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“It’s time to get up, Sleeping Beauty,” he said with a smile.
She looked at him and noticed for the first time that he was already dressed in his black T-shirt and trousers. His hair gleamed with dampness from a recent shower.
Lacey sighed and stretched, murmuring in protest at the twinges in her muscles. “Sleeping Beauty isn’t my favorite fairytale princess,” she said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“You prefer Rapunzel?” he asked. “I finally read that fairy tale you kept talking about.”
“Really?” She slowly sat up in bed and pushed her hair away from her face. “What did you think of it?”
Hafiz’s mouth set in a grim line. She suspected he was going to ask something but wasn’t sure if he would like the answer. “Did you see me as the prince who saved the day, or did you see me as the witch who trapped Rapunzel in the tower?”
Lacey blinked, startled by the question. The corners of her lips tilted into a sad smile as she wrapped the bed sheet around her nude body. “It took me a while before I realized that you were the Rapunzel in the story.”
Hafiz jerked his head back. “That’s not funny.”
“I’m serious. Think about it,” she said. She knew she should have kept her opinion to herself. What man would want to be compared to Rapunzel? But it was too late, and she needed to explain her way of thinking. “Rudaynah was your tower and you were trapped.”
“I am not trapped,” he said stiffly. “I have duties and obligations, but that is not the same thing.”
“Those expectations were holding you back. The sultan was more interested in how you acted than what you accomplished.”
“I don’t want to talk about that right now.” The flash of annoyance in Hafiz’s eyes indicated that the topic would be discussed at length later.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s the past. You’re free now,” she said with a wide smile. “You escaped the tower. Although I’m sure you would want to visit the sultanate every once in a while. It is your homeland.”
Hafiz tilted his head and stared at her with incomprehension. “Lacey, what are you talking about?”
“You left Rudaynah. Didn’t you?” she asked slowly. “We agreed that we wouldn’t see each other unless you chose me and only me.”
“I never agreed to that.”
She tried to remember what had been said that night. Hafiz had said he loved her. It was the one thing that held her together when she wondered what it all had been for.
“You love me. You found me,” she said softly. “But you’re not staying?”
Hafiz sighed. “No.”
She flinched as his answer clawed at her. It tore her to shreds before she had a chance to ward off the pain. “And you’re still...”
“Getting married. Yes.”
Those three words ripped away the last fragment of hope. She closed her eyes and hunched her shoulders. Hafiz hadn’t chosen her. He hadn’t chased her across the world to get her back.
CHAPTER TEN
HE WAS STILL getting married to Nabeela. The stark truth sliced through her. He’d failed to mention that important piece of information before he possessed her body and soul throughout the night. The rat. The snake.
She couldn’t believe he would do this to her. Again. How many times would she fall for this routine? “Get out,” she ordered hoarsely, clutching the sheet against her.
“What?” Arrogant disbelief tinged his voice.
“I thought you chose me. I’m such a fool,” she whispered, gently rocking back and forth. It felt as if she was bleeding inside. She was going to drown in it.
Hafiz exhaled sharply. “I am choosing to be with you.”
“Temporarily,” she said. “You came here for sex.” She stiffened and looked at the bed before scrambling off of the mattress. She gave a fierce yank to the bed sheets that covered her body. Her body, which she’d freely given to him with her love hours before.
He splayed his hands in the air. “I didn’t plan it.”
“Right.” This from a man who was in control of everything and everyone around him. “You didn’t plan to travel to Abu Dhabi. You didn’t plan to search for me. You didn’t plan to take me against a wall minutes after you found me.”
