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Even as she reflected on it, she could still hardly believe it.
She was Ahmed's wife.
That simple thought made her feel a pure and simple joy.
She and Ahmed were married.
It had been a whirlwind few months. A courtship, really. Ahmed had done exactly what he had promised he would do. He'd made Gemma feel like the most special person in the world. He had made her life here in Qazhar a truly wonderful experience.
And the more time she and Ahmed and her had spent together, the more she'd gotten to know him, the more sure she had become that this was the place where she belonged.
By his side.
Ahmed had taken care of the situation with Rashid. Of course, Rashid hadn't been happy with Gemma favouring Ahmed. But there had been nothing he could do about it. As Ahmed had told Gemma, contracts were made to be broken.
Gemma lifted her flute of champagne to her lips and gazed out across the see of faces, to try and find her new husband who'd wandered off for a few moments.
She thought about the wedding inside the palace. It had been a truly extraordinary ceremony. She had chosen a modern, white gown that was designed to look traditionally Qazhar in appearance, but which also had hints of the modern about it.
She tugged at the gown. Even although she said so herself, she thought she looked pretty good.
And in there, on the low podium which had been constructed in the high-ceilinged, very long reception room of Ahmed's huge palace, she had stood in front of him, gazed into his eyes and spoken her simple vows.
Vows of undying devotion, true love and absolute commitment.
When Ahmed had spoken his vows to her, she had seen just how much they had meant to him. And when he'd kissed her, the guests had broken out into spontaneous applause.
This was the greatest day of her life. And she knew it.
As far as her millions of followers were concerned, this was like a fairy tale. The build up to the wedding had been intense, not least of which had been the online frenzy about Gemma marrying a Qazhar sheikh.
Gemma had resisted posting photos of her and Ahmed for as long as she could during what had turned out to be the real courtship period since his declaration in her apartment.
But, eventually Ahmed had agreed that it would be best if she showed the followers something. He said he wanted to show how happy they both were.
So, she had posted one picture of her and Ahmed taking a journey on horseback in the desert. Her social media feed had blown up after that. There had been huge interest, but Gemma had been determined to draw a line beneath that.
Her life promised to be so different from now on, she reflected. She was a different person now. Her life was different.
It was time to move on.
She had her whole life ahead of her. That life would be devoted to making sure she and Ahmed were as happy as they could possibly be.
Perhaps once in a while she might post something about her life. But from now on it would be all about her and Ahmed.
That was all that mattered from now on.
She saw Ahmed making his way through the guests. His gaze was fixed firmly on her as he eased his way through the guests, smiling and exchanging brief comments with them.
Then he was by her side, curling his arm around her waist and drawings her close to him. "I missed you," he declared.
She smiled. He looked so unbelievably gorgeous here in the bright afternoon sun. "You've only been gone a few minutes."
He moved his hands to her waist. "Too long," he said. "It's never going to happen again."
"Really? Is that a promise?"
He nodded. "If course. And you know I always keep my promises."
And, as he dipped his head slowly and kissed her, she had to agree.
He always did.
And she knew he always would.
THE END
