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15
Aubrey left eagerly the next morning. Almost too eagerly. Jarah watched from the window as she all but fled into the car waiting to take her to the private jet.
“A vacation so soon after getting back from Hal Rabat?” Cyril asked next to him. “Did something happen?”
Yes, something happened. She’d all but accused him of using her as a tool—an incubator. He’d wanted to talk with her about it last night, to let her know that it wasn’t the truth, but she’d started talking about leaving.
And then she’d been desperate for him. He could only give her what she thought she needed and hope she’d open up to him.
But she hadn’t. Ever since they landed in Hal Rabat, she’d been so closed up, and that wasn’t like Aubrey at all.
“She wanted to see her grandmother. She felt the need to be near family.” Abruptly, he turned. “Did you need something?”
“You mother would like you and Mikal to join us for breakfast. When I said that I’d send for you, she told me that I was growing lazy. So here I am, proving that I am not lazy.”
Despite his misgivings, Jarah chuckled. “I don’t want you to have made the trip for nothing. I’m happy to join you.”
He followed his father to his parents’ private sitting room. Mikal was already there with their mother. After kissing Nura on the cheek, Jarah took a seat next to his brother.
“I was making the arrangement for the jet to bring Zev back next week only to discover that it was flying out this morning,” Mikal said with a frown. “But you’re not on it.”
“Aubrey needed to see her grandmother. She’ll be gone for two weeks.” Pulling out his phone, he checked his messages. “She just texted to say that she was boarding now.”
He’d made her promise to check in several times a day. When he’d asked her to take some guards, she’d declined.
Loudly.
Still, he couldn’t let his wife traipse about the US unattended, so his guards would keep an eye on her from afar. Just to make certain she was safe.
“I’m glad she’s taking some time off. From what she told me, the trip was very stressful,” Nura said as she picked up her coffee.
Jarah narrowed his eyes. He knew that tone well.
His mother knew something.
“From what she told you? Did you have a lengthy conversation with my wife when she returned?”
“I was concerned when she returned early. I thought she might need a friendly ear.”
Jarah narrowed his eyes. “I’m a friendly ear.”
“Darling, when you’re focused on your duties, a grenade could explode next to you and you wouldn’t hear it.”
“Are you saying that my wife is a grenade?”
“I’m saying that the situation could become one if you don’t start paying attention to her.”
“Enough,” Cyril said as he put up his hands. “It is not like the two of you to fight, and Nura, my dear, you are goading our son. Care to explain why?”
After a moment, Nura sighed. “All I think I should say is that if Aubrey felt like she could have confided in Jarah, she would not have left Hal Rabat.”
“Not have…” Jarah narrowed his eyes. “She told me she wasn’t feeling well.”
When his mother didn’t comment, he looked over at his father. Cyril closed his eyes. “I should have known,” he said softly. “Nura, my dear, when you refused to go to Hal Rabat, I should have known something was wrong. You don’t refuse to go places just because you do not like their rulers. One day, you will tell me what happened, but for now, we should focus on Aubrey.”
Jarah’s frustration grew, and he nearly pounded his fist on the table. “What are the two of you talking about?!”
“Before we left Hal Rabat, there were whispers among the palace servants. Whispers that were obviously meant to reach my ears,” Cyril said tiredly. “After she left the gala early, Aubrey was seen in the servants’ corridors dressed provocatively.”
