them in an instant. Nadine and Adam stood near the pool and square table. Nadine extended her hands to Camellia, who handed her the letter and turned to face Adam. She reached into her bag for a pen and signed the letter. “Sign here,” she said, moving her gaze to meet him, giving him the pen and the letter.

He read through it. “You’re firing me! Are you insane?!” Adam yelled angrily, while Nadine nodded calmly and without emotion. Adam’s voice was so loud that it broke the silence of the house, drawing everyone’s attention inside.

Camellia noticed everyone in the garden seconds later: her parents, Nadine’s parents, and some of their friends. Camellia tried to warn her, but she ignored her. “What’s wrong with you?!” Adam yelled once more.

“How long will it take you to wrap up this play?” Nadine spoke with a measured tone and a frown on her face. Her words made him sweat profusely. “Like when? After we get married? Or after we have our first child.” Nadine took her phone from her bag and played a voice message between Adam and another girl.

“Baby… I can’t believe you’re getting married to this moron! You need to end this nonsense?” a soft female voice asked.

“You know how much I hate being here without you, but we have to finish it if we want to get the money.” In shock, he looked at Nadine as his recorded voice echoed in the silence of the garden. “Nadine, I can explain!!,” Adam said, his voice shaking.

“What was that?!” Camellia inquired, pointing to Nadine’s phone.

“Prince charming is still talking to his ex-girlfriend, and he saved her phone number by his sister’s name—”

“No! It’s not true! It’s all fake! I love you!” Adam said loudly, despite his shivering voice.

“—both agreed on a plan for Adam to marry me and then take as much money as he can from me, beginning with working at my company and then convincing me to deposit massive amounts of cash in his bank account because, you know... I love him and will do whatever he says so that he will be wealthy enough for her family to finally accept him.” Nadine was unusually calm.

Everyone gasped, and Camellia opened her mouth in shock, staring at him in disbelief. Adam was sweating profusely, and his face flushed. He attempted to speak, but Nadine cut him off.

“You really believed I’d give you money,” Nadine sarcastically said as she handed Adam the pen to sign. “I can’t believe you had the audacity to believe such nonsense, you won’t get a pound from me or my family, no one in the region will hire you, Baby,” Nadine said, moving her hair behind her ears.

Adam signed the letter with trembling hands. Nadine took it and handed it to her father to sign. “I’m sorry for bothering you, Papa.” She handed it to him while looking at her aunt and uncle. “Congratulations on your new hospital. I apologize for ruining your evening.”

Camellia requested that one of the security guards remove Adam from the house. What a night, she thought as she witnessed Adam being dragged out of the house. Layla instructed the guests to return inside to continue their evening, leaving Nadine and her parents alone in the garden. “What happened just now? Couldn’t you wait until morning?” Murad said.

“Would it really make a difference?” Nadine scowled.

“You made us look bad in front of everyone. Couldn’t you just keep it to yourself?” Pakinam spoke in hushed tones. Nadine stared at both with wide eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“It’s your fault,” Murad said as he lit a cigar, “He was your choice; how could you be so stupid! How could you have allowed this to happen? I can’t believe how much of a failure you are. You humiliated both me and your mother! You’re not even using your brain. Clean up this mess and whatever else you’re going to do, I never want you to come to me with this nonsense again!” He turned around and went back inside.

Nadine looked at her mother, expecting her to blame her, but she left her standing alone in the garden with disgusted looks and curses. Camellia hid behind one of the doors, listening in on what was going on and silently waiting for them to leave Nadine before returning outside. She sat beside the pool, panting, and closing her eyes. “Are you okay? I tried to warn you that you had an audience.” Camellia took a seat next to her.

Nadine remained silent; her face expressionless. “It didn’t matter,” she said, pulling her hair into a ponytail, “they’d yell and blame me either way.” Camellia embraced her. “May I use your car?” Nadine replied, hugging her back.

“Why?” Camellia said as she broke the hug.

“I’m exhausted. I want to go home.”

“No, you’re not going anywhere,” Camellia said, holding her hands.

“I’m exhausted; I need to sleep,” Nadine complained.

“You can sleep here,” Camellia said, smiling fondly. Nadine locked her gaze on her. “Fine, but I’m not going to let you drive. I’ll have Samir drive you.” Camellia insisted despite Nadine’s objections. She requested another security guard, Samir, to prepare her car. He was about to have tea with the other security guards and two of the maids.

Samir went to the car and informed Camellia that the keys were not inside. Camellia remembered putting them in her bag; one maid stood up to get the keys but stopped when Camellia told her she would get them herself.

Nadine sat silently watching them. She took a deep breath. Her phone’s range with an unsaved number. “Weirdo,” said a husky deep voice with an Australian accent on the other end of the line.

“Liam?! that’s not your number,” Nadine said, returning her gaze to the phone screen. “That’s a UAE number.”

“I’m currently in Dubai. I just landed and purchased a massive chocolate bar. It reminded me of you,” Liam joked.

“Good,” Nadine said, taking a deep breath, “Are you near Jumeirah Beach?” she asked.

“Why?”

“Can’t tell you over the phone, meet me at the beach in five hours, I’ll call you when I land.” Nadine ended the call just as Camellia returned to give Samir the keys. “I’m going to Dubai now,” Nadine said as she stood up.

Camellia didn’t respond to what Nadine said. She smiled and hugged her. “Oh, poor thing, you must be exhausted.” Nadine smiled as she got in the car, and after Samir drove outside the house gate, she told him to go to the airport.