And she knew all about fate from the way her mother had died so senselessly. They were all at the mercy of it. Fate gave and fate took away, but in the meantime everyone was in control of their own destiny, and somewhere along the line she had forgotten that.
Forgotten her desire for independence and self-reliance. She’d let herself imagine—or rather hope—that Zach was the man for her when really their whole relationship was built on an unfortunate set of circumstances instigated by her father.
Placing the broken petals of the orchid gently back on the table she turned to him.
‘Then when the laws change we can—divorce?’
‘We can do it now.’ He strode through to his office and came back, slapping a document on the table beside her, squashing what remained of the flower of love. ‘This is the legislation that gives you the freedom to apply for a divorce.’ Picking up a pen, he signed it with a flourish before handing it to her.
Blindly she did so and handed it back. ‘Congratulations,’ he said, ‘you can be the first woman in Bakaan to obtain a divorce. I’m sure you’ll enjoy that.’
What she would enjoy would be if she had the freedom to go up to him, throw herself into his arms and kiss him. What she would enjoy would be for him to crush her to his hard length as he had done so many times before and tell her that he loved her...that he couldn’t live without her.
She thought about her mother and the brother she had never known. She thought about her father who had desperately pined for them both and had held on to anger and bitterness when they had been ripped from him so unfairly. And then she thought about Zach who had wanted to marry for love and got her instead and she knew she was doing the honourable thing, the only thing, in walking away. ‘So I think... I think I’d like to go home. If you don’t mind.’ Did she have to sound like such a wimp? ‘To Al-Hajjar.’
She heard a loud crack in the quiet room and saw particles of the pen she had just held fall to the ground. ‘I’m well aware that you have never considered the palace home, Farah,’ Zach rasped. ‘But unlike a mythical genie I can’t rub a magic lamp and make it happen instantaneously.’
‘I know that, Zach,’ she said, struggling to keep the tremors out of her voice. ‘I didn’t mean...’ Her explanation tapered off when she realised how close he was to her, how fiercely he was looking at her.
Kiss me, she urged silently. Please.
‘I’ll have Staph organise your transportation,’ he said.
Farah pulled herself together. She smiled at him one last time and then, before her pride deserted her altogether, she left.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WHY DIDN’T ANYTHING work out the way you hoped it would? Zach growled under his breath as he wrestled with the cufflink he was currently trying to force back through his shirt sleeve.
‘Would you stop fiddling?’ Nadir berated out of the side of his mouth. ‘You look like a schoolboy.’
Zach wanted to tell him in no uncertain terms where to go but they were at a formal gathering, waiting for the king of a neighbouring country to take his seat before they all could.
‘And where’s Farah? You said she’d be here. We don’t want to insult this crusty old demon before he’s signed the new business treaty.’
‘I told you she’s gone home,’ Zach said.
Nadir frowned at him. ‘That was a week ago. How long will she be gone?’
‘How the hell do I know?’ Finally the gold pin made it through the other side and, just when he went to twist the back into position, the damned thing fell out again. Zach swore just as the room held its breath for the old king to sit down.
All eyes turned his way. Nadir smiled. ‘If you’ll excuse us.’ He nodded at Imogen and gave her a pointed look. Zach rolled his eye and went to take his seat when his brother cupped his elbow. ‘You, outside.’
Zach nearly laughed as Nadir propelled him out of the room. ‘Hell, I haven’t been treated like a recalcitrant schoolboy since...well, since I was one.’
Nadir dismissed the nearby guards and walked ahead of him into an antechamber. ‘What do you mean you don’t know when Farah is due back? Didn’t you ask her?’
No, he hadn’t. He hadn’t needed to ask to know that the answer was never. Instead he’d tried to forget about her and get on with his life.
Yeah, and wasn’t that working out well?