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What had Hafiz given up to spend time with her? Lacey frowned as the thought whispered into her mind. She shouldn’t compare. Hafiz was a busy and important man.
“Most of the royal court will be there because my husband and the groom’s father are government ministers. I know you couldn’t attend before because your aunt and uncle had a previous engagement, but this will be the last time we see each other. Extend the invitation to them and...” Inas frowned when the quiet buzz of conversation suddenly died. She set down her teacup, her gold bracelets tinkling, as she looked over her shoulder. “What’s happening?”
“I’m not sure,” Janet murmured as she craned her neck. “Everyone is looking at the door to the lobby.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Inas whispered and turned to face her friends. Her eyes were wide with delight. “It’s the prince.”
Lacey flinched at her friend’s announcement. Her heartbeat stuttered over the possibility of seeing Hafiz again. “Which one? Which prince?”
“The oldest. Hafiz.”
Lacey struggled for her next breath when she saw Hafiz being escorted through the tearoom. He effortlessly commanded attention. It wasn’t because the aggressive lines of his dark business suit emphasized his muscular body, or the haughty jut of his chin. It wasn’t because he walked like a conqueror or because of his royal status. It was because he exuded a power that indicated that he was a valuable ally or a dangerous opponent. This was someone who could ruin a man’s life with the snap of his fingers or steal a woman’s heart with a smile.
Hafiz strode past her, never meeting her startled gaze. His face was rigid, as if it had been hewn from stone.
He didn’t see her. Lacey’s lips parted as she stared after him. How was that possible? She would always capture his gaze the moment she walked into the room.
A thousand petty emotions burst and crawled under her skin. She wouldn’t give in to them. She shouldn’t care that she was invisible three days after he left her. She expected it. That would have always been her status in public had she stayed with Hafiz.
And she didn’t want a life like that, Lacey reminded herself, closing her eyes and drawing the last of her composure. She didn’t want to come in second, even if it meant a life without Hafiz. She refused to be on the side. She wouldn’t be an afterthought again.
“He’s gorgeous,” Janet said in a low voice as they watched Hafiz stride out of the tearoom to what she suspected was the private dining areas.
“So is his fiancée,” Inas informed them. “I know the Abdullah family.”
Lacey winced. She wished she hadn’t heard that. She didn’t want to know anything about the woman who got to marry Hafiz. It was easier for her that way.
Janet leaned forward. “What is she like?”
“Nabeela is the perfect Rudaynahi woman.”
Lacey’s muscles locked. Now she had a name to go with the woman. Somehow that made it worse. She didn’t want to put a name or a face to the person who got the man she loved.
“She has been groomed for life at the palace. Her parents were hoping she would marry a royal adviser or minister. They never thought the sultan and his wife would choose her to become a princess. She’ll make a good wife for Hafiz.”
No, she won’t. He’s mine. The thought savagely swiped at her like a claw. It tore at the thin façade she’d carefully constructed after finding out about Hafiz’s wedding, exposing the truth that bled underneath. It punctured the festering pain she tried to ignore.
She knew Hafiz was going to be married, but she didn’t allow herself to think past the wedding. She thought of Nabeela as the bride. She’d never thought of them as a couple. As partners. As husband and wife.
Lacey looked down hurriedly, the table weaving and buckling before her eyes. The knowledge made her physically ill. She knew it wasn’t a love match, but it didn’t stop the bilious green ribbons of jealousy snaking around her heart.
Her poisonous emotions ate away at her until she felt like a brittle, hollowed-out shell. A series of primal responses, each sharper than the previous one, battered her mind, her heart and her pride.
