He left her shivering where she stood, fairly certain she wouldn’t be able to withstand another bombshell.
Infidelity. Betrayal. Revenge. Was this what being an al Khalia was like? To think she’d rhapsodised about and envied them once upon a time!
She was still rubbing her hands down her chilled arms when Kadira knocked and entered.
Moments later they were back to discussing her wardrobe for her now postponed honeymoon.
And then it was time to choose from the list of tutors who would lecture her through her child psychology course.
One filled her with dread. The other with a quiet joy.
Niesha took a deep breath and vowed to cling onto the latter with everything she had.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE ONE WEEK Zufar had accommodated to broker his sister’s marriage while juggling his duties before leaving on his honeymoon turned into two.
It could’ve been because he received a summons from his father, which he kept postponing simply because he didn’t wish to deal with Tariq. Their last meeting had ended with stiff, cold words that still rankled, and the simple truth was Zufar didn’t know whether he would ever forgive his father for abdicating.
But his sister’s sudden impending marriage needed explanation and whether he liked it or not his father was owed one.
Today was the day he’d made the trip to see Tariq. As he’d suspected, it hadn’t been an easy one. Probably because his father hadn’t once asked about state affairs or even about Zufar himself. He wore his grief like a cloak and looked even more shrunken than he’d been the last time Zufar had seen him. Or perhaps Zufar’s unease was because, despite everything, a small part of him regretted cutting his father out of his wedding. He told himself he’d done it for a good reason—to keep the atmosphere stress-free and his citizens happy on his wedding day.
Out of sight out of mind, after all.
The pat statement rang hollow inside him, driving him from his desk and into a restless pacing of his office. King Tariq might have taken his absence
from his son’s wedding with pained stoicism but he’d taken the news of Galila’s marriage to Sheikh Karim worse. The reminder that his father had once upon a time doted on Galila had further unsettled Zufar. It occurred to him that now his mother was dead, perhaps his father would want to reconnect with the children he’d disregarded for so long.
Zufar hardened his heart against the strange yearning triggered by that notion. There was no room for sentiment. His father had chosen his path, his actions forcing Zufar to choose his.
With the smooth running of the kingdom his priority, he had no space to accommodate might-have-beens.
What was done was done. And for the first time in for ever he had a moment’s peace. Even Galila had finally accepted the consequences of her actions.
Zufar didn’t know whether to succumb to the silly tradition of touching wood or raise a glass of cognac in honour of that rare peace. As to whether it would last was a debate he wasn’t prepared to enter into right in this moment.
He arrived at the window overlooking the rose garden that had once belonged to his mother, and he clenched his teeth as the peace threatened to evaporate.
Many times, he’d toyed with having the rose bushes uprooted.
But he’d kept it as a reminder that loyalty and dedication to duty were far more valuable than the false love his mother had claimed to have for him in front of strangers, and the icy indifference she’d shown to him and his siblings behind closed doors. As for the man who’d occupied this office and this throne before him? Tariq al Khalia had been so locked in his obsession he’d failed to see his children, had forgiven his wife’s infidelity, even going as far as to hide the full consequences of her actions right up until the past had crash-landed into their lives in the form of Adir and almost destroyed everything in its path. Until any hope of keeping this family together in the wake of his mother’s death was gone for ever.
And then he’d fled, uncaring of the devastation he’d left behind.
Zufar’s insides twisted with bitterness and a pain he wanted to will away with every ounce of his being but had found over the years was near impossible.
That too was a salutary lesson, an abiding reminder to stay away from foolish feelings and keep his trust circle to a party of one.
Those reminders had served him well, would continue to serve him well when it came to the subject of Adir. He would need to be dealt with, of course. Zufar’s intelligence chief had pinpointed where Adir had gone into hiding in his desert kingdom but Zufar was in no hurry to pursue his brother. Revenge was a dish best served cold, after all.
Plus, he had a honeymoon to embark upon.
The thought of the woman who was now his Queen, his wife, triggered a different sensation in Zufar.
The rose bushes faded from view, his mind’s eye conjuring up a vision of shy, quiet strength and surprising beauty that clenched a muscle in his belly.
At every turn his new bride surprised him. He hadn’t held much in the way of expectations from the woman he’d plucked from obscurity. Even though her lack of pedigree hadn’t bothered him as much as it had his councillors, he’d had reservations about her ability to rise to her position. But she’d taken on the role with an intelligence, poise and dignity that had surprised everyone, including him.