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“Why?” His voice was silky and smooth, heating her body from the inside out.
Lacey frowned. Why? Was he kidding? Wasn’t it obvious? “Because it’s not—” she resumed pacing as she searched for the word “—appropriate.”
“When have we ever been appropriate?” Hafiz’s sexy chuckle weakened her knees.
She had to follow through and tell him to stop. She had to be strong. “I mean it,” she said sternly, hoping he didn’t catch the slight waver. “I don’t want anything from you.”
“That’s not true.”
She closed her eyes as his low voice made her skin tingle. It wasn’t true. She wanted everything from him. But why would he give it to her? After a year of eagerly accepting whatever he offered, she knew Hafiz thought he could wear her down. That this was some sort of negotiation.
She couldn’t live that way anymore. She deserved more. She deserved everything. She refused to settle.
“I’ve already told you that I’m not interested in married men.”
Hafiz was quiet for a moment. “What if I broke the engagement?” he asked.
Her breath hitched in her throat. “Would you?” Her knees started to wobble. Was it because of her? Was he going to give the palace an ultimatum? “Could you?”
“I’m not interested in marriage.”
“Oh.” She sank on the bed. So many emotions fought inside her, struggling to surface, that they felt as if they would burst through her skin. Hope soared through her, and realization pulled her down. He may no longer be the playboy prince, but he also had no interest in marriage. With her, with anyone.
As much as she didn’t want him to get married, she also wanted to weep because she couldn’t be with him and never would. “But it’s only a matter of time before the palace can prove why marriage is necessary.”
“I don’t need a wife to be a good prince.”
“Now, there you are wrong,” Lacey said as she lay down on the bed and drew her knees to her stomach. “You need a woman at your side. A family of your own.”
“I had that with you,” he reminded her, his voice filled with such tenderness that she ached. “But Rudaynah wouldn’t recognize it like that. The palace would never accept it.”
And the ties that bound him to Rudaynah were too powerful for her to cut. Hafiz might withstand the burdens placed on him, but not if he held on to her. Lacey winced with pain as she had to make a decision, her face already wet with tears. She had to be the strong one, or they both were headed for destruction.
She took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to do this and take the brunt of the fall. Even if it meant she would wither and die, she would do it, as long as Hafiz thrived and flourished. “What we had was good.” She choked out the words. “But we can never recapture it.”
“Lacey?” Hafiz asked in an urgent tone.
“No more presents.” She thought she was going to gag on her tears. “No more trying to... No more....” She disconnected the call and turned off the phone.
Lacey curled up into a ball as her spirit howled with agony. She clutched the phone, the last tangible connection she had with Hafiz, to her chest. Her weary body convulsed as she cried.
She wished she could disintegrate. But she knew the ramifications of her decision were just beginning. She had to live without Hafiz, and she had to be ruthless about it. Starting now. It meant leaving Abu Dhabi. Tonight. Without a trace. Without hope.
* * *
Hafiz stood at the arched window and watched the laborers set up the decorations along the route to the palace. The colorful flags and banners celebrated his upcoming nuptials while street vendors displayed wedding souvenirs.
He wished he could be as excited about the week-long ceremony. Maybe, if it had been a different bride. A woman with copper hair and a smile that warmed his heart. A woman he loved and who fiercely loved him in return.
“Having second thoughts?”
He turned to the sound of his brother’s voice. From the concern lining the crown prince’s face, Hafiz knew he must look like hell.
Ashraf strode down the open hallway, the desert morning wind tugging his white robe. His younger brother looked how a crown prince should. Hafiz felt scruffy and tarnished in comparison in his tunic and jeans.
