Chapter Fifteen
ONCE UPON A TIME, Aprince was supposed to wake his sleeping beauty with a kiss.
But this was not that kind of fairy tale.
The sheikh kept vigil over his sleeping beauty, the right one this time. Maybe, the one he had always meant to be with...if he had not been too proud.
Three days and three nights he sat by her bedside in the hospital wing, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the only proof that she was still with him. The bullet had grazed her side, the doctor said. A few inches to the left, and it would have pierced her heart.
A few inches.
That was all that stood between him and losing her forever.
His Briar was no damsel in need of rescue. She was the one who had saved him. Had thrown herself between him and death without a moment’s hesitation, without a single thought for her own life.
The girl he had sworn to protect had protected him instead.
And he had almost lost her because of his pride.
Because he had heard her say the words—it’s only infatuation—and believed them. Because he had been so certain that a girl like her could never truly want a man like him. Because instead of fighting for her, instead of demanding the truth, he had let her walk away.
He had failed her.
In every way that mattered, he had failed her.
Aretha was behind bars now, awaiting trial for conspiracy to commit murder. Royce had been granted immunity in exchange for his testimony, and the whole sordid tale had spilled out. The staged accident, the parents’ deaths, the years of bitter hatred festering in Aretha’s heart.
It was over.
On the morning of the fourth day, Aurora’s eyes fluttered open. The sheikh was there when she woke, and he told her everything. Aretha’s confession, Royce’s testimony, and the trial that awaited.
And when he finished, it was to find her already...asleep.
That was the last time he had visited her, with Mik’hail wanting to give her space...in case she was too nice to tell him to get out. But a week had passed since then, and with Gordan informing him that Aurora had requested to see him...
This was it,Mik’hail thought hollowly. One last chance to see her...before she walked away from him for good.
The sheikh was in his study when Gordan announced her arrival, and he rose from his chair immediately, his heart pounding against his ribs.
And then she walked in.
She was pale still, moving carefully in a way that spoke of healing wounds. But her golden hair was brushed and gleaming, her blue-gray eyes clear, and she was wearing a simple traveling dress that made her look like—
His gaze fell on the suitcase in her hand.
And his heart stopped.
