Daughter of an investor, who is about to be arrested, gets engaged to one of the world’s biggest billionaires, Sheikh Kamal . . .
I stop reading, but then I get another text from my mother.
“Can you believe my friends are already calling me to congratulate me? They know we’ll be well off again. Phony friends. Oh, and I want you to know I wasn’t upset that you hung up without saying goodbye, sweetheart. I’m sure it’s just the pregnancy hormones.”
This time, I don’t hang up the phone; I throw it away.
Chapter 46
I hadn’t planned on spending the night of our engagement outside the walls of my palace, dealing with a group of rebels, but that’s exactly what happened. The early morning was filled with trying to find a solution for the conflict, like so many times before. Where there is a government, there will be opposition, and it irks me that the people I appointed to handle situations like last night can’t think for themselves without my guidance, just for once.
When I go back home, my mood is grim. I’ve never shirked my duties, but last night in particular, I wished I could have enjoyed it like an ordinary man and experienced the promises Madeline’s eyes made me during the celebration.
“Perhaps we should meet with the ministers now,” Adil suggests beside me. “Yesterday’s events might happen again.”
I face him. “Last night’s events will happen again as surely as the sun rises every day, but the conflicts can be handled by the men I trust. There was no need for me to be there on the night of my engagement. I will reevaluate mysubordinates. If I can’t rely on them in critical situations, what are they for?”
“You’ve never delegated authority so loosely, Kamal. What’s happening?”
I stop in my tracks. “How long have we been friends, Adil?”
“Our whole lives.”
“Yes, and I regard you like a brother, but don’t think that gives you the right to question my decisions. I am Kamal Hafeez Shariq Najjar Shadid, the Sheikh of Sintarah, and your supreme leader. As such, I’m open to hearing your opinions, as well as those of my other subordinates, but I, and only I, will decide what is best for the future of my Emirate.”
He stares at me. “You sound like your father. I see I was mistaken. Madeline not only owns the crown for future princess; she also owns your heart.”
“Yes, she does. Soon I’ll be a father and a husband. I have a duty to my country but also to my family.”
I leave him to ponder what I just said. Good friend or not, he needs to understand that Madeline and my child are matters beyond his purview.
I walk through the palace halls, eager to see her, but a servant comes to meet me before I reach the elevator that leads to my quarters.
“Your Excellency, if you’re looking for Miss Turner, your fiancée, she’s in the courtyard, on the left wing.”
I turn on my heels and soon spot her. I step closer hurriedly but freeze when I realize she’s not alone.
They haven’t noticed me yet, and a mix of anger and jealousy sears through my chest. Madeline, my fiancée, the future princess, and the mother of my child, is having what seems like an intimate conversation with Zarif.
She lowers her head, and he whispers close to her face.
I’m not sure if they sense my presence, but she looks up just as I enter her field of vision, and the guilty expression only increases my rage.
“What are you doing alone with my fiancée?” I ask Zarif.
Madeline comes closer, but I take a step to the side. I feel unstable and I need the anger from jealousy to dimmish before talking to her.
“Kamal, I was waiting for you so we could talk,” my fiancée says.
“Although I seemed to be filling that role quite well,” Zarif sneers. “I’m sure that if you hadn’t returned, I could have taken your place.”
I advance towards him, but Madeline intervenes, which only infuriates me more.
“Don’t do that, Kamal. He’s just provoking you. Zarif, please leave. I want to be alone with my fiancé.”
They stare at each other, and that silent exchange drives me mad.
Finally, acquiescing to her request, my brother leaves.
