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A wider smile curved his mouth. ‘I get the impression there will be a few conditions along our journey through life.’
‘You drove a hard bargain when we met. I learned from the best.’
His hands framed her face, his thumbs caressing her cheekbones as he stared deeply into her eyes. ‘Even back then, without knowing why, I knew I couldn’t let you go. You were in my heart, in my blood, and I didn’t even know it.’
‘But you know it now?’
‘Without doubt or regret.’
‘You’re in every fibre of my being too. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love you, Zufar.’
‘And I love and adore you, my magnificent Queen.’
EPILOGUE
‘IS HER SERENE HIGHNESS ready for her next present?’ The words were whispered against her nape, right before warm kisses rained on her bare skin.
Niesha—or Nazira, as she’d reverted to calling herself—laughed. ‘You can’t keep showering me with gifts, Zufar. One was enough. Twenty is beyond excessive.’
‘I have no idea where you got the impression that I have twenty gifts for you.’
She chuckled. ‘I’m sorry to inform you that your private secretary caved under pressure from mine.’
Zufar’s head dropped onto her back and he groaned.
She laughed harder. ‘In his defence, I think he has a crush on her.’
‘Well, if my secret is out, then you’ll have no choice but to accept.’
He rolled her over and tugged her into his arms. Nazira draped herself over his wide chest, deliriously happy to watch as he reached beneath his pillow, and brought out a small square box tied with ribbons. It was the sixth one he’d given her today and it was barely morning. He’d woken her with deep, intoxicating kissing, and proceeded to take her to heaven and back. As a start to her twenty-sixth birthday, it had been second to none.
And then the presents had started. That Zufar intended to keep to his promise to deliver twenty presents for all the ones she’d missed was evident.
While she was happy to let him because it pleased him, she was content just counting her blessings.
Just a few short months ago, she’d been drowning in loneliness and despair.
Now, she had regained her past, been crowned a queen and, best of all, was tied for life to the husband of her soul.
She accepted the box, and gasped. The diamond pendant was a replica of her birthmark, the starfish the same size as the mark on her arm. And on the back were the names of her family, etched into the white platinum. ‘Oh, it’s gorgeous.’ Tears brimmed in her eyes as he nudged her upright and fastened the necklace.
‘I thought you might want a symbol of how you found yourself,’ he murmured. ‘And the inscription will keep your family with you, always.’
‘Oh, Zufar, just when I think I can’t love you any more.’
He drew her back into his arms, then demonstrated that there was another way she could love him more.
After they caught their breath, she reached for the folded piece of paper on her beside table. ‘I have something for you, too.’ She handed it over and watched him open it.
‘This is the guest list for my coronation.’
She held her breath. ‘Yes.’
His gaze dropped to the sheet. She knew the moment he spotted the addition. ‘You want him there? Are you sure?’
She nodded. ‘I reached out to him a few days ago. He responded yesterday with an acceptance.’
Zufar remained silent for a moment and then he nodded. ‘If you’re happy to have him here, then I will welcome Adir and attempt to put the past behind us.’
