Crossroads of feelings

Whenever I hear others talk about their first love, only one person comes to mind, and it is exactly the same person who has remained in my heart for more than two decades. Selim, that was his name.

"Miss Rizik, we have arrived in the city," the stewardess spoke to me as she bowed. "Please fasten your seat belt."

So I did, and as the plane descended from the skies, I could see the city more clearly. The landing was perfect. I put on my sunglasses, descended with long strides, and saw my personal assistant waiting for me on the ground.

"Miss Rizik, Sheikh Faris invites you to dinner today. He wants to celebrate your arrival in the city. Also, the general manager would like to invite you to breakfast at the hotel."

"Be calm, Zhara. I'm just getting to town. There are other things I'd like to do besides going to lunch with people who are just looking to set up a marriage with me. For the hell of it, I want to see my family and friends."

"Excuse me, Miss Rizik," she bowed with embarrassment, "it's just that almost always everything is work with you."

"Yes, but I came here to distract myself a little. Now come on, let's go get my car."

I walked out the door, and the first thing my eyes saw was my brother. Aramis was waiting for me with open arms and a big smile on his lips.

"Brother," I hugged him, and he kissed me on the forehead. "It's good to see you again after all this time!"

"Same here, Kenna," he grabbed my cheeks. "You look beautiful. Time has helped you a lot. What did you do with your cheeks? Where is your double chin?"

"You're a fool," I pushed him lightly. "Come on, I want to get out of here before..."

The crowd surrounded us. I sighed heavily and resigned myself to this. Let's just say I have a certain fame in this town because of the family I come from.

After taking a few pictures and greeting the others, I left holding hands with my brother.

"I would like to go to Selim. I haven't seen him for a long time, and I want to see how he is."

"I think the best thing to do is to invite him to your house. I'll tell him why I'm here, and I'll also open a bottle of wine to celebrate the fact that you're here."

"I was only gone for ten years, not that it was a big amount," Aramis looked at me with irony, and I turned my face away. "Time flies by, and you know it. Now let's go to my house. I don't quite know what you mean by that, but anyway."

Aramis opened the car door, and I got in. We talked about many things that had happened to us during the time we were apart, and when we arrived at the property he was telling me so much about, I was surprised to see my childhood home completely rebuilt.

"Welcome to your home. I always said that when I graduated as an architect, the first thing I would do would be to rebuild our home. Although I didn't do it all at once, as time went by, I remodeled it for when you came back because I was sure that you were going to come back someday. I hope your feelings are not the same as when you left because you are only going to suffer, little sister. I don't want to lose you again."

"And you're not going to lose me again. Now show me the house to see how big the famous architect Delacroix is."

Aramis was my half-brother. Our mother had a relationship before she met my father, and when that didn't work out, they separated on good terms. Eventually, she got pregnant with me and moved to Dubai, but then we returned to this city. There, the four of us were happy; however, a dark cloud hung over us when my parents, on their tenth wedding anniversary vacation, passed away.

My brother, who had just come of age, and at our entreaty, my paternal grandfather allowed him to take care of me. He never abandoned me, and there was always a check month by month that allowed us to live comfortably.

"Well," Aramis opened the door, "welcome home, little sister."

The house that had burned down some time ago, supposedly because of an accident with the wires, now stood before me with such majesty that I was surprised to see it.

"Well, I'll leave you for a moment," he looked at his watch. "I still have some things to do, and I can't be late. I'll come with a bottle of wine and tell Selim to come with me."

"All right. In the meantime, I'm going to explore the house. I can see a pool from far away, and I feel like swimming a bit before going to rest."

Aramis left after kissing me on the forehead. I put my things in my old room, and after swimming for a while, I decided to go to Selim.

"Zhara, I want to go to Selim's." She put a towel on my shoulders. "I also need to see my property, so let's go."

Zhara asked for a cab that took us to the house where he lived, which had been mine. My family was engaged in several businesses, and among them was construction, in which we were associated with Aramis' father. I bought that villa with my first salary, and because my brother's best friend had problems in his house, I decided to let him live there without paying a single penny of rent.

"Miss Rizik, I've seen you looking too pensive since we arrived in town. Is something wrong?"

"You know that coming here it is impossible not to have memories. I would like to disappear some of them or at least the feelings they have provoked in me. However, it is impossible for me to do so."

"Her brother is going to realize that she still has feelings for Mr. Selim. She must hide it. Although being honest, I do not think he can do it. Look at the first thing he does is to go to see his first and only love."

"What can I do? These are feelings that are impossible to control, and I just hope that things will gradually calm down."

Zhara's laughter let me know that this was impossible. I knew it well, but I was going into denial still.

"If for ten years and miles away from here he couldn't do it, I doubt very much that he will do it now that he is in the dragon's mouth, and the first thing he does is to go and look for that man."

"That's why I love your spontaneous frankness so much. Another boss would fire you, but I'm not like that."

I watched Zhara analyze what she had said to me, and it was only at that moment that she realized her words. I laughed to see her so embarrassed, but I didn't say anything to her.

"It is impossible not to love the person who approached you with a torch in the dark. It was thanks to Selim that I was able to adapt in this city, where they look at you as a terrorist and believe that you always carry a bomb just because you are from another country."

That is exactly why people burned my house, but in the police report, they decided that it had been burned by some wires that they never showed.

"Believe me, I understand you, and it hurts me very much what you are going through right now. I know well that you are suffering, and if it were not for the fact that your presence here is required, I would never have come back."

"Yes, I guess you are right in that respect. That's exactly why I want to finish the business that brings me here as soon as possible and go back to Dubai."

"I hope you can make them concrete, Ms. Rizik."

We arrived at the house, and I saw that it was well kept. I smiled, knowing that Selim was still careful with what was not even his.

"Come on, Zhara," I called her when I saw that she was going to stay there. "You come with me, don't stay behind."

We approached the door and rang the bell. When I saw the time, I thought that Selim was already at home, or at least the housekeeper I knew he had for some time was there.

The door was opened, and a woman came out to meet me. She didn't look like a lady in her fifties who would help with the grooming. I thought for a moment I had the wrong house, but no, I was sure this was it.

"Excuse me, does Selim Abadi live here?" I took out my cell phone and showed a photo I had with him. "This is the person."

"You're a b*tch!" The woman threw cold water on me, and I shivered. "How can you even think of coming to MY house to look for my man!"

She slapped me so hard that everything around me was blurred, and I felt like some pieces of ice had entered my eyes.

"Zhara, I have something in my eyes!" She grabbed my cheeks and put her hands on this area. "It hurts! I want you to take me to the hospital!"

"Miss Rizik, wait a moment, and I'll call a cab. Don't panic; everything will be fine."

"Kenna!" I heard Aramis' voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Kenna? What happened to you?!"

Selim's voice was the next thing I heard. He approached me, and without another word, he carried me in his arms. His voice was so reassuring that I felt on a cloud when I heard him say something as simple as that he was going to take me to the hospital. That's when I knew that I still loved him with the same devotion as years ago, but with greater intensity…

My body was coupled into the car and then the powerful engine started. The pain was still latent, and I was afraid of losing my sight. "Here we are," I heard when Selim unbuckled his belt and did the same with mine. "Wait a moment."

Again, he loaded me up, and I heard the traditional hospital noise along with the smell of disinfectant wafting up to my nose. 

"I need help; she can't open her eyes, and she has been beaten. Please, this is Miss Kenna Rizik."

These simple words were enough to get all the staff moving wildly. The doctors arrived and tried to get Selim to leave, but they left him, as I did not want to be alone. 

"What's wrong with you, Miss Rizik?" a doctor asked me while I heard him putting on gloves. "Who assaulted you?"

"It was a person I don't know. She threw a glass of ice water at me, and some pieces of ice got into my eyes. They hurt too much, and I can't open them. Please tell me I won't lose them."

"Don't worry, I'm going to op