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Her mouth parted in a stunned O.
‘Remember where you are,’ he warned. ‘Do you really think this is the right time for this discussion?’
She didn’t. And she couldn’t very well demand an explanation from the King. Not with guests in earshot, and not when they were entering the banqueting hall where attendants lined the walls in their dozens, ready to serve the first course the moment they sat down.
So she walked beside him as Zufar led her to the head of the table.
His white-gloved hand gripped hers tightly where it rested on his arm, as if he was fully intent on preventing her from fleeing.
As if she would. As if she could. She wouldn’t get very far, even on her own two feet. As he’d warned, there were guards posted everywhere in the palace. Did his warning still apply even now that they’d exchanged their vows? Most likely. But she couldn’t think about that. All she wanted at this moment was for everything to be done so she could disappear into her little corner of the world and put this behind her. But he was looking at her in that way again as the guests crowded in.
The way he’d looked at her on the balcony in the moments before he’d kissed her. It was all still an act, Niesha knew. But that tiny fluttering reignited under her skin and grew into huge, wild butterflies demanding freedom.
When the room was half filled, he pulled out her chair and waited until she sat down. He remained standing, his gaze on the crowd who stood as protocol demanded, beside their seats.
Zufar’s gaze effortlessly commanded their attention. ‘Many of you are wondering about the turn of events today. You will have to keep wondering.’ A smattering of laughter echoed through the crowd but eyes slid to where she sat, probing her every expression in the hope of accessing juicy gossip. It took every ounce of composure she didn’t know she possessed to maintain a serene expression as Zufar continued, ‘All you need to know is that I’ve made my choice, and I am extremely happy with it.’
Her pulse jumped as he redirected his gaze to her again, his eyes gleaming for a moment before he straightened. ‘Now you will do me the honour of acknowledging and accepting Niesha al Khalia as my bride and your Queen.’
Thunderous applause echoed down the banqueting table. Then they took their seats and the formal reception began.
Niesha only managed to pick at a few mouthfuls of the twelve-course dinner. Aside from a few sidelong glances, Zufar didn’t question her lack of appetite. She supposed it could all be slotted under the general heading of wedding nerves, even after the fact.
And almost as if he’d instituted an invisible no-fly zone around her, no one approached her even to offer congratulations.
When Galila breached the barrier, Zufar shot her a warning look.
She rolled her eyes but didn’t make any more comments except to lean down and brush a kiss across Niesha’s cheek. ‘You and I will need to have a spa day very soon,’ she whispered in Niesha’s ear before straightening and walking away.
‘What did she say?’ Zufar asked.
‘She wants a spa day with me, I think,’ Niesha responded a little dazedly.
‘Hmm, I believe that is code for something else entirely.’
Surprise rounded her eyes. ‘What?’
‘Curiosity is my sister’s middle name. I will caution you to be careful around her. She has a way of prying out information that would make my own intelligence department proud.’
She reached for the crystal water glass, aware that her fingers hadn’t stopped shaking. ‘Well, you don’t need to worry about that, do you? By the time we get around to the possibility of such a day, I’ll no longer be your wife.’
For some reason her response made his features tighten. Did he not wish to hear the truth? She opened her mouth to voice the thought but he beat her to it.
‘This is our wedding day. Let us endeavour to enjoy at least some of it and not give everything a sour note, shall we?’
She frowned, then quickly smoothed out her features, aware that she was still the cynosure of all eyes. ‘It’s not our wedding day. Not really. Is it?’ she pressed, intent on making him acknowledge the transient nature of what had happened today.
It was that or... The alternative was unthinkable. No, not exactly unthinkable, but impossible for someone like her. A nobody who’d left such foolish dreams beneath the dreary pillows in her lonely orphanage bed.
‘Think of it as an elaborate party then, if you must,’ he bit out quietly. ?
?Whatever it is, I wish to enjoy at least some of it for the sake of appearances. Is that okay with you?’
Was he really asking her that when he’d all but dragged her to the altar? But the anger she wanted to summon didn’t materialise. Not when she knew the true meaning behind his actions.
He’d done it for his people. So had she. She owed it to the royal family and to every citizen in Khalia not to sustain that anger. She didn’t need to be in his shoes to understand it took guts to take such chaos as had been thrown at him only a few hours ago, a situation that would’ve left other men quaking in their boots, and turn it into a triumph.
Proving once again why he was such an effective, awe-inspiring monarch.
