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Cairo woke up in a cold sweat. The memory that had played through his subconscious was one that he had done his best to banish.
He knew well how they had gotten into the palace. The enemies of his father. A word from Ariel’s.
But where had Ariel’s father gotten his intel? From Cairo. It was Cairo who had destroyed his family. Cairo who had dishonored them so. In his weakness for Ariel, and in his desire to stay out of trouble he had been the one that had caused all of this.
And yet again Ariel had been his weakness. It was... Unacceptable.
It’s your fault.
Yes. But nobody ever had to know. It would help no one. It would fix nothing. He didn’t even like himself to know. He had spent all these years trying to fix it. All these years trying to make it right.
It was being back here that had brought it all up again.
He despised it.
And yet here he was, to live with the woman who tested his every weakness.
But love? He did not possess the ability for that. Not anymore. And nothing else mattered but what happened next. He had not been right. He had not been what his brother needed, but he would be now. He would give Riyaz whatever he needed. He would... He would fight. He would give up his life for his country. For his brother.
And yet you took Ariel. And you managed very neatly not to think about how when given the chance to betray Riyaz again you did.
It was done now. It was done, and Riyaz lusted after another woman anyway. What did it matter?
He thought of going to Ariel. Burying his sorrow in his desire for her.
But he would not allow himself that. Would not allow himself that escape.
Ariel threw herself into work. She had been sad last night that Cairo hadn’t come to her bed, but she couldn’t wallow in that. She needed to get on with it. She had gotten on her email for the first time in a few weeks, and had begun to go through everything that she had missed. Made sure everybody knew that she wasn’t dead. She had spun a story about reuniting with an old boyfriend. And how they’d had a whirlwind romance and marriage.
She was pretty proud of herself. PR wasn’t necessarily her thing, but this was definitely a stunning example of some pretty genius PR.
But she wished that the story were true. She realized that for her it was. That she had reunited with the single most important man in her life, and it had seemed the most clear and obvious thing in the world to fall into his arms. To fall into his bed. To speak vows to him.
And she didn’t know what he was thinking at all. She had thought that maybe they were on the same page. She had thought that perhaps they wanted the same things. She didn’t know now.
You know that you don’t want the same things. Because you care for him in a way that he has said he will never care for you.That was true. And it hurt to acknowledge it herself. But she wasn’t going to lie to herself about it either. She wasn’t half so fragile. She had already lived more than one life. A life where she had been certain she would end up living in this palace married to the sheikh. A life where she had fallen in love with the boy that she wasn’t meant to love. Yes. She had already lived more than one reality.
She had been free in Paris. And yet, she had never come into this sort of freedom. She had been free in Paris, and yet it still hadn’t felt like her life.
This felt much closer.
But still...
He didn’t come to her bed again that night. Or in the days following. In the interim, she was subjected to married beauty treatments. Prepared for her public unveil as Cairo’s wife. But it was more than that. They were revealing to Nazul for the first time that Cairo and Riyaz lived.
And that they were back in power.
She had thought that perhaps Brianna was being prepared for an unveil as well, but on the day, when she had been wrapped in sensuous silks, her hair done, her makeup applied to perfection, and she saw Brianna wearing her sweats, she knew that that was not actually the plan.
“You are not making your debut with Riyaz?”
“No. I believe that he will be waiting until the wedding that I have not yet agreed to.”
“What do you have to go back to? I mean, what life is he asking you to leave behind?”
Her face went distant. “I... I don’t have much. I have my business. I had... Cairo. As my friend. And I suppose that he is here now.”
“It’s the principle,” said Ariel, hoping that she sounded like she was on the other woman’s team. It would do no good to have there be division between them. When she walked back into the apartment, her heart stopped. For there was Cairo, standing there in full military uniform. A navy blue high collared jacket, a scabbard at his waist. He looked fearsome and glorious. And she wanted to cling to him and let the entire world know that this man, this dangerous looking man belonged to her. She marveled at the impulse. At the way that he made her feel.
