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“Of course I do,” Karim flung at her. “Anyone who knowsanythingabout our past knows why I don’t want you in Duvan.”
“No,” she argued. “If our past was the reason you wanted me gone, I might have left. But on the dance floor you said,I can’t have you around me.That’s not the same as saying,I can’t ever forgive you,or,I can’t stand the sight of you.”
Karim’s jaw worked. “It all means the same thing.”
Razan actually stomped her foot. “No itdoesn’t, you unbearable man!”
“Your relationship is so confusing,” Desfan muttered, setting the candle aside.
Two glares found him this time, though their annoyance was so clearly for each other, all he did was put up his hands and back away.
Razan twisted to Karim. “I know you’ve had a lot to sort through—not just with me, but with Desfan, your changing role, and your mother.”
Karim’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
Razan ignored that and plunged ahead. “I think I’ve made my position clear. I want to be a friend to you. But if you don’t feel the same—if you don’t want me in Duvan anymore—then tell me that right now. Tell me you want me out of the palace and out of your life forever, and I’ll go.”
Karim said nothing, just scowled.
Razan laughed once—harsh and edged. “You can’t even do the decent thing and just tell me what you want.” She shook her head, and when she spoke now her voice was threaded with pain. “You’ve changed, Karim. You used to be compassionate. Kind. That’s what I loved most about you. When I met you, I was trapped in a world not of my making, surrounded by men who did nothing but scheme and take and hurt. You were the complete opposite of that. You saved me in ways you don’t even know. But now you’re angry, bitter, and uncompromising. You have no compassion. And you’re cruel.” Her voice broke on that final word.
Karim’s scowl deepened, but he didn’t say anything, just listened as Razan continued with tears shining in her eyes. “You know exactlywhere I stand, yet you keep hurting me. Hate me if you must, but please justhate me. Tell me that you hate me and let that be the end of it. Don’t stare after me. Don’t dance with me and touch me like you care. Don’t give me the security and warmth of your arms, only to tear them away.Don’t give me glimpses of the man who stole my heart, only to shatter me with this harsh version of him.”
Karim stared.
Desfan wasn’t breathing, and he didn’t think Karim was, either.
The shop was silent in the wake of Razan’s flood of words, and it was unbearable. Desfan’s skin burned, and he didn’t know what to do. How to intercede. Then—
“Ihavechanged,” Karim said tensely. “But you haven’t changed at all.”
Razan flinched as if he’d struck her. The tears that had threatened in her eyes now dashed down her cheeks. She hurried to swipe them away, angling her head away from him. “Fine,” she said, the single word gnarled with emotion. “I suppose that’s my answer.” She moved to step around him, but Karim caught her wrist, halting her.
Gilded in the moonlight that shone through the window, Karim stepped closer to Razan, invading her space. “You haven’t changed,” he repeated, his voice rougher than before. “You haven’t, because you still have me wholly snared—just like you did from our first meeting.”
Razan inhaled sharply. Her wrist was still held in his grasp, and Karim didn’t look like he had any intention of ever letting go.
He peered down at her upturned face, his jaw flexing once before he said, “As much as I try to hold on to the sting of your betrayal, it keeps slipping away. Because you’re standing here in front of me, and all I can see isyou. Not what you did. Not what I swore when I left you on Dorma. I just see you. And you are the most frustrating, fascinating, and beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
Her throat visibly clenched, and those silent tears were still sliding down her cheeks. “Then why?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Why have you kept pushing me away?”
Lines dug across his brow. “At first, I think Iwastrying to punish you. But mostly I’ve been punishing myself. I shouldn’t want you—not after I swore to never forgive you. How could I hate what you’d done, but love who you are? It didn’t make sense. The only thing I knew was that I couldn’t let myself have you.”
She blinked up at him, the tearstains on her cheeks glistening. “Aggravating man,” she breathed. She grasped his face in both hands and pulled his mouth to hers.
Karim’s arms banded around her shoulders, tugging her impossibly closer as he returned her kiss.
Desfan glanced away, though a smile played at his lips. Fates, they both deserved this.
After a long moment, Desfan heard them pull back.
“Stop grinning,” Karim growled at him.
Desfan’s smile widened. “I can’t,” he said as he twisted back to face them. “This is just so fates-blasted romantic.”
Razan beamed, her cheeks still wet as she clutched the front of Karim’s shirt.
Karim had one arm locked against the small of her back, keeping her close as he eyed Desfan. “Can you please not ruin the moment?”
