Secrets of the Oasis

Neither one of them noticed when Iseult knocked softly and entered a few seconds later. They were too engrossed in each other. They also didn’t notice when Nadim appeared, and grinned, before pulling his open-mouthed wife back from the door and shutting it softly behind them.

Two months later, in a flowing strapless ivory gown that cleverly disguised her growing bump, Jamilah was married to Salman in a small, private civil ceremony on one of the rooftop terraces of the Merkazad castle.

Nadim and Iseult stood witness, with their newborn son asleep in a carrycot beside them, sharing their own private looks of love. Salman and Jamilah had wanted to wait to marry until after the birth and christening of baby Kamil Sean.

And when the ceremony was over, just as the stars were beginning to come alive in the skies, Jamilah and Salman went off for a quiet moment by themselves, before they went down to greet the guests who were waiting to congratulate them in the castle’s lavishly decorated ballroom for the formal celebration.

Salman stood behind Jamilah, his arms crossed firmly around her belly, her hands tangled with his. She sighed happily and leant back into his embrace as they looked out over the view of the magical Arabian city. In the far distance it was possible to make out the construction crane which marked the spot where they were building a huge children’s fairground.

Salman had taken the brave decision to come forward as the public face of his charity, and share something of his own painful experiences—which he’d never thought he’d be able to do.

He kissed her head at that moment, and Jamilah smiled. They didn’t need words. They were together, and that was all they needed—for ever.

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