“You’re going to have to be a princess now. Sheikha, technically.”
“Me?” She blinked. “But...what will that do for your country?”
“Everything,” he said. “Because I love you. And a wise woman told me that duty void of love is empty. It is only obligation. And I saw that life, stretched before me. And I hated it. I would have grown bitter. I would have grown hard. But with you by my side? With your children as mine? With love? It is what we need. Without it...without it all, good intentions are dead. I need you, Sophie Parsons, just as you are.”
She leaned in, kissing him, tears running down her cheeks. And he could feel her smile against his lips.
“Zayn, you love me. I wouldn’t ask for another life. For the first time, I’m so very happy to be me.”