Chapter Seventy-Six
Heading straight for the bathroom, Kai flicks on the shower as I follow him in. Having threaded my arms through my shirt sleeves, I fold them across my chest.
‘What did he say?’ I repeat.
‘That it wasn’t him.’ Kai’s back is still to me as he says this. I’m not sure if his position is conscious; to hide his expression. Turning, his gaze is on mine as he grasps the hem of his black T-shirt, pulling it over his head. This could be a tactical move, but I’m not swayed.
‘And you believed him?’ Incredulous, I already know the answer. ‘What, all of it?’
As he speaks, he runs a tell-tale hand across his scalp. ‘I must give him the benefit of the doubt,habibti. We spoke of what happened at the hotel—your reasons for leaving,’ he adds quickly. ‘And I’m sure that wasn’t his doing.’
‘So it was her?’ I can’t bring myself to say her name, preferring to grind my molars into dust. ‘And Essam?’
‘It wasn’t Faris. Of that I’m sure.’
‘What about the rest?’
He blinks slowly, his gaze intent on my own. ‘The reason your visa was cancelled. That was him.’
‘Why, the conniving... butt-hole!’Bastard. Arsehole. Twat!
‘He admitted to offering you money.’ I feel my face twist, my body turning from him. ‘He said it was a test, which is bullshit, of course. It was his strong hope.’ Stepping closer, he threads his arms around me, pulling me closer, so we’re skin to skin. ‘He doesn’t know you like I do, but he will.’
‘I doubt that.’
‘Obviously, he discovered you’d left the country quickly, and cancelled your visa.’
Just as quick, the opportunistic bastard.
‘And the Riyadh bullshit?’ Kai’s supposed arranged marriage to a Saudi princess, no less. Well, that was the plan in Faris’ head, at least. He’d told me Kai was stringing me along. That I could never be more to him that just a piece of ass. Then later the same evening—to top the experience—I’d gone to Kai’s hotel, where a naked Sofia sat on her knees. That she was sitting before Essam rather than Kai, I couldn’t comprehend. Not with Faris’ words ringing in my ears. And utterly crushed, I’d ran.
‘Ah, well. We spoke about it.’ There’s a strange lilt to his voice. Sounds like trouble. ‘We won’t have any ongoing issues on that score.’
‘But my visa? Is he going to fix it?’
‘I have people working on it already. It’s complicated, and but for our marriage, you’d have been on the first plane back to Brisbane.’
I push my palms against the hardness of his chest and step away. ‘This money he offered me to leave, he thought he’d won, so he screwed—’ Kai’s brows pull together ‘—I mean he double crossed me, didn’t he?’
‘Why, have you changed your mind?’ If possible, his brow furrows further, his gaze hardening.
‘It’s just another demonstration of how untrustworthy he is. He stitched me up, didn’t he?’ Promised me money to leave, not that I’d wanted it, or that I’d even have taken it, but it just goes to show what a ratbag he is.
‘It’s in your local bank account. In dirhams.’ Kai’s tone is arctic.
‘Oh.’Oh, shit.
‘You get to keep it now, obviously.’
‘I don’t fucking want it!’ I yell, twisting from his grasp as his hand clasps my wrists.
‘Give it to a charity, but it’s yours, nonetheless. He’ll pay for hurting you.’
‘It’s a drop in the ocean to him,’ I spit viciously.
‘It is,’ he agrees. ‘But I’m not yet done.’
His fingers uncurl, releasing me, but I don’t want to leave. Not yet. I also don’t want to admit this. Compromising, I perch my butt on the side of the bath. I’m so tired of all this bullshit, but I suppose if I’m honest, I’d hoped Kai would’ve found it to be all Faris’ fault. Maybe then I’d never have to see him again.
