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That only meant one thing: he wanted his involvement in certain activities kept a secret, and if he didn’t help her, then she would tell him he left her no choice. She would have to go to the king –
“Alright, anisdi.”
Wait.
What.
Was.
That?
Hyacinth cleared her throat. “I don’t think...”
But the sheikh was already discussing the logistics of the matter.
Leave your homeroom teacher to me.
You will start working as my intern to make the affair more convincing.
We shall let Gadi believe we are lovers, too. It will be easier that way.
And then the sheikh was drawing her up to her feet, even ruffling her hair slightly as he escorted her out of the office and instructed his PA to have one of the limousines drive her to school.
Gadi will make sure that you will not be given a late slip, the sheikh murmured to her ear. Now be a good girl and stop worrying.
Hyacinth’s head was still in a daze when she made it back to class, with no late slip to speak of, just as the sheikh had promised.
Did that really just happen?
Had she truly managed to convince –
No, wait.
She hadn’t even gotten to the convincing part yet.
He had simply said yes.
Hyacinth was tempted to pinch herself just to make sure she hadn’t imagined all of it, but with classes starting, there was no time for her to examine this morning’s events, and before she knew it, she was already taking a seat in front of her homeroom teacher.
“Well, Hyacinth?” Mrs. B. asked calmly. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
Hyacinth, never the type to waste time pulling punches, simply blurted out, “I’m dating Sheikh Rayyan.”
Silence.
And then –
“Very funny, Hyacinth.”
Hyacinth frowned. “I’m not kidding.”
Mrs. B. frowned back. “There is a time and place for everything, and right now we need to be serious—-”
“I am being serious.”
“Oh, Hyacinth.”
“I’m not lying.” Hyacinth was starting to feel insulted. She got that the news was shocking, but was it really that unbelievable? “What I’ve told you is the truth—-”
“And if I tell you I can confirm this with the sheikh myself?”
Hyacinth didn’t dare let herself blink. “Go right ahead. Call him now.”
“As you wish.”
Her jaw dropped when the older woman actually pulled her phone out. “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?” Mrs. Bauer made a show of typing the sheikh’s name in her contact book.
“You r-really have the sheikh’s number stored in your phone?”
The phone started ringing.
No way, Hyacinth thought. There could be absolutely no way –
“Marhava, Cecile.”
Hyacinth almost fell out of her seat in shock. That was the sheikh’s voice.
“Is my woman with you?”
This time, it was Mrs. B. who seemed in danger of falling out of her seat, and it took the older woman several seconds before she could answer. “So it’s true then?”
“It is.”
Mrs. Bauer’s unnaturally beautiful face threatened to crack at the sheikh’s unequivocal confirmation, and the sight left Hyacinth torn between dread and fascination. It was almost like watching one of Daenerys’ dragon eggs crack, and you had to make up your mind about staying to witness a miracle – and risk getting eaten alive.
“I trust you will keep our secret?” The sheikh’s voice seemed harder than usual, and Hyacinth wondered if it was Rayyan Al-Atassi’s way of intimidating the other woman.
“As long as you promise not to hurt her.” Mrs. B, however, didn’t appear cowed at all, despite her unnaturally jerky tone.
“You have my word.”
The sheikh was barely done speaking when Mrs. B. hung up on him.
Hyacinth’s jaw nearly dropped. And I thought I was savage, she thought, stunned. But clearly, Mrs. B. was the queen of savage, just as it was amazingly clear she was teaching the wrong subject in school.
She cleared her throat. “So...um...” She tried to think of the best thing to say. One part of her was touched and wanted to go aww at Mrs. B.’s display of concern. Another part of her, however, was simply going crazy and yelling ‘what the heck?’ Why was her homeroom teacher so at ease in speaking with the sheikh?
“You appear confused.” Mrs. B.’s stiff voice brought Hyacinth’s attention back to her.
“Shouldn’t I be?”
“You shouldn’t,” the older woman said shortly.
“Because...you regularly wipe the floor with sheikhs in your spare time?”
“Because I’m illegitimate. It’s a little-known fact, but it is the truth.”
“I...see.” How did one even reply to that? Sorry? It’s okay? I don’t get what that has to do with the sheikh?
And almost as if she had heard Hyacinth’s unspoken question, Mrs. Bauer shared reluctantly, “My father’s Lord Aldridge of Adora.”
And that was when everything became absolutely clear.
Since Lord Aldridge of Adora was brother to Lord Anthony, Rayyan Al-Atassi’s father, then that would make her homeroom teacher...the sheikh’s cousin.
What the fuck?
The words nearly burst out of her, but the sudden frown of her homeroom teacher had Hyacinth hastily swallowing them back.
But seriously –
