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Gretchen looked at Azem. "Why don't you tell Eliana," she said to Azem. "Why you did all of this because of me."
Eliana heard her mother's words, but could hardly fathom what she meant by them. "Because of you, mother? What are you talking about."
Gretchen looked at Eliana. "This has always been more complicated than you realized, Eliana. Maybe it is time your father explained to you the real reason why he didn't want you to marry Sheikh Kadeem of Qazhar."
Eliana peered at her father and saw his obvious discomfort. He glanced tentatively from Gretchen to Eliana. Then he sighed heavily. "You deserve the truth, my daughter," he said peering at Eliana.
"What truth?" Eliana asked.
Azem's shoulders slumped. "The true reason why I wanted to protect you from the Sheikh."
"I didn't need protecting," Eliana declared. "Kadeem has always treated me perfectly."
"That is not what I mean," Azem said. "He is an outsider. He is not a native born of Zahram. That is what I was trying to protect you from. The pain which can come from taking an outsider as your companion for life."
As he said those words, Azem looked straight at Gretchen.
"What he means is that it can be difficult for someone from outside to fit into life here in Zahram," Gretchen said. "I should know. When I came here from America, things were very difficult. I did not immediately win the approval of many of the royal house. Nor of the upper echelons of Zahram society."
Eliana peered at her mother. "You? Rejected? How can that be? You were the royal wife."
Gretchen smiled patiently. "It seemed many people felt I had no place in Zahram society. So they decided to make my life very difficult." Gretchen smiled at Azem. "Of course, your father would have none of it. He fought very hard to ensure that I was accepted. And, eventually, I was. But, it was a long hard struggle to win everyone's approval."
Eliana moved toward her mother. "Just because you were an outsider? Like Kadeem?"
Gretchen nodded and looked at Azem. "Isn't that right, husband?" she asked.
Azem nodded slowly. "What your mother said is true. I saw the pain she suffered, and I also felt much pain on her behalf. They were difficult times," he said. Then, inexplicably, he smiled at Eliana. "Until you came along, Eliana. And then everything changed. The fact that there was a royal heir improved matters immeasurably. And it helped your mother to be accepted."
Eliana had never heard any of this before. She gazed incredulously at her parents. Had they experienced this secret suffering just because her father had fallen in love with a beautiful American woman? Had he transgressed some unwritten law by deciding to bring Eliana's mother into his life? How much pain had they both suffered because of that simple, life-changing decision?
Eliana squinted at her father. "You're telling me all of this was because you wanted to spare me the same kind of pain and rejection you and mother felt when she came to Zahram?"
Azem's gaze was suddenly moist with emotion. "I know how your mother suffered," he said in an even voice.
"And you wanted to spare me that? You believed that was what would happen if Kadeem and I married and he came to Zahram?" Eliana asked.
Azem moved toward Eliana. When he spoke, there was an imploring tone to his voice. "You must understand, Eliana. I did not want to take the chance that Kadeem's rejection would cause you pain."
"How can you be sure he would have been rejected?" Eliana asked.
Azem shook his head. "You saw them last night. There was such judgment in their eyes as they watched him speaking."
"You're wrong, father," Eliana declared. "There was respect in those people's eyes when he stood up. They recognized what he was doing and why he had to do it."
"To humiliate me?" Azem said sternly.
"Is that how you saw it?" Eliana replied. She shook her head and glanced at her mother, whose expression was one of patience and humility. She knew what Eliana was trying to say to her father. Gretchen understood that Azem had been mistaken in his assessment of last night's events. And that he had let his fears of the past being repeated cloud his judgment.
Eliana rested her hand on her father's arm. "No-one saw you being humiliated, father. They saw a prospective son-in-law bravely speaking for his future bride and her family. And he spoke with complete respect," Eliana said. "Surely you can see that."
Azem's gaze darkened suddenly. He looked sharply and imploringly toward Gretchen. There was a deep and painful understanding in his eyes. "What have I done?" he asked, emotion cracking his voice.
Gretchen went to her husband. "Only what you thought was best, Azem."
Her father looked at Eliana. "Daughter. How can you forgive me?"
Eliana gazed affectionately at her father. "I understand you were trying to stop the past from being repeated, father," Eliana said. "But, all that matters is the here and now. This is a different time. So much has changed."
