Bad Teacher

Father sighs out loud, visibly disappointed. And I get it. His son isn’t who he thought he’d be. Maybe it’s only right that I give everything up. I haven’t exactly proven myself to be a great future king.

So I turn around and march for the door.

“Where are you going, Amir?” he asks.

I’m tired of letting him decide for me. This time, I’m making my own decision. “To find her.”

“And do what exactly?”

“Win her back.” I’m determined. I won’t let him persuade me to stay or ignore my feelings for her. It’s too late for that. It’s time I made the right choice.

“She’s probably already gone,” he says.

“I don’t care. I’ll chase her if I have to.”

“Out of the country?” My father gasps.

I shrug as I open the door. “So be it. One way or another, I’m gonna get her back.”

Knowing her, she’ll have already packed her bags, gone back to her hotel, and booked her flight home. Maybe I’m too late, but that won’t stop me from flying after her.

Nothing will stop me from being near her.

Nothing.

Chapter 12

Maya

As I’m waiting for the plane to take off, the crew are bustling back and forth between the seats, trying to get everyone’s luggage in place. However, a particular disturbance at the front makes me grow leery. I peek over the seats in front of me, trying to catch a whiff of what’s going on. People are holding up the line as they’re getting on, most of them talking amongst each other and smiling.

I wonder what’s going on.

The commotion keeps the crew busy as they try to delegate the passengers and tell everyone to remain seated. I peer through the windows to try to catch a glimpse, only to find even the people in the terminal are completely taken by what’s going on.

That’s when I spot it. The small cart skirting through the terminal, sirens on, with lots of people on board. They’re headed straight for the gate, but people around them are taking pictures of the spectacle. Only when the cart disappears do I realize that it was my gate they were headed straight through.

And someone just called out my name.

“Is there a person named Maya on board?” one of the crew members from the front calls out.

I get up and wave awkwardly. “That’s me.”

“Can you come to the front of the plane, please?”

Everyone’s looking at me now, and I feel embarrassed by the sheer volume of eyes pinned at my back. But I persist as I head to the front, clutching my bags, wondering what the hell is going on.

I don’t have to wait long to find out.

At the entrance to the plane, Amir is waiting with a giant bouquet in his hand and a smile on his face that could make any girl melt into a puddle.

My bags instantly drop from my hands.

“Amir?” I mutter.

He grins. “In the flesh.”

I’m completely dumbstruck. “How?”

“I got Mrs. Adallah to talk. Pulled some strings at the airport and security. There’s not a lot people won’t do for the prince,” he says with a smug smile.

My jaw is still practically on the floor. “But why?”

He comes toward me and stops right in front of me. “Because I want you,” he says.

“But I … I …” I don’t even know what to say. The fact that he came all the way here just to beg me to stay has me completely baffled.

“I don’t care what I have to do. If you want me to go on that plane with you, I’ll do it. I’ll give up the right to ever become king.”

The people around us cover their mouths in shock.

“Amir, no, don’t say that. This is important for you,” I say.

“Not as important as this,” he says, grabbing my hand. “I’ve finally found what I really need. What I want. And I don’t wanna lose that.”

“But we’ve only known each other for a few days …”

“All the more reason to give this a chance,” he says. “I’ve known it since I first met you; there is something special between us that I can’t just ignore. I need to know what it is. I need you with me.”

“But—”

“Say you’ll stay, please.” His voice makes me question everything I thought I was doing. I thought I was making the right decision by getting on this plane and never coming back here, but now that I’ve looked him in the eyes, it’s so hard. Nothing has ever been this hard.

“If not, let me come with you,” he says, smiling as he glances over his shoulder at a bunch of suitcases stacked up. “I brought some things, just in case.”

I laugh. “I’m amazed. Is there anything you didn’t already think of?”

“Well …” he says, licking his lips as he hands the bouquet to an assistant to hold while he talks to me. “The one thing I forgot was to stand up to my father. He hurt you, and I’m sorry that happened. Please forgive me.”