NOTE

Ok guys... this is something I started writing a while ago. I always vowed I would
never write a story about a hot, sexy, devilish Prince... but I did. It's a little
bit cheesy, a lot fun and corny, but hey! I know we all do like a bit of corniness
from time-to-time though.
Normally when I write I would be very anal about researching- but for this one, I
didn't. So it's all made up, probably terribly culturally inaccurate, but it's pure
'flight-of-fantasy' fiction. So I hope no one takes offense that I have taken such
wild liberties!

And also, it is way steamier than my usual stuff. I usually skirt around sex scenes
and such, but this time I am jumping in.
Enjoy!
JO X

HUSAIN
HE NEEDED A WIFE. And he needed one now!
He was going home tomorrow, and if he didn't arrive with someone suitable, his
parents would be very disappointed. Not to mention, he'd be jeopardizing his rather
substantial inheritance and royal title too. He'd been lying to them for the past
three months already, expounding about his blossoming relationship with a 'lovely
young lady'.
This couldn't be further from the truth...
'The Playboy Prince', 'Heartbreak Husain' and the most creative of all, 'One-Night
Nasser', was what the media had dubbed him. And although these names were terribly
offensive, they were, in fact, accurate. But what offended him most about them was
not their decidedly unsubtle insinuations, but rather their complete lack of
creativity. Surely he was worth more than a stupid string of clichéd alliterations?
It was a joke.
A joke his father hadn't found very funny. Rumors of his 'extra curricular'
activities had been slowly making their way back to his parents. Even though their
Persian Gulf Kingdom of Burmain was almost completely cut off from 'decadent'
Western influences like MTV, gossip magazines and the Kardashians- the news had
traveled. No doubt with a little help from his cousin Amir, a bitter little snake
who'd been out to ruin him for years.
But his father was not impressed. And upon hearing the news, Sheikh Abdul-Rashid
Nasser, had immediately boarded his private jet and flown to South Africa for an
emergency 'meeting'. Very, very awkward. Especially when he found his son in the
Jacuzzi with three naked models. Husain smiled at the thought; over the years he'd
become rather adept at pleasuring several women at once. It was like conducting an
orchestra; you just needed to know when and where to increase the rhythm and tempo.
And he really enjoyed it when they pleasured each other...
For a split second, he thought about telling his father to jump in. Luckily, the
expensive French Champagne he'd been drinking hadn't robbed him of all his senses
quite yet. A very long, and loud, string of threats then followed, which went
something like this...
"Disgraceful! Disguising! Disrespectful! Embarrassment to his country! (etc, etc,
etc)Stop behavior immediately and find a respectable wife before his 27th
birthday. If he disobeyed, he would be cut off financially and not ascend to the
throne. Instead, his money and his royal title would go to his cousin Amir."
And so that's why, less than 24 hours before returning home and a mere three days
before his 27th birthday, Husain suddenly realized he better find himself a
suitable wife. Well, if he couldn't find a wife, then a respectable fiancé would
have to do for now.
And he knew just the man for the job.
JENNY
THE EARLY MORNING KNOCK SENT JENNY'S HEART RACING. She knew exactly what it meant
and it wasn't good.
"Open the door Jenny." The landlords voice boomed.
Crap! Crap! Crap!
Perhaps if she hid he'd go away? Wishful thinking, she'd been dodging the poor guy
for 3 weeks already, even resorting to climbing down the fire escape and making
sneaky, late night entrances through her bathroom window (No, she was not proud of
this.) But desperate times did call for rather drastic measures.)
She just didn't have the money! End of story. And it wasn't for lack of trying
either, but breaking into the industry as an actress was proving a lot harder than
she anticipated. She'd been living in Cape Town, the film capital of South Africa,
for a whole year now and hadn't booked a single job, well not a proper one anyway.
She had expected it to be easier. She had the talent, she had the drive, but she'd
been very naïve. Talent had very little to do with it. It was about who you knew,
who you sucked-up to and who you were prepared to suck. In an entire year, she'd
booked one job in toothpaste commercial, where the soft focus shape of her head
could be seen for precisely 1 second. The only reason she'd gotten the job- her
agent had said- was that the director liked the little gap in her teeth. It was
quirky.
And now, the only thing keeping her from sleeping on the street with that homeless
man who screamed at passing cars, or worse, standing on a street corner in a pair
of slutty shoes - was her job at Giovanni's Pizzeria. Long hours, tiny pay,
terrible pizza. But it was all she had.
"I know you're in there. You can't keep avoiding me forever." She heard keys
rattling in his hand.
Her heart sank. Although she was desperate and holes-in-her-socks broke, it wasn't
like her to behave like this. She took a deep breath, straightened her dress and
decided to face whatever ugly consequences were waiting behind her front door.
"Hi Mike." She opened the door and smiled sheepishly.
Jenny wasn't a classic beauty. She had a full face of freckles, a mop of curly (and
on occasion very wild) red hair and a voluptuous figure. This was one of the other
problems, her agent had also said. Her look was 'not what directors wanted'. She
didn't have that skinny, sultry, model look. Instead, she had a girl-next-door
quality, which was appealing in its own way, but was just 'not current enough'.
Whatever the hell that meant!
"Jenny, the rent is three weeks overdue." Mike looked at her and shook his head.
"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I've been going to so many castings. I've hardly
had time to work at the restaurant and, well...I'm broke." She averted her eyes in
embarrassment. She hated this. She felt like a terrible person, a rent-dodging-
fire-escape-sliding cheap skate.
Mike shook his head. "I can't keep making concessions for you. You're my only
tenant that pays late."
"I know. I'm sorry." And she really was.
Mike sighed, "One week, that's all I can give you Jenny. One week, you hear me?"
"Thank you! I promise I'll get it."
"Yup, I've heard that one before too."
And he had. Because although she had every intention of paying him, the reality was
that unless she won the lotto, or inherited money from a relative she didn't know
existed, there was no way she'd have it.
And that's when her phone rang.
HUSAIN
"SHE HAS TO BE CONSERVATIVE LOOKING, BUT NOT UGLY. She needs to have a pretty face,
but she mustn't have blow-job lips..." Husain drifted off there for a second
thinking about the girl that had "slept" over last night. They'd done very little
sleeping.
"She needs to be intelligent, well-spoken but not boring. She has to be vaguely fun
or my parents wouldn't buy it. But not night-club fun, not grind- against- your-
groin fun. And most importantly, she can't be sexy! She can't look like any woman
I've ever dated. And she has to act like she's happily engaged to me for the next
four days." Husain rattled off the list while casually lying poolside with a
Martini.
Rafiq could barely contain his shock. He'd been Husain's trusty advisor and right-
hand man for over 9 years now, and in all that time this was definitely his most
bizarre request. And there'd been some pretty strange ones. Like the time he wanted
black panthers at his 21st birthday party, or the time he wanted his swimming pool
converted into a giant walk-in ice bucket for a New Year's party.
"And you want this by when your Majesty?"
"We fly out tomorrow morning." He obliterated an olive between his pearly whites.
"I'm afraid Genies lamps are just a myth." Rafiq's tone was deeply sarcastic.
Husain slammed his Martini down, swung around and pulled his Dolce and Gabbana
glasses down just enough to inflict the full force of his death stare on Rafiq.
"What are you trying to say?"
"That it's impossible."
"You disappoint me Rafiq, I didn't realize the word "impossible" was even in your
vocabulary." The Prince paused for a moment, "Can't you just pay some girl a lot of
money to do it."
"Some girl" Rafiq cynically gestured with inverted commas. " Some girl is not going
to convince your parents, they'll see right through her in five minutes." A sadness
welled up inside him, "You know, underneath all your women and cocktails and
parties, you're a good man Husain. A great man! But you're throwing it all away and
I'm afraid this plan of yours is going to backfire, with serious consequences."
"Well, you'll just have to find a way to make it work then." Husain was angling his
deck chair to favor the sun, he needed to work on his tan. "I have the utmost
confidence in you old boy."
Rafiq clenched his fists, trying to hide his rapidly growing anger. "The only way
this could ever work, is if I could find a woman so convincing, so committed to
playing this role that she would stay in character- as your devoted fiancé- 24
hours a day, for the next four days, without making a single slip-up. And on top of
that, she'd have to learn everything about you that a real fiancé would know in a
matter of hours-"
Rafiq stopped dead in the middle of his sentence as a crazy, uncensored thought
burst into his brain. As if reading his mind, Husain jumped out of his deck chair
and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"You're a genius old boy. I knew you could do it!" The Prince was grinning like the
Cheshire cat who'd got the girl and was now licking cream off her.
"We need to hire an actress."
**
JENNY
"THEY'RE PAYING HOW MUCH?!" Jenny shouted down the phone at her agent Simone.
"That's...that's..." She was stuttering now. "Money like that would mean I wouldn't
have to work for a whole year. A year. What's the catch? There must be a catch. A
big one."
"There are some terms and conditions." Simone sounded hesitant. "One of them is
signing a non-disclosure agreement about the job. It also involves traveling for a
few days, leaving tomorrow. They also won't say who the client is. To be honest,
this thing feels a little cloak and dagger, but the money is unbelievable and you
haven't booked a job in over six months. Not to mention that this brief was written
for you."
"Count me in." Jenny jumped up excitedly almost tripping over the edge of her old
carpet. "Just tell me where and when and what to wear and I'll be there." There was
a short silence on the phone. "This is the other strange thing. The casting is in
the Penthouse at the Lord Nelson Hotel, and it says not to dress sexy."
Not to dress sex. Well, that's a first.
Two hours later Jenny found herself standing in the reception of the Lord Nelson
Hotel in Bantry Bay. She suspected someone might need to scrape her jaw off the
floor with a spatula, because this was by far the most lavish, over-the-top place
she'd ever seen. Crystal chandeliers the size of small cars hung from the triple
volume ceiling. An enormous glass lift dominated the opposite side of the room, and
the gold lettering next to it read "Penthouse".
You know you're loaded when your hotel room has its own lift!
Jenny began walking across the room and glanced down at her small feet shuffling
across the slippery surface; she desperately needed a pedicure and her old leather
sandals had definitely seen better days, in fact, her feet looked so out of place
on the impossibly shiny marble floors that she felt a sting of self-consciousness
rush through her.
The ride up to the penthouse was impossibly quick, even though it was located on
the 22nd floor, this was clearly the fastest lift that had ever been built in the
history of humankind. The glass lift concluded its speedy ride with a melodic
'ping' and Jenny gasped as the designer doors slid open with a pleasant-sounding
swoosh.
The Penthouse was like nothing she'd ever seen before, and stepping into it, felt
like stepping onto an unfamiliar alien planet. This was where Hollywood movie stars
stayed, Fortune 500 Billionaires were made, and members of the royal family played.
And judging by the looks on all the slash- actress's faces, she was not the only
one thinking it. The scene was comical.
Huddled in the corner of the most enormous room she'd ever been in, was a group of
about 20 whispering woman. Every now and then one would glance around nervously, as
if she expected some kind of terrifying monster to jump out of the shadows and bite
her. Jenny had no desire to join the huddle, but was curious to know what they were
saying-
"And there's no Script." Said the blonde with the gravity defying bosoms.
"My agent says it's more like a job interview." Said Botox face.
"But for what?" asked the brunette with the legs that stopped somewhere around her
ears.
"I don't care what it's for. I'd do anything for that kind of dough." Said a
particularly sultry looking woman with lips that would make Miss Jolie jealous.
Jenny recognized her from a local daytime drama in which she played the evil,
slutty villain who slept with everyone's husband. (Seeing her in the flesh, she
wondered just how much art imitated life?)
Jenny also wondered if any of them had gotten the memo about 'not dressing sexy?'
Because they all looked like they were ready to shoot their close-up in the big sex
scene.
Who was she kidding?
She was definitely the ugly duckling in this group. There was no way she could
compete with these lip-glossed bombshells, and decided to make a quick exit before
anyone saw her. But as she'd surreptitiously managed to slide her way back to the
lift, something stopped her dead in her tracks-
The most striking and refined voice she'd ever heard cut through the muffled
chatter of the room. The voice introduced himself as Rafiq Al-Asiri and told
everyone to follow him into the next room. Something about him was so commanding,
that she couldn't help but obey. Jenny and the other actresses were ushered into
the next room and the usual procedure then followed quickly.
Jenny squared off in front of the camera and smiled. "Hi, my name is Jenny Simm,
I'm 24 years old and my agent is Stars." Jenny then turned profile, and profile
again, and raised her hands to the camera.
"Thank you, Jenny." Mister refined voice said, "Could you please tell me a little
about yourself?"
"Sure." She struggled to conceal her anxiety. "Well, I grew up in a small farming
town, which was great. I spent a lot of time outdoors helping my dad on the farm,
so I'm not afraid of hard work. I got my honors degree in Drama and English
Literature and am currently trying to be an actress... as you can see." She scoffed
loudly at her last statement. She couldn't help it.
Rafiq smiled. "And how is it going?"
Jenny glanced at the slash-actresses who were all re-touching their already perfect
hair and make-up.
Seriously, who was she kidding? There was no way she was getting this job, so
technically, she had nothing to lose.
"Terribly." The honesty just flew out of her. "I have exactly..." Jenny scrounged
in her bag pulling out her wallet and looking inside, "... fifty Rand and twenty-
two cents to my name. Which means I can't pay my rent this month, so I'm sure I'll
be homeless and busking on a street corner in a clown suit in a week or so. Not to
mention won't be able to feed myself- although I guess I could afford to lose a kg
or ten- maybe then I would get a gig, because I haven't booked a single job in 6
months. Not because I'm a bad actress, I'm really, really good actually, but
because I don't look like that." She gestured to the models behind her. "Seriously,
who has legs like that? They practically stop under her armpits!" She smiled at
Rafiq. "Anyway, I'll get going, you have a lot of people to get through. Have a
good day." She gave him a small wave and started walking out, but his voice stopped
her.
"Where are you going, Miss Simm?" This woman intrigued Rafiq. Such honesty was rare
and refreshing.
Jenny chuckled, gesturing at the other actresses again. "Look around. Clearly I'm
the ugly stepsister here. They all look like they've stepped out of a hair
commercial, have you seen mine..." Jenny was on a roll now. She'd opened the
floodgates of honesty and now there was no shutting them. She released her hair
from its ponytail and boisterous curls tumbled over her shoulders.
"And this is a good hair day!" She blew some of the rebellious strands out of her
face. "Oh, and these are contact lenses. I wear glasses. Not very sexy. But... I
can discuss the role of feminism in early twentieth-century writing, if you want?"
she added sarcastically.
Rafiq tried to hide his smile, but was enchanted with this woman, she was a breath
of fresh air in an otherwise stale room.
Suddenly Jenny's demeanor's changed and she glared at Rafiq. "Are you laughing at
me?" she raised an accusing finger at him "Well, that's just rude. I'm sorry, but
no amount of money is worth this kind of treatment!"
And with that, she turned and swaggered out the room, missing a small step and
almost tripping as she went. Rafiq smiled even more, picked up his phone and
dialed....
"Hussain, I've found her. And she's perfect."

HUSAIN
"WHAT?" Five seconds into watching the casting tape Husain pressed pause and
stared. "She's totally wrong!"
"But she ticks all your boxes," Rafiq pulled out his handwritten list and started
reading, "conservative looking, but not ugly. Kind and gentle face, but not a push
over, intelligent and fun loving- but not in a nightclub kind of way. And not
overtly sexy." He glared at Hussain and raised a disapproving eyebrow, "And
although I'm not entirely sure what 'blow-job-lips' are, she seems to not have
them."
Husain sighed, once again Rafiq was right. He was always right. She did tick all
the boxes. He just hadn't taken the time to imagine what a woman with all those
qualities would be like. But she was definitely unlike any woman he'd ever dated
before, and that was the point...wasn't it?
"Are you sure she's the best one for the job?" the prince was hoping that Rafiq had
perhaps overlooked someone else.
"She's the only one for the job." Rafiq was irritated now. "But if you don't trust
my judgment, feel free to trawl through all the other tapes yourself."
Husain knew they were running out of time, the flight left tonight and someone
needed to be on it with him.
"We're going to have to do something about her wardrobe." Husain recoiled at the
sight of her old leather sandals and tatty looking dress. She had no style. At
least outside of the year 1995 anyway.
"Leave that to me." Rafiq said exiting.
Alone in the room, the Prince pressed play again, turned up the volume and made
himself comfortable. He reached for a drink and crossed his legs as the TV screen
burst to life once more. She seemed pleasant enough, he thought. She seemed polite,
down to earth and he was particularly impressed by her two degrees, she wasn't
unattractive either, and there was definitely something interesting about her....
And then something completely unexpected happened.
First, Husain smiled as he watched her clumsily dig through her handbag, and then
the smile turned into a chuckle as he imagined her in a clown suit, and then the
chuckle turned into a full blown laugh as he watched her tear into Rafiq with her
wagging finger!
Husain couldn't remember the last time a woman had made him laugh. He rewound the
tape and watched the scene again and this time...
Something even more unexpected happened.
As she let her hair down he paused the tape and stared. The static image blinked
back at him silently, and something deep inside him began to stir. She was
beautiful. No, she was stunning. This realization threw Husain, he had a very
specific type, and she was not it. But there was something about her fiery curls,
her big blue eyes and her playful freckles that had Husain out of his seat and
standing just inches away from the screen scrutinizing her.
She was...she looked, she seemed...
He pressed play again and watched as she loosened her hair and shook her head which
made her breasts move under her dress. Husain took in a sharp breath. Natural
breasts. He suddenly imagined putting his hands on them. Ripping her bra off and
watching them tumble out...
He smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought. After all, no woman had
ever, ever, said no to him. And she wouldn't either.
JENNY

"IT WAS A TOTAL DISASTER Simone! I made a complete fool of myself." Jenny paced her
apartment now deeply regretting her foray into honesty. "God, and I really need
that job. I can't go back home to my parents and the farm but...."
A loud knock on the door interrupted her rant and she froze. "I've got to go." she
whispered into the phone before hanging up. Perhaps Mike had changed his mind about
the rent? She glanced at the fire escape and was just about to throw herself at it
when she stopped.
"I'm coming." Her voice was shaky as she tentatively opened the door expecting the
absolute worst...
...but what happened next, was even more unexpected than she could have ever
imagined.
"Congratulations Miss. Simm. You got the job," said Mister refined voice with a
smile. He looked so out of place in the small, dimly lit hallway in his expensive,
perfectly tailored suit. Like a polar bear on a tropical beach.
"You're joking, right?" Jenny burst out laughing and looked around. This was
probably one of those reality shows where they 'punk'd you and played tricks on
people. Where was the camera crew?
"No. I never joke. " Mister refinement shook his head handing her an envelope. She
looked into his serious face and realized that he was, in fact, being serious.
"Your itinerary for the next few days. I took the liberty of buying you a new
wardrobe, I got your sizes from the casting form, I hope it all fits?"
Suddenly a team of people burst into her tiny apartment inundating it with bags,
boxes, shoes and suitcases of all shapes and sizes. She recognized some of the
names that floated past her, Prada, Max Mara, Jimmy Choo, Channel and some others
she wouldn't dare try and pronounce.
"Wait. Stop!" She threw here arms in the air. "What's going on?"
But instead of answering, Rafiq ushered Jenny to the couch and sat her down.
"Okay, where is hair and make-up? And where is the stylist?" he called out. But
before she could open her mouth in protest, someone was already running a brush
through her hair while someone else attacked her with a mascara brush. Jenny's
mouth hung open is disbelief as she glanced around at the hive of activity that had
broken out around her.
This was unbelievable. This was Pretty Woman 2- the sequel, except she wasn't a
prostitute and didn't look like Julia Roberts and didn't have the figure to wear
that stretchy little dress she wore in the beginning of the film. Oh, and she
certainly wasn't going to be netting herself a Billionaire anytime soon either.
Okay, this was nothing like Pretty Woman 2. Without warning, someone then started
to file her nails as someone else painfully yanked at her eyebrows.
"Owe!" She screeched out in pain and jumped out of her seat. "What the hell is
going on here?' She looked genuinely frightened and Rafiq felt sorry for her. And
then in a move that totally surprised her, he gently put his hand on her shoulder
and spoke in the most reassuring voice she had ever heard.
"We have exactly an hour before we need to leave for the airport, so there's no
time to explain. But I promise you, I promise, everything will be fine and you are
going to look beautiful. There's nothing to worry about and I will explain
everything to you as soon as possible. Trust me. "
And for some bizarre reason, she did trust him. This strange, mysterious man, far
too over-dressed for the hot weather, way too formal and well spoken with an exotic
accent she'd never heard before. She trusted him.
An hour later Jenny found herself standing in front of the mirror staring back at a
woman she didn't recognize. The woman's hair was straight and sleek, her eyebrows
were elegantly arched, her fingernails were baby pink, and her lashes were long and
thick. She reached up and touched her flawless skin, her apricot blush cheeks and
played with the diamond droplets hanging from her ears. The white Max Mara dress
she was wearing was beautiful and her perfectly pedicured toes peeped out from
under it in a pair of gorgeous sandals.
"I told you you'd look beautiful." Rafiq's smile was warm and genuine. "But it's
time to go now".
HUSAIN
HUSSAIN was already seated when the most exquisite woman he'd ever seen walked up
the stairs and into the private jet. He immediately jumped out of the seat to
introduce himself and then stopped dead in his tracks. It was her.
For the second time in one day he was rendered speechless. He stared at her and
felt something inside him detonate, releasing the dizziest, wildest, most
intoxicating sexual desire he'd ever experienced. His response to her was
completely instinctual and he couldn't fight it. She stroked something deep and
primitive inside him that, until this very second, had been lying dormant.
She was soft, and sweet and delicious. She was wearing a simple white dress, but it
was made for her curves, and as she moved, he saw the ever so very gentle sway of
her breasts. Full, soft, natural breasts. Husain couldn't remember the last time
he'd seen, or held a pair of natural breasts in his hands. All the woman he dated
had hard plastic ones.
She was at least a DD cup, a 36 DD he guessed. Over the years he'd become quite an
expert at guessing cup size, buying his conquests lingerie was standard practice.
He mentally trawled through the list of lingerie he'd bought over the years;
leather, lace, tassels and tiny G-Strings. But he couldn't imagine anything like
that on her. If he bought her lingerie, it would have to be something different.
Something as beautiful as she was. His heart raced at the thought.
He forcefully pried his eyes from her body, letting them focus, instead, on her
face. But then something else happened, the raw lust melted away. Instead, it was
replaced by a desire- no, an instinct- to protect her. To hold her I her arms.
What the hell was going on with him?
JENNY
Jenny was convinced she would fall over right there and then.
Because standing in the aisle in front of her was the most gorgeous man she'd ever
seen. She swallowed hard and took him all in. He was tall, at least six feet. His
skin was a dark mocha color and his hair was pitch black and hung just below the
nape of his neck. The 5 o'clock shadow on his jaw just added to his rugged appeal.
Rugged. That was perhaps the only way to describe him.
She could see he was muscular; his broad shoulders stretched his shirt to bursting
capacity. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and her attention was
immediately drawn to that area. Oh dear...His pants were slightly snug in that
general vicinity and she could definitely tell he wasn't lacking in that
department.
Stop looking at his crotch, stop looking at his crotch, stop looking at his crotch!
She mentally scolded herself.
She quickly lifted his gaze, only for it to be captivated by his most startling
feature. His piercing, emerald eyes. They were bewitching, and she found herself
momentarily, and very involuntarily, swallowed up by them. Lost and floating in
this emerald haze, something deep inside her started to stir. At first it was just
a tiny, almost inaudible whisper. But the more she got carried away in emerald
swell, the louder the whisper became, until it was a scream.
The scream reverberated through her entire body with such intensity, that it
awakened all her senses until it felt like every nerve ending in her body was on
fire and twitching. She'd never experienced anything like this before.
They stood face -to- face in total silence. Neither one of them was able to say a
word, and the awkward tension between them was palpable. Their eyes had locked and
it felt like they would never be able to stop looking at each other as time stood
still and everything around them disappeared. The moment was only broken as the
plane started moving and a voice over the intercom told them to sit and fasten
their seatbelts.

JENNY
Jenny's heart was pounding as she tightened the metal buckle- she had arrived with
a million questions; What was the job? Who was she playing? Where were they going?
And why did this dress make her itch?
But now she only had one; who the hell was that man and what was this strange
effect he had on her?
Shee glanced up at the man again. There was something so familiar about him, but
she couldn't put her finger on it.
Jenny heard the engines getting louder and felt the speed of the plane as it
started racing down the runway. She was fighting the urge to look back at him and
decided to pick up a magazine in hopes of distracting herself. But it was taking
all her energy not to look, and all her control to keep turning the pages.
And then she saw it...and the penny dropped with a thud.
"Seen out and about this week: The notorious One Night Nasser fulfills every guys
fantasy when he was seen going home with not one, but two models after the MTV Base
party on Thursday night."
What? She snapped her head around and looked at him again. Glared.
It was him! 'One Night Nasser, 'The Play Boy Prince' in the flesh. Jenny was not
impressed and immediately recoiled. A man like this stood for everything she was
against. She'd read the gossip magazines, she'd heard the stories, she knew of his
reputation, and he was a total womanizing bastard. Not to mention completely
arrogant and drunk on his own self-importance.
But a more important thought was starting to take shape in her mind. What the hell
was she doing on a plane with this man?
Suddenly the man in question was on his feet. He was striding up the aisle and he
was coming straight towards her. She folded her arms across her chest and tried to
look at cool and unimpressed as she possibly could. It was an easy expression to
adopt, since it was exactally how she was feeling.
"Hello. I'm crown Prince Hussain Nasser, and you must be Jenny Simm. Lovely to meet
you." He stepped forward and extended a large (beautiful) hand.
She stared up at him trying to convey her disdain. Sure, he was the most gorgeous
thing she'd ever seen, but she guessed this made him even more dangerous. Women
probably fell in love with him at the drop of a fashionable hat.
Well, not her! Oh no.
Now that she knew who he was, she was completely immune to his good looks,
impervious to his charms and was not going to fall for his tricks.
HUSAIN
She stared at his hand for the longest time and he wondered if she was ever going
to take it.
"Hello. I'm crown Prince Husain Nasser. It's nice to meet you." He repeated himself
in case she hadn't heard him. "It's really lovely to-"
But before he could finish, she cut him off. Her pretty face scrunched into a
scowl.
"I know exactly who you are. I've read about you in the papers."
"Well, I hope you don't believe everything you read." He tried his killer smile on
her- it usually turned women into puddles. But this time, it didn't.
"Shouldn't I?" her eyes darkened.
"No!" The word came out fast and firm and he could see it had unnerved her
somewhat. "This introduction isn't going very well, is it?"
"I guess not." Indignation lit up her pretty eyes.
"It's not quite what I imagined."
"And what exactly did you imagine?" her tone was flat and cold.
"The usual. Maybe... some hand shaking, exchanging of smiles and pleasantries, some
flirtatious small talk, woman usually like me, you know." He tried the killer smile
again, still nothing.
"God you're arrogant." She said and turned away from him.
He was officially taken aback. This was the first woman he'd met in years, no,
maybe in his entire life that wasn't responding to his charms. He could usually
break these responses down into two categories; there were the women that blinked
coyly and giggled nervously, and then there were the other ones who simply threw
themselves at him shamelessly and usually landed on his dick!
But she was neither.
Jenny looked around the empty plane. "Where's Rafiq? And what are you doing here?"
"It's lovely to meet you too." Husain said flatly.
"Sarcastic as well as arrogant." Jenny snapped back.
"Some people find it quite charming."
"Well, I'm not one of them."
The Prince gave up his attempt at witty banter. "Rafiq will be meeting us there."
"Where's there?"
"Burmaine."
"Where's that?"
"You ask a lot of questions."
"Only when no one gives me any answers. Rafiq said he would explain everything to
me today, what I would be doing for him-"
"It's what you'll be doing for me that really matters." Husain met her eyes.
Confusion swept across her face. God, she looked cute like that.
"Rafiq employed you on my behalf. You'll be working for me, Miss. Simm." Hussain
turned and walked back to his seat, leaving a shocked looking Jenny staring after
him.

JENNY
An hour later, once the plane had reached it's cruising altitude, Husain slid into
the seat next to Jenny. She smelt him before she saw him, his scent was
inebriating, a combination of spicy sandalwood and pure hot-blooded male. Jenny
shifted away from the scent; it made her feel drowsy with desire, like a shot of
heroin to an addict. How could such a terrible man smell so damn good?
Husain started to explain everything to her; where they were going and what she
would be doing, pretending to be the Prince's fiancé for the next few days.
"Hang on a second!" Her face reddened with a mixture of embarrassment and fury.
"You can forget it if you think I'm going to sleep with you. I don't care how much
money you're paying me, I am not some prostitute you can buy."
"You don't have to sleep with me, I assure you. My family are very conservative, we
wouldn't even be allowed to share a bed before marriage."
Jenny eyeballed Husain, scrutinizing him for the tell-tale signs of lying. A
shifting of his gaze, a tensing in his body or a rising inflection in his voice.
But nothing. He was telling the truth.
"Why are you doing this? Surely you can get any...most, woman you want?" She
corrected herself quickly. She didn't want him to think that she was on the menu.
He smiled slowly. "My father hasn't really approved of my choice of women over the
years-"
Jenny scoffed loudly and it stopped him mid-sentence. "I can't for the life of me
understand why not. Those half-naked models you date all seem so nice. And that
stripper you were dating a while ago, she seemed great. Really classy. Perfect
princess material. " She couldn't care less about offending him at this stage. So
she lashed out with as much sarcasm as she could muster.
She looked up at Husain, but her sarcasm didn't seem to be having the desired
effect. Instead he was looking at her smiling. Then he did something so alarming,
so totally, hideously inappropriate. He leaned in closer to her. He stopped by her
hair for a second and she swore she heard him smell it, then he leaned in even more
until his lips were touching her ear. She winced- and it was not in pain.
"Girls like that are good for... fucking. But they're not the type to take home to
mom and dad."
Jenny gasped loudly and then coughed as the air got stuck in the back of her
throat. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. A part of her was
completely disguised and horrified, but there was another part of her that was so
turned on right now.
The prince smiled at her with such a smug look of self-satisfaction that she wanted
to slap him.
"So as I was saying," He continued as if he didn't have a care in the world, "my
father hasn't approved of my choice of women over the years and he's given me an
ultimatum. Unless I settle down with the right woman, he'll cut me off and I will
not ascend to the thrown. And he gave me until my 27th birthday to do it, which is
in 2 days. That's why you're here. I've chosen you because you're nothing like any
of the other woman I've dated-"
Jenny shot out of her seat as if it had spontaneously combusted, "Because I'm not
some sexy model?"
Wow. His statement hurt her more than she could explain. It painfully dawned on her
that she really had been the ugly duckling in that casting, and that was the real
reason she'd gotten the job.
"No. You're beautiful." He said quickly. "But you're also intelligent and you're
interesting and-"
"Oh please." She cut him off, the words exploded out of her mouth and dripped with
contempt. "And you can tell all of that from a five minute casting tape?" she
narrowed her cold sardonic eyes. "I think you're a liar and I think what you're
doing, trying to deceive your family like this, is disguising and deceitful. But
you've employed me to do a job and I am going to do it to the best of my ability."
She groaned angrily and looked away. She couldn't bear to look at him anymore. "And
how is this whole thing going to end. I take it there won't be a happily ever after
for us, will there?"
"You're going to break up with me. Preferably publically."
Jenny hung her head. She couldn't believe what she had gotten herself into. "And
why am I breaking up with you?"
He shrugged his muscular shoulders. "I don't know- because you realize you're still
in love with your ex, or the pressures of a royal life aren't for you, or something
like that. You're creative, I'm sure you'll come up with something."
It was all becoming crystal clear to her. "Leaving you to play the heartbroken,
grieving fiancé, eliciting even more sympathy from your parents, showing them what
a changed man you really are. Clever."
Jenny wished a black hole would open up and suck her in, away from him and this
situation. She was disguised. Telling a lie was one thing, but this deception was
on a whole other level. She buried her face in her hands, wishing she'd known all
this before signing up for the job.

5
HUSAIN

He watched as the color drained from her face leaving her ashen, he didn't know
why, but he hated hurting her like this. But he also didn't have the luxury of
entertaining those feelings right now- they still had so much work to do. His
demeanor turned businesslike as he snapped open a Louie Vuitton briefcase and
removed a large bound document.
"Rafiq wrote us a backstory." He slapped the thick document down on the table with
a loud thud. "Where we met, how I proposed etc. Memorize it. We don't want to make
any mistakes. There is also information about my country and the history of my
family, also..." he pulled out a silver Monte Blanc pen that probably cost more
than she earned in a year and signed a cheque.
"Half your salary upfront, the rest will be paid when you end our relationship.
There's also a non- disclosure agreement I need you to sign. You are prohibited to
speak about this job to anyone once it's over. Not a word about me, who you met,
what my family and home are like. If you do, legal action will be taken. And I
don't think we want that happening, do we?"
"I wouldn't want anyone to know about this anyway. Trust me." She signed the papers
and tossed them back at him.
"There's just one more thing." Husain dug in his pocket and pulled out a small
purple ring box. "It belonged to my great, great grandmother, and it's been in the
family for over four hundred years."
He opened the box. The ring was exquisite. A large heart-shaped ruby, flanked by
rows of pink diamonds, all set in rose gold. It was an ancient ring and it had been
privy to so many wonderful love stories. But this was not one of them.
"I guess, will you marry me?" he took her hand in his and started to slip the ring
on. He was immediately struck by how perfect the fit was and how much it suited
her. The pinks and reds went with her hair and fiery disposition, the rose colored
gold was unique and different, the shape was bold. It was perfect. As if it had
been made for her.
They both stared at it, as the air around them became thick and heavy. Hard to
breathe. Even though this engagement was nothing more than an empty promise, there
was still something so undeniably intimate about putting a ring onto someone's
finger, and they both felt it.
It was physically tangible and utterly spellbinding.
The exquisite awkwardness of the moment made Husain's head hurt until it became too
unbearable to handle and he pulled his hand away.
"I.. I...I... need to work." Jenny stuttered and pulled the document towards
herself with shaking hands. He could see that the moment they'd just shared, had
had the same bizarre effect on her, as it had on him. She stood up quickly and
walked all the way to the other end of the plane. He watched her intently, but
something was bothering him.
She thought he was a despicable liar. He didn't know why, but this troubled him. He
usually didn't care what people thought of him, but with her it was different.
What was it about this woman that was driving him so crazy?
Hussain didn't feel like himself at all and called for a strong Martini, hoping it
would take the edge off the madness that had gripped him. He murdered it in two
sips and closed his eyes. He was tired, which allowed the alcohol to take a hold
and drag him under-
Suddenly he was standing on the cliff outside the palace, but he wasn't alone. He
was flanked by his father and other relatives. He looked down and realized he was
wearing the traditional wedding garments, a delicate gold and orange silk kaftan.
But who was he marrying?
Suddenly the wedding march filled the air and rows of people materialized out of
nowhere. Husain recognized them; his mother and sister sat in the front row, his
oldest childhood friend Nazim, as well as politicians, dignitaries and members of
other royal families.
In the distance, he saw a figure coming towards him.
He knew who it was immediately. She was smiling. And she was so, so beautiful.
But Jenny wasn't wearing a wedding dress; instead she was clad in the most
beautiful, delicate lingerie he'd ever seen. A white corset accentuated her curves
and breasts, while barely-there lace panties showed off her incredible hips and
ass. This was what he would buy her he thought, as his heart started beating in his
ears.
The closer she came, the more he was consumed by a feeling of total bliss. This
feeling washed over him in slow rhythmic waves that built to a crescendo as they
came face to face. Nose to nose.
He froze in awe.
And then he kissed her.
The kiss was delicate, soft and slow. His tongue gently parted her lips and he
entered her mouth. Her hot, moist, mouth. When their tongues met for the first
time, they both let out breathy, eager whimpers. The people disappeared as he
cupped her face in his hands and pulled her closer. He buried his tongue deep
inside her open mouth and his body quivered, he'd never experienced something so
sensual before.
Their tongues engaged in an erotic dance and he lost himself in the moment.
"Say it." She begged him breathlessly. "Say it."
"I love you, Jenny. I love you."
"AAAAAHh!" Husain woke with a loud jolt, his body was shaking and his breathing was
fast and heavy. He clenched his clammy hands into tight fists and bit down hard on
his lip. It took him a couple of moments, and a good few deep breathes to begin
calming down.
What the hell was that? He was officially shaken up. Big time!
It was just a dream, he rationalized. Just a dream. Just his cruel subconscious
toying with him in light of this crazy situation -one in which he had to pretend he
was in love with, and engaged to, a woman that his body secretly ached for. Of
course a situation so physically charged would impact his dreams. And the rather
strong Martini he'd gulped down earlier probably didn't help much either.
He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and called for a strong coffee. The caffeine
cut through the thick heavy haze in his brain and he felt slightly more normal. It
also took an impossible amount of restraint not to look back at Jenny, so instead,
he focused all his attention on the window. The sun had started to dip below the
horizon and the small island Kingdom he called home came into view. It had been
years since he'd been home.
Whenever he saw his country from this vantage point, he couldn't help but admire
its beauty. Floating in the warm, tropical Persiun Gulf it boasted some of the
world's most beautiful beaches. His country was made up of five islands, varying
in size. The biggest one was a mere 300 Kilometers in circumference and it's
capital was home to only 1 million inhabitants. Despite it's size, the kingdom of
Burmain was a fierce contributor to the world economy, boasting abundant gas and
oil reserves. This had made it one of the wealthiest countires in the world.
He loved his country and it's people and knew that one day he would be King, but
his father was only 55, and it wouldn't be for quite some time. His family had
ruled over the peaceful country for more than 400 years not. But unfortunately, he
also knew what being King really meant. That his personal freedom, his wants and
needs would take second place to that of the welfare of his Kingdom. He had
experienced this first hand, and it had been one of the most painful lessons of his
life.
He hadn't been born the heir to the throne; instead he'd been propelled into the
role by a series of unfortunate events. His uncle had been King and since he had
three sons, Husain and his father were only 4th and 5th in line for the throne, and
the likelihood of either of them ever becoming King was almost zero.
Those early years had been the best of his life. He had lived with all the perks of
being Royal, but without any of the responsibility. Most importantly, he had both
of his parents actively involved in his life and he wanted for nothing. But then
everything changed when his uncle tragically died in a plane crash, along with his
aunt and two of his most beloved cousins. Not only did he lose his best friends
that day, but his family was suddenly catapulted into roles that none of them were
prepared for - his entire life changed, and he was only 12 years old.
Hussain was immediately pulled out of the school he loved for security and
logistical reasons and was home schooled. He no longer interacted with his friends
and enjoyed the unencumbered freedom of being a normal child. They moved into the
palace, which was built on its own island away from the mainland, and he was
isolated from everything he knew and loved.
But worse than that, he felt alone and abandoned by this parents, because their new
royal duties kept them permanently busy. For many years, his only companion had
been his baby sister, whom he had practically raised along with with Rafiq, who had
come to feel more like a father to him than his own flesh and blood did.
That's why at the age of 18, having never even had a girlfriend, he left home for
Oxford University. He turned his back on his royal duties and decided to live a
life of freedom while he still could. It had been very painful leaving his sister,
but he knew he needed to get away. He also took Rafiq with him that day. Husain
wasn't in complete denial, though, he knew that one day he would be King, and that
he would need to provide his people with a Queen and heir, but that was not in the
near future.
So why had his father's ultimatum troubled him so much? And the idea of Amir taking
his place - surely it would have been a relief?
But Hussain was also a man who didn't like to lose, and certainly not to Amir. Amir
had always been bitter about being 7th in line for the thrown, but with his Uncle
and cousins dead, he was now 2nd after Husain and this had made him very ambitious
and manipulative.
Over the years he'd watched as Amir had worked his way into his parents good
graces, taking his place as the 'respectable son' even though he was 40 and lot
older than Husain. He was sure his father secretly would prefer Amir to be King.
And he refused to let that happen. And he also didn't trust Amir, there was just
something dark about him he had never liked.
The sudden and severe turning of the jet ripped him from his thoughts, and he
looked through the window to see the pilot lining up for landing. The plane touched
down smoothly and Husain was surprised at how eager he was to feel the soil under
his feet. He glanced back at Jenny quickly and could see she was nervous. He hadn't
thought it possible, but the anxious twitching of her mouth, the way she was biting
on the end of her pen and the way she was picking at her cuticle, made her even
more endearing. He wanted her in ways he'd never wanted anyone before...
And it usually wasn't like him to hold back.
A black limo waited for them on the hot tarmac and he didn't fancy the prospect of
a long drive in such a confined space. He didn't trust himself. It would take all
his energy just to keep his thoughts, and hands, from wondering.
"Okay..." Jenny waved the bound book in the air. "I've read it and...I'm as
prepared as I can be under the circumstances. There's' just one more thing."
Suddenly and unexpectedly, she kissed him. It was only a quick peck on the lips,
but it was more than he could handle.
"What was that for?" he touched his stinging lips.
"If we're going to be convincing as a couple, we need to have at least
kissed.Otherwise when we do, it'll look awkward and our cover could be blown."
"Well in that case..." he grabbed Jenny's face in his hands and pulled her towards
him. His lips were burning for hers and he needed more. She had simply teased him
with a taste, a small starter, now he needed his main course and his dessert.
He kissed her and it felt right. Every fiber in his body screamed for her, and best
of all... she didn't resist. At first, their lips locked in a gentle embrace, but
soon his hunger overcame him and he parted her lips with his tongue, forcing his
way inside. He ravenously pulled her closer, pressing his body against hers and
then...
He felt the sting of a hand across his face.
"Don't you dare." She was seething. "Don't you dare think you can take advantage of
this situation. Just because you're paying me, doesn't mean you can do what you
like with me. If you ever touch me like that again-"
"Hey, you kissed me first, and then you kissed me back." He was holding his
stinging cheek. "Besides, striking a member of the Royal family is a criminal
offence, I could have you arrested."
He saw the fear well up in her pretty blue eyes and he regretted saying it the
second the words were out his mouth.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to, Jenny....",
"Please accept my sincere apology, Your Majesty." Her demeanor was icy and she
turned and climbed into the car.
He'd never heard those words "Your Majesty" spoken with such disdain.
And it cut him deep.

JENNY
WHAT A PIG! Jenny could still taste his saliva on her lips. Such a sense of
entitlement kissing her like that, even if it was a good kiss, no, a great kiss.
And he was right, she had kissed him back, but only for a second, because as the
excitement of the kiss had built and caused sensations she feared might overwhelm
her, she pulled away.
It was too intense. The force of it threatened to knock her off her feet.
She did regret slapping him, though.
She touched her lips, and could still taste him. He tasted sweet.
Forget it! This was a job, and she couldn't afford to be sexually attracted to her
boss, even if he was the most stupidly gorgeous man in the world. Besides she
didn't even like him. She hated him! He was a revolting, misogynist, bastard louse-
pig!
The drive was tense and awkward and Jenny struggled to silence her thoughts, which
crashed together like angry bumper cars, fighting each other with their screaming
contradictions.
She didn't like him-He was arrogant, he was a womaniser and he was a liar.
She was unbelievably attracted to him- He was an amazing kisser, he was drop dead
gorgeous, he had awakened something inside her when he'd kissed her.
She wanted to hit him-She wanted to kiss him, she wanted to scream at him, she
wanted to scream on him... OMG!
A rush of sexual awareness slammed through her body. It traveled down her spine and
settled between her thighs and she was forced to shift in her seat. She'd never
felt like this, or even thought like this, before.
She'd never looked at a man and wanted to hate him and kick him in the groin so
much, while simultaneously sleeping with him.
She tried to imagine sleeping with him. She was so inexperienced, she wouldn't'
even know where to start in order to satisfy him. He was a man who'd slept with
some of the most beautiful women in the world. Models, skinny little, bendy things
who he could wrap around himself like human Pretzels. She could barely touch her
toes for heaven's sake. And she was far less like a pretzel, and more like a round,
shapless Cinnabun. Without the cinnamon.
And then there was also the matter of nudity, no doubt, when he got her clothes
off, he would be very disappointed. Because unlike those bendy-pretzel-women, she
wobbled in certain areas. Some more than others, and depending on the activity
obviously.
And if he did manage to get her clothes off, overlook all the giggly bits, she
wouldn't know what to do with him! Her sexual history wasn't exactly littered with
a collection of conquests that she'd left naked, passed out on a bed and gasping
out of sheer ecstasy. Her first sexual experience had been horrible. Awful. Long
story, but the salient points were this; it had scared her and broke her heart and
was one of the reasons she'd left home and never wanted to return. And then after
that there had been the odd boyfriend here and there. But truthfully, she had never
really totally enjoyed it. She had always felt uncomfortable and way too self-
conscious. So imagine what she would feel with him!
Jenny was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice that the car had come to a
stop. She looked out the window and gasped loudly-
The palace rose up, she couldn't guess how high, and stood on a hill overlooking
the bluest sea she'd ever seen. Smooth white cliffs plunged into the blue waters
below and a few lazy gulls glided and landed on them. Two armed guards in uniform
rushed to open a gate that must have weighed a ton and they drove up a steep
driveway lined with palm trees. There were no words to describe the palace- there
was only wonder. The late afternoon sun made it even more spectacular, and the
white marble shimmered in the golden glow. Huge white domes rose up from the
structure, she counted 7, but it looked like there were more obscured behind the
wall of more massive palm trees making up the perimeter.
As she got closer, the marvels kept revealing themselves. Rows upon rows of white
arches, rising out of shallow pools of reflective water, came into view. Walls of
intricate blue and white mosaics and gold archways.
"Home sweet home." The Prince said casually as the car came to a complete stop and
two men in long kaftans rushed to open the door. Jenny climbed out of the air-
conditioned car and was stung by the scorching heat. It was like nothing she'd ever
experienced before, the hot air burnt her nose and throat as she breathed it in.
For a second she felt dizzy as her body acclimatized.
Suddenly it all became very real. Too real.
She considered what she was about to do, and the nerves took hold, twisting her
stomach into knots. Her pulse raced faster and her nerves turned into panic, as her
legs turned to immovable stone.
It's just a role. It's just a role.
Sure, it would probably be the most challenging role of her life, but she was an
actress and playing characters was what she did. But it was one thing acting on a
stage, or behind a camera where you were distanced from your audience. But now, she
would be in the audience's space, up close, around them, right next to them. It was
a terrifying prospect.
Having learnt to use breath as a tool to relax and focus, she took in a few deep
gulps of air, enjoying the rhythmic feel of her diaphragm expanding and relaxing.
But just as she'd managed to tame her rampant nerves, a loud scream pierced the air
and made her jump. She turned and saw a young woman, probably in her late teens,
running towards them.
And what happened next... almost knocked her off her feet.
The Prince - the wandering-tongued, womanizing, Husain - embraced the young woman
in the most joyful hug. They held onto each other for the longest time, until
Husain spun around quickly and let her go. The laughing teenager stumbled around in
a dizzy stupor.
"Unfair." She shouted at him, playfully hitting him on his arm.
"I see you still hit like a girl." Husain threw a few air punches.
"And you still have hair like a girl!" she ran her finger through his hair. "I
swear, I'm going to attack you with a pair of scissors when you're asleep."
Jenny's lips trembled as she tried to hold back a smile. His hair was a big cheesy,
it had that whole Tarzan-warrior-of -the-jungle thing going on.
"Hey, this hair gives me my power, sis." He flicked it playfully.
"Well, then I'm definitely going to chop it. I might gain the upper hand for our
next rematch." Her smile was mischievous now.
"I thought you'd learnt your lesson? Or are you just a sucker for punishment?"
"I've been practicing and I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve." She looked at
him teasingly.
"Fine. A rematch it is." Husain flashed a grin at her. "But you're gonna cry like a
little baby!"
Jenny watched this interaction curiously. It was strange, no bizarre, to see Husain
like this. So playful? So (dare she even think it) nice? Because nice and Husain
were definitely not two words you would imagine being in the same sentence
together.
"Husain, you're so rude. Aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" his
sister turned to face Jenny now.
Time to act.
The Prince stepped forward and slipped his arm around Jenny's back, pulling her
closer to him. She tried not to recoil at his touch, or shudder at the sudden irony
that had dawned on her. The reason she had uprooted her entire life to become an
actress was to get away from him. And now, her first starring role was with a man
just like him. She had literally been thrown into the arms of the very thing she'd
been trying to run away from. Fate can be so cruel.
It became crueler still when she examined the paradoxical nature of her feelings
for him. Because even though she didn't like him, the feeling of his hand around
her was so intense, it was almost all she could feel. Her feet no longer felt like
they touched the floor and her heart no longer felt like it beat inside her chest.
It felt simultaneously repulsive and erotic. How was a combination of such
contradictory emotions even possible?
Vacillating between these feelings left her feeling seasick and uneasy. It made it
hard to focus on the task at hand and she really needed to act now.
Jenny mustered every ounce of professionalism she had inside and reciprocated,
wrapping her arm around Husain's waist. He countered by slowly moving his hand down
to rest in the small of her back. This time she did flinch; she could feel the heat
of his hand, and against her will, her body stirred in response. Waves of that very
inconvenient hot sexual energy pulsed through her veins again. She cleared her
throat, stunned by her body's involuntary response to this man she didn't like!
Let's reiterate here, she didn't like him. He was a man-whore. A man-pig.
She stole a quick glance at Husain and as if perfectly choreographed, he met her
anxious eyes. The green had been replaced by a dark, stormy black and it made her
quiver.
"Jenny this is my sister Rana. Rana, this is my fiancé Jenny."
"Fiancé! Fiancé!" Rana's face lit up with delighted surprise. "Oh my Gosh. It's so
nice to meet you. Husain told me he was dating someone, he told me how in lurve he
was, but he was so secretive when I asked him for details, I was beginning to think
he was making you up!" Rana burst out laughing and Jenny cringed. "And now you're
engaged." She grabbed Jenny's hand and looked at it. "I always knew when my brother
met the right women, he'd settle down immediately."
"Husain!" A voice called out from behind them.
Jenny turned to see an older woman approaching them, and although she was wearing a
modern pants suit, she had wrapped a green silken scarf around her head in the
traditional Middle Eastern way. The green scarf only highlighted her extraordinary
emerald eyes- this was clearly the Nasser family trait.
"Mother." Husain's greeting was much more formal and restrained as he planted a
quick kiss on her cheek.
The introductions continued as they had before, all the while Husain's hand was
touching the small of her back, "Jenny this is my mother Queen Abal. Mother this
is..."
The Queen cut him off. "Your fiancé. I know. Rafiq called me a few hours ago. He
knows how much I hate surprises and wanted to give me a few hours to digest it."
Jenny felt a tightening in her chest, this didn't sound good at all.
"But this is a such happy surprise. Especially after the nice things Rafiq told me
about you. He said you've been such a good influence on Husain."
The Queen stood in front of Jenny. "Lovely to meet you."
Jenny felt the relief wash over her and...
Lights, camera and action...
"It's wonderful to finally meet you too. Husain talks about you all so much I feel
like I know you all already." Jenny flashed the Queen the warmest smile she could
manage and the Queen reciprocated.
"Shall we...?" she gestured for them to follow her into the palace, which Jenny was
only too glad to do. Although it was late afternoon the sun was scorching, made
worse by the intense heat of Husain's arm around her waist.
But something unexpected caught Jenny's attention. Staring at them from one of the
second-story windows was a dark figure, a man. His features were harsh and angular,
and although he also had the green eyes, he had none of the good looks. His stare
was icy and when his face contorted into a scowl, he looked dangerous. Jenny turned
away quickly as her blood ran cold.

7
JENNY
The interior of the palace was completely extraordinary. She had expected ancient
Persian carpets, hookahs, incense, candles and cushions scattered on the floor-
maybe even a Harem in the basement. But instead, she walked into a minimalist,
modernly decorated room. Perhaps room was the incorrect word to use to describe
this space, though. It was more of a stadium. It was massive. And it was
incredible.
The stadium-sized entrance hall was enormous, and the natural light that poured in
from the glass dome above them, highlighted the gold streaks in the white marble
tiles. A large glass table stood in the center of the room, and on it an enormous
vase housing a bouquet of the most striking red flowers with the sweetest scent
she'd ever smelt.
"I'm sure you must be hungry." The Princess cut in. "Let me show you to your room
so you can freshen up before dinner. "I'll send someone to escort you there at
8:00. You'll meet the King tonight." Rana motioned for Jenny to follow her. Jenny
was relieved to finally free herself from Husain's grip. But just as she started
moving away, Husain pulled her back towards him.
"See you later dear." He planted a soft kiss on her cheek, letting it linger just
long enough to make her skin quiver as his soft breath caressed her hot face. She
shuddered again, as her body betrayed her in the most primal way, overriding all
sense, logic and reason. Husain clearly saw this, because he gave her a very
pleased-with-himself smile. She imagined taking one of those massive office paper
clips and sticking his lips together! She hoped it would hurt.
He made her angry. No, she was also angry with herself. She had no idea she was
capable of such feelings, and the realization frightened her, irritated her and
made her anxious. Gripped in a bewildering daze, she followed Rana down a series of
corridors until they finally stopped outside a door, at which point the Princess
turned and left.
Jenny was thrilled to be by herself for the first time in almost 24 hours. She
desperately needed some time alone to focus on banishing these feelings that were
consuming her. And she also needed a bath! She needed to wash the feel and taste
and smell of that man off her body.
**
HUSSAIN
HUSSAIN WAS STAYING IN HIS OLD BEDROOM, which hadn't changed since his teenage
years, although it looked nothing like a teenage boys room. There were no posters
of rock star idols, sports icons, half-naked hot celebrities on the walls. No
personal items, video game consoles to play or anything that most modern teenagers
might have.
Instead, the room was cold, devoid of any personality and felt more like a museum
to ancient Arabian art and furniture. As an adult he could appreciate its
aesthetics, it had been renovated like most of the palace, but still retained many
old features, like the big sunken bath, mosaic tiles and the huge, intricately
carved wooden archways that lead onto the balcony.
He smiled when he thought about his first apartment. It had been pure rebellion-
several huge LCD TV's hung on the walls, all permanently tuned to MTV. A massive
surround sound system blasted out hip-hop music, and colored beanbags were
scattered across the floor. He'd even gone as far as building himself a bowling
alley and a dance floor. It was a bachelor's paradise.
He collapsed onto his bed, closed his eyes and thought back to his student days;
the first time he'd gotten drunk, the first time he'd thrown a party and the first
time he'd slept with a woman. He'd expected his first time to be rushed and clumsy,
instead he'd been a master. Husain had made her claw at him, made her scream out
and cry his name over and over again. Half the battle was won before he slept with
them, though. He did have an unfair advantage in that way, apparently women found
the mere concept of sleeping with royalty very intoxicating. (Although he had slept
with a few members of the European Royal family, and they had been far from
intoxicating in his opinion) .
Since then he'd had so many women he'd lost count. The truth was, he just didn't
like being alone, but the flip side of that coin was he also didn't like getting
too close! In his experience, everyone he cared for went away... so he never
allowed himself to care, or to connect on anything more than a sexual level.
But lying on his bed, all he could think about was Jenny, and not just in a sexual
way. Sure, he wanted to consume every inch of her with his hungry hands and mouth.
Devour her, taste her, be inside her and make her scream. He was hungry for her
like a vampire for human blood. But he also wanted her in other ways he didn't
fully understand yet, he'd never felt these types of emotions before, but they
swelled in him every time he thought of her big blue Bambi eyes and those playful,
innocent freckles. He wanted to spend days tracing his fingers over her freckles
and playing join the dots. These feelings were fighting each other for control, and
his mind felt like a battleground, scattered with the debris of a million emotions.
He needed to do something to distract himself. He needed a walk!
JENNY
JENNY COULDN'T DECIDE WHAT TO WEAR. What was appropriate for a royal dinner? More
importantly, what was appropriate when meeting a King?
She glanced at her watch, only 1 hour before dinner and she was still in her
underwear with wet hair and smudged mascara. Not very royal!
There was only one thing to do. Flip a coin. Heads - she'd go with the blue, knee-
length tailored dress that looked very grown up and elegant. Tails - she'd go with
the white, 1950's style dress with the thin red belt.
She tossed the coin in the air and it landed on the floor, bounced several times
and rolled out onto the balcony. Without considering her current state of undress,
she followed it.
Boy did she regret that decision.
Because at that precise moment, as cruel fate would have it, Husain came round the
corner and stopped a mere 20 meters away.
Holy Crap!!!!
Panic gripped her and all logical thought abandoned her. She could have grabbed one
of the curtains blowing in the breeze and wrapped it around her body, or she could
have quickly jumped backwards through the door. She could have even hidden behind
one of the huge pillars and waited for him to leave. But instead, she dropped to
her hands and knees, turned around and crawled back into the room.
And this...
...this, gave the Prince an unparalleled view of her round, barely clad bum.
Once inside, she slammed the door and nervously peeped through the gap in the
curtains. The Prince was still there. He stood dead still. He made no attempt to
hide the fact he was looking at her. He wore a curious smile on his face and, God,
he was gorgeous. He was male perfection and she had never felt so utterly and
totally and terribly embarrassed in her entire life. She wasn't very comfortable
with her body at the best of times. And now it had been viewed in such close
proximity and in full daylight. She held her head in her hands. How was she going
to face him again?
She was mortified.
And pissed off!
A polite man would have turned around or averted his eyes, but not the Prince. He
just stood there, staring. Not a hint of embarrassment, not a hint of propriety.
Like she said... Arrogant pig-louse-toad!

HUSAIN
HUSSAIN GASPED. She was wearing very plain, simple, cotton underwear, but they were
the sexiest things he'd ever seen. Her breasts barely fitted into her bra and he
could see her nipples through the thin white cotton-a sight he was not easily going
to forget very soon. Her hair was a wet mess of fiery red curls and without make-up
on, her face was a kaleidoscope of freckles. Although the encounter had been brief,
it had been long enough for him to take a mental snapshot of her.
In his mind's eye, he moved his gaze from her ample breasts, across her soft
stomach and then down to her panties. He couldn't see anything through them, but he
could imagine what she looked like. He'd never seen anything more magnificent. Her
body was reminiscent of the Venus De milo, a sculpture he admired greatly. She had
a Rubenesque figure that had him growing hard right there and then. It felt as if
all the blood in his body was rushing in a Southerly direction. He was physically
throbbing for her. And when she'd dropped to her knees, her perfect round bottom
fully exposed- he thought he might explode.
He wanted her so badly.
He needed her.
If he were to choose one dying wish right now, it would be making love to Jenny and
holding her in his arms.
God, he must be going mad.
JENNY
Somehow Jenny managed to get ready despite the hot physical flushes of
embarrassment that were surging through her body. Every time she thought about what
had happened, and what he must think of her body, she felt physically sick and a
knot tightened in her stomach.
She was grateful when a loud knock on her door interrupted her train of thought and
even more grateful when she saw it was Rafiq.
"You look lovely." He said, smiling and extending his arm for her to take so he
could escort her to the dining room. "I'm sorry if this was all a shock to you. But
I couldn't tell you about the job before you signed the documents." His tone was
deeply apologetic.
"Shock is an understatement. This whole thing feels like a crazy storyline out of a
weird Horror, Sci-Fi Romance."
"You get those?" his face broke into a smile.
"You do now." Jenny said gesturing around at the strange environment she'd been
thrust into.
"I'm sorry you've been dragged into this. I'm sure if you'd known what the job was,
you probably wouldn't have signed up for it." Rafiq patted her gently on the hand.
"You're so nice," Jenny burst out, "How is it that you work for a man like the
Prince? He's terrible!"
She could see a deep sadness building in Rafiq's eyes. "I've known his majesty
since he was born. I practically raised him. And while it's true that his behavior
is sometimes very, very questionable, certainly when it comes to women, believe me
when I say he is the most loyal and devoted person I know. And one day, when he
does eventually settle down, she will be a very lucky woman."
Jenny couldn't help but hiss at this last statement.
"There are many things you don't know about him." Rafiq continued.
"Like what?" her tone was challenging.
"Well, did you know he studied art at Oxford and is an excellent painter and
sculptor?"
Jenny was surprised. He didn't strike her as an artist. He wasn't sensitive enough.
"He's also a very fine writer." Now Jenny laughed.
"Do you know that he practically raised Rana?" this statement caught Jenny off-
guard.
"What about his parents?"
"They became incredibly busy after the accident." His face saddened as he told her
about the plane crash and Husain being removed from school. "He had no friends,
Rana and I were his only companions."
Jenny was shocked. The picture of the Prince was totally incongruent to the image
she currently had occupying- possibly too much- of her brain.
"It's different for Rana." Rafiq clarified. "She was born into this life - Husain
wasn't. His life before coming to the palace was very different. Imagine having
everything - parents, cousins, friends, a social life - and then imagine having it
all taken away overnight. Being royal is a lonely life, trust me."
Jenny wasn't sure why, but Rafiq's words devastated her. Thinking of Husain as a
young boy, alone, without his parents and raising his younger sister was an image
that hurt her deeply.
"Between you and me," Rafiq paused for a moment, "Sometimes I think the reason he
carries on the way he does - the women, the parties, the fast cars - is just an
attempt to fill the emptiness inside him. But that's not what will fill it."
"What will?" she asked.
"Love."
Jenny was speechless. The veil of misunderstanding was lifting, and she was
starting to see Husain not just as the notorious One Night Nasser, but rather a
victim of unfortunate circumstances that had molded him into the man he was today.
Sure he had adopted a rather questionable set of defense mechanisms, but if anyone
understood defense mechanisms, it was Jenny. She was a pro at them. But despite
this realization, she was still dreading seeing him.
HUSAIN
HUSSAIN WAS DESPERATE TO SEE HER. He could barely contain his excitement as he
paced the large dining room, his eyes constantly darting to the door.
"You're going to trip if you don't look where you're walking." the Princess flashed
Husain a knowing smile that seemed to challenge him.
"What?"
"It's just, I've never seen you like this before."
"Like what?"
"In love."
In love? Hussain was shocked.
He didn't love her. He didn't do love. It wasn't his thing.
Besides, it was impossible! He hardly knew her. He'd barely had a conversation with
her, and the last conversation they had, didn't end well. So logically he should
dislike her... but he didn't.
His eyes were suddenly drawn to the door as Jenny entered, but this time it wasn't
her body that caught his attention. Instead, he was totally drawn in by her eyes,
her dazzling, big, round, astonishingly blue eyes. He felt a fluttering in his
stomach, and a smile tugged at his mouth as he realized, this was what having
butterflies felt like.
There was a first time for everything.
But as she drew nearer her eyes become visibly darker and seemed to flick around
the room, purposely evading him. She was embarrassed and her cheeks flushed a
bright crimson as she folded her arms across her chest. He hated that she felt
embarrassed, because she had nothing, nothing to be embarrassed about.
He wanted to tell her that, needed to tell her. But how?
9
JENNY

JENNY FELT LIKE DYING every single second of the evening. She could feel his eyes
on her and all she wanted to do was melt into the floor and disappear.
God, what was he thinking?
Even though she was finding it incredibly difficult to focus on the task at hand,
she seemed to be doing a good enough job of faking it, because everyone smiled as
she regaled fictitious stories of their relationship; flowers, romantic walks on
the beach and a proposal on bended knee at their favorite restaurant. She told
everyone about the fake degrees she was studying. About her upbringing- her
successful doctor parents, the good private girls school she went to. All lies. But
she told them all and everyone smiled at her...
But someone wasn't smiling.
The man she'd noticed earlier was sitting at the end of the table glaring at her.
And although he eventually introduced himself as Husain's cousin, Amir, and
lavished her with pleasantries, "Pleased to meet her, glad she would be joining the
family, so happy for her," there was something about him she didn't trust.
The Queen suddenly jumped out of her seat to greet the King who had just walked
through the door. "You're here." She said rushing up to him.
Jenny turned and immediately recognized him from a portrait she'd seen hanging on a
wall. The portrait had not done him any justice, though, because in person he
looked much more intimidating and serious. Jenny felt her chest tighten.
"Apologies for the lateness." his voice was deep and commanding, the kind of voice
you would imagine a king having.
"I'd like you to meet Jennifer Anderson, Husain's fiancé. We've been having a
wonderful time getting to know her."
Jenny immediately rose from her seat, but she had no idea what to do. Did she shake
his hand... curtsey? What was the correct protocol for greeting a King? But before
she could decide what to do, the King quickly and curtly kissed her on both cheeks.
There was so much formality in the act. She was still expecting questions or some
conversation - some kind of interaction at least. But nothing! Instead, he walked
to the other end of the table and became absorbed in whispered conversation with
Amir. And she couldn't help but notice the strained look that passed between the
King and Husain.
The remainder of the evening was a blur. She guessed this had something to do with
the combination of champagne and jet lag, as well as the constant red hot
embarrassment that was surging through her every time she saw Husain - as well as
the nervousness she felt every time Amir and the King looked her way. At some stage
during the evening she was vaguely aware that the King and Amir had wondered off
and Husain was deep in conversation with Rafiq.
Jenny felt her anxiety building to breaking point and with each passing second, it
became harder and harder to contain. It felt like invisible hands were wrapped
around her neck, squeezing the breath out of her and she was about to scream. She
excused herself for the bathroom and as soon as she was out of the room, a wave of
relief flooded her from top to toe.
It was good to be out of that room. Good to be away from that excruciating
awkwardness. Good to breathe. Good to be alone. Good to walk.
But she must have walked too far, because suddenly she was lost - she'd clearly
missed the 'first door on the left'. A long corridor stretched out in front of her
and she thought she heard voices in the distance, but as she got closer to them,
their tone stopped her dead in her tracks.
"But what do we know about her?" Amir was spitting. "I just don't trust her, I
don't trust this whole thing."
The King was pacing frantically, "I agree, it's suspicious, arriving here with a
fiancé we know nothing about."
"And they don't look like in love, they've barely looked at each other all night."
The King agreed, tapping his foot loudly.
"I'm going back to watch them." Amir clicked his knuckles and the sound was
disgusting.
Jenny thought she heard the King say something heated, but couldn't make it out as
she ran back down the corridor in the direction from which she'd come. She had to
get back to Husain before they did, because it was time to give the performance of
her life.
HUSAIN
Husain had started to wonder where Jenny was, when he felt a hand touch his
shoulder. He turned and her face was just inches from his.
"Your father and Amir are onto us." her whisper was urgent and just as the words
were out, Amir burst through the door.
He'd never been this close to her before and her smell was enchanting. A hint of
mint hung on her breath, her perfume was spicy and it smelt like she'd washed her
hair with Jasmine shampoo.
"Well, in that case, my dear, darling fiance..."
Husain smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. His body
responded instantly, and a bolt of electricity shot up his spine making all his
muscles tense. He wasn't going to let this opportunity pass him by. They needed to
look like a couple in love, and he was going to take full advantage of this moment.
He tightened his grip on her and rested his hand on the curve of her back- the
place where her full bottom ended and her back began. Their noses were almost
touching, and he could taste her hot, sweet breath.
JENNY
"You're beautiful." He said to her. His voice was softer than she'd ever heard it,
and his free hand reached up and tucked a misbehaving strand of hair back behind
her ear. She felt a shiver.
"You should consider a career in acting yourself." She hissed through the fake
smile that was plastered across her face. "I'm sure you could win an Oscar for
thar!"
"I'm not acting Jenny," his tone was husky and deep, "I think you're beautiful."
His pupils dilated and a hungry smile parted his lips.
Jenny's heart pounded and she couldn't tell whether he was acting. His body
language suggested he meant it, but surely not...
"I doubt that. You date some of the most beautiful women in the world."
A desperate hunger glinted in his eyes, "You're not my usual type, I'll admit that,
but you're by far the most beautiful woman I've ever held in my arms."
She opened her mouth to argue but he pulled her closer and the words were gone.
Again, all logic abandoned her and her body took over as his smooth fingertips
touched her face gently. She let out a tiny involuntary moan and swallowed hard as
her head went fuzzy. Their eyes locked for what seemed like ages and although no
one spoke, a conversation passed between them. She no longer saw the Prince in the
same light; instead, something kind and gentle emerged in his eyes. 'All the word's
a stage' she thought, as she felt the line between reality and fantasy blurring.
What was real?
Could she trust what he was saying and most importantly, could she trust what she
was feeling? One minute she didn't like this guy, and the next she did. There was
nothing simple and logical about the situation and the feelings that were coursing
through her.
Her eyes traveled down to his slightly parted lips and she longed to kiss them
again. Oh what the hell!
She softly placed her lips on his and let them linger just long enough to taste
him. They were drunk on each other, so enthralled and wrapped up in the moment,
that they hardly noticed the Queen calling out to them.
"I have a surprise for you." She held a key in the palm of her hand.
"What's this?" Husain took it curiously.
"I had the Buraj suit made up for you."
Husain jumped in, "But I thought... we're not married yet, I didn't think you
would..."
His mother smiled. "You think I'm so old fashioned Husain. But I'm not as bad as
you think. Take the key. Besides, I've already had your bags taken up to the room."
And with that, she walked away.
That was all the invitation they needed. He pulled Jenny even closer, "Come." he
whispered in her ear, the lust was dripping from his gravelly voice as his hot
breath licked the soft curve of her neck.
Her knees went weak.
Her stomach twisted into knots.
And although all common sense told her not to... she did.
She went with him.

10

JENNY
The Buraj suit was completely different to the rest of the palace. It wasn't
modern, but instead felt like stepping back in time. The floor was covered in the
most beautiful Persian carpets, cushions were positioned on the floor around small
low intricately carved tables and the arched walls were covered in spectacular
mosaic patterns. It wasn't really a room so much as it was an entire wing. It had a
massive lounge, small dining area and was probably the size of her entire apartment
floor.
A four-post bed carved out of dark wood with golden inlays stood in the middle of
the floor draped in thick purple and gold blankets. On the far end of the room she
saw a sunken bathtub; well, it looked more like a small swimming pool. Someone had
filled it and steam was rising and falling rhythmically in the warm breeze coming
from the large open window on the other side of the bath.
"It was built in 1892 by my great, great, great grandfather for his wife on their
wedding night," Husain said, running his hand over the large bedpost. "He had this
bed specially carved for her."
"It's beautiful."
This was the ultimate Honeymoon suit, and she was staying in it with the most
gorgeous man alive.
"So now what?" Jenny turned to face him.
"Now what indeed." His voice was playful, yet loaded with suggestion as he took a
step towards her.
Logically Jenny knew she had to fight this desire she was feeling for him, it would
only end badly.
"Just because we're sharing the same room, doesn't mean we're sharing a bed." Jenny
was firm and backed away from him. "In fact, I'll sleep on the couch."
"I wouldn't dream of letting you sleep on a couch, Jenny."
Jenny, the way he said her name was intoxicating.
"I'll sleep on the couch, if that's what you want?" Husain asked meaningfully.
"Of course it's what I want!" She said. The more she backed away, the more he
stepped towards her.
"Are you sure?" the Prince's voice was a sultry whisper now.
"Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be? I want you to sleep on the couch. " Husain
had Jenny's back against the wall now.
"But your eyes tell a different story."
"God you're presumptuous!" she was trying hard to conceal the rush of sexual
awareness that had hit her like a mood-altering drug.
"I'm pretty sure I'm not misinterpreting the situation, Jenny."
God, he said her name again and she melted.
"I'm just acting. I'm a good actress. That's my job... acting...um...." She tried
to create space between them by pushing him back, but as her hands touched his
chest, the yearning overwhelmed her.
What was going on? This was so not like her, not like here at all?
HUSAIN
Hussain grabbed her hands and held them to his chest, in what was the most intimate
moment of his life. He was vacillating between pure lust for her and something
else. Something he couldn't quite define yet.
Were this any other woman, he would have ripped her off clothes already. He'd be
exploring her body with his hungry hands and mouth. He'd have picked her up and
thrown her to the bed, or slammed her against the wall.
But this was not a normal situation, and she was not just any woman.
And this was not how he normally felt.
"I... I'm sure the couch will be fine." he kissed her forehead and walked over to
the couch, sat down and began undoing his shoelaces. "But if you don't mind, I'd
really like to take a bath?"
"Sure, I'll go and wait outside," she moved towards the door but Husain's voice
stopped her.
"You can't, it'll look suspicious."
"But, it's... there's no wall." She stuttered, her eyes flicking from him to the
bath and back again.
"Well, don't look then." He was already on his feet walking towards the bath,
taking his shirt off and tossing it to the floor.
Jenny slapped her hands over her eyes and turned away as fast as she could. Which
he thought was fucking adorable.
The prince stopped. Smiled. And walked back to her.
"It's just a chest Jenny." He stood in front of her, pulling her hands from her
eyes and forcing her to look at him.
"It's not like you've never seen a man without his shirt on... have you?" his
question flirted and mocked her at the same time.
"Of course I have, it's just, that well just..." she was stammering again, which
Husain found totally endearing, "Um...just..."
"You've never seen such a nice one." He winked at her in jest.
"Wow, you're arrogant!" she retorted.
"You like it, admit it?" his eyes were playful and his smile devilish.
Jenny had never experienced the playful side of him first hand, she'd seen it with
Rana, so she knew it existed, and she really liked it. She decided to play his
game,
"Mmmm, not bad." The inflections in her voice rose and fell.
"Ha, not bad? Not bad?" he came closer now, " Perhaps you need to have your eyes
checked."
Jenny couldn't help herself and burst out laughing, playfully pushing the Prince
back. She'd almost forgotten that he wasn't wearing a shirt and her hands touched
the bare skin of his toned pecks. He really did have an amazing body. She
especially loved those two lines that went down into his pants to his, his...
She stopped that thought dead in its tracks.
"You really are the most arrogant man I've ever met, Prince Husain Nasser the
third." An amused smile lit up her face.
Then, without any kind of warning Husain undid his pants, leaving them to drop onto
the floor and walked towards the bath completely naked.
Jenny inhaled loudly, almost choking on the air. "Hey, please warn me next time you
do that!"
"Oh, so you think there'll be a next time, do you?" he teased as he stepped down
into the steaming bath.
"That's, that's... um." God, this man made her stammer. She was usually so
articulate but not when she was around him, "That's not what I mean."
HUSAIN
Husain knew he was getting to her, getting under her skin, and he loved it.
"It's safe to turn around now. Promise." He said.
Jenny turned towards him tentatively, "You really are incorrigible." she was trying
to sound firm, and it was adorable.
"And you really are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. But you probably don't
believe me. Do you?"
Jenny shook her head and her face contorted into an expression he didn't recognize
at first, what was it? Insecurity?
"No, I... I, don't believe you." she stammered looking embarrassed and coy.
"Why would I lie?" he asked.
Jenny shrugged feebly.
"Trust me. I know what I'm talking about. I'm quite the expert when it comes to
women. You might have heard."
"Oh, so now I should believe what I read in the papers?" She flashed him a
mischievous smile.
"Touché!" the Prince clapped his hands together loudly. The sound of the clap
wained and a loaded silence descended on them
"Why don't you come and join me, it's big enough for both of us." He moved the
water around with his hands causing the steam to rise and fall in beautiful wisps.
"What?" she looked genuinely shocked. "No. Absolutely not."
"What if I dared you to join me? To shrug off this good-girl thing you hide
behind."
"What? You don't know me." Jenny snapped at him.
"I bet I know more about you than you think," His voice softened as he realised he
had offended her.
"Have you been spying on me?"
"No, I told you, I know a lot about women. And I bet you'll be surprised about what
I know about you."

11

JENNY
She was officially not enjoying this conversation and turned away. "I doubt it!"
Her words had a bite to them and her eyes hardened.
"What if you challenge me to a competition? I'll tell you what I know about you,
and if I'm wrong, I won't bug you again for the rest of the weekend. But if I'm
right, you'll come and join me in the bath."
Jenny turned around, searching his eyes, trying to see inside his mind. There was
no way he knew anything about her.
No way!
They had nothing in common. They were from completely different worlds. They might
as well have been from different planets.
"Okay, you're on." She sat on the edge of the bed confident the prince was about to
fail dismally.
She knew she was very safe. There was no way he knew a thing about her. So there
was no way she was getting in that bath.
Husain smiled and eyed her with the intensity of a scientist gazing through a
microscope at some barely visible particle. It made her feel wildly uncomfortable
and she wriggled under the intensity of his gaze.
"Okay. You're a small town girl. Your family is close, and you had a happy
childhood."
"Oh please! That's Psych 101". Jenny exclaimed.
"Wait, give me a chance. I'm just warming up." The Prince returned to scrutinizing
her and again, her body reacted. It was a strange mix of nerves and other
sensations that she could barely name.
"You've never been in a serious relationship before? or maybe you have, but it went
badly. Since then, you haven't been in many relationships before at all. Am I
warm?"
"What?" How the fuck did he know that? Jenny felt a pang in her chest. He had hit
the nail dead center on the head. Her face flushed red and her heart started to
pound faster at the thought of it.
"I don't quite know why yet - maybe you can tell me one day - but you're very
insecure about the way you look...which, by the way, you should not be. At all. "
He smiled and Jenny averted her eyes and fiddled with the hem of her dress
anxiously. She could not believe he was so perceptive. How had this happened? How
could someone like him know anything about her? About any woman?
He was eyeing her hem and she pulled it down, covering her knees with her dress.
"You also hide your sexuality behind frumpy dresses and messy hair. It's like
you've just lost touch with that side of yourself somewhere along the way." He
continued and the redness in her cheeks started to burn. "But there is so much more
to you."
"And what makes you think that, Sherlock?" She said sarcastically, hoping to not
let him know how accurate he was.
"It's in the way you dress, the way you carry yourself, the way you're fidgeting
with your dress right now. And when I tell you how beautiful you are, you look
painfully uncomfortable."
She cleared her throat and looked up briefly. He was looking at her through his
curtain of thick black lashes, his hair was damp and slightly wavy, and the oil in
the bath has caused his chest to glisten in the candlelight. God, he looked so
good. But not just sexy, there was something else about him now. He had a smile on
his face that was almost friendly and reassuring.
"I was hurt once. Very badly." She said. But as soon as the words were out of her
mouth, Jenny regretted saying them. She'd never told anyone this before, and wasn't
sure why she was telling him- this naked stranger in a bath.
HUSAIN
Husain felt his heart break a little when he noticed the intensity of the pain that
flashed through those beautiful eyes. He had no idea why, but he felt such a need
to protect and defend her.
"What happened?"
She paused and he thought she wasn't going to tell him, but then she did. "He was
my best friend, I had been in love with him for years and when he told me he loved
me too... it was like this childhood dream coming true. We dated for a while and
I'd never been happier, thought I was the luckiest girl in the world," She stopped.
"How stupid, right?"
"Doesn't sound stupid to me." He said.
"But then one day, as if out of the blue, he told me he was in love with someone
else." She paused for what seemed like ages. "She was my best friend, they had
been... behind my back, it was..." he heard the slight quiver in her voice and saw
her trying to control it. Reign her obvious emotions in.
"She was my best friend, since childhood. And she was, is, beautiful. Perfect." A
tear welled up in her eye, " They both just betrayed me like that." Her hands
squeezed the hem of her dress and Husain could see she was struggling to tell him
this. "I had to get away from them, so I moved to Cape Town to become an actress.
But that hasn't really worked out either." Jenny tried to smile, "So there you have
it, my sad, pathetic story."
Husain was moved by her story, and angry. How could someone use her like that? He
was aware of the hypocrisy of that statement, as this had been his modus operandi
more times than he could remember, but not with Jenny. She was special, she
deserved so much more.
"I'm sorry." He said.
Jenny looked up at him briefly and gave him a faint smile. He wanted to reach over
and grab her. To pull her into the bath and hold her. It was all so illogical and
unlike him to be thinking like this.
"You didn't deserve that."
"It was my fault, I was stupid to think a guy like that could ever.... ever...."
she stopped talking and there was the longest pause as he saw she was struggling
with the words "...could ever love me."

Husain's heart snapped.

"He was the stupid one Jenny."
Jenny whipped her head around and looked at Husain suspiciously. "What are you
doing here? Why are you being so nice? You don't even know me!"
"Haven't I just proved that I know you better than you think?''
"Because you know so much about women?" Her words were angry and accusing.
An awkward silence descended on them both. Husain knew there was nothing he could
say in his defense, he did know a lot about women, because he'd known a lot of
women- but this was the first time in his life he felt ashamed of it. Ashamed of
all the nameless faces and bodies that had moved through his bed over the years and
all the hearts he had broken along the way- just like the guy who had broken hers.
This conversation had taken such a serious turn, he had to do something to steer it
in a different direction.
"Do you ever have fun?" Husain asked.
Jenny rolled her eyes, "What's that?" she asked sarcastically. "I am unaware of
that thing you speak of, what did you call it.... Fun?" She smiled at him again.
God, that smile. "I don't have time for fun. All I do is try and book jobs, try and
get enough money to pay the rent, pay the electricity bills and the phone bills, or
get enough money to buy myself a pair of socks without holes in."
Husain laughed, yes, she was definitely unique. Unlike any women he had ever met.
"Then join me." He stood up in the bath and extended his hand to her

12

JENNY
Jenny tried not to stare, but the water was just conveniently covering that "area".
And a part of her wanted to. A part of her wanted to take her clothes off and slide
into the warm water next to him, but...
And for the second time that evening -oh what the hell!
"Fine. But I'm not coming in there naked." She jumped off the bed as fast as she
could, worried that the slightest hesitation might cause her to change her mind.
"Turn around so I can take my dress off."
"Jenny, it's not like I haven't seen it before." His eyes darkened and her body
temperature surged again.
She couldn't believe she was about to do something so spontaneous and out of
character. But this was such a strange weekend, in such a strange place, in a
strange mysterious room, that smelt incredible, with the hottest man she'd ever
seen... naked. The bathtub too was the most appealing she'd ever seen, it looked
out over the steep cliff and across the Persian Gulf below.
The surreal nature of everything somehow imbued her with a confidence she'd never
had before. She pulled the dress over her head and tossed it on the floor, and
jumped in. The hot water enveloped her and it felt great!
"Welcome in." The Prince opened a bottle of Champagne and poured her a glass.
"A toast." He said closing the gap between them which made her shudder. She
suddenly became intensely aware of his nudity, and he was close, so, so close.
"What are we toasting?" a nervous excitement trembled in her voice.
"Whatever you want."
Jenny thought for a moment. "To having fun?"
"I'll drink to that." He clinked her glass and sipped. "How do you feel?"
"Pretty liberated actually." Jenny took a sip and set her glass down. "I've already
had two glasses tonight, I don't want to overdo it."
"Ooooh, two glasses. Wild! Crazy! " His tone was extremely mocking yet playful.
"Live a little, here..." he passed her the bottle. "I dare you to drink out of the
bottle."
"No!" the word flew out of her mouth.
"I double dare you." His irreverent eyes challenged her.
"That's so childish."
"So... what's wrong with being a bit childish from time to time?"
Jenny sighed... This was clearly the night to break the rules!
She grabbed the bottle and raised it to her lips with an uncharacteristic bravado
that seemed to come out of nowhere. But despite her best attempt, the bubbling
Champagne seemed to go everywhere else except her mouth. She coughed loudly, which
seemed to amuse Husain no end.
"Well, at least you tried." He joked as her coughing and spluttering tapered off.
"So is this the life of a royal then, having dinner parties, lounging about
drinking champagne in the bath?"
"I wouldn't know, apparently I don't fulfill my royal duties very well." He put his
finger on the top of the champagne bottle and started shaking it.
"What are you doing?" her eyes widened with shock.
Husain stood up out of the water and aimed the bottle at Jenny. "In 5, 4, 3, 2-"
Jenny squealed and turned away quickly, as the cold spray of the champagne hit her
back.
"Are you crazy? What the hell did you do that for?"
"For fun." He winked at her just before splashing her with water. The combination
of ice-cold champagne and warm water gave her goose bumps.
Jenny laughed and splashed him back. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had
such carefree fun. She was soaking wet now as she moved to the side of the bath
that faced the window.
Below her, the ocean waves were beating against jagged black rocks, the bright
plump moon hung so close and low that she thought she could reach out and touch it.
"It's spectacular."
"Something you both have in common." He was right behind her now. Leaning in close
and whispering in her ear. Jenny swallowed hard. "Do you really think I'm
beautiful?" she turned to face him, lifting her body out of the water for him to
see.
HUSAIN
The Prince couldn't hide his appreciation as a devilish smile broke out across his
face, he didn't even attempt to hide the fact that his eyes slid down her wet body
and stopped at her breasts.
The wet cotton bra had become invisible, and he could see everything. Every curve,
every inch, every beautiful, soft detail.
"Yes." his voice was thick with lust.
"So if we'd met under different circumstances, like at a dinner party or something,
you would have pursued me?" her voice quivered. "Would you have had sex with me?"
The mere mention of that word sent Husain spinning.
Why was she asking?
Did she want him to make love to her right there in the bath? He could think of
nothing better.
"Yes. I would have fucked you like you have never been fucked before." He paused.
"No. I would make love to you. I still can. If you let me?"
**JENNY**
This gorgeous, naked man in front of her was making her feel so beautiful and sexy
and powerful. She was a Goddess and he was worshipping at her alter. And
ironically, he knew more about her than anyone on earth, she'd shared more with him
tonight than she had in years. This was by far the strangest and most erotic moment
of her life and she doubted it would ever be repeated.

Once again, she felt as if she'd lost total control of her body, it was as if
something primitive had risen up inside her, claiming the reins and steering her
towards the unfamiliar.
She wanted him. "I'm not very experienced."
She felt his lips moving closer to her ear now, touching it. "Jenny, do you want
me to make love to you?"
As soon as the words were out an electricity set the air alight and every atom
inside her seemed to hum and tingle. Jenny tried to speak, but the word didn't come
out her dry mouth.
"Yes." It was a barely audible whisper. "Yes!" It came out louder this time, louder
than she'd expected. The force of it took them both by surprise.
"Then say it Jenny," in one swift movement he clasped his hands to her hips and
pulled her towards him so hard the water around them rippled and splashed. His
hardness pressed into her stomach as his hands moved up to cup her face. His eyes
blazed with the promise of what was to come, and his fingers moved across her mouth
and parted her lips.
"I need to hear you say it." He moaned loudly as her tongue came out to meet his
sensitive fingertips.
"Say it." She'd reduced him to begging. Her big blue eyes locked onto his and in
that moment she knew she was about to cross a line from which there was no return.

"I want you to fuck me. Make love to me. Fuck me."

13

JENNY
Jenny had expected it all to happen quickly, for Husain to ravage her hungrily and
wildly, but it was not like that at all. Instead he took his time. He reached up
and undid the elastic that held her hair in place, it freed itself and cascaded
down over her shoulders. He ran his hand through it and then without warning,
grabbed it hard and tugged her head backwards exposing her soft neck to the
moonlight. He heard a whimper escape her lips. He started just below hear earlobe
and ran his tongue across her wet skin, he stopped to kiss it, gently nibble and
suck it. He worked his way down to the top of her breast.
Jenny braced herself for what would come next, his hot mouth on her cold nipple,
but it didn't come, instead he picked her up and carried her across the room to the
bed.
His strength was incredible, she could see the muscles rippling in his shoulders as
he lowered her onto the bed. And then she saw it. She had almost forgotten that he
was completely naked, but after putting her down he stood up and exposed himself to
her in all his glory. The moonlight hit him and it was bright enough to make it
out. She'd seen a naked man before, but he hadn't looked like this.
He turned and walked away from the bed giving Jenny the most exquisite view of his
tight, muscular bum. The view was further enhanced when he bent over to pick a
towel. She continued to follow him with her eyes as he came back to the bed and
told her to lie back. Who was she to disobey?
She felt so exposed lying there, not knowing what sensation would come next. Then
she felt the soft material of the towel wipe across her stomach. He was drying her.
There was something so extremely erotic about this, so she closed her eyes, giving
herself over to him. He rubbed the towel over her breast, and down her arms, he
pushed her legs open with his knees and ran the towel up and down her inner thigh.
Down her legs and onto her feet and ankles, he was taking his time and carefully
drying every inch of her. Once he had completed her front, he instructed her to
turn around and lie on her stomach. By now Jenny was so under his spell that he
would have been able to do anything with her and she wouldn't complain.
She rolled over and he went straight to her bum, she could feel the weight of him
sitting on her legs as he tugged her panties down, exposing her. But instead of
feeling the towel this time, she felt the red hot touch of her finger tips tracing
over her.
"I fucking love this part of you." He leant down and kissed the check of her bum
before biting into it ever so gently with his teeth. Jenny gasped and arched her
back. She then felt him run his huge hands up her back and onto her shoulders, and
with one fluid movement he was somehow able to flip her over onto her back again.
"And this part of you." His hands reached up for her breasts, cupping them gently.
He slid his hands under her bra now and she cried out at the feel of his naked
flesh against her breast.
'"And I love this part of you." He traced his fingertips across her stomach. She
lifted her hips in a primal reaction. His fingers came to rest on the top of her
panties and he stopped. She had to look at him, had to see what he was thinking and
she opened her eyes. But instead of looking at her body, his eyes where glued to
her face, he had been watching her face this whole time she though.
"And I especially love this part of you." He leant down and kissed her gently on
the mouth. She responded by kissing him back.
He wasted no time and his tongue slipped inside to meet hers. Their tongues
touched, which seemed to have an explosive effect on both of them, as their mouths
opened hungrily and began devouring each other. There was no longer anything gentle
about this, Husain had pinned Jenny's arms against the bed above her head and his
whole body was pressing against hers with force. His tongue was making its way
around the inside of her mouth, licking the inside of her cheek and running over
the ridges of her teeth.
The kiss was so uncontrollable, so animalistic that they were both eventually
biting at each others lips. At one point someone must have pieced the skin, because
Jenny could both taste the blood. Husain sucked hard on her tongue and just as
quickly as the kiss had begun it stopped. She was panting, out of breath and left
wondering what was happening as he pulled her up off the bed and planted her feet
on the floor. He sat on the edge of the bed and admired her.
"I want you to take off your clothes Jenny, I want to see all of you." He stretched
across the bed and turned on the bedside light, which illuminated her. Jenny felt
weak in the knees, she had been enjoying what was happening, she'd been feeling
powerful and sexual, but to stand naked, in full light in front of a man, the
thought made her so nervous she felt sick to her stomach. In that unforgiving light
he would be able to see the dimples on her thighs, the tiny white stretch marks on
her hips, he would see that her breasts were not as perky when out of the bra.
"Please." There was desperation in his voice, "I need to see you"
"I don't think I can." She was so uncomfortable now.
"Then I'll do it for you." Husain stood up, once again fully exposing himself. He
went straight to work on her bra, and with one motion undid it. He then pulled the
straps down over her shoulders and pulled the whole thing off. Her immediate
reaction was to reach up and cover her breast with her hands, but he caught her by
the wrists and pulled her arms down. She closed her eyes tightly, she couldn't bare
this- being exposed in full light.
HUSAIN
Husain took her all it. Her breasts had bounced when he took the bra off. They had
come to settle now, but he could see that with every small movement she made they
moved too. So this is what natural breasts looked like, he thought. He loved them
and couldn't wait to play with them some more. But first...
He was slowly sliding her panties down until he released them and they dropped to
the floor hanging onto her ankles. It was just as he has imagined. Jenny still had
her eyes tightly shut, seething with embarrassment.
"Open your eyes." She was so beautiful and he wanted to look her in the eyes.
She obeyed him and her big blue eyes came up to meet his. "You are the most
beautiful woman I have ever seen. And I don't know where to start with you."
"Maybe you should flip a coin?" Jenny said.
"Heads or tails?" he quickly added with a delicious husk in her voice.
"Where would you like me to start, heads of tails?"
They both burst out laughing and somehow just naturally fell into each other's arms
and onto the bed. Husain was now lying on top of a totally naked Jenny.
JENNY
He was lying between her wide-open legs now. She felt such a hot burning sensation
there that she knew the only thing that would make it better was if he slipped
inside her, the itch could only be quelled from the inside.
She desperately wanted to feel him and she lifted her hips up as an invitation. But
she was also afraid. How the hell was she going to please him?
But her fear was being drowned out by a burning that had grown painful now and she
knew that she would never be more ready for him than she was in that moment. All
she had to do was raise her hips and he would slip inside her. And so she did. But
Hussain backed away.
"I want to do this slowly." He said fixing his eyes on her.
Jenny crumpled back down to the bed and waited for him, barely able to contain
herself. She took one last look at him and then closed her eyes, waiting for it all
to happen. He continued to stoke her with his fingers and kiss her. He really was
taking his time, which was just growing her anticipation even more. But soon she
couldn't take it anymore and she took control, opening her legs and inviting him
in.
She thought she was going to pass out the sensations that were surging through her
body right now were as intoxicating and as powerful as a drug. Their movements
picked up pace together, she was clawing at him as their bodies began rocking
together in perfect synchronization, their breathing too was in time. They were
both building towards something together, at the same steady pace.
She could feel her breathing getting faster and faster as his moaning was getting
longer and his strokes were becoming more frantic, the perfect rhythm was now gone,
and it was replaced by something frenzied. The feeling that was rising up inside
her body was so strong and intense, that she was afraid if she let herself feel it
full, it might knock her out.
HUSAIN
He had never felt so sexually aroused, he couldn't get enough of he. He had been
with so many women, but no one came close to this. No one had ever made him feel
like this before. She made him lose control. At one stage he thought he had hurt
her because he was going so hard and fast, but when he looked down he could see a
look of ecstasy on her face, she was obviously feeling the same way too.
It was getting to that point of no return for him, a few more thrusts and he would
no longer have control over what his body was about to do.
JENNY
They knew they were close now, and their movements escalated to something of a
frenzy. She barely knew what was happening, but suddenly she had been hoisted up
onto his lap and was nose to nose with him. They looked into each other's eyes and
they sped towards the finish line together. Because she was staring into his eyes,
she could see the moment he tipped over, his green eyes glazed over with a look of
wonder and his pupils dilated as his eyes widened, he looked so vulnerable, so
penetrable in that moment, all his defenses were down and he was laying himself
bare in front of her- this was the most intimate moment of her life, being able to
watch him in this way, and know that she had taken him there. Seconds later it was
her turn. Jenny had experienced an orgasm before, so knew what to expect, or
thought she did at least.
But this was something else. She felt her whole body explode. Every single muscle
in her body tensed up as she experienced a release like he had never experienced
before. She closed her eyes and everything in her head and behind her eyes went
white and fuzzy. Jenny seemed to lose control of herself and she screamed. She
couldn't help it, but as her body shuddered and she felt the powerful waves of
pleasure rushing through her she opened her mouth and a loud long scream came
rushing out. Her scream only helped to prolog Husain's pleasure, the sense of
satisfaction she felt at making him feel like this swelled inside her. And then it
was over. For an awkward moment she imagines him getting up and walking away, but
he didn't.
HUSAIN
He wrapped his arms around her tightly in a primitive possessiveness. She was his,
and she had released an animal inside him, if anyone else tried to take her away
from him right now, he would fight them to the death.
No one said a word, instead they just held each other tightly in an embrace so
close, you wouldn't have gotten a piece of paper between them. They were both wet
with sweat and their skin was sticking together. Her hair was sticking to his face
and sweat was dripping from his head and onto her shoulder. But he didn't mind that
he was drenched in her sweat.
"Do you really flip coins to make decisions?" Husain was now prying himself from
her slightly.
"You know when you saw me yesterday on the balcony?"
"How can I forget!" he would never forget that image for as long as he lived.
"Well, I'd followed a coin outside onto the balcony, I couldn't decide what to
wear".
This was the cutest, funniest thing Husain had ever heard and he burst out laughing
as they both clumsily tried to untangle body parts, this just made them laugh more
as they were finally free of each other and both collapsed onto their backs.
"I'm starved. I'm going to get us some food." He was up putting his shirt and
trousers back on. "Wait right here." He leant down a kissed her gently on the
forehead.
"You are fucking amazing." He said as he exited.

14

JENNY
It felt like he'd been gone for hours, and in the time Jenny had freshened up with
another bath- this time she was actually able to do what one is meant to do in a
bath... wash one's body! She brushed her teeth, put on her pj's and took out her
contact lenses in favor of her glasses.
She hadn't been able to wipe the smile off her face, though. She'd been walking
around in a kind of happy daze. This was probably the craziest thing she had ever
done, and no doubt would prove to be the stupidest thing too, but for the time
being she was just going to enjoy it. Even though she knew it would never go
anywhere, and never been more than a "holiday" fling. But she was okay with that,
because what Husain had given her tonight was something she would never forget and
always be grateful for. He'd made her feel beautiful, sexy and desirable. He'd made
her feel like a goddess, and had awoken something inside her that she could now see
had been dead and dormant for far too long.
He was right, she needed to loosen up sometimes, have a bit of fun, throw caution
to the wind. Well, this is what she was doing now. What happened in Vegas stayed in
Vegas, she was applying that ethos to the situation anyway.
Just as she had settled down on the bed to start reading a book, Husain came
crashing through the door carrying about a million things. "I didn't know what you
liked so I brought everything." He started spreading a huge selection of fruit,
pastries, chocolates, nuts and dates across the table.
"I can see that." She crossed the room to inspect the table and picked up a pear.
She bit into it. It was the sweetest, juiciest pear she'd eaten and a little juice
ran down her chin. Husain picked up a napkin and dabbed it away before she had the
chance to. This kind of intimacy they were sharing was strange, if felt right
though, it had felt amazing when he'd planted that kiss on her forehead before
leaving, and now with the napkin.
If you had told her that 24 hours ago she would be with Husain in this way. and
that she would actually like him, she would never have believed it. She grabbed a
handful of nuts and made her way back to the bed. As he walked away she could feel
Husain's eyes on her. She sat and turned to face him, he was wearing a strange look
on his face.
"What are you wearing?" He was shoving an entire custard slice into his mouth and
icing sugar was falling everywhere.
Jenny looked down, "My pajamas". Well, to be honest they weren't really pajamas so
much as it was an old, oversized hockey jersey that she has been wearing since she
was 16. It was faded, worn and had a few holes in it, but it was the most
comfortable item of clothing she owned.
"Is that seriously what you sleep in?" he walked up to her and stuck his finger
through a hole in the hem.
"Why? What's wrong with it?" she stuck her finger through another larger hole for
effect. "It's not like I need to impress anyone.'
"Have you ever worn lingerie?" he eyed her curiously and she shook her head.
"But do you know how good you'd look?" his hand brushed over her leg in such a
familiar way, it made her shiver. 'What if I bought you some, would you wear it for
me?" his hand wondered further up her leg. "Think of it as your birthday present to
me." He flashed a naughty boy- like grin at her which made her blush a little.
"It depends on what it is. I'm not going to wear some leather nurses outfit with
tassels and a studded dog collar."
"So that's a yes then?' he couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.
"It's a tentative maybe.'
"What about a sexy librarian outfit, it would go well with your glasses", he
started stuffing another pastry in his mouth.
Jenny suddenly felt self conscious, she had almost forgotten she was wearing them.
She must have looked a total mess; old faded shirt, wild hair and a pair of
unfashionable glasses. She started pulling them off, but he reached his hand up to
stop her.
"I like them." He seemed totally sincere. "You look...", he stared at her squinting
his eyes for effect, "Very intelligent."
Husain glanced down at the book Jenny was reading, "Acting for theatre by
Stanislavsky." The prince read out in a posh British accent. Jenny smiled at him,
correcting the pronunciation of the authors name in an impeccable British accent.
"That's some serious reading. Aren't other women your age reading that Shades of
Gray book?"
Jenny scrunched her face up, "I would never read that!. It's too... too"
"Sexy." Husain offered.
"I think I would be too embarrassed to read it, even if I was alone."
"You're a bundle of contradictions Jenny. Too embarrassed to read a racy book, but
able to do what we just did. What you just did to me, better than any woman I've
ever been with."
Jenny went bright red, and lowered her head quickly, trying to focus on the
swimming words on the page.
"Do you know how attractive that is?"
"What?" Jenny read a single sentence over and over again, she did not understand a
word.
"Right now, that coy little look you're doing. You're the perfect mixture of vixen
and virgin Jenny Simm. That's your poison."
"I have a poison?" she was amused now, and raised her eyes from the page.
"You do. And it's deadly.' His tone was serious and the mood quickly changed.
"Come, I want to show you something." Husain jumped up and grabbed Jenny by the
hand, practically dragging her across the room, out the door and down a corridor.
"Where you taking me, I'm semi naked." She tried to pull her top down.
"Don't worry, everyone's asleep and we're heading far away from the sleeping wing."
He was picking up speed now and Jenny was struggling to keep up. Shit, she really
needed to go to gym.
This place was a maze, and how anyone got around, she didn't know. A series of
twists and turns. Down corridors and up staircases. She felt like they'd been
walking for kilometers until he finally stopped. It was a dead end, nothing around
them except a large Persian carpet that hang on the wall. The prince then pulled
the carpet aside to reveal a door.
"You're kidding right? I thought secret doors behind wall hangings were totally
mythical."
"Not in my world." He said entering a numerical code into a keypad which unlocked
the door. "This way," he dragged her inside and down another long corridor. She
could see a large silver door at the end of it. It wasn't really a door, so much as
it looked like a giant safe, the kind you would find in a bank. This was getting
stranger by the second.
He entered another long code into the keypad and the enormous door unlocked with a
loud click. He turned and pulled on the giant handle and it opened. She could see
it was heavy. Then she stepped into the most curious room. Jenny gasped as she
looked around.
"It's where we keep the crown jewels." He said still pulling Jenny.
The room looked like a museum display. The walls were covered in thick glass and
behind it sat rows and rows of jewelry and coins. It was incredible; she didn't
know what to look at first. From tiaras to massive gold crowns, bracelets, earnings
and necklace's. They were all so ridiculously big, that if she didn't know where
she was, she would have automatically assumed they were pieces of costume jewelry.
Husain was entering a code into another keypad which unlocked a drawer. He pulled
it open, and laid out in a perfect row, were the most beautiful pieces she had ever
seen. He very slowly and carefully picked up a necklace and without saying a word,
started undoing the clasp and placing it around her neck.
She could immediately feel the weight of it. He took her by the shoulders and
walked her to the other side of the room where a mirror covered a portion of the
wall. The necklace was made entirely of large rubies, and in the middle of it, a
massive pink heart hung.
"It's a very rare pink diamond. The largest in the world." He was right behind her,
his hands on her shoulders.
"It's beautiful." She was intoxicated.
"This is not how it should be worn though." He said, pulling the neckline of her
top down so that the stone was resting against her skin and not on the faded
material.
"There, just as I imagined."
"What did you imagine?" she touched the stone. It was cold and smooth and shiny.
"How beautiful it would look against your pale skin." he pulled her neckline down
further revealing the start of her breasts. She could feel his hot breath on the
back of his neck.
"I want you to wear it to my birthday ball." He took it off, placed it into a
velvet box and handed it to her. But she couldn't'. It was too much and she pushed
the box back to him.
"I couldn't possibly wear something like that."
"It's my birthday wish." He pushed the box back at her.
"You seem to have a lot of birthday wishes." She took it tentatively and opened it
to have one last look. It really was incredible, and she didn't even want to know
how much it was worth.
"Don't you get three wishes?" he asked.
"I guess you do." She thought about all the times she had been made to close her
eyes and think of three wishes before blowing out the birthday candles.
"So two down, one to go." And without warning, he kissed her. It was soft and
gentle and slow. He took her face in his hands and held her close. His lips felt
soft and warm, which was very welcome, because she was starting to get cold in the
room which seemed to be heavily air-conditioned. She shivered and he stopped
kissing her.
"You cold?" he asked.
Jenny nodded.
"Lets go to bed." And once again, she was being pulled by the Prince through the
palace.
"Bed. Together?" Jenny asked.
Husain smiled. "Unless you still want me to sleep on the couch?"
She stopped and looked at him. "No. No I don't want you to sleep on the couch."

15
* JENNY
On the walk back to the bedroom she had another chance to look around the palace.
Although it had been renovated and was modern, there were still details that looked
like they dated back hundreds of years, for example, all the doors, they were
clearly all original. Old tapestries hung on the walls and elaborately embodied
chaise lounges were abundant. The whole palace seemed to revolve around an enormous
golden dome which looked liked it was dead center in the middle of the place. Tens
of corridors seemed to radiate off this central point. At least three or four
stories down, directly under the dome was a large marble room, four large
staircases ran into it.
"It's the ballroom." he said as if sensing her thoughts.
She thought about her last birthday, she'd spent it at the pizzeria. Somehow
Giovanni had gotten wind of her birthday and baked her a cake. Everyone had stayed
after work and eaten it together. It was very sweet, but nothing like a birthday
ball in a marble room under a gold dome. She wondered what his family would think
of her if they really knew the truth. Farmers daughter from the Free State of South
Africa (not glamourous) not exactly the kind of girl who usually ran around marble
floors wearing cascades of rubies that could probably buy the entire small town she
had grown up in.
There was nothing fancy about her family. And to date, her life had been a very
unglamorous affair. She had made a living doing odd jobs; waitress, receptionist at
a dental practice (that had not lasted long, she couldn't bear the constant
drilling) and her favorite so far, babysitting a small evil child who had clearly
been possessed by the devil (his parents thought he was an angel, though. They even
thought it was cute when he dropped her car keys down the toilet) And when she
wasn't working, she was trying to study, all the while digging herself a massive
hole of debt. Student loan. Two of the most terrifying words in the English
dictionary- not something people who lived here would ever understand.Was loan even
in their vocab?
HUSAIN
Looking down at the ballroom, Husain couldn't help but wonder what she would look
like tomorrow night with that necklace on, in an evening dress coming down one of
those staircases. He also wondered about what his third birthday wish would be, he
had a few ideas, but he needed to choose this one well.
Tomorrow he was going to leave the palace early in the morning, take the helicopter
to the mainland and buy her some lingerie. He hoped she would like whatever he
bought. They got to the room and for the first time, he became aware of the time,
it was already 2:00 PM in the morning. He couldn't remember when last he'd had such
fun, and it hadn't all just been about sex. It had been a crazy night, it had been
a crazy 48 hours actually, and he felt exhausted.
"What side do you like?" he was pulling the duvet down.
"Um..., I'm not sure actually?" she said looking at the bed as if she had suddenly
became nervous.
"You've never shared a bed with someone before?"
"No I haven't." She sounded coy.
"Well", Husain said jumping onto the bed, "I like the right-hand side, so that
makes you a lefty." He liked that she was inexperienced, it made for such a change,
all the other woman he'd been with had been around the block a few times- and then
up and down the highways and into all the cul-de-sacs too. She was full of this
innocent energy that was very attractive. "Come, here." He straightened her
pillows. He could see she was reluctant, shy.
"I'm not going to bite." he reached out and grabbed the bottom of her top gently,
pulling her closer until she climbed onto the bed and slipped under the covers. He
didn't ever do this either; he would fuck a girl and usually just fall asleep
without any intimacy afterward. But now he had this desire to hold her.
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close until his face was millimeters
away from the back of her neck. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply,
taking her in. Through the curls he found the soft skin of her neck and planted a
kiss on it. He felt her respond and he pulled her even closer. They could not be
closer if he tried.
But it wasn't enough for him, he wanted to feel her skin against his. He reached
down and tugged on her top trying to work it up over her head.
"What you doing?" she was resisting.
"Taking your clothes off." A few more tugs and it was off, she'd stopped resisting
now. He fiddled with her bra strap and pulled it off. Her naked back was now in
front of him. She had freckles all over her shoulders, he traced his fingers from
one to the other. He then sat up quickly, ripped his shirt off, and settled down
next to her. The feel of her back against his chest was soothing and he soon found
his eyelids getting heavier and heavier until...
JENNY
She could feel his breathing getting deeper and deeper and the spaces between his
breaths getting longer. It sounded like he was going to sleep. This surprised her.
He'd taken her shirt off and wrapped his arm around her. He hadn't even touched her
breasts, even though his arm was squashing them together. She wasn't sure what to
make of it all. This all felt so intimate, so familiar and yet that couldn't be
further from the truth.
She didn't know him, really she knew nothing about him and yet she was sharing a
bed with him. Sharing a bed with someone if the most intimate thing you can do. A
person is at their most vulnerable when they are asleep.
But his arms felt good around her. She felt safe and protected and warm. Nothing
could touch her now lying here in the Prince's arms.
A Prince- what a cliché. What a ridiculous, fairytale cliché.
Wasn't this every young girls fairytale dream? To be a Princess. She chuckled as
her eyes got heavier and she drifted to sleep.

16

JENNY
The sun was streaming through the window, hitting her on the face- this woke her
with a jolt. She turned to look behind her, but the bed was empty.
He was gone!
Shit. Her head pounded, her mouth was dry, she'd had too much to drink last night,
she hadn't been tipsy in a while and...oh crap...it all came flooding back to her.
The Jacuzzi, the sex, the hot, hot, amazing sex, the midnight feast on the bed, the
necklace. She held her head in her hands. She'd been such a fool. When she had
turned to look at the other side of the bed, she'd expected to see him there. Maybe
she wanted to see him there, but intellectually, she should have known that he
wouldn't be there in the morning.
The whole thing last night had been nothing more than a champagne-fueled evening.
No doubt he'd woken up surprised to find her in his bed, and had snuck out as fast
as possible.
She wondered if he felt as mortified as she did.
Her face and skin were burning hot with embarrassment and she hardly knew how she
was going to handle the day ahead. She knew at some stage she would have to see
him, not just that, but she would have to play the dutiful fiancé too. She wondered
if he still wanted her to wear that necklace, probably not.
Fuck! She'd been a moron. This was the reason she never cut loose, the reason she
didn't throw caution to the wind and listen to her heart over her head. It got her
into trouble and embarrassing situations... like the last time. She gazed at her
watch, 7 Am. He must have left really early. Another bad sign. Slip out before the
woman wakes up.
She threw open the bed covers and walked to the other end of the room where a large
jug of water was calling her name. She couldn't wait to drink it down, quench her
thirst and get that taste of him out of her mouth. She could still taste him. She
could smell him, and she could feel him. It had been an amazing night, no doubt
about it. But now it had all come crashing down around her like some kind of
hellish nightmare.
Oh well, what had she excepted?
Breakfast in bed, a little note left... a note left next to the water jug?
A folded little note with her name on. She didn't know what to make of it. There
were only two possible things it could say.
She opened it with shaking hands, inside she found a coin and a short sentence.
Tails you meet me for lunch? Heads, you meet me for lunch?
She felt a wave of excitement wash over her. Happiness.
He wanted to see her again. And she did too. Which was totally crazy and ridiculous
and insane. This was supposed to be a job, and she was supposed to dislike him. And
it was easier when she's disliked him too. When she'd hated him and thought he was
an arrogant asshole... but he wasn't.
He was funny. Fun. He was gentle, the way he'd held her as they had fallen asleep.
He was passionate; she could still feel the tingling between her legs. He
was...surprising.
In the corner of the note was a little arrow, indicating she turn over the page.
"I'll meet you in the ballroom at 12:00. Can't wait to see you."
It was just a simple little note, and yet it held such power and meaning, that she
felt dizzy.
She had read those romance novels, where "the world had stood still", "her heart
had skipped a beat" etc etc, but she'd never experienced it before, until now.
He still wanted her. He still wanted to kiss her. He still wanted to... would he
make love to her again?
Just as her mind was wondering and flashes of his naked body started running
rampant through her mind, she heard a sound at the door and saw another note being
slipped under it.
She ran to the door wondering if he was outside it, but the handwriting on the note
was different.
She opened it. "Let's go shopping! Meet me downstairs at 8:30. Rana." Wow, these
guys loved notes. This was all so surreal.
She had an hour and a half to freshen up and wash the traces of last night off her
body, so she jumped to it.
**
She was standing outside at exactly 8:30. Her stomach was rumbling, she was starved
and hoped that breakfast was part of this morning's equation.
"Ready to hit the town?" Jenny turned and saw the elegant Rana walking towards her.
She was so effortlessly stylish. "Come." She lead Jenny outside where they were
greeted by a ridiculous black limo that looked like it stretched from here to
Timbuktu.
"Do you always travel in such style?" Jenny slid into the back of the limo, this
was the third time in 48 hours she'd been riding in a limo.
Rana smiled. "Get used to it."
Jenny's heart plummeted. In the heat of everything that had happened last night,
she'd almost forgotten that this was a deception. She looked at Rana, she seemed so
nice, and she hated lying to her.
"I thought we could have something to eat." The words were like music to here ears,
and once inside, she opened a bar fridge and started pulling out a continental
spread of cheese, cold meat and breads. She then poured orange juice into two
champagne flutes and held hers up for a toast-
"To the first of many sisterly excursions." her glass clinked against hers.
Jenny forced a smile, but inside her heart was breaking. These people were so nice,
so kind and welcoming and she was deceiving them. And it seemed like they genuinely
liked her. This was the worst thing she'd ever done.
"I cant' wait to help you plan the wedding." She paused, "If that's okay I mean"
Shit! Jenny forced another smile. "I'd love that."
The drive there was a quiet one, they ate in silence and Jenny looked out the
window, taking in the scenery. She couldn't help wonder what her fictions wedding
would be like. It would probably be a grand affair. She wondered what she'd wear,
she'd never been one of those girls that had dreamt of a wedding dress. She knew it
would be white, she liked that sense of tradition. Off the shoulder, sweetheart
neckline, she had no idea, but she bet that the Princess would be the perfect
person to help her pick it out, or Rafiq, he had an eye for fashion.
She liked wild flowers- growing up on a farm does that to you. Roses weren't really
her thing, so she imagined a bouquet of wild flowers. What was she doing? Was she
crazy? Imagining her play-play wedding.
The car stopped and the princess opened the door. A helicopter waited for them and
a pilot quickly ushered them into it.
"Where we going?" Jenny had never been in a helicopter before and was feeling
tentative.
"The mainland, that's where the shops are."
The propellers quickly sprung to life and Jenny took that as her cue to get in.
Once she had gotten over her initial nerves, it really was quite beautiful, to see
the country like this. They flew over the large white cliffs that surrounded the
island and then across the azure blue ocean. She could see the shapes of coral
reefs where small waves broke against them. And then she saw the mainland coming
into sight.
Not at all what she had expected. Massive skyscrapers shaped the horizon, tall and
modern. They were heading towards one of the larger ones; she could see from here
it was a landing strip. The helicopter touched down effortlessly, and she was soon
running towards the roof door, her hair blowing in the wind of the propellers.
"Welcome to the Capital city." The princess was pressing the buttons for a lift to
arrive.
The lift was impossibly fast- even faster than the one in the Nelson hotel- and
before she knew it, they were climbing out of the lift and walking into a giant
reception area.
"What is this place?" A large portrait on the wall caught her attention, it was the
king. God he was so intimidating, even when on canvas.
"It's one of my dad's offices." Rana was striding through the reception, her heels
clicking on the marble floor. She pushed her way through the massive glass doors
and stepped onto the street. Jenny turned when she noticed two huge men in black
suits following them.
"Don't mind then. Bodyguards." Rana said casually.
The streets were alive with activity. Pedestrians walked up and down, black
limousine's were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, every now and then she saw a
pop of color in the traffic- a red Ferrari, a yellow Lamborghini.
There was no shortage of money here, she thought. Directly across the road she saw
a Chanel store, then on closer inspection, she noticed that every shop on the
street was a famous fashion house, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Victoria Secret and
so it went on as far as the eye could see. This was obviously why there were here,
she followed the Princess as she walked through the bumper to bumper traffic
towards a coffee shop.
"Can't start shopping without a good strong cup." She said ordering two cappuccinos
and two coffees for her bodyguards. She looked like she did this often.
Jenny was stunned. It was so exotic here. Palm trees dotted the side of the roads,
glittering shop fronts were the perfect backdrop to all the beautiful people
walking around with expensive handbags. As she looked around something familiar
caught her eye. Someone familiar.

17

JENNY
She only saw the back of him to begin with, but she could tell. The broad
shoulders, the hair and way he walked, she knew it was the Prince. And the two
bodyguards following close behind him were a dead giveaway. She could also feel it
was him. Every cell in her body was telling her that. Every fiber and every nerve
was screaming out for him. As if sensing this, he turned. His piercing greens eyes
finding her immediately.
He smiled and strode towards her with wide fast strides.
He didn't say a word, instead he walked right up to her and kissed her, as if she
was his.
"Good morning." He pulled away and stood opposite her smiling. Jenny looked down at
the parcel he was carrying. He hadn't been joking. Victoria Secret. It was
lingerie.
Rana glanced down at the parcel too. "You guys." She teased. "Happy birthday
brother." Rana said and then planted a playful kiss on his cheek. "Shopping for
tonight?" She was glancing down at his other parcels.
"Something like that." He winked at Jenny, a gesture that didn't go unseen by the
princess who smiled at them. "You guys." She said again.
"And you two? Also shopping for tonight?"
"I need a new dress." Rana was glugging the coffee down. It was very un-princess.
She liked that about her, she seemed completely down-to-earth and unaffected by her
royal title.
"So does Jenny." He suddenly slid his arm around her and pulled her close. It felt
great.
"It's okay. I have plenty to wear." She said.
"But tonight is special, remember." The Prince leant forward and kissed her on the
neck, reminding her about the necklace he'd asked her to wear.
"Sister, make sure she gets the perfect dress."
"But I..." Jenny tried to protest, but before she could, Husain slid a shiny credit
card into Rana's hand.
"I couldn't." Jenny said.
"Oh yes you could. And you will." He said in a husky tone that made Jenny quiver.
"I have to get going, I have a luncheon to plan for." Husain pulled Jenny close and
planted a kiss on her lips. It was not a passionate kiss, but rather a loving kiss.
The kind that married couples gave each other, it was warm and familiar. She liked
it. She liked it too much.
"Happy birthday." She whispered against his mouth.
Husain smiled. "You can wish me a happy birthday later." And then he was off. She
turned to watch him disappear across the street and back into the building that
they had just come from.
"It's so strange to see him this way. But nice. Really nice. " Rana said.
"What way?"
"So in love." She smiled at her now. "You have completely changed my brother. He's
a changed man, I can see it."
In love?
The prince in love with her?
Impossible. She didn't believe it. How can anyone fall in love that fast anyway?
Her head was spinning with images of him and her. The sex, the Jacuzzi, the
kissing.
They had been incredibly intimate, shared something so personal, maybe there were
feelings, but not love. Surely? She didn't have time to carry on with this train of
thought, because she felt herself being pulled into a store. And before she knew it
she was surrounded by store assistants who were thrusting dresses at her.
The princess was standing in the middle of the room pointing at things. Shoes here,
a scarf there, it looked like this was something she did every day, she probably
did.
"That one." She pointed at a long pale pink dress. . "You would look great in it.
My brother will love it."
Rana pushed her into a change room and handed it to her before Jenny could say a
word. Jenny was feeling overwhelmed again. She couldn't get the princess's words
out of her head.
"In love."
She hardly noticed that the assistant was unzipping her and helping her into the
dress. She turned to look at herself and stopped. It was beautiful and it did look
good against her pale skin. It was fitting and hugged her curves; the neckline was
low, but not too low. Perfect for the necklace.
The princess gasped. "You look amazing". Something pricked Jenny under the arm and
she reached for it. She pulled it off and her mouth fell open. The price. It was
insane; this dress cost more than everything she owned added together. She couldn't
buy this.
Rana pulled the label out of her hands, ripped it off and tossed it away. "It will
be worth the look on my brothers face when he sees you, trust me."
The it was Rana's turn. She chose a long red dress. Jenny sat and waited for her,
but there was a small gap in the change room door and Jenny's eyes were immediately
drawn to something. There, all the way down Rana's back were the most horrific
scars Jenny had ever seen. They looked like burn marks. She averted her eyes
quickly before Rana saw she was staring.

18

He'd woken up with a spring in his step. He hadn't felt this good, and this
energized in a long time. Usually he crawled out of bed with some hangover from the
night before, some strange naked woman lying in his bed and the debris of the night
before scattered at his feet.
But this morning, he felt like a new man. She was fast asleep next to him, and she
was perfect. Her curls were spread out across the pillow and she was curled up in a
ball on her side. He watched her sleep for a while, listened to her breathing and
at one stage, even ran his hand over her back. He guessed she must have felt
something, because she rolled over to face the other side, in a movement that
exposed her breasts.
He was excited to buy her lingerie- her birthday gift to him. In fact, it was the
only thing running through his mind as he rushed to get ready and get to the
mainland. The sooner he finished shopping, the sooner he could spend time with her.
He was dying to show her his favorite place in the world.
He had a desire to take her places, show her things and spend as much time with her
getting to know her as he could.
This filled him with excitement, but was also a strange concept for him. Usually he
wanted to get rid of the woman sleeping in his bed as soon as possible. He dreaded
it when they suggested movies or dinner. They were all boring- but she wasn't. She
was exciting, smart, funny, very funny, and she was beautiful. No, exquisite. And
he wanted more of her. So much more.

He was so caught up in thinking about the lingerie, that he was forced to scribble
the words "buy suit" on the back of his hand, in case he forgot. Once he's
finished shopping- with the major added bonus of having bumped into her- he went
down to the kitchen and instructed the cook- who wasn't pleased, because they were
in full catering swing for the ball that night- to prepare a picnic basket for
lunch. He got a blanket for them to sit on, and grabbed a bottle of champagne and
was ready almost two hours before lunch.
he didn't know what to do with himself though and feeling like a caged animal at
the zoo, he began to walk up and down the palace, waiting for her to come back.
He regretted this, because soon he was face to face with Amir.
"Nervous?" Amir asked with a sly and dangerous tone. He topped it off with a cold,
icy smile.
"No, just waiting for Jenny to come back from the mainland." Husain's tone was
harsh. He hoped it would send him a message; that he had no desire to talk with
him,
"How sweet." Amir smiled that icy smile again.
"That sounds condescending." Husain's eyes narrowed in response to him.
"Not at all. Young love is a beautiful thing." Amir looked like a lion circling his
prey. "I must say, I'm impressed."
"By what?" Husain watched him as he circled.
"Well, last time I saw you, you were indisposed with three women. And now you seem
to be a changed man, engaged, settled. It's all so convenient isn't it? What with
you birthday being today." Amir's tone was mocking, in the most dangerous sounding
way.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You may be able to fool the others, but your father and I are watching you." Amir
was smirking now. His thin lips and face contorted into something hideous.
"And what exactly are you looking for?" Husain was clenching his fists. It was all
he could do to stop himself from hitting him.
"I'm going to catch you out. I know this whole thing is a farce, I just can't prove
it... yet. But I will." Amir was studying him closely to see if his face would
betray the secret. "This Jenny is probably just some poor working girl you scooped
up off the street and paid a lot of money to to pretend to be your fiancé."
"That's not true."
"You're right. I can see she's not a common working girl from a street corner.
Perhaps something a little more high-class. Maybe you have an account at one of
those exclusive escort agencies?"
"Stop it. It's not like that. I love her." He spat the words out without thinking
about them. Rage boiled in inside him and then, without fully realizing what he was
doing, he grabbed Amir by the collar and shoved him against the wall. He was
spitting with rage, "Jenny is not a prostitute. And if I ever hear you say that
again, I'll kill you."
Husain immediately knew he'd overstepped a line, and he also knew he better get
away before he did actually kill him. He couldn't remember feeling such rage since
Rana's incident, since the fire.
He walked off. He hated Amir. He hated the thought of Amir becoming King. He could
never allow that to happen. Amir was evil, he would rape and pillage the country.
God knows what he would do, but he would usher in an age of corruption and
unhappiness. He could see it. He would use the country for his own personal gain,
turn it into a dictatorship and destroy it and it's people.
And now he hated him even more for suggesting that Jenny, sweet, innocent Jenny,
could be a prostitute. It sickened him. Amir sickened him. And Amir was also onto
him and just waiting to pounce and stab him in the back.

19

Jenny stood in the middle of the ballroom, just as the note had said. She was a bit
early, so wasn't expecting to see Husain for another half and hour. But she'd been
eager to see him. The ballroom was abuzz with activity. They were obviously
preparing for tonight's ball. It looked like hundreds of people were rushing around
in front of her; setting up tables, dressing them with flowers, polishing them with
silverware.
In the other corner of the room, it looked like an orchestra was setting up, there
was so much to see and take in, she hardly noticed Husain sliding up to her. She
felt his arm slide around her, and could feel his face by her neck. She turned and
came face to face with him. God he was beautiful.
"Come let's get out of here." He leaned into her neck. "I want to kiss you." He
whispered in her ear. She didn't need any more of an invitation, and followed him
out of the door as she heard the orchestra start tuning their instruments.
Once outside, Husain pushed her behind a pillar and kissed her. He kissed her hard
at first. It felt urgent and desperate, as if he needed to get his fix. She opened
her mouth for him and he slipped his tongue inside, but as soon as their tongues
touched the energy of the kissed changed. It went from hard and passionate to
something quite the opposite. It slowed down, it became soft and gentle and he was
running his hands trough her hair. She did the same, running her fingers through
his black and silky hair. The kissing stopped, but they stayed close to each other,
their foreheads and noses touching and they held each other there for the longest
time until Husain broke it.
"I'm starved. Lets go for lunch." He took her by the hand and began walking across
the "garden"- nothing around here was small or subtle, and the garden was no
exception. It was only when they were half-way there that she noticed the picnic
basket in his other hand.
"Are we going for a picnic?" They were almost jogging across the lawn now.
"We are." Husain suddenly let go of her hand "Are you fast?" he was walking around
her now.
"Why?"
"Last one to the end of the garden is IT." He screamed and started running across
the lawn taking huge strides.
"You're kidding right?" Jenny shouted after him. But he didn't stop. He kept on
running. Jenny hadn't played this game since she was a child, it was so silly, it
was so childish, and it was so fun she thought as she started running across the
lawn.
When last had she run like this? Only downside was that she was so unfit and by the
time she reached the other side she was totally out of breath. Her hair had fallen
out of it's pony tale, and beads of sweat were starting to appear on her forehead.
Husain stood there waiting for her, making a big show of casually leaning against a
railing. As she got closer she realized the railing he was leaning against was the
only thing stopping him from him from falling down the sheer cliff. The entire
island was surrounded by sheer, white cliffs and that was the reason that the
palace had been built there. For safety. It was impenetrable. Hundreds of years
ago, when the whole area had been at war, this was the safest place to be. Jenny
walked up to the railing and looked over, the sea looked very far down.
"Come." Husain opened a small gate.
"Down there?" She couldn't hide the concern in her voice.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to make you climb." He said, taking her reassuringly by
the hand and guiding her through the gate. She was dangerously close to the edge
now and she was terrified. Husain must have sensed this and slipped a large arm
around her waist. Attached to the side of the cliff face, was a motorized tram, she
guessed this was how they would be getting down. The tram was really nothing more
than a steel platform surrounded by another metal railing, not the sturdiest
looking thing, but she felt far less nervous with his arm around her.
The ride down wasn't nearly as terrifying as she had thought; all the while Husain
had held her, which went a long way in waylaying any fears she had. The tram came
to a stop at the foot of the cliff, where the white powdery beach lay.
"It's beautiful here." Jenny had taken her sandals off and was running her foot
through the soft white sand. It was warm and had the texture of cotton candy.
"This is nothing." Husain said with a smile, he took her by the hand again and they
walked up the beach together.
"I'm taking you to my favorite place in the world." His voice sounded soft.
They walked in silence after that, all the while their fingers were wrapped around
each other's. Every now and then they would look at each and smile.
She wasn't sure how long they walked for, maybe ten minutes, but they finally
arrived at the entrance to what looked like a cave built into the Cliffside.
"Are we going in there?" Jenny pointed into the dark.
Husain reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a torch. "Just follow me and
stay close." He pressed the button and the torch sprung to life, illuminating some
of the cave. It was damp and dark and Jenny was trying very hard not to imagine
bats or creatures or something equally hideous. The floor was moist and mossy so
she was careful not to loose her footing either. The cave went on forever it
seemed, but in the distance she thought she could see some light.
"Nearly there." Husain sounded excited.
It took her eyes a second or two to adjust to the sudden light when they finally
popped out the other side. And what she saw, almost floored her and she gasped.

Chapter 20

They had stepped onto a small white beach. It enclosed a small, almost electric
blue pool of water. The whole area was surrounded on all sides by the high, white
cliffs. It was incredible.
"This is-'" She paused, not sure of what to say. She was searching for the words,
but there were none that would adequately describe this. This was the most magical
place she had ever seen. Like a secret garden locked behind a wall, only so much
better.
"I know." Husain said. "I found this place when I was a boy." He turned and smiled
at her, the sunlight catching his green eyes. He looked like a poster. Or a model
from the pages of a magazine. Or something that was all together not real at all.
But he was real. And she was here, with him. Alone.
He took a step closer to her and touched her cheek, "I've never brought anyone else
here. You're the first person."
"Not even your sister?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
This touched her. He was showing her a special part of him. One that he had never
shown anyone else before. She felt honored.
The sand under her feet felt like soft, warm, talcum powder. She walked up to the
waters edge and stuck her toe in. The water was warm and felt soft- if that even
makes sense. It was almost completely crystal clear, and you could see all the way
to the bottom of the pool in all directions. On the other side of the pool, a
waterfall tumbled down from the cliff face, plummeting straight into the water and
whipping it up into a frothy, white frenzy.
She turned to find Husain looking at her with such intensity that it gave her
immediate butterflies and strange shivers- despite the blazing heat. This man's
looks had the power to defy the weather even.
"What?"she asked, slightly nervously.
"Nothing. You're just beautiful."
"Thanks, you're not too bad yourself." She was nervously fiddling with her hair.
God this man made her nervous. But in a good way. Delicious-nervous.
"Oh, so you approve?" his tone was playful.
She shrugged in a teasing manner. "Um...I mean, you're okay, I guess." She tried to
sound as casual as possible.
"Just okay?" his eyes were wicked, and they hid nothing. She knew exactly what he
wanted, and she wanted it too. She was getting a little breathless and hot under
her metaphorical collar.
"You're very handsome." Jenny smiled as they words came out. "That sounded silly.
What I mean is that-"she looked at him, hungrier than she had ever been, "-you're
gorgeous, okay. You're the hottest man I have ever seen. I bet you all the women
say that though."
Husain took a step forward. "You are the only women I want to hear it from,
though."
"Really?" his words excited her more than she could say. He was holding her in such
high-esteem right now. No one had ever done that. In fact, Husain was doing
everything, and showing her everything that she had never experienced before.
"You're... you're amazing." Jenny stuttered.
This seemed to please him, because his face broke into a smile that made him look
even more gorgeous than he did right now, which if you had asked her a few minutes
ago, she would have said was completely impossible. Possibly even against the laws
of nature.
But she was wrong... again... because just when she was convinced he couldn't get
any better, he stated taking his shirt off. She had seen him without clothes on
before, but never in full light. Jenny swallowed hard. Trying not to drool. Trying
not to gawk like a total pervert- it was very hard not to.
HUSAIN
Husain knew exactly what effect this was having on her, and he held her gaze while
undressing. He liked that she looked at him like this. A lot of girls had looked at
him like this over the years, but he had never cared enough to let it mean
anything- until now. Strangely possessive thoughts started running through his
mind, he wondered if she had looked at other guys like this. He didn't want her
too. He wanted her eyes all to himself. Not to mention her body.
Next, he pulled down his shorts, letting them fall to the sand. As if he was
conducting her, telling her precisely what to do, her eyes drifted down, exactly
where he wanted them to go.
"Do you want me to take these off?' he said, threading his finger through the
elastic of his underwear. She nodded immediately, which made him very happy.
"Will you take something off for me first?" She raised her eyes to his and once
again, simply nodded.
"Please take off your underwear." His tone was firm.
He watched in awe as she obeyed him. She slid her hands up under her dress and
started to pull her panties off. She slid them down her thighs, and let it fall on
the sand below.
"Now lift your dress and show me." He stepped a little closer, eager to look at
her. "I want to see you."

21

JENNY
What was going on right now? Was she really doing this? The old, shy and very timid
Jenny would have been horrified by this suggestion. But in the short time she had
known him, he had changed her in some inexplicable way. Last night had awakened her
inner sex-Goddess, she didn't even know she had one. Perhaps the old girl had being
lying dormant this whole time, waiting for a Prince to awaken her. She thought of
all the fairytales now; Sleeping Beauty being awaked by a kiss, Rapunzel taken out
of her tower. This really was like a fairytale, they usually had happy endings
though, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of ending this would have.
But screw that right now, because she felt empowered. Bold, sexy and beautiful for
the first time in her life and she was going to take advantage of those feelings,
lest she never feel them again.
Her trembling hands grabbed at her hem and she started lifting her skirt. She
lifted it enough that he was just able to gaze at her.
"Higher." His voice was gruff, firm and commanding.
She obeyed, and pulled the dress up to her waist, the effect it had on him was
immediately obvious to her. He then let out a moan, as he moved towards her and
grabbed her in his arms.
"I have to have you." He whipped her dress off and tossed it to the sand. Jenny
felt intoxicated by power now, to know she was having this kind of effect on a man.
It made her feel as if she could do anything.
She stepped back from him- imbued with confidence."I want to see you take off your
underwear too." Her voice was laced with hot lust.
Husain smiled. This was not a shy guy. He stepped back , making sure she had a good
view and pulled his underwear off. He stood there in the full sunlight of the day
totally naked.
He was big and hard and she wanted to touch him. She stepped closer and placed her
hand on him and his whole body tensed up as he reached out and gripped her
shoulders. She kept going and watched his face. She was fascinated. He seemed to
have lost control, he was breathing faster, his eyes were closed and he was biting
down on his bottom lip.
"Stop." He was out of breath. "Not yet."
She realized that she had almost taken him to the edge of pleasure, just with her
hand. There was so much she had never done before. So much she wanted to do now,
and she hoped he would show her everything.
And he did.
His hand slipped down between her legs and he went to work there. She shivered. She
quivered, and she didn't know what the hell to do with herself and all the feelings
rushing though her right now.
All of a sudden she felt her body tense and shudder. She exploded. She had never
experienced that before and it shattered her. She closed her eyes and gave in to
the most basic and primal sensations, she didn't care how she looked or sounded
doing it. She just gave herself over to the pure pleasure that was rushing through
her veins.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and found Husain's face just centimeters from hers. His
eyes were black with lust for her. His hands found the back of her bra and undid it
quickly, tossing it aside. He then picked her up in his arms and carried her into
the water.
The water felt cool now because her body was hot. The sensations of the water
lapping against her was intense. She wasn't sure how they were going to do this, in
water, but she thought Husain had a pretty good idea. He probably had a few good
ideas.
"Turn around." He had stopped kissing her now.
Jenny looked at him confused. "Just turn around", he said gently now.
And she did.
He could have told her to do anything and she would probably have done it. She
turned around facing in the opposite direction now, he was behind her and she had
no idea what he was going to do next.
His hands went between her legs and spread them, she then felt him come up close
behind her. He was going to take her from behind she thought with excitement.
She couldn't see what he was doing, and then suddenly she felt it. The sensation of
entering her from that angle set her off immediately and she moaned.
He liked this. He loved how responsive he was. And he liked his position too,
because it freed up his hands to do other things with her. His hands roamed and he
got into a rhythm now. And he knew it was working when she tilted her head back and
sought his mouth out.
She gave herself over to him, there in the water. The sun was beating down on them
as he pleasured her in everyway possible, at the same time. He was kissing her
passionately. She could feel she was building up to something, it felt like it
would be more intense than anything that had come before. Her breathing was
becoming quick now, she was almost panting. It was involuntary, but she was saying
his name over and over again.
This excited him even more and he too felt himself building. Their bodies where
attached to each other at every possible point and they moved together as one as
they thrashed in the water. The water was spraying everywhere now and waves and
ripples were breaking on the shore of the pool as they displaced it. Faster still
they ground together. Until-
The intensity of the feelings seemed to combine in one sublime moment. The nerve
endings on her tongue as his sucked on it traveled down to tangle with the
sensitive feelings radiating from her breasts, this caused a current of electricity
to surge across her stomach to between her legs and then everything went white
inside her head as the sensations finally coalesced into one.
Her body went stiff and she held her breath as the contractions surged through her.
Wave upon wave of them worked their way up and down her body. And then he moaned
loudly. It was animalistic and guttural and when it was all over, Husain wrapped
his arms around her.
He'd never experienced such intense ecstasy. He had been with many women, several
at once, he had tried just about every sexual position there was, but this was
nothing like it. It was the most intense physical experience he had ever felt.
They stayed there for the longest time. She held onto his forearms which were
wrapped around her.
Then he turned her around to face him. And he kissed her. It was gentle and it was
soft. He pulled away and looked her in the eyes. He stoked the sides of her face
and he opened his mouth... he looked like he was about to say something. But he
stopped himself.
"That was amazing." Husain kissed her again. This time on her forehead, then her
cheek, then her neck and finally her lips again. "You're amazing."

22

They walked around the tiny bit of sand that surrounded the water and then stepped
behind the waterfall. It was insanely beautiful. There was a largish beach of sand
behind it, and they sat. The waterfall created a natural window between them and
the world outside, and every now and then, flecks of cool water splashed on them.
Husain laid out the blanket and opened the picnic basket. The obligatory Champagne
came out and Jenny smiled.
"You guys drink way to much Champagne." She had to chuckle at this.
"So you said, that's why I got the no fun, no alcohol kind." He handed her the
bottle.
"Besides, I wanted to have all my faculties this afternoon..." He flashed her a
grin that made her melt.
Jenny had only put her underwear back on and couldn't believe how comfortable she
felt in it. Letting a man view her like this in the bright light. She couldn't hide
a thing from him; not a crease, not a dimple not a bump- and she didn't care. This
man worshipped her- he worshipped her body and it made her feel like a Goddess.
Husain was leaning back on his elbow, the tension from this move caused his six
pack to ripple even more, something Jenny felt she needed to touch.
"So, why an actress?" He looked genuinely curious, "You just don't seem the type."
"That's what all the directors say too. 'My looks is not current enough' whatever
that means, so as a result, I don't get any work." She was blasé about this
statement, but it did hurt her. "I was very shy as a child, guess I still am a bit,
and pretending to be someone else, was so much easier to do. When I was playing a
role, I felt more confident."
Husain smiled at her. "If I was a director I would only ever cast you." He reached
over and placed his hand on her leg.
"Can I say something, an observation?" Husain said, a hesitancy in his voice.
"Yes."
"I don't think being an actress suits you."
Jenny pulled away from his hand, he quickly jumped in.
"Wait, let me finish", she eyed him harshly. "I don't think someone like you should
ever pretend to be someone else."
Jenny didn't know what to say to this, it was the strangest, but perhaps the nicest
thing anyone had ever said to her.
"You're too lovely", he leant over and kissed her. "You should always just be
yourself. There's no need to be shy."
What was going on here? They were playing boyfriend/ girlfriend? It was intimate,
it was emotional it was not all about sex, or was it for him? He was hard to read
in that he portrayed such a different side of himself to the world, but he was
actually and incredible gentle soul- what had Rafiq said, and artist and writer
even. This image was so incongruent to the image he sent out into the world. Which
one was the real him, she still was not 100% sure.
Was this an act? Was he just taking advantage of having a bit of holiday fun? Maybe
he was swept up in the idea of pretending to be her fiancé. She knew he was
attracted to her, that was obvious, but was that it? She wanted to ask him, but she
didn't have the courage.
She was scared he might say that this was a just a holiday dalliance. She was even
more scared he might say this actually meant something, because what if it did?
Then what? How did they proceed after playing at this game of deception? What would
happen when they flew back home and she went back to her life?
Did she want more? The thought sacred her, because the truth was that she did want
more from him- was he prepared to give it to her though?
This was not a situation he had ever found himself in, he thought as his lips moved
over hers. He liked her. He really liked her. But what did that mean? Did they
become a real couple? And was he even ready for that kind of commitment?
He'd never seen this happening, his idea was to live out his life having as much
fun and freedom as he chose, until the day he had to become King. This wasn't part
of his plan. Maybe it wasn't real though. Maybe he was just swept up in this
moment, playing a couple, being forced to sleep in the same room, a romantic
setting- perhaps this really was just an act. Act 1 in a strange play. Whatever it
was, though, he was going to enjoy it for now; he wasn't going to question it.
"I've thought of my third birthday wish." Husain said, placing little kisses on her
mouth in-between words. "I want to draw you."
"Draw me?"
He felt a bit coy telling her this. He had a studio at home where he spent hours
painting and drawing, not that he would ever tell anyone that. It was something
that soothed him. And since meeting her, he had had a desire to capture her beauty
and put it down on paper.
"Ok." She whispered.
The prince smiled at her. He was going to make tonight all about her. She would be
dressed in the lingerie he chose, wearing the most beautiful necklace in the world,
spread out in front of him and he would study every tiny inch of her and he would
draw her. He would make her feel special and beautiful and... loved?
Wait. Loved?
He looked at her and his heart pounded. He had never been in love before. Was this
what it felt like? And if so, how does it happen so quickly?

23

JENNY
About two hours later, she found herself back at the palace in the midst of party
planning chaos. It was such a jolt back to reality after being in such a tranquil
place. The Prince said he had a few things to attend to before the party, and bid
her a kiss fueled farewell. The next time he would see her was at the party, and
she better wear that necklace, he reminded her. And he was off.
Jenny took the opportunity to walk around the palace. The gardens were beautiful.
Perfectly neat and landscaped. The open space reminded her of being back home at
the farm, although the landscaped were completely different. She waked across an
impossibly long lawn and eventually found herself at the stables. They were
completely boarded up and parts of it looked like they had been burnt. She gasped,
oh my God, is this what had happed to Rana? Had she been caught in a fire in the
stables?
As she was thinking this, someone walked around the corner. It was the man with the
cold, evil eyes. Amir.
"Hello Jenny. So nice to see you here, we haven't really had a chance to talk yet."
Jenny jumped, this man unnerved her more than she could explain. There was
something so black about him. Soulless. "Hi." She muttered.
"I saw you looking at the stables, has Husain told you about the tragedy that
befell Rana here?"
"No." Jenny felt fear grip her. He had said that with the slightest smile on his
face.
"It was terrible. It haunts me still. And I know it haunts the prince too." He
stepped closer to Jenny and she froze. "Rana was a great rider. She had a beautiful
racehorse called Sparkle. Oh, she loved that horse. She was here one evening
brushing her horse after a ride, as she always did. Some kind of terrible
electrical fault occurred. A light bulb burst, such a terrible freak accident. She
was caught in the fire, it was so lucky for her that Husain was able to save her.
Haven't you noticed that burn mark on the inside of his wrist?"
Jenny swallowed hard. She had not noticed it and Amir could see this. Shit. Amir
knew. She could feel it.
"I will never forget hearing those screams. It was terrible. Her horse was burnt to
death of course.'
She nodded slowly as he kept advancing. The man's words felt like a million cold
ice cubes being poured over her naked body. He froze her to the very core.
"The poor royal family has endured much tragedy. Husain's aunts and uncles and
cousins, the plane crash. It's very sad."
Jenny nodded slowly. She wanted to be far away from him, as far away as possible.
"Well, I need to get ready for... the...dinner." She stumbled over her words.
"Of course. You wouldn't want to keep your... fiancé... waiting."
Jenny did not miss the dangerous tone in his voice and the way he'd said fiancé.
She turned and speed-walked back to the palace, as fast as she could without Amir
thinking she was running away in panic.
**
Husain had a few emails to send that afternoon. Despite popular belief, he did
actually work, not that much, but he had a few interest. One was an art gallery he
was opening with a business college, his house had become too full and he was
running out of space and decided to share it with others. He had an eye for art, he
had an eye for beautiful things really. Without a knock, Rafiq came in and closed
the door behind him.
Husain looked up. He knew that look, that disapproving look that Rafiq was so fond
of giving him.
"What do you think you're doing?"Rafiq's tone was angry
"Sending some e-mails."
"With Jenny?" he moved closer to the desk. "I saw the lingerie you bought, I know
you took her to the cove, and if I have to guess, you slept with her last night?"
"That's none of your business." Husain slammed his laptop closed and glared at him.
"It is when I promised her that nothing like this would happen, and that she would
be okay." He really was angry
"It's not like I forced her, she was very willing. Trust me." He folded his arms in
indignation.
Rafiqs mood changed. "Women like that don't just do sex. And a woman like that
deserves much more than just a one-night stand. She is too good for you Husain. I'm
sorry to say that, but it's true. She deserves a lot more than you."
The words cut Husain deeply. Rafiq was right. She did deserve the world.
"Break this off Husain. Please, before it is too late and she falls in love with
all your charms. " Rafiq placed his arm on Husain's shoulders in a paternal
gesture. "You are going to break yet another woman's heart. And her heart does not
deserve to be broken."
"What do you even know about relationships?" Husain asked.
"You mean, what does a middle aged gay man know about the affairs of the heart."
Heart?" His tone was softer now and he sat next to Husain.
Husain had known that Rafiq was gay for as long as he could remember. That is why
he took Rafiq with him when he left. Being gay was frowned upon here. It was
considered a sin and an abomination. Husain had guarded Rafiq's secret for years
and he would take it to the grave.
"If only I could find you a husband, Rafiq. Then maybe you'd get off my back. But
you never like the guys I try and set you up with."
"That's because they're all half my age." He smiled now. He was fond of Husain,
loved him as if he was his own son, and was grateful to him for carrying his secret
around for so long and never betraying him.
"I'm serious Husain. This girl is one in a million. She deserves all the bells and
whistles- love, marriage, kids, the full package. And I know you can't give her
that, so step away."
"What if I can give her the bells and whistles?" Husain's voice was quite and coy
and Rafiq snapped his head around to look at the Prince more closely.
"What?" he sounded shocked.
"What if I like this one? Really, really like this one."
"Then you would be making the first smart choice of your life." Rafiq smiled at him
before turning away and walking out of the room.
The conversation had left him feeling unsettled. Rafiq was always right, although
he hated to admit it. Nine times out of ten, he had predicted every bad situation
with every single girl; The ones that feel in love (there were many), the ones that
got furious and slashed tires, the ones that ran off to the press with a sordid
story and the one that stalked him and faked a pregnancy.
Was he right about this, though? Was Jenny in love with him? Or falling in love
with him? The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but he really, really,
really didn't want to stop doing what he was doing.
Did that mean he was falling for her?

24

Jenny sat in her room shaking. She couldn't stop thinking about that conversation
she'd just had with Amir. There was something about it that had been so
threatening, a guised threat hidden somewhere in the subtext of his words. In the
way he'd looked at her with his back eyes. The way he had circled her while
talking.
She also had a horrendous thought; one she wasn't sure she could even let herself
entertain properly. There was something so desperately insincere about they way
he'd spoken about those deaths, the plane crash and about Rana's accident...
Had he... was it possible... she needed to keep that thought to herself. That was
not something she should ever say out loud. Ever. She also couldn't let it distract
her right now, because since that conversation with him, she'd also realized that
he didn't believe them.
She would have to give the performance of her life tonight. She needed to play the
loving, attentive, doting fiancé with such conviction that no one in that room
would ever suspect that... but that would be very, very easy.
She smiled. Her face flushed just thinking about him. She didn't need to pretend
with him anymore. In fact, somewhere along the way the lines between reality and
fantasy had blurred, and now she didn't know where one ended and the other began,
especially when she stared at herself in the mirror wearing the necklace. She
looked the part. She looked like a future Queen right now. A princess in a
fairytale... but like Cinderella at the ball, when she flew back home, this would
all be over leaving nothing but tattered rags and pumpkins behind.
**
Husain was finding it very hard to concentrate. He was shaking hands with
dignitaries, wealthy businessmen, some sheiks, some local movie stars and the odd
member of the European royal family. They had all come here for his birthday. He
wasn't a fool to think that this was really for him. No birthday had ever really
been for him. Birthdays were a chance for his parents to make social connections,
strengthen political ties and make business deals for billions while sipping
Champagne and eating oysters.
But he was smiling and graciously accepting presents, and congratulations on both
his birthday, and this engagement. But his mind was only focused on one thing, and
she wasn't there yet.
He tried to imagine what she would look like coming down the staircase wearing that
necklace. He hoped she would be wearing the lingerie too. He'd chosen it very
carefully, it wasn't nearly the most expensive piece in the shop, or the best
crafted thing in the either. In fact, it had been one of the most plain and simple
pieces there. There was nothing shiny or flashy about it, it was elegant and
totally understated. And it was perfect for her.
All the other woman he'd bought lingerie for he'd bought something elaborate,
sexy, leathery, colorful. But she didn't need that- in fact, she didn't need
anything that would overwhelm her natural beauty. She needed something that faded
into the background, and let her body be the star of the show.
But he had to stop thinking about her like that, because the images of her in the
underwear were about to cause him a big embarrassment....
"Hi..."A sultry voice said from behind him. He turned thinking it was Jenny, only
it wasn't. It was trouble. It was Sophia, Duchess Sophia. Killer body, pitch black
hair, green eyes, legs that went on for miles, big firm tits, great ass, blow-job
lips...
Well, that's what he'd thought about her when he'd bent her over and fucked her in
a hotel room in Monte Carlo a few months ago anyway.
"Hi." He said nervously. The last thing he wanted was for Jenny to come down the
stairs and see him talking to a woman that he'd slept with
"So you never did call me back..." Her tone had a lashing of anger to it.
"Sorry. I got busy." This was his standard response usually.
"I heard. So busy you found yourself a fiancé. That was quick." She said mockingly.
"Well, when you know, you know." He smiled politely at her.
She scoffed at his comment and then moved in closer, she accidentally brushed her
hand against his crotch and then leaned to his ear and whispered.
"Do you want to meet up a little later?" She ended the sentence with a tiny little
moan.
He pulled away quickly. "No. Sorry. I'm engaged."
She laughed. It wasn't pleasant. "Oh please. Like that's going to stop you."
Husain pushed her away again as she made another approach.
"Stop it Sophia."
"That's not what you said to me in Monte Carlo."
"It's different now. Please." He turned his back on her and walked away, he heard
her storm off behind him. And then, as if perfectly timed, he looked up and there
she was walking down the stairs-
m

24

She was more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. His imagination had not
done her the slightest bit of justice. And he had been thinking about her a lot.
Their eyes met as she was half -way down the stairs. He lit up, as if a switch had
been turned on inside him. She smiled back and if felt like he had won some grand
prize. Or that he was a child waking up on Christmas morning and, ripping open a
present he had always wanted. He smiled a bit more
"You look incredible." She reached the bottom of the stairs, he walked up to her
and linked his arm through hers.
"Thank you." He saw that her cheeks immediately flushed, making her even more
beautiful.
"I see you're wearing my birthday present." He adjusted the necklace, as the clasp
had worked its way around to the front. He then planted a gentle kiss on her
exposed shoulder.
"But are you wearing my other birthday present." His heart beat rose just thinking
about it.
"You'll just have to wait and see." She teased him with a wink.
"I don't like waiting for anything." He had his hand on her back now and was
rubbing it, looking for telltale signs of the corset. Suddenly, he felt it through
her dress and it excited him beyond belief. To know that under that dress she was
wearing the lingerie that he'd had bought her, only for him to take it off later,
was enough to drive him wild.
He had no idea how he was going to keep his hands off her for the duration of the
party. He only hoped they would be able to get away early, and not have to stand
around talking boring politics, or stock markets for too long. He hated these kinds
of affairs. However, he could acknowledge that they were probably necessary; they
kept the coffers full, and the political landscape healthy. And when he was King,
he would have to do a lot of this. But he would never inflict it upon his children,
no, they could have whatever messy, bright, sugary, non-catered birthday party
their hearts desired.
"We're going to have to mingle..." He said to Jenny, although he hated the thought
of having to share her with anyone, even for a second. "...Unfortunately." He
grabbed a canapé that had floated by on a butler's tray and popped it into his
mouth.
"Well you are the guest of honor." Jenny said wiping a crumb away from the corner
of his mouth. It was so intimate and he smiled at her. He could get very, very used
to this, he thought.

JENNY

Jenny couldn't remember half of the people she met. But she suspected that she'd
kissed the cheeks of some of the most powerful people in the world. She had
recognized one as a politician from someone (she wasn't very up-to-date on world
politics) She recognized someone else too. Wasn't he that guy that was always
getting into trouble for racing his Ferraris and Lamborghinis up and down the
street? These people were from such a different world- more like different
universe. She definitely recognized her... wasn't she a member of the European
Royal family, don't ask her which country though. But she had definitely seen the
woman's face on the front cover of some kind of gossip magazine. She was gorgeous,
obviously, but she was also staring at Jenny in a way that made her suspect that
something had happened between her and Husain. She recognized that look. She was
wearing the look that Jenny once remembered giving her best friend, after she found
out that she was sleeping with the man she loved.
She walked around trying not to wonder how many of the woman at this party had
slept with Husain. Awkward. But she was also making her feel very jealous and
possessive. Not that he was hers to posses, but the idea of him sleeping with so
many woman, didn't make her feel great. And the thought of him sleeping with many
more after her, made her feel even less great.
But she continued to walk and smile and talk and be polite. She showed her ring off
to at least a dozen women who gasped and then began talking about the three C's of
diamonds; color, cut and clarity. They then all told her about the latest diamonds
they had made their husbands buy them. She just nodded, trying to pretend she
understood anything they were saying. She laughed a lot at really bad jokes and
nodded diligently when it seemed like someone was trying to say something
important.
Finally, they reached the other end of the room. They had greeted and chatted to
all the people Husain had needed to, and it had taken over an hour and a half by
the time they were finally alone and could sit down. Her face felt sore from
smiling and she was thirsty. At least she could see a cure for her thirst, and she
reached for the bottle of spring water in front of her.
This was the first real chance she'd had to look around the ballroom. It was
spectacular. Long tables, draped in colorful table clothes had been placed around
the floor, so that there was a dance floor in the middle. A full orchestra sat on a
raised platform and the whole place was lit with candlelight. Hundreds and hundreds
of candles helped to drown the palace in a soft warm light. Some were tall and
freestanding, others were tiny and floating in large glass bowls of water. She was
admiring the arrangement of flowers on the table in front of her when she felt a
hand on her leg. It wasn't the casual feeling of a hand coming to rest on a leg
either, but it was the feeling of a hand that wanted to do things to her. She
looked to Husain and their eyes locked. She could see in his eyes what it was he
was thinking. She held her breath as she felt his hand climb higher and higher,
under her dress.
Surly he wasn't going to do this now? Here?
But clearly he was.

26

He squeezed her thigh, hard. He had been fighting the urge to put his hands on her
for the last hour, and now that they were sitting down together, he saw an
opportunity.
The heavy table clothes made it impossible to see what was happening, unless
someone came and sat next to them, his hand was free to wonder a little. He started
to pull her dress up with his hand. She grabbed him by the hand and tried to stop
him.
"What are you doing?" she sounded panicked which was just so damn cute. But he
ignored her and playfully smacked her hand away. He carried on pulling up the
fabric until he had exposed a bare thigh. He could see she was nervous and that her
eyes were flicking around the room to see if anyone had noticed. But this was part
of the thrill, they were in a crowded room, and he was going to touch her.
His fingers traced the skin on her thigh and he felt her wiggle in her seat. His
hand traveled further up her thigh until it found where it wanted to be. She was
wearing the underwear; he could feel the lacey panties beneath his fingertips.
Jenny tried not to show it on her face, she tried to look as normal as she could,
but she was convinced that everyone in the room knew what was happening. She
reached for the bottle of water again and tried to pour another glass, some spilled
on the table cloth and she started to dab it with a napkin and knocked over another
glass at the same time. She heard Husain laugh next to her.
"You're so fucking cute." He leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"Well excuse me if I don't know what to do in this...." She tried to find the
words. "Public grope session."
Husain laughed louder this time. "Grope session."
Jenny had to smile. Not exactly the best description. She turned and looked at him
and eh smiled at her and leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
"So fucking cute." He whispered against her mouth and then his hands started moving
again. She tried so hard not to react, but a small sigh escaped her mouth.
She was terrified that they would be caught out, but also highly aroused to be
doing this in public. There wasn't much space for maneuvering and all that Husain
could do at this angle without giving them away, was to gently stroke the top of
her thigh and graze her panties from time to time- but it was enough to drive her
wild.
God what am I about to do, what am I about to do, what am I about to do, what am I
about to do????
Jenny reached out and put her hand into Husain's lap, clearly he was not expecting
that and almost shot out of his seat causing the table to shake a little. This
amused her and she flashed him a little smile.
"Not as cool as you think you are." She said.
She ran her hand over him and he cleared his throat loudly and shuffled in his
chair. They were both getting a little breathless now.
Only a few meters away from them throngs of people were walking around chattering,
some were sitting at other tables and others were standing on the balcony smoking.
They all seemed too busy to notice the two of them being naughty under the table.
She had never done anything like this before. Jenny was feeling so bold now and she
decided to unzip his pants... but at this angle it was impossible. She tugged at
the zip a few times unsuccessfully. This caused them to both burst out laughing.
"Not so cool yourself." Husain said pulling his hand away. Jenny did the same and
they just sat next to each other staring.
"Ah you guys!!" Suddenly Rana was there and she was looking at them affectionately.
Jenny immediately blushed. Thank God Rana had not appeared a second earlier. She
glanced at Husain and it looked like he was blushing too.
"Look at you brother, is that a blush I see?" Rana said teasingly . "You are so
cute when you are in love." She said and walked away.
In love. In love. In love.
The phrase felt like it reverberated in the space between them. Jenny felt so
awkward and full of butterflies right now and out of the corner of her eye she
could see Husain looking exactly like she felt. They both turned their heads slowly
and met each other's eyes.
She could see his eyes looked like they were asking her a question. She
reciprocated with another questioning look.
"Are you in love with me?" Their eyes screamed the question to each other and they
both waited in silence for someone to give the answer. But no one did. Instead they
both kind of flushed coyly and looked away with smiles plastered across their
faces.
The rest of the evening dragged on so painfully. The food was served so slowly, and
conversation dragged. All Jenny could think about was being alone with Husain. They
had been stealing glances and small kisses with each other at a rather alarming
rate though. It seemed that every few seconds they were either looking at each
other and smiling, or planting soft kisses on each other.
But thankfully, they finally got a moment to be alone. People had started walking
over to the dance floor and dancing elegantly to the music. Jenny was so glad she
had taken dancing lessons as part of her drama classes as Husain took her by the
hand and lead her to the floor.
The second he held her hand and slipped his arm around her waist, they were back
into their own world again. She rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed
slowly to the music. His hand was gently making circles on her back as they danced
and every now and then, she would feel him plant a small kiss on her shoulder.
Songs came and went, and yet they still stayed dancing with each other. And then
suddenly Husain stopped dead on the dance floor. He lifted her face to his and he
stared into her eyes. It was so intense Jenny wasn't sure what to do about it.
"I think there's something I need to tell you." Husain finally said in a soft
gentle voice. "And I know it's probably going to sound completely ridiculous
but...I need to say it anyway."
"Yes?" Jenny swallowed hard, a feeling bubbling up inside her that she had never
felt before.
"I've never felt this way about anyone before." He traced his finger down her
cheek. "And I think... I think... " he stumbled on his words as he looked at her
with such wonder. "I think, and I know it sound crazy, but... I think I'm falling
in love with you."
It felt like the earth stopped turning on its axis and everyone in the room, in the
entire world had disappeared and it was just the two of them. Husain looked at her
with a look of expectation on his face. He looked vulnerable and childlike and
completely at her mercy.
"I... I think I feel the same way." Jenny said and felt her face break into a
smile. He reached up and took her face between his hands and kissed her softly.
Jenny took his hands in hers and threaded her fingers through his, and that is when
she noticed it...
The burn mark on his wrist.
She hadn't seen it before because of the large watch he always wore. She looked at
it for a moment or two and realized that it made him even more beautiful than he
had been to her a few seconds ago.

27
(It's a bit of a short one! I also wrote in a hurry, so there may be a few errors.)

HUSAIN
Husain didn't really care anymore that the evening was not yet officially over. He
had stayed long enough and now he wanted to be alone with the woman that he was
falling in love with- for the first time in his entire life. He took Jenny by the
hand and started walking her out the ballroom, as he exited though, he saw Amir
standing there waiting for them.
"Lovely evening." Amir said to them both with a smile that was so fake.
"Indeed." Husain forced a smile and clutched onto Jenny protectively. He didn't
know what is was about Amir, but standing here opposite him, he felt he needed to
keep Jenny away from him. To protect her. He squeezed her hard.
"I haven't had a chance to wish you happy birthday... cousin." Amir leaned in and
hugged him, planting two kisses on his cheeks. Amir felt cold. Icy. He was up to
something. Husain could sense it.
He pulled out of his grip and thanked him as sincerely as he could muster and
walked away with Jenny. He turned the corner and glanced back to find him standing
staring at them with a smile across his face that Husain didn't like at all.
JENNY
Jenny had been expecting that the two of them would rush straight back to the room
and rip each others clothes off, but they didn't. Instead Husain wanted to show her
something in the palace.
Palace! She couldn't believe she was in a palace. With a prince! How ridiculous! It
still amused her, but at the same time thrilled her. Husain led her through the
maze of corridors in the palace until they got to a large door at the end of one of
the many passages.
He pushed the huge door open and Jenny stepped into what looked like a massive, and
very old library. She gasped. She had never seen anything like it.
There were thousands of books, mostly old, as far as the eye could see. They were
lined up on ornate dark wooden shelves that reached all the way up to the ceiling.
There were ladders reaching up to the top shelves. A massive painted dome was
directly above their heads.
"It's amazing." Jenny said, still looking around. Husain took her by the hand and
led her through the books until they arrived in a massive lounge area, full of
tables and chairs and old sofas. One of the walls was completely covered in
paintings and this is what Husain wanted to show her.
She looked up at what looked like hundreds of portraits dating back hundreds of
years. This was the history of the royal family- Husain's history. The entire
royal family had all been hand painted exquisitely. She looked at the ones at the
bottom, and there he was.
"I wanted to show you my family." Husain said with a sad tone in his voice. He
pointed at a series of paintings of a family. "That was my aunt and uncle and my
cousins."
He stared up at the painting with a deep sadness in his voice. "They died in a
plane crash, that's the only reason I am in line to take the thrown next." He said.
Jenny swallowed hard. She didn't know what to say to that. He was sharing something
so intimate with her. All she could do was lace her fingers through his as he
looked up.
And then a painting of Rana caught her eye and she moved closer to it. She was
standing next to the most beautiful, black horse. It must have been-
"That was Rana's horse. She was an avid rider and loved that horse until... there
was a terrible accident and the stables caught on fire. It was lucky I was there to
save her otherwise, I don't even want to think about it."
The conversation with Amir came flooding into her mind again. The way he had told
her about it... there had been something so threatening in his tone.
"Sometimes I think this family is cursed." Husain said softly looking up at all the
painting. "Accidents seem to follow us around."
Jenny's blood ran cold. She couldn't say why or how, but she just knew it. It was
Amir. He was responsible for all these accidents. She could feel it and she
wondered if Husain had ever considered this before, or Rafiq? Someone must have
asked these questions before?
She was overcome with this desire to tell him what she thought. But it wasn't her
place and it was based on a hunch. No, it was based on a chilling feeling she had
gotten the very first moment she had seen him looking at her from the palace window
the day she had arrived.
But Husain was not in the right mind to talk about this. She could see that he was
deeply saddened and he had brought her here to show her another side of himself. So
she moved closer to him and wrapper her arms around him...
But she promised herself that she was going to ask Rafiq about this, tomorrow.

30

JENNY
She didn't know what to think as she walked hand- in- hand through the ever winding
corridors and passages of the palace. She had promised to let him draw her... how
bloody Titanic of them. She couldn't help a small smile as she thought of that
scene. Except of course Husain was way hotter than Leo, and Husain didn't have an
Oscar either- mind you, if there was an Academy awards show for best bedroom
performance, Husain would definitely walk home with that one. (She just hoped that
no one would die at the end of their movie...)
But what the hell was their end going to be? What was she expecting out of this? A
happily ever after, riding off into the sunset with Husain... yes. She actually
was expecting that, or hoping for it at least.
"So do you still think you're falling in love with me?" Husain stopped walking and
turned to face her with a smile. "You haven't changed your mind in the last ten
minutes or so?"
"Why? Have you?" Jenny was a bit taken aback by the question and the tone in her
voice did little to hide that. Husain's face broke out into a massive smile and he
took her by the hand and pulled her into the pose they had been dancing in.
"No. In fact, I think I might have moved on from the "falling" part." He swayed
with her to an invisible rhythm and was still smiling at her.
"You know there's no music, right?" Jenny reciprocated the smile. He'd moved on
from falling... wow!
"Just listen to the rhythm of your heart." He said with a playful tone in his
voice.
"Oh my God, you did not just say that!" Jenny burst out laughing and pushed him
backward. "That was the corniest thing anyone has ever said. Ever."
"I know, but I can't help feeling completely corny right now."
And with that, Husain wrapped his arms around her again and pulled her in for a
playful kiss. Jenny laughed against his mouth, she couldn't believe how much fun
she was having with him.
And how much she had also moved on from that "falling" part.
HUSAIN

Husain had never really felt that he could be himself around people. He probably
let Rafiq and Rana in, but no one else really knew him. Or rather, he didn't let
anyone know him- especially those meaningless faces that came through his bed. But
he no longer wanted meaningless faces, he wanted her face. He wanted to go to bed
with her and then wake up and look at her in the morning.
Fuck! But what did that mean? This was not him, at all. And although it felt good,
amazing actually, it also had caught him off guard. He also wondered if she knew
what a life with him would really entail, he would be King one day after all, and
Jenny didn't seem suited to this kind of life. She was a great actress and
pretender, he had seen that tonight, but deep down, this wasn't a life she would be
particularly comfortable with.
He pushed that thought out of his head and returned to the moment he was having
with her. Right now. The moment was perfect and he was going to focus on that
rather.
They came to their room and he pushed the door open. Suddenly he felt completely
shy and embarrassed. He had wanted to draw her, something he hadn't done in years.
The idea of doing it made him feel so strangely vulnerable though. Again, showing a
side to someone else that he usually kept well hidden.
|He was glad when Jenny took the reins. She did more that take the reins, though,
she took his breath away as well as she climbed out of her dress, let it fall to
the floor and stood in front of him in the lingerie he had bought her. She looked
better than he could have ever imagined, especially with that necklace. The soft
light of the bedroom gave her an ethereal quality and the light and shadows were
falling perfectly on her curves, accentuating them even further. He longed to run
his hands over them.
"So how do you want me?" She asked, a flirtatious sound in her voice.
How did he want her?
In every way possible.

31
*You may have to just put up with shorter posts for a while! :) Sorry guys, glad
you are enjoying the book though.
HUSAIN
He flashed back in his mind to a week ago. He imagined a half-naked woman standing
in front of him wearing lingerie and asking that question...what would his response
have been?
His response would not have been how he was about to respond. Far, far from it, but
like he knew already, everything about Jenny was different. Different in every
possible way. And not just that, he was a different man when he was around her.
"Okay..." He looked around at the room at the light. Where was the best place to
put her?
"Come here," He held his hand out and she took it, and even that small touch, that
tiny touch made him feel things that he had never felt before. How could such a
seemingly insignificant touch be doing so much to him right now.
He placed her on one of the many chaise lounges. The window was open, and there was
a small amount of light coming in from outside, from the pale glow of the moon to
the lights of the palace. The light just hit the one side of here, very gently and
softly. She lay back. She didn't look uncomfortable at all. He smiled at this. He
was seeing another side to her that he loved.
He took out his sketchpad and pencil and opened it. Not many people knew this about
him, but when he was a lonely child growing up here, he spent hours drawing. He
could draw the things that were on his mind, or he could draw the beauty around him
which made him forget the pain he was feeling. As he got older he started seeing
this as a sigh of weakness, though. It was pathetic that a grown man would want to
draw to feel better. A grown man could be doing other things to feel better- and so
he had. But truthfully, none of that had really made him feel better at all. It was
just a way to run away from himself and all those feelings that had tormented him
for so long.
But he wanted to draw Jenny so badly right now, and it wasn't to feel better about
anything this time, it was because he wanted to capture her beauty and the beauty
of the moment and keep it forever... in case there was a possibility that this
wouldn't last forever. It was a possibility after all. He could not fool himself
about that. This may not be the kind of life she wanted, or would choose.
He put his pencil to the paper and he just looked at her and got lost.

JENNY

She was trying not to look awkward, but let's face it, lying half-naked in front of
a man who was drawing her- was awkward. Right now he was staring at her,
scrutinizing every tiny line and shape.
"Are you ok?" Husain suddenly stopped drawing and looked up.
"I'm starting to feel a bit awkward." She smiled and tried to bite down a giggle.
"Ok, so talk to me." Husain smiled at her with the kind of smile that helped to
reassure her.
"What do you want to know?" Jenny asked.
"Everything."
Jenny laughed. "That's broad, care to narrow it down?"
"Um..." Husain lowered the notepad and looked at her with a naughty grin on his
face. She shivered, what was he going to ask her? It looked like the kind of
question which was about to make her blush and squirm.
"Tell me about your life growing up." His response surprised her. He lifted the pad
back up and his pencil went back down. The room was silent except for the noise of
the pencil on the paper.
"Ok," Jenny said. "Well, I can assure you that my childhood was totally different
to yours. I'm pretty sure that while you were going to fancy balls in Europe, I was
shearing sheep, feeding pigs and tossing bales of hay. "
Husain laughed loudly at that. "You can toss hay...? Do you know how fucking hot
that is?"
Now it was Jenny's turn to laugh.
"Sorry, what is sheep shearing by the way?" Husain shot her a playful smile and she
had officially forgotten that she was sprawled out on a couch, half-naked and being
drawn.
This made her feel completely comfortable, and so she started telling him
everything about her humble, dusty life in a small farming town. While she was
talking, though, it did start to dawn on her how different their lives were, this
frightened her. How could a girl that grew up running around barefoot be the kind
of girl that walked the halls of a palace. This was a real Cinderella moment for
her, and she just hoped that when the clock struck 12 and she took off the clothes
and the necklace and put her old second-hand crap back on, whether it would be the
same, and he would still feel the same way about her.
She talked for so long and about so much, that she hadn't noticed that he had
already put the sketchbook down.
"Are you done?" She suddenly became aware that he had folded his arms and legs, was
reclining on the chair and just looking at her listening. He nodded.
"I didn't want to tell you, I was so interested in learning about your pet chicken,
I've never met a person that had a pet chicken when she was younger."
Jenny burst out laughing. "Miss. Clucky was a really big part of my life."
"Miss Clucky?" Husain's laughed even more. "I have never met anyone that has made
me laugh like you do."
This stopped Jenny from laughing. It made her feel really great that she brought
out this fun, playful side in Husain. If someone had asked her a few days ago,
whether he even had this side, she would have said no. But it did exist and it was
the side the loved most about him.
"Can I see my picture?"
"Sure." Husain turned it towards her and she gasped. It was not what she was
expecting, at all.
"You... you," she stuttered. "You just drew my eyes." She looked up at him and he
nodded. She had expected him to draw her whole body, but he had only drawn her
eyes. Something about this made her feel so overwhelmed with feelings for this man.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I love you eyes." he said quietly to her taking her by the hand and puling
her closer. "Because I love you."

33
JENNY

"I... I...um, I...." Jenny stuttered stupidly, she couldn't help it. His words had
taken her breath away. The way he was looking at her, took her breath away. The
way he had drawn her eyes like that, took her breath away not to mention stole all
the words she could think of saying at this stage. This man had totally stolen her
heart. Full stop.
"I think what you're trying to say," Husain pulled her onto his lap, "Is that you
love me too?" He had a playful smile on his face.
Jenny nodded slightly. "Something like that." She said with a smile as she got
comfortable on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. He smelt good. There was
something about his scene that was so familiar and comforting, and if she could
have bottled the stuff and kept it, she would have. It was a mixture of hair gel
and cologne and there was the faintest hint of whiskey on his breath. Husain
wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug and they stayed there for
ages, holding onto each other. She felt so comfortable just sitting there on his
lap, she had almost forgotten that she was half -naked and wearing the lingerie
that he had bought her.
Husain finally pulled his head off her shoulder and cradled her head between his
hands, bringing her face all the way up to hers. "What do you want out of life?"
"What do you mean?" that was a rather large question that could mean a million
things.
"I'll start with your career, if acting doesn't work, do you have a backup plan, is
there anything else you want to do?"
Jenny shook her head, "I don't have a backup plan, which in retrospect is pretty
stupid. But I was a naive farm girl thinking that if you had some talent and worked
hard you could get somewhere. So, no, there is no plan b, other than going back to
the farm and sheering them sheep," She said it with a smile, but truthfully it was
the last thing she wanted to do. It wasn't that she had anything against that life,
she loved growing up on a farm and the simplicity of the kind of life it offered,
but ever since she was young she always just felt she was meant to do more.
Something. It was a feeling that she had and perhaps that was why she was attracted
to acting.
Husain looked at her strangely, as if he was formulating a question in his head,
his look unnerved her. There was something about the way he was looking at her
right now that made her both giddy with excitement and wildly nervous at the same
time.
"And other things...?" Husain sounded tentative and had a vaguely coy smile on his
face.
"Like, what things?" Jenny asked, she could feel that he was trying to lead the
conversation in a certain direction and it was making her heart pound fast.
"You know, marriage, kids the house and the dog and the white fence?"
She felt the heat rise up in her cheeks at the mere though. What was he asking her?
Jenny could barely look him in the eye now because he was looking at her with such
an intensity and expectancy.
"I'd love kids one day." She said softly and shyly.
"How many?" Husain smiled at her. He looked as shy as she felt right now.
"How many hypothetical kids would I like?" She couldn't help the giddy smile that
broke out across her face. And she couldn't stop her stupid mind from wandering
either... suddenly it wasn't her sitting on Husain's lap anymore, but a chubby, big
cheeked, red-faced, curly haired toddler that he was bouncing up and down.
Oh crap! Jenny knew she had to stop thinking like that. It was ridiculous and her
brain was jumping the gun to the extreme. She felt herself blush again.
"And you?" Jenny asked him, trying to deflect with a casual tone when nothing about
this conversation was casual. In fact, nothing about this conversation was even
vaguely within the parameters of casual, or normal. Taking about your hypothetical
children to a Prince, an actual heir to a thrown, when you are half-naked, wearing
lingerie, sitting on his lap and pretending to be his fiance.
"I always knew that I had to have kids one day." Husain said, interrupting her
thoughts, "I know that I have to provide heirs, but other than that, I hadn't
really thought about it..." he trailed off but kept looking at her. "I haven't
exactly been thinking about anything other than myself for quite a few years."
"And now?" She asked him.
"And now I am thinking about a lot of things other than myself." He leaned in and
kissed her. He kissed her so slowly and softly that his lips barely touched hers.
His hand left her back and went to her thigh, where he gently traced his fingertips
over it while planting soft, barely-there kisses on her lips. And then he stopped
kissing her and she felt him smile against her mouth, a small chuckle escaped his
lips.
"What?" Jenny asked smiling back at him.
"I was just thinking, hypothetically thinking." He said and kissed her again.
"Thinking hypothetically what?" She asked in between the kisses.
"I was just thinking, hypothetically, what you would be like with kids."
Jenny stopped kissing him and froze. This conversation was too much, it was making
her feel a little mad right now and was about to make her ovaries explode.
"And?" She asked, barely able to contain her excitement.
Husain stopped kissing her and just looked at her. "Well, I can imagine you with
girls, lots of them. Maybe three." He smiled at her and she felt herself melt.
"And they are all a handful. A loud, messy, feisty, red-haired handful." Husain
smiled, as if he was imagining them.
Jenny bit her lip, in an attempt not to scream something stupid at him like,
"Impregnate me now and let's have little princesses!"
"I bet you'd be a great mom." Husain said, his statement sounded loaded and he
looked at her, as if he was waiting for her to say something to him. Was she
supposed to say that he would be a great dad too. He actually would be, now that he
had revealed his softer side, the side that she was in love with- he would be a
great dad. But this conversation they were having... was this a strange
hypothetical conversation of their hypothetical children.
What was he trying to say to he here? That he wanted to have children with her?

Chapter 34
WATTPAD RANKINGS ARE FINALLY WORKING... LET'S GO FOR IT! Little bit short. But I'm
going to try and finnnish it now.
p.s bring out the Nachos, it's getting cheesey! :)
p.p. s I am writing very fast, so ignor and errors, I will come back and edit
later.
HUSAIN

The mood in the room had shifted. It was different now. It was like that moment
just before you kiss for the first time- nerves mingle with excitement and
anticipation and all your senses are alive and everything looks clearer, smells
better and your heart feels like it is expanding and might swell out of your chest,
or blow-up.
Husain had never experienced anything like this before. This was a feeling so
foreign to him, the feeling of...
Falling in Love!
He had only painted her eyes, that cheesy line about the eyes being the window to
the soul, well it was more than that. Because when he looked through that window,
he saw his future. He saw the future he wanted to have, and it was with her.
He felt his cheeks go red and he cleared his dry throat. "This is..." he stopped.
What words could he even put to this?
"I know." Jenny said leaning in and kissing him softly on the mouth. "I know." She
whispered again. He knew she was feeling the exact same thing he was, and that made
him happier than he'd ever been before.
He kissed her back. He tried to convey everything he felt for her in that kiss.
Tried to convey the depths of his feelings for her and the potential that he saw in
this- in them. The kiss was soft and slow and gentle. He was in no rush, which he
usually was in. There was no big finish line in front of him, only a journey with
her that he was excited to go on.
They stayed kissing for the longest time. Every time their lips left each other,
even for a split-second, it felt like he needed them back. He'd never kissed anyone
like this before. This whole experience had been one of 'first's'. Her hand was on
his face and he touched it, he ran his fingers over it and felt the ring. Maybe the
ring should just stay there, permanently?
Premature, totally fucking crazy, spontaneous and a bit mad...? He didn't care.
Because it felt right. And everyone thought they were engaged already.
He smiled against her mouth thinking about asking her to marry him. For real. God,
this was mental. He'd known her for a few days, but just knew this was right.
But he'd have to do something spectacular. She deserved spectacular. A few days ago
he'd slipped the ring onto her finger begrudgingly, he needed to change all that.
He stopped kissing her and stood up. "Come." he extended his hand for her to take.
"Where?" She looked up at him, she looked amazing. Her pupils were dilated, her
cheeks were flushed, her lips were moist from kissing and her hair was tussled.
"Put on some clothes, it's a surprise."
Jenny looked at him suspiciously and smiled. "Ok." She said tentatively and walked
and rummaged through her suitcase. She took out a pair of yoga pants and an old t-
shirt. She slipped on some comfortable looking sneakers that were well past their
expiry date. She looked amazing. She could probably wear a plastic bag Husain
thought, and she would still look good.
His heart started pounding. Was he really about to do this?
Was he really about to propose to Jenny and ask her to become his wife and future
Queen?

Chapter 35

JENNY
Husain had a very strange look on his face as he lead her through the palace again.
You needed GPS tracking coordinates to find your way around it. If she ventured
out here, she would get lost. No doubt about it.
She held his hand and could barely keep up he was walking so fast. He seemed
excited and nervous and desperate to get to their final destination.
He finally stopped in front of a small door at the end of the long corridor they
had just been half-running down. This looked like an older section of the palace.
It was unrenovated and when she looked around, she could almost imagine all the
many generations living their lives out here over hundreds and hundreds of years.
This place was so steeped in history and stories.
Husain pushed the door open to reveal a large cobweb. Clearly no one had been here
in ages.
"Uh..." she paused. "I hate spiders." She looked in and cringed. Where there were
cobwebs, there were spiders.
"Don't worry, I'll kill them all for you." Husain said putting on a valiant
sounding voice.
"My hero." She said teasingly. "Will you also slay the dragon and kill the wicked
witch?"
"Sure." He said, a playful smile dancing on his face. "Only if you give me the
'happily ever after'."
Jenny burst out laughing. "Touche." She said as she started following Husain up a
long, narrow and very winding flight of stairs. It felt like they were climbing up
a large tower. This was very Rapunzel of them.
The only light they had was coming from the touch Husain had on his cell phone. She
wished there wasn't any light actually, because every now and then it would
illuminate a spider. Ignorance is bliss, she thought. She would have preferred not
to see them at all.
The stairs seemed to go on and on forever and Jenny started to feel a little out of
breath. "I knew I should have spent more time on the Stairmaster," she said taking
a break.
Husain turned to face her, he was also out of breath. "When I was young, I could
run up these without even breaking a sweat," he said.
"Must be old age catching up to you."
They stood for a few moments and then carried on. The stairs climbed higher and
higher. Finally they reached the top and came face-to-face with an old wooden door
that looked like it hadn't ever been opened. Cobwebs covered it and she cringed.
Husain looked at it for a moment and then pulled his suit jacket off.
"Only one thing to do." He said using his jacket to wipe the white mess away. A
small door handle came into view and with some hard tugging and pushing, the door
finally opened.
They walked into a small round room which was indeed right at the top of a tower.
Jenny slowly approached one of the windows and looked out. She gasped at the sight
of it all. From here you could see everything. You could gaze across the sea and
see the twinkling lights of the other small islands and the bright lights of the
capital city. You could look all the way back on the Palace, dear God it was
massive. The manicured lawns, and gardens and water fountains spread out in front
of the palace going all the way to the end where the giant cliffs began. It was
magnificent.
She turned and looked at Husain who was staring at her nervously. He bit his bottom
lip as if he had just stopped a thought from coming out.
"What?" She asked.
"Um..." he paused and looked at her as if he was carefully considering his next
words. "Um..." he stuttered again.
Jenny's heart began to race as he started dropping to the ground and her hands flew
up over her mouth as he was suddenly on one knee in front of her.

Chapter 36
HUSAIN
Husain stared up at her from one knee, and if he had had any reservations before,
they all vanished when he saw the look in her eyes.
"When I was young I used to come up here because I could see the whole country. In
fact, it used to think I could see the entire world from up here. I'm going to
become King one day and everything you see, will be mine to rule over and govern.
So when I ask you to keep that ring on your finger for all the right reasons this
time, I'm not just asking you to become my wife, but I am also asking you to become
my Queen and help me reign over everything you see in front of you."
"Oh my God," she whispered, her voice almost inaudible.
"So, Jenny, my fake fiance, will you consider becoming my real fiance and making me
the happiest man on the planet because I am totally and utterly in love with you
and I have never felt this way before."
Jenny blinked a few times. Her eyes widened, in shock? Maybe she wasn't expecting
this and maybe she wasn't ready. A silence descended on the small room and suddenly
he started to panic. Jenny finally let go of his hand and walked over to the window
and looked out. Husain stood up and walked up to her. She was gazing out across the
sea.
"I'm not..." She started, "I'm just a girl from a farm. I'm not fancy and royal and
I can't even pay my rent, let alone look after an entire country. I can barely live
up to my responsibilities now, and I..." She turned and looked at him. Her eyes
shined in the moonlight as they watered up. "Are you sure I'm the right person for
the job, I mean-"
Husain cut her off and grabbed her by both hands. "You're the only person for the
job." He said as firmly and matter-of-factly as he could.
"I know nothing of global politics and the economy and foreign affairs and-"
"You'll learn. You are the smartest women I've ever met, besides I don't need your
brain for this, just your heart and that is more than enough." Husain's heart
started to pound. He'd already suspected all this, that maybe she would not be
ready for this kind of life and responsibility.
"I'm not going to lie to you," he continued, "a life like this is never entirely
yours. It comes with responsibility and things you don't want to do. But there is
no one I want more to do those things with, than you. And there is no one better
for the job and no one better to..." he stopped, "Well, we are going to need heirs
at some point." he smiled at her and she finally cracked a tiny smile, despite the
fact that a small tear had just dislodged itself.
Husain stared at her, trying to urge her into saying yes. That was the only word he
wanted to hear right now. He would give anything to hear that word.
"And what about all your... your....the parties and the women and-"
"I don't want that anymore. I want you. That's in my past, you are my future.
That's over." He suddenly felt that feeling again, the feeling he had only ever
felt when he was with her. He felt embarrassed and ashamed of the way he'd carried
on these last several years. He was ready to change all that, he was ready to be
King too. He loved his country and his people, and it was time to step up. With her
by his side, he knew he could do this.
Jenny suddenly smiled at him and relief started to wash over him in waves. "You
haven't asked my father yet. He's a traditional man who owns several shot guns... "
"Give me your phone. I'll call him right now." Husain held his hand out.
Jenny shook her head. "He'd never believe you. He'd think it was a prank call."
"So let's hop on a plane right now. We'll fly there tonight and I'll ask him in
person."
Jenny let out a small chuckle, "It's ok. I'm sure he won't shoot you. I'm sure he'd
be ok with it."
Husain waited for the words, but they didn't come. "So is that a yes then?" He
asked.
Jenny nodded. "Yes. Ok. Yes. I'll do it. Yes."
Husain threw his arms around her and hugged her. "Thank you," he whispered in her
ear.
He pulled away and looked at her with a giddy feeling. They smiled at each other
stupidly as if they both had no idea what to do now.
"Now what?" Jenny asked with a coy smile and laugh.
Husain shrugged. "I don't know. I've never done this before."
They locked eyes and suddenly the mood changed. It went from playful and giddy to
something else entirely and he suddenly knew exactly what he wanted to do with her.
"I want to make love to my fiance."

The great sex scene

Guys, I get soooooooo bored writing sex scenes. Seriously, they are my worst. There
are only so many bloody ways of describing it. Really! There are only so many ways
of describing it on a strictly biological level- I mean, it goes in, it goes out.
And then there are only so many ways of describing it emotionally.
I was actually going to skip this sex scene and just have them wake up the next
morning but then I thought... I thought I would do something totally silly here-
you guys write it. NOT JOKING! Pop a short sex scene in the comments below and that
way, we will have lots to read. (I'll sit back and relax and let someone else do
the thinking for a change- because I have totally run out of adjectives to describe
orgasms and amazing sex and love and look- into- my- eyes-and-say-you-love-me sex
and feelings rushing over me etc.)
Have a go! Make it what you want, who knows, maybe Jenny has had a secret whip in
her suitcase this whole time :) Read the next chapter to see where they stand in
the morning!
JO X

Chapter 37

JENNY
Jenny woke up tangled in his arms again. Husain was still asleep and for a moment,
she wondered if this had all just been a dream. Some strange, fairytale dream.
Because stuff like this doesn't happen in real life. Especially to girls like her.
She held her hand up in the air, catching one of the sunbeams shooting through the
window. She moved it around allowing the light to bounce off her ring. Pink and red
dots shot out in all directions, playing on the walls and the ceiling. It was like
a kaleidoscope of color.
Jenny turned and watched Husain sleeping in total silence. She thought she could
watch him for hours- even though he was doing nothing at all other then motionless
breathing. But he looked perfect doing it. He was just the right combination of
cute and totally hot all at the same time.
Last night had been amazing, more so than any other night. He hadn't stopped
telling her how much he loved her they had sealed the deal- officially this time.
She was his real fiance now and she had never felt happier and more loved.
Husain finally stirred and opened his eyes.
"Morning." He said sleepily. His voice sounded husky and deep, and God it was sexy.
"Morning."
"Morning fiance." He added with a tiny smile.
"Morning fiance." Jenny echoed.
Husain pushed himself up on his elbow and looked at her. "I want to wake up like
this every single morning."
"Me too."
"Promise me we'll never fight and you'll never make me sleep on the couch or
something." Husain reached out and took a strand of hair in his fingers and twirled
it. He let it go and the curl contracted and bounced back up.
"I can't promise you that." Jenny said with a smile. "We might fight sometimes."
"What do you think we'll fight about?" he asked. "TV remotes, toilet seats being
left up, not washing the dishes."
Jenny burst out laughing. "I doubt you have ever washed a dish in your life."
"This is true." Hussain said suddenly rolling over and climbing on top of her. He
propped himself up on his elbows and gazed down at her.
"This is the perfect morning."
Jenny nodded. It was. It was perfect.
"I never want it to end." She said back to him.
"It doesn't have to, we can stay in bed for the rest of our lives."
Jenny laughed trying to imagine that. Ruling a country from the soft, comfy
confines of a bed.
"We can at least stay in bed the whole day today." Husain said with a naughty glint
in his eye.
Jenny's inner sex kitten smiled back at him. On top of everything else, Husain had
unleashed something in her that couldn't be tamed. She didn't want to tame it, she
was only just beginning.
"This is the perfect morning." Husain said. "There is nothing in the world that
could ruin it."
But with that, with those words that Husain had just muttered, they both turned at
the sound of a loud knock on the door. The knock grew louder and more frantic and
they both shot out of the bed. Panic gripped her as an icy feeling run up her
spine.
"I'm coming in." It was Rafiq's voice and he sounded panicked. Jenny and Husain
were both naked, but Rafiq burst in. She grabbed a sheet and held it over her, but
a naked Husain was on his feet.
"For God sake, put something on. Quickly." Rafiq said to Husain shielding his eyes.
"What's going on?" Husain asked Rafiq, Jenny could hear the worry in his voice. "Is
it my sister. Has something happened."
Jenny knew why this would be his first, gut reaction.
Rafiq shook his head. "It's Amir. He's found out what's going on. He called a
private investigator, he knows everything. He know's Jenny is an actress, he knows
this is a lie. He even has photo's of you from the night before we came here..."
Rafiq shot Husain and pointed look and he face palmed.
"Oh shit. That." Husain gave Jenny a quick guilty look and her stomach turned.
"He's been watching you this whole time. He's taken it all to the King and he
hasn't stopped shouting treason for the last half hour. I think he's called the
Royal Gaurd to arrest Jenny."
"What!" Hussain actually shouted. "But we're engaged now. I asked her to marry me
last night. We're in love, I'll just explain it. I'll explain that it started out
as a lie, but it's real now. It's real."
Rafiq shook his head violently. "And you really think they are going to believe
that, especially in the light of all that photo evidence and then the fact you are
paying her. And even if they do believe it, you lied to them, and you know what
your father is like when it comes to things like that."
Husain's face grew dark and angry. "I'll fucking kill Amir if he does anything to
my future wife." he said with such venom and hatred that Jenny actually believed
him
Rafiq pursed his lips, "You might have to at this point.
Jenny felt a bowling ball drop into her stomach. It almost knocked the wind out of
her. She remembered the way he'd spoken to her and looked at her with those cold
lifeless eyes. She was suddenly terrified. And as if on cue, Amir suddenly appeared
in the doorway.

Chapter 38
Sorry. Just a super quick one- all I can manage for now, will get another one up
asap!
HUSAIN
He was just standing there in the doorway. Husain glanced up and met his eyes and a
sickening feeling rose up in his stomach. And then something happened and it made a
cold shiver run but Husain's spine.
It was a tiny smile at first, and then it grew a little more, and more, until Amir
was staring at Husain with such a self-satisfied smile that he wanted to wipe it
off with his fist. Maye even a boot.
"Cousin," he said with a cunning smile in his voice. "Your father... the king,
wants to see you in his study."
His words were so deliberate and calculating.
"And why are you here telling me that?" Husain spat the words at him. "Why isn't my
father delivering the message himself?"
Amir shrugged casually. "I guess I wanted a front row seat to the show."
"Show?" Husain asked.
"Or shall I say, act. All the world is a stage, isn't that right... Jenny?" Amir
turned and looked at her and Husain felt rage and anger bubble up inside him. He
was overwhelmed by this feeling to protect and shield her from his. He walked over
and stood in front of Jenny.
"Don't you dare speak to my fiance like that." His tone was loud and firm.
Amir burst out laughing. It was the cackle of a sickening hyena. "Fiance! I'll
admit you two are convincing and I must say, it's been really entertaining to
watch. But I'm afraid the final curtain is about to come crashing down on this
little charade of yours."
"This is not an act, Amir. I've asked Jenny to marry me. I've-"
Amir cut his off by throwing a file on the floor. It skid across the floor and
landed at his feet. Everyone looked down at it as if an elephant had just moved
into the room.
"Jenny, why don't you do the honors." Amir gestured with his hand.
"No! Leave her out of this." Husain picked the file up. "And whatever the hell is
in here, it will not change my feelings for this women."
Amir smiled again. "It might change her feelings for you, cousin." his voice was
sly and slid across the room like a snake in the grass.
Husain turned and looked at Jenny. Her eyes had moved down to the file in his
hands. He knew what was going to be in here- some version of it anyway. But he
didn't want to keep secrets from Jenny, and he was leaving all of that behind.
Husain opened the file slowly and he immediately heard Jenny gasp next to him.
Husain felt sick to the stomach. 2 naked girls, 1 Husain, 1 hot-tub a lot of
champagne.
"You will notice the date on that Jenny, I believe that happened only the night
before you got engaged...you're father found that very interesting."
"Fuck you!" Husain moved across the room. He was going to do it. He was going to
punch this guy. He should have punched him years ago. But as he raced across the
room Rafiq stopped him.
"No. This is not the way to do it." Rafiq whispered in his ear. "You are better
than this. Better than him. Go and talk to your father."
"I'll give you some time to slip into something more...." Amir looked Husain up and
down with disgust, "... something more appropriate." He gave the room one more
smile before closing the door behind him and disappearing.

Chapter 40
JENNY
As soon as Amir closed the door Husain jumped into action.
"It's going to be ok." He turned to Jenny and grabbed her by the shoulders. "It's
going to be ok." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself, more than
trying to reassure her. It made her nervous.
"I'm going to speak to my father and explain this is real and... and..." He
stumbled. She could see he was trying to figure out what the hell he was going to
say, and she could see by the panic on his face and the way he was looking at her,
that he was not as confident as he was trying to come across as.
"It's going to be ok." he said again and started reaching for his clothes that were
strewn across the floor. It's going to be..." he put his shirt on and turned to
Jenny one last time before kissing her on the cheek.
"I'll see you now." he rushed out the door with a reassuring pat on the back from
Rafiq. She grabbed her clothes too and rushed off to the bathroom to change. When
she came out Rafiq was sitting on a couch looking very worried. It unnerved Jenny.
"What?" She asked.
He shook his head. "I just have such a bad feeling about this. Such a bad feeling."
"Like what?" Jenny's blood ran cold.
"Pack your bag." He said standing up.
"Why?"
"I just... just... pack your bag in case we need to get you out of here quickly."
He started moving around the room in urgency.
"Why would you need to get me out of here quickly?" She asked watching him with a
growing sense of panic.
"I just think that Amir is more dangerous than any of us...." he paused and looked
at her as if he was deciding what to say. "I just think he's dangerous and won't
stop at anything."
Jenny stopped. This was the time to say it. "You mean the fire, and the plane
crash?"
Rafiq's eyes widened in shock and met hers with intensity. "You... you.... how do
you?"
"It's a feeling I got. He came up to me at the stables and told me about the fire
and there was something in his tone that, it seemed insincere. Like he was acting.
A bad act."
Rafiq looked sad. "I've always suspected he had something to do with it, but I
couldn't prove it."
"Have you spoken to Husain about it?" She asked.
Rafiq nodded. "I tried to tell him once, but he refused to believe that someone he
had grown up with, a family member would do that. He knows Amir is a snake, but
from that to murder, it's a big leap for anyone to make."
"And the plane crash?" Jenny asked.
Rafiq nodded again. "It was very convenient. He stood to gain and it was a freak
accident... too much of a freak accident maybe. I don't know, it's hard to imagine
that anyone could resort to murder. That makes him a total psychopath, and that is
a massive leap from 'bad man'"
Jenny agreed. Just because you're a devious snake, it doesn't make you a murder.
But she just had a feeling. "What do you think? What does your gut tell you?"
"My gut tells me that we cannot afford to rule the possibility out. Pack your
bags."
And with that, Jenny packed them. She didn't have much to pack, just a few items,
most of the bag was packed already. She packed Husain's as well and when she was
done, she and Rafiq sat on one of the couches looking at each other.
"What do you think is going on now right now?" Jenny asked nervously.
"I don't know. All I know is it's not going to be good. The king is not going to
take being lied to very well, even if it's no longer a lie.."
"It really isn't a lie anymore." Jenny quickly added in case Rafiq had any doubts.
"I know." he smiled up at her. "Believe me, I know. I've known Husain since he was
a boy and I have never seen him like this before. He's in love with you and trust
me when I say that what you saw in that photo, that is really not him."
"Who is it then?" She asked feeling a little sick at the thought of it again.
"It's a man who's been lost and looking for something to make him feel better. But
he's found it now, and it's you."
"I hope so." Jenny said quietly.
"Trust me." Rafiq said matter-of-factly.
And Jenny did trust him. She had since the moment she met him. But she didn't trust
Amir, and Rafiq was right, he was dangerous. And she also had a bad feeling about
it all. Very bad.

Exciting New Project

I am interrupting your reading pleasure to tell you that I have just started a very
fun, super-exciting project with Sarah L White! Apologies if you have already seen
this, but I am so excited about this I have to make sure you all know about it.
DRUM ROLL....

Have you ever wanted to vote a character out of a book? Good...We're going to let
you!
When a billionaire bachelor is forced into a reality TV show to find his wife, 13
beauties are cast as his potential future Mrs.! Each week the Wattpad audience will
be voting off a beauty and will read about our Prince Charming denying her a
bouquet. (Starting to Sound Familiar?)

You readers will have all the control!! Read along as he gets to know each woman
and gets some great love advice from a brilliant journalist on set (That's me-
although I'm not sure how great that advice will be ;). She's snarky and oh so
pissed to have to participate in a show that sets women back fifty years! (Yup,
that's me.)

It's going to be full of romance, humor and some sticky fun cheese :) Please jump
over to our joint profile page and follow so you can get the latest news about our
story, Mr. Prince Charming. And if you are not following Sarah, go there too for
added content.
Find our profile here and more links in the comment section. Please follow us, like
and vote and spread the news.

So here we go.... 1 Billionaire Bachelor, 12 Beauties, but only one bouquet!

https://www.wattpad.com/user/SarahJoWrite x
But back to this story... stand by for updates asap!
JO X

Chapter 41
HUSSAIN
Husain walked towards his father's office, a huge black sense of foreboding with
growing inside him and following him down the long corridor. This would not be
good. There were a few things his father prized above everything else in this
world, and honesty was one of them.
Husain thought back to the time he was just a boy and his father had smacked him.
It was the only time his father had ever raised a hand to him. Husain had been
thirteen years old and he had been angry and resentful. He had been taken away from
his old life, his friends, his school and had been moved onto an isolated island,
into the palace with no one to keep him company.
He had snuck out one afternoon and joined his friends on the mainland- they'd done
what they usually did after school in the afternoons. They had gone down to the
beach and played a game of cricket on the sand. Then they had hooked up with a
group of girls, gone cliff jumping in a popular swimming place and hung out all
afternoon. Normal teen boy stuff. He'd lied to his father about where he was going
that day, though, and when his photo had landed up in the paper the next day,
"Prince enjoys day out at the beach" his father had flipped.
It wasn't so much what he had been doing- it had been the lying part that had
pissed him off the most. His father prized honestly so much, that anyone who lied
to him once, even a tiny white lie was almost beyond forgiveness. "Lies erode, lies
chip away at a man's character, lies invite chaos and disaster into one's life,
lies change a man for the worst," those had been his words.
Rafiq had told Hussain something in confidence once, that his grandfather, his
father's father, had had an illicit, secret affair. A secret affair that he had
lied to his wife and family about and kept a secret- his father had learned about
the affair in his early twenties and he had never forgiven his father. Which
brought Husain to the second thing his father hated; impropriety. Sexual
inappropriateness. And Hussain was guilty of that.
His father had made it very clear over the years that Husain's behaviour was
unacceptable. And the third thing his father held in high esteem; duty. Duty to his
country and to his people. This is something he and his father had in common,
Hussain was more than happy to rule and live up to his duties when the time came.
But his father's life had been entirely focused on this. His life was focused and
centered around ruling and being the best King he could- at the expense of the
family though.
So as Husain approached his father's study, he was very aware that he had broken
three of this father's cardinal rules. He would never be forgiven. In fact, if his
father did not disown him, he would be surprised. But at this stage, he didn't
care. Jenny was more important than any of that. His priorities had changed.
Nothing in the world would change his mind about that.
He opened the doors to find his father and Amir already seated at the table. His
father had a massive table in his office, he didn't need anything that size and
Hussain knew that its purpose was more to intimidate. It wasn't a functional
reason, it was psychological. His father was all about intimidation, and today
would be no exception.
Hussain sat and his father glared at him in silence. He had a file in front of him,
no doubt some dossier collected by a private investigator that Amir had hired. His
father fingered a photo of him and simply stared at Hussain with such anger and
hatred. Hussain tried to be strong, he tried to keep up his cool, cocky facade, but
it was failing. Every boy wants their father approval. Every boy wants his father
to be proud of him- his father had never been either. And it wasn't for lack of
trying on Hussain's part- when he was younger he had done all he could to please
his father, but it was never enough. That's why at eighteen he had left and hadn't
given a shit. He knew that his behavior over the years had been a kind of defiant
rebellion against his father. Maybe his rebellion had gone too far this time.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" he could see it was taking all of this
father's energy and control not to launch across the table at him right now.
Hussain straightened up. He collected himself and he managed to get his mask in
place. "About what?" he said defiantly crossing his arms in a casual pose that
said, "I don't give a shit"
"About what. About what?!" This time all the King's control slipped and he did
launch across the table. He grabbed Husain by the shirt and ripped him out of his
chair. He stood him up and put his face close to his. His father was beyond mad at
this stage. His father was seething and the look in his eye made a cold shiver run
up his spine.
His father looked like he was about to kill him. He glanced behind him to see that
Amir had also stood up. Amir glared at him and suddenly Hussain felt like he might
actually be in danger.
Was he in danger at this stage?

Chapter 42
*I am writing quickly, excuse mistakes for now, I will come back and edit.
HUSSAIN
His father backed him into a wall until his back was against it and he couldn't get
out of his father's grip.
"You lied to me. You brought a common slut and paid her to be your fiance this
weekend. You tried to deceive you mother and I, you tried to deceive all the
dignitaries and the other royalty that were at your party. You came her and you
made a fool out of all of us. You made a fool out of all this family stands for and
as a result have disgraced yourself and betrayed your country with your lies." the
words shot out of his father's mouth like bullets along with a fleck of spit that
landed on Husain's cheek. "If it wasn't for Amir here, you might have actually
gotten away with it."
Amir walked up to him, "You have mocked us all by bringing a prostitute here-"
"She is not a prostitute." Husain's anger at that gave him an adrenalin surge
strong enough to break free of his father's grip and grab Amir by the scruff of his
neck.
"Guards!" Amir managed to shout as Husain pushed Amir across the room and into the
desk.
Husain looked around as four armed guards rushed into the room and grabbed Husain.
Amir looked up at Husain and smiled a smile that was just pure evil. He'd wanted to
provoke Husain to this, in fact, Husain was giving Amir exactly what he wanted
right now.
"Of him." The King barked at the guards and dismissed them with a violent swish of
his arm. "Go!" He screeched. The guards listened and excited. He turned to Husain.
"But if you do that again, I will personally call them in and have you arrested."
Husain's mouth dropped open. "Arrested?" Wasn't his father taking this a bit far.
"And we'll have that common slut arrested too." Amir hissed.
Husain clenched his fists and moved forward again but stopped himself and reeled
his anger in. "She is not a prostitute."
"Did an exchange of money take place for services rendered?" Husain asked with a
self-satisfied smile.
"Yes, but-" Husain started.
"But nothing." His father added.
"I admit it was like that at first, but I'm in love with her. We're in love and
I've proposed to her."
His father rushed across to the file, took out a handful of photos and threw them
in Husain's face. "Then explain this!"
The pictures his Husain hard, bounced off him and fluttered to the floor. He looked
down at them.
"Taken one night before you came here.... strange way to be in love with someone,
don't you think?" Amir said.
"But this is over now, Jenny is my future and this is something I am going to leave
in the past and-"
"YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT!" His father screamed now. "When all you have done
to us for the last six years is lie. You lied. You lie about everything and nothing
that comes out of your mouth is honorable or true."
"This is not a lie." Husain barked back.
Amir shot forward again and approached the King. "Even if it is true, your majesty,
this woman is not a future Queen. She is a commoner, a farmers daughter, a liar, a
woman who accepts money to lie. She is a cheat. A deceiver."
The King nodded and then started pacing up and down the room. He looked deep in
thought and Husain wondered if he was thinking about killing him and disposing of
his body, the way Amir was looking at him right now, he was pretty sure that was
what he was thinking.
"There is only one way to make this right." His father finally said, stopping at
the window and looking out.
Husain glanced over at Amir and he was practically gloating now.
"You will break-up with her, yes it will be an embarrassment, it will be a scandal,
but we will reveal that she lied to all of us about who she was. You will be
devastated by the news of finding out what kind of person she is and then you will
get engaged to, and marry the Dutchess Sophia and when I step down, which will be
soon, you will become King and she will become Queen. That was what has alway been
intended anyway."
"WHAT?" Amir screamed at the same time as a loud "what" escaped Husain's lips too.
"You can't be serious you majesty. You cannot let him be King now after what he has
done. He cannot be King." Amir looked panicked now. "He's a liar. He committed
treason, he is untrustworthy, he deceived you, he-"
"Enough!" The King bellowed. "That is what I want and that is what is going to
happen."
"No father. It's not. I am not marrying her. Never."
"Well then, Amir will be King."
At this Hussain stopped dead in his tracks. The panic washed off Amir's face and
was replaced by a smile. This was what he wanted all along. But Husain knew that
Amir could never be King. He would be the worst ruler ever. He would abuse his
power- and God knows what he would do with it. He was the kind of man that didn;t
care about anything else but himself. He would probably become one of those evil
dictators that history writes about one day. With Amir as King, Husain knew that
his country and everyone in it would suffer.
"Let me marry Jenny and then I will become King. I promise I'll leave everything
behind, I'll be a better man, a different man and I will marry her and we will have
heirs, just like you want and we will be-"
"NO!" His father screamed again. And then his father did something totally
unexpected. He dropped his head, his face contorted into a look that Husain had
never seen before and he walked over to a chair and sat down. He gestured for
Husain to do the same. Husain obeyed him, there was something in his demeanour that
had changed the mood in the room- from rage to sombre.
"I'm dying." he said in a calm tonned voice.
"What?" Husain leapt up and moved closer to his father. His father blocked him and
gestured for him to sit again.
"The doctors don't know what it is. They can't find a cause, but I know that I am
dying. There is something wrong with me and I can feel that my life is coming to an
end."
Husain studied his father's face. He was serious. He was telling the truth.
"I am stepping down soon and you must be King." Husain heard Amir shuffle next to
him.
"But... but... what do the doctors say?" Husain asked.
"My organs are failing. The doctors cannot find a cause."
"But there has to be a reason. Organs can't just fail, the doctors must be able to
do something surely-"
The King cut him off with a hand. "There is nothing. If they do not know what it
is, they cannot treat it. I'm dying."
"But there must be something they can do." Husain continued.
"I do not want them to do anymore. I have spent so much time at the hospital, they
have poked me and prodded me and run every test then can, I cannot live like that
anymore."
Husain didn't know what to feel at this point. Shock. Anger. Sadness. His father
had just told him, out of the blue he was dying, he didn;t even know he was sick...
and that is when the guilt descended. How did he not know his father was even sick?
How had he not known that his father was in and out of hospital. Why had no one
told him.
"Do mom and my sister know."
"Your mother knows, I have not told your sister."
"How did she not know you were in hospital"
"I told her I was away on business, it has been kept very quiet."
"And you?" Husain turned to Amir, "Do you know."
"Amir has been very supportive." The King said. This made Husain feel even
guiltier.
Had he really been such a bad son, that his own father had chosen not to tell him,
but instead had chosen to tell Amir? Husain felt like the worst person in the world
right now. How the hell was he ever going to make this right, or forgive himself?
"That is why you need to marry the Dutchess and you need to become King before I am
gone. Before it is too late, and time is running out."
Husain hung his head, "I can't. I'm in love with Jenny. I want to marry her."
"Do you think I was in love with your mother when I married her? Do you think my
father loved my mother when he married her, and my father's father? You do not get
to choose when you are King. This is not a job that comes with being selfish, you
have to put your people first, that is just how it works."
"I, I can't." Husain shook his head. The King's demeanour changed and he stood up.
He walked across the room and placed a hand on Amir's shoulder. "Then I have no
choice but to make Amir King."
Husain gasped. "What? You can't, I am next in line I am-"
"I am King, I can do whatever I want. And if you are not prepared to give up this
women and live up to your duties, Amir will be King."
Husain's heart plummeted. Amir could not be King. Amir could not be King. The
gravity of the situation suddenly sunk in. he was being put in a place where he had
to choose.
Hussain was going to have to choose between his happiness and the welfare and
future of every single citizen living in this country.
Husain felt a pain in his chest. His heart started to break.

Chapter 44
JENNY
Jenny's bag was packed and she sat on the couch wringing her hands. She had never
felt more sick and nervous in her entire life. Rafiq had left to find out what was
happening and she had been all alone in this room with nothing but her torturous
thoughts to keep her company. A loud knock on the door suddenly startled her and
she almost jumped out of her skin.
"Rafiq?'" She got up and ran to the door, swinging it open. But it was not Rafiq,
instead standing in front of her when three guards.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Come with us please." One of them spoke.
"Where? Why? Where is Husain?" She stumbled over her words feeling very confused
and fearful. What the hell was going on here? Something bad was going on here.
"Just come with us." The man said again in a voice that frightened her even more.
"No." She said firmly trying hard to stand her ground.
The one stepped forward and reached out as if he was about to take her by the arm
forcefully. "Do not make this any harder than it needs to be. Come with us." At
that, one of the guards walked into her room and grabbed her bag. Jenny was frozen
in terror and all she wanted right now was Hussain. Or Rafiq to tell her what was
happening.
"Now!" the man said again even firmer than before.
Jenny nodded and followed them. She walked in absolute terror as they lead her
through the palace. She had no idea where she was going, and suddenly she thought
of Amir and what he was capable of and she wondered if she was even going to be
coming back from this. A sudden bolt of panic gripped her and she turned and made a
run for it. But within seconds, two of the guards had grabbed her by the arms and
were now dragging her through the palace forcefully.
"Hussain!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Rafiq! Help!" She continued to
scream but all she heard back was her voice echoing around the place.

HUSAIN

Husain was all alone in his father's study now. His father had exited with one
sentence. "Do the right thing." He'd said. And then he had placed a hand on his
shoulder and squeezed. "Make me proud before I die." And then his father had bent
down and placed a kiss on his forehead and left.
Despite the fact that a part of his heart felt like it was breaking, another part
had swelled. His father hadn't touched him like that is years, or spoken to him
like that either. And he so badly wanted to make his father proud. This was also
his father's dying wish, how could he betray this, and betray his country, and just
for his own happiness?
Husain was left sitting there alone with his thoughts and feelings. His mind
repeated something over and over again. His father was dying... Amir would be
King... his father was dying... if he did not get married to the right person...
Amir would become King.
He could not let Amir become King. It would certainly spell disaster for his
country, and how could he let his father down now. How could he not do what had
been asked of him? It was his duty, wasn't it?
He dropped his head and held it in his hands as an image of Jenny came flooding in.
Jenny... he had fallen in love with her. He had never been in love before and she
was the best person he had ever met, and she brought out the best in him like no
one had ever done before. He would never be able to love Sophia. Never. And he no
longer thought he would ever be able to have sex for sport again. How the hell
would a relationship between them even work?
Just as he thought he was about to throw something across the room in total mad
frustration, Rafiq walked in.
He looked up as Rafiq walked across the room and sat opposite him. They said
nothing to each other for a while and then Rafiq spoke.
"I heard what the King said to you. Amir was only too happy to tell me."
Husain nodded. The thought of Amir once again made his blood boil. How could be let
him become King? If anything happened to his people and his country under Amir's
rule, he would never be able to forgive himself.
"You cannot let Amir become King." Rafiq whispered.
Husain nodded slowly. It broke his heart to think about it, but he knew it was
true.
"I know." he said. "Maybe if I go in there and appeal to him one more time, maybe
he will let me marry Jenny and maybe..." Husain stopped talking as Rafiq started
shaking his head.
"You know that is not going to happen, don't you?" He asked in a small voice.
Husain nodded. He did know that. It was either marry Sophia, or let Amir become
King. That was the decision in front of him and he knew what he needed to do. It
wasn't actually a decision, there was no choice at all. He had no choice. Amir
could not be King and besides, he wanted to be King and rule over this country that
had been ruled over by all the son's of the Kings for hundreds and hundreds of
years.
"My father thinks he is dying." Husain said.
"I know."
"You do?" Husain's eyes flicked up to meet his.
"Your mother told me. She made me promise not to tell you before your birthday, she
didn't want to ruin it."
Husain managed a tiny smile. Rafiq was such an honest man. He could trust him, and
Rafiq had always been right about absolutely everything. He had never been wrong,
he had predicted that this would backfire, he had predicted every bad event in his
life for so long. He had recognised every bad choice he had ever made. If anyone
knew what he had to do, it would be Rafiq.
"What should I do?" Husain asked, even though deep down inside, he knew the answer.
"You know what you need to do."
"I know. But how... how... I love her, I..." And then a tear escaped his eye and
rolled down his cheek.
"I know." Rafiq said gently. "And she loves you. But I see no other option. You
will never forgive yourself if you let Amir become King, and you will never forgive
yourself for not carrying out your father's final wish."
Husain nodded. "But how, how do I do this?"
Rafiq kept quiet for the longest time. "It is better to hate someone that hurts
you, than to love someone that breaks your heart and that you pine for every day.
Anger is a much easier emotion to deal with that the pain of heartbreak."
Husain's heart felt like it fell into his stomach at Rafiq's words. "You mean, I
must make her hate me?"
"Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind."
Hussain lost his breath for a second before he could speak again. "But I love her.
I don't want her to hate me, I want to marry her and -"
Rafiq cut him off. "That is not an option. You do not have a choice, but you do
have a choice in how you end things with her. Do not break-up with her and let her
thinking that maybe she stands a chance with you one day. Do not leave her in a
place where you are the person she pines for and wishes for for the rest of her
life. Do not make it so she cannot move on and get the love she deserves from
someone else. Put an end to this in a way that she never wants to see you, think
about you, or speak your name again for the rest of her life. Do this in a way that
she only wants to forget you and destroy your memory and all the memories that you
shared."
Husain grabbed his chest when he felt a stabbing pain. "Oh God." He said as another
stabbing pain made him double over. And again. Again. And then his breath quickened
and his heart felt like it would race out of his chest. Nausea rose up in him and
suddenly he felt dizzy.
"I'm having a heart attack, I'm..."
Rafiq rushed over to the other side of the room and placed a hand on his back.
"You're not having a heart attack Husain, your heart is just breaking."
Husain looked up at Rafiq. "But it feels, it feels so physical so...." he could
barely finish his sentence.
"I know. I know." Rafiq pulled him into a hug and Husain rested his head on his
shoulder. "In time it will become better."
Husain tasted salt in his mouth and he realized that he was crying.
"It's okay. It's okay." Rafiq said softly. "You know what you need to do though."
Husain nodded into his shoulder.
He did know what he needed to do and it would be the hardest thing he had ever done
before.

Chapter 45
*It's a short one. Running out quickly and will pick up soon again. Thought I would
just get another one out there.
JENNY
Jenny thought she might die of relief when she found herself alive, not dead and
buried in the garden, but alive and standing in the enormous entrance hall to the
palace. She had come in this way and clearly she was going out this way too. But
with who? Where was Husain? She had been standing like this for ten minutes
already. She turned when she heard a footstep behind her and she swung around.
"Hussain?" but as the word escaped her lips, she came face to face with the
Princess, Rana.
"Rana, have you seen Husain any-" Jenny stopped talking the second she saw the look
on Rana's face.
"You lied to us. You lied to me." She said with such venom and malice.
Jenny rushed up to her and tried to place a hand on her shoulder, but Rana slapped
it away. "Let me explain." Jenny begged.
"There is nothing to explain. You made me believe that I was going to be getting a
sister-in-law. You made me like you so much that I wanted you as a sister-in-law.
You made me think you and my brother were in love... you must be one hell of an
actress. And the Oscar goes to Jenny..." she paused. "If that is even your real
name."
"Yes. It is and I promise you it wasn't an act, well, it was at first and I did lie
to you and I'm really sorry because I like you too, but it's not a lie now, I love
your brother." Jenny stopped when Rana burst out laughing.
"Love him?" She said in between a chuckle. "You really are a great actress."
"It's not an act." Jenny begged now. She was desperate for Rana to understand. She
liked Rana and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt her. "Please,"
Rana shook her head. "The sooner I never see you again, the better. And as for my
brother... my lying brother-"
"Please don't hate him for this." Jenny jumped it. "Please,"
"I don't hate him." Rana said. "But I certainly don't like him. He's not the man I
thought he was. Maybe my father has been right about him this whole time. Maybe he
is just a selfish, lying narcissist? I just always chose to see through that and
believe he was so much more. Maybe I was wrong about him too."
At hearing this, Jenny's heart broke. The last thing she wanted was to cause a rift
in this family. She was sorry she lied to them, but she wasn't sorry this had all
happened, because she had gotten to meet Husain, and fall in love. Maybe given time
Rana would come to understand and accept her again.
"Goodbye," she turned her back on Jenny and walked away. Jenny let her. She would
give her time. Or was she just being naive. Was this whole thing so out of control,
such a disaster that it was beyond repair? She felt the panic rise in her again,
what was the King saying to Husain? Why was he taking so long, but as she thought
that she saw him coming down the stairs towards her.
She met his eyes and she froze. There was a look in them that turned her whole body
to ice.

Chapter 46

HUSAIN
She was standing at the bottom of the stairs and she looked beautiful. Her hair was
a mess of red curls, she was dressed casually and her curves were accentuated by
the shirt she was wearing. But more than all that, she was the most beautiful
person he had ever met. He'd never understood that concept before, the saying about
looks fading and the stuff on the inside being more important. He only went for
looks. He didn't give a damn about what was on the inside, until now.
She could be 90 years old, grey and wrinkly like a prune and he would still think
she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Inside and out.
He'd tried to reason with Rafiq, "Can't he just explain it all to her?"
"And leave her loving you? Leave her knowing that you love her but that
circumstances are the only thing keeping you apart? She will never be able to move
on, she will live with that tiny bit of hope inside that will drive her mad every
single day."
Husain had gotten the distinct impression that Rafiq knew about this kind of
heartbreak first hand. And so now he was here, standing in front of the woman he
loved, the only woman he had ever loved and about to break her heart in the most
cruel way possible.
Cruel to be kind... this was so unfair.
"Husain." She ran up to him with tears in her eyes and was just about to throw her
arms around him when he blocked her. His heart broke even more.
"What...what....what's going on?" Jenny looked up at him with a confused look
plastered across her face. He looked away- he couldn't look her in the eye.
"I think it's best if you leave." he said flatly.
"Are we leaving now?" She asked. We. The small word stung him.
"Not we. You. I'm not coming with you, in fact..." Husain pulled the cheque out of
his pocket and handed it over. "The rest of your money as promised."
"I don't understand." Jenny tried to reach up and touched him, but he pulled her
hand away.
"This is not going to work. Let's face it. It's been a fun weekend, but it's over
now. You've done the job I hired you to do, it's time you left." A wave of nausea
rose up in him as he said it and he could taste the bile at the back of her throat.
Jenny gave him a tiny confused smile. "What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. Do I have to repeat myself."
"Yes. Yes you do." Jenny said, looking angry now. "Repeat yourself, because I have
no clue what's going on here." And then a look of acknowledgment washed over her
face and she leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Is someone listening. Are you
doing this because Amir is here and we need to? Is everything ok? Do you need me to
play along with this?"
Husain forced himself to push her away. "No. I'm not acting. I was acting before- I
was acting this whole weekend, but I'm not acting now. You need to go!" Husain
wished so hard that he wasn't doing this right now. All he wanted to do was tell
her the truth, but if Rafiq was right, the truth would just give her some
beautiful, tragic Romeo and Juliet story she could lament about. He needed to give
her the benefit of a clean start. Wipe the slate clean. Wipe him from her memory,
erase the memory of every nice thing he had ever done. Release her.
"I don't believe you. This isn't you. I know you." He didn't look sure when she
said that. In fact, she looked pained. Her face had contorted and crunched up as if
she was experiencing pain. All he wanted to do was take it away- but instead he
went for the jugular.
"You don't know me." Husain said. "You know nothing about me and who the real me
is. You know that photo you saw of me and the two girls? Those two hot naked models
in my Jacuzzi the other night. Well, that's the real me."
He could see that her eyes were clouding over, but she was shaking her head. "No
it's not. I've seen the real you. I can see him. That's not you."
Why didn't she believe him and just go? Why was she dragging this out? Did she have
that much confidence in him and love him so much that she could see past it? He
needed to pull out all the stops now.
"You were nothing more than a little game to me- something to keep me entertained.
A challenge for me. I've never fucked a woman like you before, so I thought I'd
broaden my horizon's, you know? Sample something a bit different. It was fun while
it lasted, but now it's time for you to go."
Jenny slapped her hands over her mouth and started shaking her head violently. Why
the fuck did she still not believe him? It was actually starting to frustrate him,
it was just dragging this whole thing out and it was getting worse and worse and he
was being forced to say more and more that he didn't want to.
"Go!" Husain shouted now, he heard his voice bounce and echo in the big hall. And
he saw the reaction that it had on her.
"Fuck you!" Jenny screamed back. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what is
really going on?"
"Jesus, are you stupid or something. Do I have to spell it out for you... I don't
like you. You were just another fuck for the weekend. That's all. I don't want to
see you again. Now take your money and get out." He shoved the cheque at her and
she grabbed it and tore it up and threw the pieces on the floor. Then she grabbed
the other cheque from inside her bag and did that same to that. She was crying now.
"I don't want your money. I don't want your filthy, disgusting money." She was
sobbing now. Husain wanted to throw himself across the room and comfort her, to
pull her into his arms and tell her how much he loved her and would always love
her. Tell her that he was being forced to do this, that he had no other choice.
Fuck, he couldn't do this. Looking at her now he didn't care if Amir became King.
He didn't care if Amir fucked the country up, bled the coffers dry, stole from the
people and ruled over the land with...
At that Amir slithered out of the shadows and his cold black eyes fell upon
Hussain's. He had been watching and listening this whole time. Husain looked at
him, and all he saw was pure evil. Giving a man like that a country, would be like
pouring fuel on a fire. Visions of Hitler and Stalin and other rulers and dictators
that had torn a country to threats, started wars, made it's people poor for their
own greed and gain, flashed through his head.
He could not allow Amir to be King, and that meant letting Jenny go. His father was
dying, and it was his father's final wish for him.
Husain watched as Jenny stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks. He heard
another noise and Rafiq walked up to him.
Jenny grabbed her bag and it slipped from her wet, tear-stained hands.

"Don't you think we should search her bag before she leaves." Amir said stepping
out from the shadows even more.
"What?" Hussain swung around and faced him. "No. We don't need to search her bag."
But it was too late. Amir gestured for a guard to take her bag. Jenny protested
loudly as he started to pull things out. She turned to Husain and begged him to
make it stop. She looked confused, and hurt and desperate. He hated himself right
now.
Suddenly the guard stopped and turned around, the ruby necklace dangling from his
hands.
"What?" Jenny gasped. "I didn't.... I don't know how that got in there, It isn't I
wasn't..."
Hussain glanced over at Amir, the fucking snake had planted it. He reached for the
necklace and grabbed it from the guards hands. He marched up to Amir and shoved it
in his face.
"We both know that she did not take this."
"I didn't take it," Jenny shouted. "I promise, I didn't."
Husain glared at Amir and his demeanour suddenly changed. A wicked smile washed
over his face and he walked towards Jenny.
"Maybe it was a misunderstanding then. Maybe she didn't mean to borrow it." He said
slyly. Husain froze. What the hell was he playing at?
"But I think we can all agree that it's time for her to go. Her little act is over
now." He turned and looked at Husain. "Since you two seem to have fallen out, I'll
do you a favor cousin, I'll personally escort her off this island so you don't have
to deal with her."
He made a move for Jenny and was just about to reach her when Rafiq shouted.
"Arrest her. Guards, arrest her. Take her to the palace holding cell, she's a
thief."
"What?" Hussain swung around and couldn't believe what was happening. Suddenly the
guards grabbed Jenny and Husain couldn't take it anymore, he made a move to try and
pull one off.
"Arrested her now!" Rafiq bellowed even louder this time.
Hussain swung around and caught Rafiq's eye. Rafiq gave him the tinest nod and his
mouth opened. He mouthed some words and Husain was sure he said...
"Trust me."
Husain looked at Rafiq and Rafiq gave him another small nod.
Husain turned around again, "Arrest her." He said. "Do as Rafiq says and take down
to the holding cell."
As Jenny was being dragged away kicking and screaming, Husain looked over at Amir
and he looked angrier than he had ever seen him before. Clearly Amir had not wanted
Jenny in jail. But why?

Chapter 47
JENNY
Jenny's head was spinning as she was dragged down a flight of stairs and thrown
into a cell. The door was locked behind her and a guard walked to the door and
positioned himself there.
She looked around and started shaking. This place looked old, it looked like the
kind of place that had ancient torture chambers hiding in it. It looked Medieval
and she had never been more terrified and confused in her entire life. She grabbed
at the bars and shook them.
"Let me out, let me out." She screamed over and over again until her voice went
hoarse and her throat felt raw. "I want a lawyer. I want a lawyer, let me out of
here."
She paced and grabbed at the bars, looking for a weak spot. Looking for anything to
get her out of there. But finally, when she had exhausted her search and her voice
was completely gone from screaming, she slumped to the floor, and that was when it
all started to hit her.
Hussain had been playing her this whole time. She was nothing more than some exotic
fuck for him. She had almost not believed him, she had gotten the sense that he was
being forced to say all that, right up until he'd told the guards to arrest her.
That was all the confirmation she needed to realize that she meant nothing to him.
She was a piece of trash that he could just throw away. She hated him. She had
never hated anyone so badly in her entire life, and she had never been so deceived
by anyone.
And as for Rafiq... she had trusted him. She had liked him. And he had thrown her
in jail. She started to shake violently. Her heart started to pounding violently
and she felt very dizzy. She grabbed onto the bars to stop herself from falling-
at least she was sitting. She needed to get a grip. She needed to get a grip. But
she couldn't. Because all she could think about was being locked here for the rest
of her life for something she hadn't done. She didn't know what was worse right
now, the feeling of terror she felt, or the burning, ripping, tearing pain of her
heart breaking into a million little pieces.
She'd loved him. She's loved him so much...
She started to cry. It was soft at first, but soon her loud, violent sobs wracked
her entire body. She spread out across the floor, the cold hard cement floor and
held herself while her entire body shook.

HUSAIN
"What the fuck did you do that for?" Husain hissed at Rafiq when they were alone
and out of Amir's earshot.
"She'll be safe there. Trust me."
"Safe from what?" Husain asked.
"From your cousin." As soon as the words were out of Rafiq's mouth Husain suddenly
understood why Amir had looked so angry when Jenny had been taken away to jail.
Hussain's blood ran cold, he could barely think it, let alone say it. He looked at
Rafiq and urged him to speak. He needed to hear it. He needed to hear Rafiq say it,
or he wouldn't believe it.
"As long as she is locked up and has a guard watching over her and Amir cannot get
to her, she will be safe."
Husain felt his legs go weak underneath him and he moved to sit. He knew his cousin
was pure evil, but was he capable of hurting someone. Had he really been planning
to do something to Jenny? But what, drive her out to the airport and what...?
Husain felt like a spear had just been plunged into his stomach. His insides
twisted and burned. He looked up at Rafiq and Rafiq started back at him as if he
was reading his mind.
"You once tried to tell me that... that...." He stuttered. He couldn't say it out
loud.
"Yes." Rafiq said sitting down opposite Husain.
"I didn't... I wouldn't... I didn't believe you."
"He is your cousin. You grew up with him, you couldn't believe family was capable
of that."
Hussain's blinker were off now. Amir's behavior over the last few days had changed
his opinion of his cousin. He's always known he was a snake, but a murderer....?
"I have no proof." Rafiq said. "I have no proof and your father would never believe
it."
Hussain hung his head, it felt like it was going to explode from all this
information. He thought back to the funeral after the plane crash. Amir had wept
and cried. He had comforted everyone, he had gotten up and made a eulogy. How could
he have done it and been able to act like that. Was he a psychopath?
That funeral had been so difficult for Hussain, and for Rana, she hadn't understood
what was going on at all, all she wanted to do was play with her cousins and she
didn't understand why she couldn't....
Hussains head snapped up. NO! No, no.... It couldn't. There was no way.

"The fire?" Hussain's voice shook as he said it. "Did he... OH MY GOD," Husain
jumoped up, "i'm going to fucking kill him, I'm going to fucking kill him." He ran
for the door and Rafiq threw himself onto him.
"Stop. Stop." Husain tried to break free. "Listen to me. We have to be smart. We
have to think about this carefully. Our top priority is getting Jenny home safely
and making sure Amir thinks you hate her."
Husain turned around and looked at Rafiq. "What?"
"He seems to have a habit of getting rid of the people you love. He has to believe
you are totally indifferent to her."
"That's why you told me too...?"
Rafiq nodded. "Only partly. I meant what I said about her hating you being better
than loving you and knowing she cannot have you."
Hussain looked at Rafiq. After everythign he had put this man through over the
years, and he was here, he had his backl more than he had ever imagined.

Chapter 48

HUSSAIN
Husain and Rafiq sat in a mind numbing silence. They might not have been saying
anything out loud, but Husain could almost hear Rafiq's brain working, and visa
versa he was sure.
Rafiq finally made a move to the window, he looked out over the grounds.
"What?" Hussain got up and walked over to see what he was looking at. Out the
window, at the other end of the garden, he could just make out the shape of the
burnt stables. Why had no one every tore that place down? It had been sealed the
day of the accident, boarded up and no one had ever been in there again. When he
thought about it, he really did want to kill him. He thought about the months of
agony his sister had endured at the hands of the doctors. Cleaning the dead skin
away and dressing and redressing her wounds, he could still hear her screams- no
amount of pain medication helps, the doctors had said.
"We need to get Jenny home tonight. As soon as it's dark I'll go down there and
unlock the doors and we can leave."
Hussain nodded. He felt sick just thinking about her down there in prison. He'd
been down there as a child once and remembered being terrified. The prisons down
there were dark and cold and hundreds of years old. During the many wars that had
wracked this part of the world so long ago, many prisoners had been held there and
probably tortured and killed there too.
"And when Amir finds out in the morning?" Husain asked.
Rafiq shrugged. "Legally we cannot hold her. We'll tell him we kicked her out the
country, sent her packing. He's not going to care about her as long as he thinks
she doesn't pose a threat. You should be more worried about the Dutchess Sophia.
The only thing standing between him and the throne, is you marrying her."
"And my dad too."
"Your father is stepping down, I doubt he sees him as a threat, but you... "Rafiq
looked at Hussain. "You are going to need to be careful, until we figure out how to
handle Amir."
"Why can't we just go and tell my father?"
"Think for a moment Hussain. You have just lied to him in the worst way possible,
anything you say now he won't believe, he'll probably just think you're trying to
get Amir out the way. With Amir out the way, your father has nothing to force you
into marrying the duchess and getting rid of Jenny. And your father will never
believe it, Amir has been working you father and mother for years... he stepped in
and became the surrogate son while you were gone."
"There's got to be a way of proving it. What if I confront Amir, what if I ask him,
he may just taunt me with it, knowing I have nothing on him."
Rafiq shook his head. "I don't know what to say. I forgot to get my degree in
international espionage."
Hussain managed a small smile. "Me too. I forgot to get a degree full stop."
"You didn't forget, Hussain. You just didn't try." Rafiq looked at him
meaningfully. "Let's just focus on getting Jenny home and we'll take it from there.
But right now we both have to be careful. Especially you."
"And Rana?"
Rafiq nodded. "Possibly."
Hussain thought of Rana all of a sudden. "She hates me right now for lying to her."
"She'll get over it." Rafiq said.
"I have to go down there and speak to Jenny. I can't stand thinking about her down
there alone, she must be terrified."
Rafiq shook his head hard. "The best thing you can do for her right now is make
sure Amir knows she means nothing to you. If he finds out you were down there...
leave her. I know how hard it is, but it's for the best."
Hussain hung his head, "I'm never going to meet anyone like her again, am I?"
Rafiq nodded. "She is one of a kind."
"I'm never going to love anyone again." Hussain looked up at Rafiq and a pair of
sympathetic eyes looked back at him.
"Sometimes you only get one chance at love." he said softly.
"Are you speaking from experience?" Hussain asked. "Is that why you won't go on any
of the dates I try and set you up on."
"Something like that." Rafiq confessed.
"Who is he?" Hussain asked quietly, the mood had turned sombre now.
"He lives here. We were... well, you know, it's not exactly legal here, so..."
Hussain stood up and grabbed Rafiq by the shoulder, "That will be the first thing
to go when I'm King. believe me."
Rafiq smiled and shook his head. "Sweet sentiment, but you won't change the
hundreds of years of discrimination inbred into everyone here."
"Well at least I could make it illegal to act on that discrimination."
"You are going to be a good King, we just need to make sure you become King." Rafiq
said smiling up at Hussain.
"But I'm going to have to marry the Dutchess?"
"Unless you want a murderer running the country." Rafiq stood and faced Hussain,
"It's hard, but we have all had to make enormous sacrifices to be here today, we
cannot be free to love who we want. That is our lot, I'm afraid."
Hussain nodded. He knew that now. He had always known that becoming King would
probably mean marrying someone he didn't love, and that would have been fine with
him a week ago. But now that he knew what love was and had met Jenny, the thought
of never being able to love her again and hold her again was torture.
Letting Jenny go today, would be letting go of love... forever.
Chapter 49

JENNY
She must have fallen asleep at some stage, despite the freezing cold, the hard
floor and the pain in her chest. She felt an arm on her shoulder, shaking her
gently.
"Jenny, wake up."
At first she thought it was a dream but as the shaking became harder and the voice
louder, she realized that it wasn't. She opened her eyes and looked up, Rafiq was
squatting on the floor, his arm through the bars.
"Wake up. We have to go."
It took her a second or two to gather herself and figure out what was going on. And
when she did, it all started rushing in.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." She moved away from Rafiq as if he was carrying
a contagious disease.
"There is no time to explain, You have to trust me though,"
"Trust you!" She hissed, her throat still sore from the screaming.
"look at me." Rafiq said firmly. "Look me in the eye."
Jenny stopped moving away from him and looked up.
"I did this to protect you. If Amir had taken you, God knows what he would have
done. You were safe in here from Amir, but now, I need to get you off the island
and home. You have to trust me. I did it for your own good."
Jenny stared at Rafiq trying to figure out whether he could be trusted or not. Was
he a good guy, or was he just like Hussain? Hussain was rotten to the core- he just
hid it under a really expensive suit.
"Trust me." Rafiq urged again, there was a desperation in his voice.
Jenny watched him closely, she had trusted him blindly since she had met him and
look where she had landed up- but she didn't have a choice, the way she saw it.
Better the devil you know, and Amir was a devil she didn't know and she had no idea
what he was capable of either.
Rafiq stood up and started unlocking the door and that was really all the invite
she needed. She exited as quickly as possible and followed him back up the stairs.
He had her suitcase in his hand and he moved through the silent palace quickly.
They walked out and a limo was waiting for them.
"Won't Amir know I'm gone?" She asked feeling very worried.
"Yes he will. But it'll be fine. He's not after you."
"But you said..."
"Trust me. He is not going to be coming after you. You are no longer a threat now
that..." he stopped himself.
"Now that Husain has tossed me out like trash."
Rafiq looked at her. "Yes."
To have him confirm it like that. So matter-of-factly gave way to that stabbing
feeling in her chest again. Her eyes started to sting again as the salty tears came
to them. But she climbed into the car and Rafiq climbed in after her.
They sat in silence as the car raced off. Jenny looked back as the palace got
further and further away from her until it disappeared. She didn't know what to say
to Rafiq, she had so many questions, but right now she couldn't even bring herself
to talk. She felt so drained, physically and emotionally that her mouth didn't
really want to work.
The car finally stopped and Rafiq ushered her out onto the landing strip. A private
jet stood waiting for them, she looked up at it concerned.
"Don't worry, Amir hasn't been near it. He doesn't even know it's here. You'll be
safe." He took Jenny by the arm and started leading her towards the staircase, when
they got there he stopped and pulled something out of his jacket pocket.
"Here." Jenny took it, looked at it and her mouth fell open.
"But this is... this is 10 times the amount that you are meant to be paying me."
She stared at the cheque. She had never seen such a huge amount of money in her
entire life. This was the kind of money that could set her up for life almost.
"You deserve it after everything you've been through, and I am so so sorry for
that."
He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder as Jenny stared at the cheque
feeling totally conflicted. This was blood money. This was money to buy her, buy
her silence. She felt like a common whore holding it in her hands, so she did the
only thing she could. She tore it up and watched the pieces of paper fall to the
floor.
"I am not taking money from you people. I am not something that can be bought and
sold, in fact..." Jenny bent down and opened her suitcase. She started grabbing all
the clothes that she had been given and started tossing them on the runway.
"Take this. take it all. I don't want anything to do with you. I want nothing from
you and I never want to see any of you again either. Don't worry your secret is
safe, I would never, ever, tell anyone about this. All I want to do is go home and
forget this ever happened and forget him."
Jenny stood up with her much, much lighter suitcase and glared at Rafiq.
"Jenny," he said softly, "I know you are about to be kicked out of your flat. I
know you have no money in your account, you have student loans and-"
"Stop!" She held her hand up. "I'd rather have that, than take money from you. If I
took your money you would have a hold over me forever. If I bought a single thing
with it, I would always remember this. When I saw it in my bank account, I would be
reminded of what I did and what happened. I do not want anything to remind me of
this."
A look of sadness washed over Rafiq's face. "You are a true lady." he said softly,
"And I will never forget you and I will be sorry about this for the rest of my
life. I regret ever getting you involved."
Jenny was slightly taken about by his words.
"You must go now." Rafiq said pushing her onto the stairs.
"Aren't you coming with me?" She suddenly felt panicked at the idea of being alone
again.
"No. But you'll be fine."
"Go." Rafiq pulled her into a small hug before whispering in her ear, "Forget about
Hussain, he doesn't deserve you. You deserve so much more than him."
And then he basically pushed her into the plane and shut the door. Jenny buckled
her seat belt and as soon as she did the plane started rushing down the runway and
within seconds it was in the air. She looked down at the islands that she'd been
staying on. Where she had thought she had found love.
She pressed her face to the window and watched as the lights of the islands grew
fainter and fainter and then finally disaperared, forever.

Chapter 50
HUSAIN
Husain slumped down in the bed and stared up at the ceiling. There was so much
going through his mind right now. He looked at the space in the bed next to him,
the space that Jenny had been sleeping in only yesterday. The light caught a long
red hair that was clinging to the pillow. He reached out and took the pillow
between his hands and looked at it. He brought it to his nose and smelt. It still
smelt like her.
How could her scent still linger when she was so far away, when she was gone,
forever? It was so cruel.
He felt like the worst person on the planet right now. He would never forgive
himself for this, for what he had put her through and for everything that had
happened. He had brought her into a total shit storm. Rafiq had been right that
this was going to backfire badly, and he hadn't cared at the time, because the
women that he had brought in to play the role was not someone he ever thought he
would actually care about- love. If he had known what was going to happen, he would
never have done this, any of this. She deserved so much better than this. She
deserved more than him.
He just hoped that Amir would leave Jenny alone. He had to make Amir believe that
she meant and means nothing to him, because like Rafiq said, Amir has a habit of
getting rid of the people that he loves and cares about. Hurting her and snubbing
her in front of Amir had been the right thing to do to protect her- even if it had
felt so wrong.
Right now the best thing he could do for her was never contact her again, leave her
to get on with her life. Hopefully the money he gave her would mean that she would
never need to worry about anything ever again, that was the least he could do for
her. He hoped she took the money, though, and wasn't stubborn about it. Knowing her
she was probably being stubborn and defiant about it, he smiled a tiny smile. he
loved that about her. That feisty streak that challenged him more than anyone had
ever challenged him before.
Husain held the pillow tighter. Maybe he had what was coming to him. Maybe he
deserved this right now. His punishment would be that he had been given a taste of
love, he had been given a few moments with the most amazing women he had ever met
and then he was forced to give it all up, and marry someone he would never love and
never see Jenny again. Maybe he deserved that, a life of misery. He'd caused so
much pain and heartbreak over the years, maybe this was his payback and he should
just suck it up like a man?
It was certainly time for him to man up. Accept his fate, his duty and stop being
the selfish fuck he had been. In his absences everything had fallen apart- his
father had gotten sick, Amir had wormed his way into his parents life. He had left,
leaving a massive gaping hole for a man like Amir to take full advantage of and
fill. Had he been here, had he been the son he was meant to be, maybe none of this
would have ever happened.
He was in such pain right now- it was physical. He'd heard many women tell him how
he had 'broken their hearts and how much it hurt'. Until now he had thought they
were all being dramatic, but now he knew what it felt like, and it did hurt. it
hurt more than anything physical he had ever experienced before.
His mind raced. It raced from Jenny to Amir, and back again. He knew he needed to
do something about Amir, but Rafiq was right, he needed to tread carefully and be
smart about this. But one thing was certain, he wasn't leaving here. Not today, not
ever. Until Amir was far away from his family, he wasn't going anywhere. He needed
to be here and watch over everyone. He also needed to make sure that Amir never
became King and that meant... that meant...
He was sure his father had already spoken to Sophia's father. He was sure Sophia
would jump at it too, and it probably needed to happen as soon as possible. The
sooner he was married, settled and King, the sooner all this would blow over.
But he wasn't going to think about that right now, he was going to spend one more
night thinking about Jenny and what they had had, he was going to lie here and hold
this pillow all night and smell it and imagine she was here and wallow in this, and
then, in the morning he would wake up and step up. Tomorrow he would become the
man he should have been years ago. He was not going to let his father down.
He crawled under the sheets and buried his face in the pillow and felt the wetness
as tears began to stream down his face.
He'd had her, for a few moment. But they had been the best moments of his life and
he would never feel that again. She would be the first, and the last women he ever
loved. He'd probably still think of her lying on his deathbed fifty, sixty years
from now.
He closed his eyes and welcomed in all the images of her, and he let the pain wash
over him. Right now it felt like it might overwhelm him, but that wasn't an option.
He had never felt so broken and weak before and yet this was the one time in his
life that demanded he be the strongest and the most decisive that he had ever been.
How the fuck was he going to muster the strength to do it?
He loved her. He loved her so much and he would never see her again. He had hurt
her, and she hated him and he had to now live with that knowledge for the rest of
his life.

Chapter 51

JENNY
Jenny climbed up the stairs to her apartment. She felt broken. Physically and
emotionally. She heard a door open behind her, and turned. It was her landlord. She
looked up at him and smiled faintly.
Mike smiled back. The poor guy, she thought. The poor nice, patient man. She shook
her head at him.
"I can't pay you. I will probably never be able to pay you."
He nodded as if this wasn't information to him at all. "I know." He said.
"I'm leaving, so can keep all my furniture and whatever else I have in the
apartment and sell it and I hope you get some money from it, because you have been
so kind to me..." And she burst into tears. Mike ran up to her and awkwardly put a
hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry," He said, "I like you and I wish I could let you stay for free, but
with the recession business had been-"
She held her hand up, "There is no need to explain. Please. Sell it all and rent it
to someone else."
"Where will you go?"
Jenny shrugged. "Home. Back to the farm."
"How will you get there?"
Jenny shrugged again, "Good question."
Mike scratched in his pocket and started pulling money out of his wallet. "Take
this, it should be enough for a bus fare or car hire or-"
"No. I could never." Jenny said shaking her head. "You've given me so much."
Mike grabbed her hand, opened it and shoved it in. "I won't take no for an answer."
He closed her hand around the scrunched up notes and walked away. "Just leave it
unlocked and the keys inside."
"Thank you." Jenny called after him and she was so overcome with emotion at this
man's act of kindness. At least there were still a few good men left in the world.
She opened the door to her apartment and walked inside. She was aware that this was
the last time she would ever walk into this place again. In a way she was
relieved, this had all been so hard, the last few years she had spent trying to
make it as an actress, how lame she suddenly thought. How could she have ever
thought she could beat all those millions of hot blondes to get any kind of role.
She was so naive. Stupid even. And now she was crawling back home feeling like a
failure.
Feeling like a failure was probably the last of her worries right now though. She
went to her cupboard and took a warm jacket out and a pair of sneakers and shoved
them in her handbag. She opened her suitcase and packed the rest of her clothes
back into her cupboard, Mike probably wouldn't get much for them, but maybe he
could get a hundred Bucks or so, that was something.
She put the keys onto her kitchen counter before turning and looking at her small,
tiny, dusty apartment one more time. She closed the door on it and walked away.
**
There was no bus until tomorrow. She bought her ticket and sat down on a bench in
the middle of the station. She had called her mother and asked her to fetch her.
She had almost broken down on the phone and she had wanted to tell her mother
everything thing. She wanted her mom to console her, but she couldn't. Maybe that
was the worst part, she could never tell anyone about this. No one would ever be
able to console her and make her feel better. She would carry this around with her
forever. A painful secret that would eat away at her. The tears started again. She
tried to wipe them. She hated the fact she was crying over him. She hated him. She
didn';t want to waste another tear on him, but she couldn't help it.
She loved him- hated him. She wanted to hate him so badly, she loved him. Fuck!
How could she love someone and hate them so much at the same time?
Mostly she hated herself right now too. She hated herself for being so stupid and
believing for a second that someone like him could actually love her. He was good
though, he was a better actor than she ever would be. He had actually fooled her.
She should have trusted her first gut instinct and reaction to him. A leopard does
not change its spots after all.
She reached into her bag and dug around for a tissue. She pulled a handful out and
that's when she saw a small piece of paper. She opened it and it was Rafiq.
"If you ever need anything. Anything. Don't hesitate to call me. Rafiq."
His number was below. She scrunched up the note and threw it into the dustbin. She
wiped her tears and blew her nose and was just about to throw that away too when...
Fuck! Maybe she should keep Rafiq's number, just in case...
She jumped up and looked inside the bin. There was so much in there. She started
rummaging, looking for the tiny piece of scrunched paper. She heard a noise and
looked up, a women looked down at her with pity. She tried to smile up at the woman
who quickly looked away.
She realised what she must look like right now. Her clothes, her hair, her tear
stained face scratching through a dustbin at a bus station. She found the notes and
grabbed it. She straightened it and slipped it into her wallet and sat back down on
the bench.
She looked up at the clock on the wall. The bus would be here tomorrow morning.
Seventeen hours and twenty minutes away. She looked around. There was hardly anyone
here now that evening was falling. And the she burst out laughing.
She had joked about this to herself. About being homeless and sleeping on a bench
or donning a pair of heels and standing on a street corner like a hooker... she
stopped. No, she had already done that. Acted like a hooker, a women for hire this
weekend. And she had been treated like one too...
So she guessed all that was left was to sleep on a bus bench for the night like a
homeless person...

Chapter 52

JENNY
It was morning and Jenny's head and neck and shoulders hurt from sitting on the
bench all night. She hadn't slept, you wouldn't dare sleep alone on a bench in the
middle of the night in a bus station in South Africa. Bad idea. Instead she had sat
wide awake all night jumping at every sound and every shadow.
She was so grateful when the sun finally came up and the station got busy again.
She made her way to the bathroom and went to the toilet. She washed her hands at
the sink and looked up at herself in the mirror. God she looked a mess. From being
in ballgowns and wearing expensive jewelry to looking like him. Palace to bus
station. She wondered what Husain was doing right now. All love for him this
morning was gone- it would probably come back at some stage, she knew how bad
break-up's worked. But right now all she felt was anger and hatred. She must admit
it was a welcome change, hating him and wanting to kick him in the balls felt way
better than loving him and wanting him to love her back.
She tied her hair up, washed her face and tried to make herself look vaguely
decent. She walked back onto the platform and the bus was ready to be boarded. She
climbed on and felt exhausted. She was looking forward to sleeping. And she felt
like the luckiest person alive when the two seats next to her remained empty, she
guessed a bus trip into the middle of farming country in the Free State wasn't
exactly high up on the tourist radar.
As soon as the bus started moving she curled up in the three seats and put her head
down. Something caught her attention on the floor, a magazine. Her blood went cold
when she saw what it was.
Don't pick it up, don't pick it up. She urged herself over and over again, but she
did. She was that much of a masochist.
It was a local gossip magazine and she flipped it open and started paging through
it. He would be somewhere, no doubt about it. He was always in these magazine's and
just as she was thinking that, she saw him.
Her heart stopped for a second and her breath caught in her throat. There he was,
in a series of pictures that showed him kissing and fondling a hot blonde in a
nightclub. The caption had the phrase, "get a room" in and this made her feel sick.
She tore the article out and then ripped his head off by tearing the paper. It made
her feel better for a second when she crunched his head and threw it down on the
dirty floor- but only for a second.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but so much was running through her mind.
Not only Husain and what had happened, but the idea of going back home filled her
with dread. One of the reasons she had wanted to leave was the incident with her
best friends- or so she had thought. She did not want to see them, at all. She had
heard that they had gotten married and were running the local grocery store. She
reflected on the pain she had felt after sleeping with a man she loved, only for
him to tell her he was in love with someone else, her best friend. She had been so
heartbroken after that she hadn't thought she would survive, but she had. And if
she compared that feeling to this one there was just no comparison. That heartbreak
and betrayal and embarrassment felt nothing compared to this. Still that didn't
make seeing them any easier- and she would. It was a small town.
She willed those thoughts away and closed her eyes and fell asleep.
**
When Jenny woke up they were traveling through the Free State. Nothing but large
expanses of empty land stretched out in front of her. Everything looked so dry and
she wondered when last they had rain. It looked dry and barren and desolate, just
how she felt. Her parents had mentioned a drought, but this looked bad and she
wondered what condition the farm would be in.
But still, there was something quite comforting about seeing the place again. The
wild open spaces that she had grown up in. A far cry from the manicured lawns of
the palace. The bus finally came to a stop at a tiny bus stop in the middle of
nowhere. It was less like a bus stop and more like a tiny tin shack in the middle
of nowhere. From here she would see her mother standing by their old beat up old
car.
Her mother also had a fiery mop of red curls and a face full of freckles, it was
something they both had in common. Jenny climbed off the bus and immediately ran up
to her mother, she threw her arms around her and clung on as she started to cry
again.
"What's wrong, what's wrong?" her mother asked stroking her hair as she cried. She
was unstoppable now. The floodgates had really burst open and she sobbed.
"Jenny," Her mother's voice was filled with panic, "Has something happened, has
something bad happen to you."
Jenny wished so much that she could tell her what was going on, but she couldn't.
"I'm a failure." She cried into her shoulder. "I failed. I didn't make it. I'm
broke and I failed." She continued to cry into her mother's shoulder while she
rubbed her back reassuringly.
"Don't say that." Her mother said. "You are not."
Jenny finally stopped crying and pulled away. She looked her mother in the face and
barely recognized. It had only been a few years since she had seen her, but she had
grown old and weather beaten. The lines in her face were deeper now, her freckles
darker as if she had been spending time in the sun. Her lips were cracked from
sunburn and her hair was thinning.
"Mom." Jenny gasped. "What's wrong?"
Her mother shook her head. "You couldn't have come home at a better time."
"Mom, why? What's going on?"
Her mother looked down, "It's been bad here, very bad. the drought has killed all
the crops, the sheep, a lot of farmers are suffering, it's bad." She said quietly.
"We have had to let almost all the workers go, it's just your father and I and
Jan."
Jenny suddenly felt bad. She had had no idea it was this bad. While she had been
traipsing around Cape Town chasing some stupid dream her parents had been here
struggling.
They got in the car and drove down the long dusty road that lead into the small
town, and when she saw it, her heart sank. Almost all the small shops had been
closed. Foreclosure and Auction signs covered the town's buildings like a virus.
The place was sad and looked like a lonely, desperate child.
Jenny took a deep breath as she realized this was where she was meant to be.
Chasing big city dreams, living in some palace on an island, wearing ball gowns and
pretending to be royalty, that was not her. This was her, this was where she was
meant to be, and this was where she would stay.

Chapter 53

HUSAIN
He woke up the next morning and knew exactly what he was meant to do. It was clear.
Nothing had ever been so clear before. All he wanted to do was fly back to South
Africa and be with her, but that was not an option and it certainly wasn't safe for
Jenny either.
He got dressed, shaved, cleaned himself up and walked out. He first went to Rafiq's
room and knocked on the door. Rafiq answer in a set of plaid pajama's that Husain
gave the once over.
Rafiq wiped his sleepy face, "This is early for you." He said looking at his watch.
"I don't think you've woken up at this time since 2007."
Hussain smiled, "Nice pajama's."
Rafiq looked at him and gestured for him to come in, Husain did and made a move for
the couch in the room. "So, do you know whether she got home safely?"
Rafiq sat on his bed opposite Husain, "I had one of my men follow her, she boarded
a bus yesterday arrived at her hometown in the afternoon, she... she..." Rafiq
stopped.
"What? Is something wrong?"
Rafiq shook his head and looked like he was trying to dismiss it. "Nothing. She is
fine."
"Did she take the money?"
"No."
"How are you going to fix that?" Husain asked. "I don't want her living like she
was . I don't want her to ever want for anything again."
"I'll figure something out," he said.
"Good. Good." Husain said, but his heart was breaking. "Will you keep an eye on
her?"
"It would probably be better if we had no contact whatsoever, we don't want Amir
figuring out that she actually means anything to you."
"I'd feel better if I knew how she was doing."
"I'll send someone to check up on her from time to time. I'll figure out a way to
keep tabs discreetly."
"Amir could find her in a minute if he wanted to." Husain said feeling panicked.
"But that's why you need to make him believe she is nothing to you. So don't so
anything stupid like contact her, or go onto your Facebook or whatever."
Husain nodded, he knew Rafiq was right. Like he said, he was always right and this
time he was going to listen to him, no matter how hard it would be.
"What are you going to do now?" He asked.
Husain crossed his legs and folded his arms tightly, the thought made him stiff
with anxiety. "I'm going to tell my father that I'll marry the Dutchess."
"You are aware that that puts a bulls eye on your back, and Sophia's."
"Yes. And what are we going to do about that?"
Rafiq got up and walked across the room. He turned and walked back like he was
pacing, this unsettled Husain.
"Just get into your father and mother's good books, get this scandal behind you,
give them a big happy, royal wedding and you will have more of a chance talking to
your father and making him believe us. In the meantime I am going to hire someone
to dig into Amir, and we need to watch him closely."
Suddenly a loud banging and screaming could be heard, Husain and Rafiq jumped and
ran outside. He came face to face with Rana, "It's dad, there's something wrong
with him. he's collapsed."
"What!" Husain and Rafiq ran after Rana down the corridor to the Kings study. When
they arrived Amir and his mother were lifting him into a chair. His father looked
pale and the whites of his eyes looked yellow.
"Father." Husain ran up to his father but Amir placed his arm out to stop him. Amir
turned.
"Give him some room, he's trying to catch his breath."
Hussain stopped and stared at his father. He felt so removed from this as he
watched his mother and Amir fuss over him. He heard the whirr of a helicopter
outside and within minutes paramedics and the Royal physician where there. They
hoisted him up on a stretcher and as he went, Amir and his mother ran with him. He
looked up as his father reached up and took Amir's hand.
Hussain ran to the window and watched as his father was airlifted away.

Chapter 54
HUSSAIN
Husain sat in the waiting room in the hospital. Amir and his mother sat next to
each other, even Rana was sitting closer to them than to him. He'd fucked up. He
could see that now so clearly. he'd removed himself from this family basically
allowing Amir in, and now he had lied to them all, and that just pushed them even
further away. He felt like an outsider in his own family and he longed for Jenny
right now. He longed to have a family with her, one that he wouldn't mess up.
The doctor finally came through and everyone stood up.
"And? Husain stepped forward.
"Your majesty is fine, his condition is stable, but we still don't know what is
causing this, we could run more tests, but-"
"No." Amir held his hand up and shook his head firmly. Hussain eyed him curiously.
"He doesn't want any more tests, he's tired of them."
Hussain nodded, "It's true. He told me that too."
The doctor nodded, "Yes, he said that to me too rather loudly as one of the nurses
tried to draw blood." The doctor smiled slightly, he had been the royal physician
for as long as Hussain could remember, and his father before him. The doctor turned
to Husain.
"He's asking to speak to you." Husain glanced over at Amir for a second and could
see he looked pissed. But Husain ignored it and followed the doctor into his
father's private room. The inside looked more like a luxury hotel, than an actual
hospital room. When he arrived, his father looked a million times better and was
even sitting up in bed.
Hussain approached the bed cautiously and pulled up a chair. "You wanted to see
me." It sounded so formal. But he and his father were always formal with each
other... and even in a situation like this. What had happened to them? When had
their relationship gone so bloody wrong?
"I'm running out of time." His father said.
"I'll do it." Hussain said firmly trying to sound sure of himself. "I'll marry her,
I'll be King. I'll do it."
His father looked away from him, like he was struggling to look at his own son.
Husain felt like a small boy again, desperate to please his dad. Desperate for his
approval and for him to pat him on the back and say, "I'm proud of you son." But he
didn't.
"You've embarrassed us all by bringing that girl here."
"I know." Hussain said. "I'm sorry."
"We'll say she left you, we'll wait a few months, then we'll announce your
engagement and the marriage will happen quickly after that. Nothing like a big
expensive wedding to help people forget things ."
Hussain nodded. "Sure."
"I'll tell her father." The King turned and looked at Husain. "Why you just
couldn't do this earlier. I don't understand. Why it took all the lies and deceit
to get us to this point, I don't know."
"I'm sorry father."
"Don't say sorry to me, just do the right thing now. Do the right thing for this
family and for your people."
Husain stood up. "I'll leave you to rest."
He walked out and something was building inside him, he could feel it. He didn't
know what it was, but it was building and threatened to rip out of him and do
something he feared he would have no control over. He burst into the waiting room,
everyone looked at him and he couldn't bare to be there. He ran down the corridor
and pushed a door open which lead into the emergency stairwell. He ran down it as
fast as he could, it felt like the walls were caving in on him and his life, as he
knew it, was collapsing.
He reached the bottom of the stairs and fell onto the floor. He sat cross-legged on
the cold, hard cement floor trying to catch his breath. This was it, the point of
no return. He would be marrying someone he didn't love- in fact, he didn't much
like her even, in a few months time. Then he would become King... unless Amir tried
to kill him first.
He put his head back against the wall and pulled his knees up, and stayed there
while he pulled himself together. He needed to be strong now, he needed to reclaim
his place in the family.
He stood up and straightened himself as he saw Rafiq walking down the stairs
towards him.
"I know, I know." Husain said. "I need to pull myself together, I need to be
strong, put on a brave face, blah, blah, blah..."
Rafiq nodded.
"I'm coming," Hussain said. "Just give me a few minutes."
Rafiq left and Husain took a few deep breaths. How the hell was he going to do this
when his whole heart was somewhere else entirely?
How the hell was he ever going to get over her and be okay again? His chest hurt,
his head hurt, his face fucking hurt, everything hurt because he knew the answer to
that question and it was never.
He was never going to get over her. He would now just have to learn how to live
without her.
Chapter 55
it's a bit short for now. It's evening time here!
JENNY
Jenny woke up the next morning in her old bedroom. It was strangely familiar. She
had barely slept that night, it was partly because she was thinking about Husain,
partly because the silence out here was so deafening. She was used to inner city
sounds, cars, sirens the odd mad person screaming but there was nothing but the
sound of the odd cricket and a lonely owl. She forgot how dark it was here too. No
city and street lights to illuminate things. Blackness. And silence. Two terrible
things when one's head is swimming- nothing to distract those thoughts, in fact, it
all just make them worse.
She stood up and walked over to her mirror. There were old stickers stuck to the
side of it, they were one of those stupid things, like when you got a bubble gum a
sticker came inside, they'd all collected them when they were small and thought it
was terribly cool at the time. The glanced at her walls, how fucking
embarrassing...
Was that a poster of N'Sync? Or BoyZone, or Backstreet Boys, Boy to men, kids on
the block... whatever. It was a poster of four teenager looking guys, with terrible
bleached tipped spiky hair with their shirts off. She cringed. She had actually
thought that was hot once upon a time? She knew better now though, she quickly
pushed him out of her mind. She wanted to try and get through a few minutes without
thinking about Husain. But his face was literally emblazoned on her brain- like a
movie projecting an image on a screen. Because every single time she closed her
eyes, she saw his face. And every single time she caught herself gazing longingly
at that image, she reminded herself of what he had said to her... a fuck. A game. A
challenge. No one had ever said anything more cruel to her, ever.
She pulled on an old athletic outfit from school, it was a bit tight, but it's not
like she was trying to dress up and impress the sheep. She left her room and went
to the kitchen to make coffee. The passage was small and dark and the walls were
covered with family photos, she looked around her house and it had never seemed
more small and dark as it did now. The palace in comparison...
NO! Stop it. How long was that, she though? That was barely a fucking minute, a few
seconds.
She vowed to not think about anything Husain related for the next five minutes, she
could do that surely? She made herself a cup of coffee and headed out the front
door. Her parents were already out working the farm, she had heard them go out at 4
in the morning. But when she got outside and started walking around, she was
horrified. The farm was almost non-existent. The draught had savaged the land and
the livestock. There were only a few thin looking sheep left and hardly and crops
growing at all. She'd had no idea it was this bad. How the hell were her parents
even surviving? How were they making money and living? And they were nearly at a
retirement age, and here they were working every day.
In the distance she could see her mother and Jan, the only employee left, trying to
dip a few of the cows, a job that should be done by many more people than that. She
walked over to the old oak tree that she and her friends had climbed when she was
younger and looked around. It was so bleak. It looked dead. The sun had scorched
the earth and killed everything. Suddenly she thought about that cheque she had
torn up on the runway so hastily, had she known abut this, she might not have torn
it up so eagerly.
Nothing she could do about that now, she certainly wasn't going to call Rafiq and
say, "What's up, give me some money." She couldn't do that now, the only thing she
could do was to roll her own sleeves up and help her parents hold onto this place.

Chapter 56
Two months later
HUSSAIN
He stood at the top of the aisle waiting. He glanced around, everyone was where
they should be. Father and mother in the front row, royalty, presidents,
dignitaries and of course, his fiance. His future bride walking down the aisle
towards him. She was wearing some designer gown that probably cost more than a
house, jewels, hair up, face perfect she was... she looked... perfect. Everyone
that looked at her right now would say she was the most beautiful bride anyone had
ever seen. She could grace the cover of every magazine in the world and yet...
Yet, he felt nothing. There was no one else he wanted to see coming down the aisle,
but Jenny. But here he stood. Waiting to put a ring on her finger and promise to
be with her until death do them part.
He felt sick. He thought if he didn't look away he might get sick right there and
then, not great for the photo's- the photographer was buzzing around, no doubt the
pictures would be splashed across every single glossy magazine tomorrow morning.
She got closer and closer and she was staring at him. She knew what the deal was.
She knew he wasn't in love, but she was ok with that. She wanted the lifestyle that
came with it all. The endless parties and dinners and the power and status- and it
was a well known, yet unspoken rule that she would probably take on a lover at some
stage. Him too. Hers would be the pool boy or her personal trainer, something like
that anyway.
She glared at him, as if to say "smile!"
He did. He smiled at her. Maybe if he imagined it was Jenny...
The rest was all a blur. A sick, nauseous, strange surreal blur until he heard the
words, "Kiss the Bride."
He paused. For too long. She glared at him and he heard a shuffle from the
audience. He glanced over at his father, he still looked pale and ill. He had to do
this. No choice.
So he leaned in and kissed her. She grabbed him around the head and pulled him into
her.
And that was it. He was married. Married to someone else. This was supposed to be
the happiest day of his life, and yet, it was the worst.

Chapter 57
Two Months later
JENNY
They needed bread they needed sugar and they needed tick and flea powder. Jenny
wrote it on a piece of paper, what a grocery list, she thought. She hadn't left the
house in almost two months now. She'd been working nonstop and had found the
physical labor so distracting. Nothing like hurting under the hot son to make you
forget your heart was broken. But truthfully, she hadn't been feeling that well
lately. Each day she'd been feeling more and more tired and today she felt a bit
nauseous, so she welcomed the grocery run. She just felt off, she couldn't put her
finger on it.
She had avoided going into town for months now, but she couldn't hide out here any
longer. Everyone in town knew she was here, including her two ex bff's Anton and
Emma. But if she was going to be staying here- at least in the foreseeable future,
she would have to get the first meeting over and done with. They owned and ran the
only grocery store in town for heaven sake. She needed to get this out the way.
She climbed into the car and drove down the long dusty roads that lead into town.
She passed the tiny farm school that she had gone to and that she and Anton and
Emma had played in together since they were all children. The shop was dead ahead
and she parked the old car. The breaks squeaked and something in the engine sounded
like it was rattling.
She glanced at herself in the rearview mirror before leaving and...
Jesus! She looked like crap. Her hair was wild, like she had been dragged through a
bush or something and her freckles were all dark from the sun. She tried to
straighten her hair, and then her top. Her top was bunching around her breasts
which looked like they had actually gotten bigger recently, typical, she thought.
She'd finally lost some weight, only for it all to have migrated into her boobs.
She climbed out the car feeling a slight head rush as she went. She paused and
steadied herself for a moment. She was getting this dizzy head rush feeling a lot
lately. She walked up the small steps that lead to the front of the shop and then
headed inside. It was exactly as she remembered. Nothing had changed much, as if
technology and modern conveniences hadn't caught up to anyone here.
She walked inside and gave a brief look over to the counter, good it was someone
she didn't recognize, hopefully Anton and Emma weren' here today. She grabbed a
basket and managed to find everything easily, the place was tiny, only a few
shelves all tightly packed together.
She walked up towards the counter when something caught her eye. She turned slowly
and the basket fell from her hand. She froze staring at it and couldn't move any
closer for what felt like ages. It was sticking out from under the newspapers and
all she could see were the words, "Prince Husa..." sticking out.
She reached for the magazine and stopped herself. Don't take it. Don't take it. She
willed herself. Her hand touched the magazine and it froze. Don't take it. Don't
take it. She started inching the magazine out from behind the paper and the rest of
the word came into view. "Prince Hussain." All she had to do now was pull it out
completely.
She closed her eyes for a second, she realised how fucking dramatic this whole thig
might look right now. She whipped the magazine out, hard. The shelve even wobbled a
bit and she brought it all the way to her face. And that's when she saw it...
"Jenny? Is that you?" She heard a voice behind her and she knew exactly who it was.
"Jenny, it's Emma."
But Jenny couldn't breathe. Because she was staring at an image of him kissing that
women from the party, only this time she was wearing a wedding dress and he was in
a suit and they were...
"Jenny, are you ok?" She thought she heard Emma say.
Married. He had gotten married.
She suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe, as if something was strangling her rib
cage, then she felt such an intense wave of nausea that she dropped the magazine,
ran out of the shop and barely made it outside before she threw up. She hung onto a
pillar and tried to catch her breath and quell the nausea when she felt a small,
tentative hand on her shoulder.
"Jenny, are you ok?"
Jenny felt like she was in a slow motion dream and hardly knew what to do.
"Come, sit." She felt herself being guided to a chair and gently put into it.
She sat.
"Can I get you something to drink, tea, coffee, water, Coke... what can I get you?"
Emma sounded strange and panicked.
Jenny shook her head and that's when she noticed it. Emma stood up straight and her
stomach protruded, not a lot, but just enough that Jenny could clearly see she was
pregnant and that's when something clicked. Something deep inside her just clicked.
She shot out of her chair and ran down one of the aisle, Emma close behind her. She
rummaged through the aisle...tampons, soap, razor blade's, feminine wipes...
pregnancy test.
"Jenny? Jenny? Are you okay? Can I get you anything?"
Jenny took the thing with shaking hands and ran for the bathroom at the back of the
shop, it was for staff only but fuck them!
She ripped the thing open in her hands and read it, two pink lines... two pink
line.
She was shaking so much that it was hard to aim her pee in the right direction,
but she managed. She held the thing between her hands and waited. But she knew the
answer...
She just knew. She looked down at her stomach and laid her hand across it. She
knew.
She finally looked up at the test. Two pink lines.
She was pregnant.

Chapter 58
JENNY
"Jenny?" Emma's voice accompanied yet another small knock. Jenny wasn't sure how
long she had been in the bathroom for, but she hadn't been able to move.
Another knock. Another feeble voice, "Jenny?"
Jenny pulled up her pants, pulled down her skirt and closed the toilet lid and sat
on it. She had no desire to leave, in fact, the confines of the toilet felt somehow
safe.
There was another little knock. "I'm kind of getting worried. I have a spare key...
I don't want to use it, but..."
Jenny had been too shocked to think. But now that the shock was vaguely wearing off
she was struck by the serious awkwardness of this moment. She had just found out
she was pregnant, practically in front of her ex-best friend, oh, who also happened
to be pregnant with the boyfriend that she had stolen from her years ago...
And now she was locked in her bathroom at the back of the shop she ran. It was like
a scene from a bad movie, oh, and she was pregnant with a Prince's child. The Heir
to the throne of some Arabian Kingdom. Wow! Could her life get any more odd right
now.
She heard a key in the door and saw a tiny eye pop around the corner. "Jenny?"
"I'm fine... sort of. I think, maybe. I don't know." Jenny managed.
The door pushed open a little further and a face appeared. It was a face she had
seen a million times before. The face she had grown up with, since they were two
years old they had been best friends, she, Emma and Anton. The three musketeers.
"Hi." Jenny finally managed. "It's been a while."
"Five years." Emma said matter-of-factly. She glanced down at the pregnancy test in
Jenny's hands. Jenny looked down at it and shrugged.
Emma smiled a weak smile that Jenny wasn't sure how to interoperate. "Can I get you
anything?"
"No." Jenny shook her head.
And then she and Emma fell into a strange silence. She had imagined this moment a
million times- seeing her ex-best friend again after that morning. The morning she
discovered that the guy she had been in love with for years, something her supposed
Bff had known, had been running around behind her back, falling in love and all
that. At the time she's thought it was the most painful experience anyone could go
through, boy was she wrong.
"Congratulations." Jenny finally said looking at her stomach. Double awkward.
"Tha.. anks." Emma stuttered. "And you... " she asked tentatively, "I guess
congratulations too. Is it? Sorry, I don't mean to pry... but, well, sorry. I don't
mean sorry about....ok, I'll shut up now. But congratulations, if it is. Anyway."
Was it? Jenny thought. Was it a congratulations moment. She was still in too much
shock to figure out how she felt about this. How she felt about a little part of
the man she loved- had loved, hated, loved- growing inside her.
She stared at the pregnancy test again. The other pink like looked a little paler
now.. maybe she wasn't!
She held it up, "How many lines do you see?"
Emma leaned in. "two."
"But the one is faint, right? Maybe it's disappearing, maybe it's...?"
Emma shook her head. "It's sort of unlikely that you're not. But I also had a blood
test, it's the only really reliable way to tell."
Jenny nodded. Maybe she wasn't. Maybe it was just a bad joke, a bad pregnancy test.
But she knew otherwise. If she silenced that skepticism, she knew she was. She
could feel it- not physically, but in another way.
"Do you want me to leave you?" Emma asked.
Jenny looked up at her smiling face, and it seemed so familiar and bizarrely
comforting. She was so over that event now, especially having gone through what she
had with Hussain. She had learned that you cannot plan who you fall in love with.
She looked up at her face and realized something..
"I don't hate you anymore." Jenny said, the thought kind of just turned into a
sentence and shot out of her mouth.
Her friends eyes instantly teared up. "You don't? Really?"
Jenny shook her head. "Nah. I don't have the energy to hate you anymore. I don't
even think I have the energy to get off this toilet seat."
"You want a hand?" Emma asked.
"Sure." Jenny held her hand up and her old friend took it. It made her remember how
they used to hold hands all the time. Skipping to school together every morning.
Emma pulled her up.
"You know what helped me, " She said, "With the nausea?"
"No."
"Giner biscuits. Here..." Emma walked into the shop and grabbed a packet from the
shelf and opened it. She passed Jenny one and took one herself.
"Thanks." Jenny bit into it and chewed. Emma did the same and they stared at each
other awkwardly eating.
"This is weird." Emma finally spoke.
"Tell me about it."
"I didn't ever imagine seeing you again like this."
"Me neither." Jenny admitted.
"You want to sit down somewhere?"
Jenny nodded. She did want to sit. She followed Emma to the counter, she pulled two
chairs out and they both sat. They sat in silence eating ginger biscuits together.
They didn't say a word to each other and Jenny was grateful for the silence. It
gave her a moment to gather her thoughts. She was pregnant. With Husain's baby. The
hypothetical child that he had been speaking about, when she had thought that he
loved her back. And Hussain was married. She was pregnant with a married man's
baby.
Not exactly how she had seen her life playing out. A girl doesn't really grow up
hoping to be pregnant with a man who doesn't love her's baby.
Jenny finally stood up. "I better go," She said.
"Sure. Sure. Of course you should." Emma shot up. "Do you need anything? Um... you
know what is also good, ginger tea. Let me get you some."
Jenny watched as Emma rushed to a shelf and pulled stuff off. "What about more
biscuits?" She called out.
"It's ok." Jenny said watching her frantically pick at the shelves.
"Do you parents needs anything?" She rushed over and poured packs of biscuits and
tea into Jenny's hands.
"Thanks. This is enough. I just need to pay for the bread and the-"
Emma cut her off. "Don't be silly. Take it. It's fine. let me help you to your
car."
Emma rushed off and carried the things to Jenny's car.
Jenny climbed in and was about to close the door when she thought of something.
"Please don't tell anyone about this."
"NO! no I promise I won't. I know you don't trust me and you have no reason to, but
I won't tell anyone. Promise."
"Thanks." As Jenny started closing the door Emma stopped it.
"Listen, if you need anything. Or... If you want to talk or something. Not that you
want to talk to me but, if you need more biscuits or any medicine, I can order it
if you need?"
"Thanks." Jenny said with a small smile. Jenny was sitting and was face to face
with Emma's belly now. She stared at it fascinated. She would looked like that
soon.
"How many months are you?"
"Five." Emma said with a smile in her voice and touched her stomach. "It's a girl."
"Your first?"
Emma nodded. "We've been trying for..." she stopped herself. "Yes, my first."
"I'm very happy for you." Jenny said, and in that moment she meant it.
"Thanks. That means a lot, really. Thanks."
Jenny closed the door, started the car and drove off. She glanced in the rearview
mirror as she went. What a bizarre fucking day. She still couldn't wrap her head
around it all and she needed to think. She needed to be alone and think, and she
knew exactly where to go.

Chapter 59
JENNY
Jenny drove to the top of a hill just outside the town. At the top of the hill was
a small shallow cave that she and her friends had hung out when they were younger.
There was a large rock outside the cave and if you sat on it, you could see for
miles and miles around. She climbed out the car, munching the ginger biscuits. Emma
was right, they were great.
She sat down on the rock and looked around. She could see the small street below
with the small shops, the town hall, the church, school and the old hotel dotting
it. And then, stretching out from the small street, the farms that spread out in
all directions. It was quiet and peaceful. She pulled the pregnancy test out of her
bag again and stared at it.
Two lines. Yup, there they were. They were not going anywhere.
She held her head. She wasn't sure what to feel. Whether to be angry at herself for
being so fucking stupid, or be happy because she was having a baby- no matter who's
it was- or to be terrified because she was jobless, penniless and living with her
parents and about to become a single mom because her baby daddy was fucking
married! Should she even tell him, it would probably just be a little inconvenient
speck on his perfect royal life. His perfect royal bride would not like it at all-
that's for sure.
She dug in her bag again and pulled out her wallet where Rafiq's number was. She
was overcome by a desire to phone him - maybe he would know what to do. She looked
at it for a while and then scrunched it up in her hand and threw it to the bottom
of her bag again.
She couldn't really tell anyone about this either. She had signed all those papers
about this being confidential, about legal action being taken if she told anyone
about what happened. No, she was all alone in this and there were only three things
she could do.
Have the baby. Abort the baby. Or adopt the baby out.
Jenny ran her hands over her stomach and wondered if she would look and sound as
happy as Emma was when she spoke about her baby. Some people tried forever to have
babies and never did, and now she had one. A tiny little life growing inside her.
She couldn't help the tiny smile that broke out across her face.
A baby. A cute, pudgy, smiling, cooing- but crying- baby. If it was a boy she could
run around with it outside, climb trees. If it was a girl, maybe it would have
fiery red hair that she could plait and tie up with cute little pink bows. And
maybe it would look like Husain? Those dark features and signature green eyes.
She got up and dusted the sand off her skirt. There was only one thing to do. She
would have the baby and raise it as best she could and hopefully give it the life
it deserved. And one day when he or she asked where and who dad was... she'd cross
that bridge when she got to it.
But she's never been pregnant before. What did she need to do next? Have a scan?
Didn't she need to take vitamins or something? What did she need to buy?
Her mind drifted to Emma again. Maybe she could ask her what she needed to do next,
after all she was pregnant too.
Jenny almost laughed, when they were kids they had joked about being pregnant
together and their kids growing up as best friends too. How weird.
Maybe this was meant to happen this way? Maybe she was exactly where she was meant
to be right now, and everything that had happened- no matter how hard and horrible-
was exactly how it should be.
Just her and her little baby.

Chapter 60
HUSAIN
By the time Hussain got back to the room that night, he was drunk. He'd had way,
way too much to drink- but that was really the only way he had managed to get
through the day. The ceremony, the reception, the speeches and her... she smiled
the whole day like the cat that had gotten the cream. She and her family- his
family too- had always wanted this.
He gulped out of the bottle of very expensive Champagne. It reminded him of the
first night he had spent with Jenny, here in fact. In this very room. The wedding
suit. Any moment his bride would be up here, no doubt wanting to consummate their
marriage.
But he was in no mood for that. Not with her anyway. Jenny was another story
though. He fell onto the bed with the Champagne and continued to gulp it down like
water. And just as he had predicted, his wife, wife, came through the door.
"Hello husband." She looked down at him and started peeling her clothes off with a
smile. Her dress went first, revealing the sexy, pink lace underwear that he had
brought for her all those months ago when they had been in Monte Carlo. She looked
down at him and he could see what she wanted.
Perhaps he should just give it to her. Fucking her might be a good distraction
right now to the painful feeling of his heart breaking. After all, he could do
that. He was good at it. Pushing feelings aside and fucking them away.
He put the Champagne bottle down.
"Come here." He half slurred the words.
She smiled at him, maybe if he closed his eyes he could imagine it was her. Sophia
climbed on top of him straddling him. She rubbed herself up against him and...
Nothing happened. Not like him. He reached out and put his hands around her waist
and ran them up and down. She threw her head back and ground into him and again...
nothing. His body was just not responding the way it should be right now.
He went around the back and undid her bra. Her breasts were big and fake and looked
hard to the touch, not like Jenny's. Sophia grabbed his hands and ran them over her
breasts. She continued to writhe and grind into him and he was expecting something
to happen, that familiar thing that clicked in him when he wanted to escape and
forget and disappear....
She leaned down and started to kiss him, he kissed her back, trying.. trying to
feel something, but...
"I can't do this." he pushed her off him and he stumbled to the other side of the
room. "I can't." he said again.
"Playing hard to get are you?" She stood up and dropped her panties and started
walking towards him. He held his hand up to keep her back.
"I can't."
"Please don't tell me it's her, seriously? Her?"
Husain moved away from her again. "You knew what this was coming into it. You knew
this was practically an arrangement marriage-'
"What's that got to do with fucking Hussain. It's not like that has ever stopped
you before."
"Well maybe I'm different now."
She burst out laughing. "I doubt that, maybe you just need a little bit more
convincing." She approached him again and without much warning, stuck her hand down
the front of his pants.
He stepped away again. "Stop. Just fucking stop."
A look of fury and rage passed over her face. "Please don't tell me you think
you're in love with that chubby, freckly girl."
Husain lurched forward. "HEY! Don't you ever fucking talk about her like that
again."
Sophia burst out laughing cruelly. "Oh my God has it actually happened... the great
Hussain fallen in love?" She walked away from him and picked up the Champagne and
sipped it, "It doesn't feel nice does it," she turned and looked at him, "the
feeling of your heart breaking." She took another sip, "Oh well, you've probably
got what's coming to you finally."
She climbed into bed and lay staring up at the ceiling, "So where are we going on
honeymoon? I hope it's somewhere cold, this heat is killing me."
Husain stood and looked over at her. Was this his life?
He was suddenly filled with panic. Panic and regret. He'd done the wrong thing,
he'd done the wrong thing. He should have told her and married her and let Amir
become King and...
He had to get out of the room. He ran for the door and burst through it. He ran
down the corridor as fast as he could all the way to Rafiq's room. When he got
there he banged on the door and it was opened.
He pushed his way past him. "Tell me I did the right thing?" He asked feeling drunk
and frantic and panicked.
"Tell me why I did it again?" He sat on Rafiq's bed and looked up at him.
"You did it because Amir cannot become King. You did it because your dying father
asked you to. You did it to keep her safe from Amir."
Hussain nodded. "Then why does it feel so fucking wrong." He put his head in his
hands and started crying. "Fuck." he said again, as Rafiq came and sat next to him
and draped an arm around him.

Chapter 61
3 months later
"A what?" Jenny said sitting in the lawyer's office. She and her parents looked at
each other.
"Who?" Her dad said.
"Miss. Bethany James." The lawyer answered.
Jenny's father shook his head. "Never heard of her."
"Your mother's second cousin's, aunt."
Her dad shrugged. "That is one of the families names, but I've never heard her
mentioned. My mom and dad are both deceased and I don't have any siblings so I
can't even ask them."
"This is actually more common than you think," The lawyer said, "people don't know
all their distant relatives and many people don't think to draw up wills."
"So some distant relative of ours, who none of us have heard of, dies three years
ago, no will, no close family and we are the next of kin and so her money goes to
us?" Jenny asked.
"Yes." The lawyer said looking down and shuffling the papers.
Jenny crossed her big cardigan around her and tried to hide her big stomach. If she
was right about where this mystery money was coming from, she did not want them to
know she was pregnant.
"How much?" Jenny's mother asked.
The lawyer pushed the papers across the table and they all leaned in and looked.
jenny heard a collective gasp rise up from her mother and father.
"And.. this is real, this is not a mistake, this is for us?" Her mother asked,
there was an excited desperation in her voice.
The lawyer nodded and Jenny's parents released a collective sigh of relief and then
hugged each other.
"I can't believe it." Her father said. Jenny looked up at them and the worry that
had been carved into their faces was gone.
"Me neither." Jenny said looking at the lawyer trying to size him up. Her parents
looked so happy and excited that she could see they weren't going to look a gift
horse in the mouth. They were so happy and excited that they were probably going to
overlook the oddness of this- even if the lawyer said it happened all the time.
"I just need your signatures and then it's yours. Each of have been given varying
amounts."
Jenny bit her lip. A clever move by Rafiq. Give her parents money too, and of
course Jenny would not be able to refuse. Rafiq would have known- no doubt- about
her parents situation and he would have known that if he did it this way, she would
not be able to refuse it. And the amount wasn't so massive that it would cause
total alarm, but it was enough. More than enough.
Jenny signed the papers and she and her parents exited. They looked so relieved and
happy that she decided to just drop it. Accept the money, pretend it's some
amazing, fortuitous, gift from God knows where.... only she knew exactly where the
money came from.
Besides, she was pregnant now and that changed things. Her daughter would be
arriving soon and legally she would be entitled to ask for child support, so this
was like that, just all at once. In a way it was a relief, she wouldn't need to
worry about Abigail. That was the name she had decided on, Abi. It hadn't been her
first choice, Madeline had. Maddie. But she and Emma had both liked that same name,
the day they were reading through the baby name book together.. So they'd written
the names on pieces of paper and put them in a hat. That's how she'd landed up with
Abigail. She smiled to herself, Abi and Maddie. They already sounded like trouble.
She had to drive back to town now, she was having a baby shower for Emma later who
was due any day now and she had to rush back to help Anton finish decorating the
house while she was out.
Life wasn't so bad here actually. She'd rekindled friendships that she couldn't
really believe had ever been over. It all seemed like such a childish fight now,
and the three of them back together felt great. Like they had never been apart at
all. She reached the car and suddenly heard a clicking noise, it sounded like a
camera flash, she swung around and looked behind her. But there was no one there.

Chapter 62
RAFIQ
Rafiq looked at the photos and his blood ran cold.Froze in his veins. If Amir knew
that there was another heir to the throne, he would... he would, he didn't even
want to imagine what would happen. At this stage Jenny was totally off Amir's
radar, but this would put a mark on her back.
That was his first thought, the second was of her. How alone and scared she must
feel. He couldn't even imagine it. He still held himself partly responsible for
everything that had happened, he should never have dragged her into things, and he
had promised to protect her and promised that 'everything would be ok.' But it
wasn't ok. Clearly.
And then there was Hussain... he sighed. If he knew about this, he would run
straight there and then Amir would know. He had no idea what to do? Tell Hussain,
not tell him. Hussain was barely hanging on by a thread right now. He had just
taken the thrown, his father was basically on his death bed and he was drinking too
much and miserable as hell. His "Queen"- meanwhile- was leaving the palace a lot
lately and meeting up with a friend in the capital- a lot.
He had been watching Amir like a hawk too, he'd even had someone follow him, and
they still had nothing but some unsubstantiated guess. You cannot come out and
accuse someone- a member of the royal family- of the murder of five people and
attempted murder of someone else without proof.
Rafiq walked over to his cupboard and opened it. He kept his safe there, in it was
a photograph of the only person he had ever loved, and now he would put this in
there and hope that the information would never come out.
For now anyway...

Chapter 63

4 months later

Jenny stared down at the face of her daughter. She had been staring at her for
hours already, but she just couldn't stop. She had no idea a person could feel such
love. It was as if a massive part of her heart had never loved, until this very
second. Abi was staring up at her just as much as she was staring down at her. She
had the most magical green eyes- Husain's eyes. They were unmistakably his. Her
hair looked red, though.
Her mother and father had already been in to see her, Anton, Emma and Maddie had
also just been there and she was settling in for her first night with her daughter.
She was exhausted, labour had not been a fun affair, that's for sure, and if it
hadn't been for Emma, she thought she was going to die at some stage.
It had been a bitter -sweet moment the second her daughter had been passed to her,
she had held her to her chest and burst out crying. She cried from the relief of
the pain being over, she cried because she was flooded with such overwhelming love
for this little person and she cried because she was still in love with Hussain,
and he wasn't there.
With her daughter lying on her chest, she finally closed her eyes and succumbed to
sleep. The nurse would probably be in soon.
**
When Jenny woke up, she didn't feel the heaviness of her baby on her chest anymore.
"Abi!" She shot up in an absolute panic, she had never experienced such panic
before, not to know where her daughter was for that second. He eyes scanned the
room and in the corner, seated on a chair was the dark silhouette of a man. For one
tiny second she thought it was Hussain and her heart leapt but then the man stood
up.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," Rafiq said walking forward. He was
cradling Abi in his arms.
"Rafiq!" Jenny was shocked to see him.
"Sorry, you were asleep and she was waking up and... I thought you needed to
sleep." Rafiq said walking over to the bed and handing Abi back to Jenny.
Jenny smiled up at Rafiq, "How long have you been here?"
"About two hours."
"I've been asleep for two hours?" Jenny looked up at the clock.
"You obviously needed it."
Jenny looked down at her baby. Abi was asleep now, she had been sleeping peacefully
in Rafiq's arms for the past few hours.
"How did you get in here? Only relatives and close friends are allowed?" Jenny
asked looking around.
Rafiq smiled, "I told the nurses I was your mother's second cousin's aunt."
Jenny managed a small chuckle.
"Congratulations." Rafiq said finally sitting on the edge of her bed. "She's
beautiful... her eyes...."
"I know." Jenny said looking up at Rafiq.
"Does-" Jenny started.
"No. He doesn't know I'm here, he doesn't know about Abigail either."
"Good." Jenny said. "I'm glad." She bit her bottom lip. Just thinking about him
while holding his baby in her arms, was so devastating.
Jenny and Rafiq sat in silence, there was so much she wanted to ask him and say to
him, but she didn't.
"Well, I just came to see how you were and to meet Abigail." Rafiq finally said
standing up.
"Thanks." Jenny said to him, despite everything she had such a soft spot for this
guy.
"And I just wanted to remind you that if you ever need anything, you just call me."
Jenny nodded. "I think we'll be okay." She said looking down at her angel, "We'll
be ok."
Rafiq pulled something out of his pocket. "Here." This is not from him, and it's
not for you. It's from me and it's for Abi.
Jenny held her hand out and he dropped something into it. It looked like a diamond
"What is it?" She asked looking at it while it glinted in the light.
"It was from my great grandmother. It was a diamond from her wedding ring. We were
all given one. I was meant to use it when I got married, but I never really got
around to doing that and I don't have any children, and you are... anyway, just
take it."
"It's beautiful." Jenny said looking at it.
Rafiq stood there staring down at Jenny for a few moments and then leaned in and
placed a kiss on her forehead, he then kissed Abi on the forehead.
"She really is lovely, you should be very proud."
"I am." Jenny said.
"I'll get going now." he started walking towards the door and turned around once
more, "If you ever, ever, ever need anything, please..."
"I will." Jenny said.
"I'm sorry, again. About everything."
Jenny looked down at her baby. "I'm not sorry. Look what I have." She smiled up at
Rafiq who walked out and disappeared down the corridor.
Chapter 64
6 Months later
HUSSAIN
Hussain sat in the jet opposite her. They were having another fight. Of course they
were, all they did was fight. The fight was about the usual too, sex.
She wanted it, he didn't. She wanted to start trying for a child, he did not. Not
that he didn't want a child, but he didn't want a child with her. He wanted a child
with Jenny. That was who he wanted, and who he wanted to have a family with. In the
last year and a bit of their marriage they'd had sex a handful of times. And on
all of those occasions he'd had way to much to drink and was just... he wasn't
sure.
Trying to feel something. Scratching an itch. He didn't know. But it had been awful
and he could no longer just do that- have meaningless sex with someone he didn't
love. And now, to make matters worse, she had a schedule. She and her OBGYN had
drawn up a schedule and given him a copy.
Ovulation times were marked in pink on a little calendar, the little window in
which he would need to perform like a performing monkey. Times and dates when he
needed to have sex with her in order to get her pregnant. He looked over at her and
sipped his whiskey watching while she texted away on her phone.
She was dressed in the most expensive clothes, dripping in jewelry and her make-up
was perfect. It was always perfect.She had been groomed and bred to fill this kind
of a role- Queen. Since she was a little girl, this was the kind of role that she
was meant to fill. Everything was perfect, except for that one little massive
problem- Husain refused to have sex with her.
She looked up at him and glared. He glared back, he was so sick and tired of
fighting. He hated himself for doing it and hated the way it made him feel, and her
too. He didn't hate her at all. He didn't want to hurt her and make her cry, but,
well, he didn't love her and he didn't want to have a baby with her. Not now
anyway. At some stage he would probably need to bite a bullet and just do it. Not
that he wouldn't love his child, but.., fuck it was complicated.
It was complicated because Jenny was all he could think about. Everyday. Every
night. Always. She was the last face he saw when he went to sleep and the first
face he saw when he woke up in the morning.
And when he wasn't seeing her face every five minutes, he was thinking about her
and trying to imagine what she was doing and where she was and if she was happy? He
hoped she was happy, even if she still did hate him. That was the part that killed
him the most. Her, out there somewhere thinking that she meant nothing to him. He
often wondered, now that some time had passed, couldn't he just call her up and
tell her the truth. Tell her that he did love her, had loved her and everything
between them had been real. He'd thought about that conversation a million times
before, but then what?
"Hi Jenny. I did love you, I still do love you and think about you all the time,
but I'm married to someone else now." It sort of seemed like a cruel conversation
to have. And maybe she was getting on with her life and had met someone else. The
idea was both terrifying and comforting. He hated the idea of her with anyone else,
but he also didn't want her to be lonely and unloved.
"We could say we were struggling to fall pregnant and we could go for fertility
treatment? That way you don't have to actually touch me, you can just do into a
cup, if that's what you're into." Her voice was cold and biting. He didn't really
blame her.
"I'm not into doing it in a cup." Husain said coldly.
"Well you are not into doing it the other way either. So what will it be?" She
crossed her legs and put her phone on the table in front of her.
Husain finished his glass and poured another one. "I'll think about it."
"That's what you said last month, and the month before." She barked.
Husain got up and walked away to the other side of the plane and sat down. He put
his head in his hands. He could not believe this was his life. This was it.
He looked out the plane below and for a moment wished the plane would just crash.
Go hurtling to the ground so that he didn't have to live like this anymore, didn't
have to spend one more day loving her and not being able to be with her.
He didn't know how he was going to carry on like this...

Chapter 65
6 months later

Jenny collapsed down on the couch and curled up in a ball, she was exhausted.
"See you in two hours," Emma said pushing the prams out.
"Make it five hours please... or maybe a day, or..." she didn't even finish her
sentence, she fell asleep. She and Emma did this regularly to let to let the other
one sleep. Having a seven-month-old was a killer. Having a seven-month-old who was
crawling, was a major killer.
But her eyes must have only been closed for a few minutes when she jumped up. Fuck!
She hated this. Being so exhausted, but not being able to sleep because her anxiety
levels were sky high. No one ever told her that when you become a mother you become
anxious- always wondering where your baby is and what it is doing, and what it's
about to choke on or break or fall down...
Fuck! She sat up now. She was wide, wide awake. And she was thirsty.
She got up and walked out. Anton and Emma's house was situated behind the shop. She
walked through the garden which looked like a child's wonderland, they had a big
playpen there with every toy imaginable in it and they would dump the kids in there
and sit on the veranda and drink wine in one of those rare moments of relaxation.
In one of those rare moments that she was wearing something other than yoga pants
and a t-shirt with vomit on.
She walked into the shop and straight to the fridge at the back and grabbed a Coke.
Anton was behind the counter.
"Couldn't sleep again?" He asked
"Nope." She said sliding up to him.
"Here, do a crossword, that should help." He slid the magazine over to her and she
smiled at him. The first time she had seen him after coming back it had been
awkward. Emma had insisted they all get-together and talk it out. But after five
minutes of serious "sorry's" some tears and more sorry's, they all just started
talking like old friends again. So much time had passed, so much had happened in
each other their lives, that it all felt so stupid to hang onto anymore, and from
that moment onwards, it was like nothing had changed between them. She was glad he
was back in her life, she wouldn't have coped without them truthfully.
Jenny took the magazine in her hands and looked at it.
"Another word for The material a house is built with... Oh God, you're right this
sucks." She flipped the magazine closed and gasped.
"What?" Anton asked looking at her with concern
She felt sick just looking at it. His face was plastered across the front of the
magazine with the headlines, "Royal scandals; adultery and murder!"
"What?" Anton asked again looking at her. "You're worrying me."
Jenny started flipping trough the magazine as fast as she could, her fingers were
shaking. Her palms were sweaty and it was making the pages stick together.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she said trying to pull them apart.
"Jenny?" Anton was on his feet now.
Jenny found the page and started reading. With each word she started shaking more
and more.
"The Queen Sophia caught in affair scandal..."
She looked at the photo and there it was, a voyeuristic picture of her and another
man.
"Heart broken Hussain, shocked at his wife's betrayal..."
And there he was... she sighed. God he was still so fucking gorgeous. He was seated
at a table holding his head, it was another voyeuristic picture and the caption
read, "Prince crying over his wife's affair."
Her eyes moved to another picture of him. This time he was looking directly into
the camera, his green eyes made even brighter by the son. Looking at him like this,
was like looking straight into her own daughter's face. Her heart started beating
hard in her chest and each breath she took caught in her throat.
She continued to read, vaguely aware that Anton was tapping her shoulder now.
"Murderous plot unveiled as King is believed to have been poisoned by another
member of the royal family, Amir who is now behind bars awaiting trial..."
"Oh my God," Jenny's hand flew over her mouth. She kept reading.
"With murderous plots and divorce scandals the royal family is reeling..."
Divorce? Hussain was getting divorced and Amir was going to prison. She looked up
and held Anton's gaze for a few seconds before she started to cry. She didn't know
why she was crying even. It's not like he was going to come running back to her
now, or....
She didn't know why the hell she was crying. But she was. And she couldn't stop it.

Chapter 66
HUSAIN
Husain was reeling from the weeks events. First, Rafiq had caught Amir putting
something in his father's food which turned out to be Arsenic. Amir had been
poisoning the king for months and months, slowly killing him to get him out the
way. And then a few days after that scandal broke, the photo's of Sophia having an
affair came out. It felt like time stood still for everyone that week.
His father had been saved just in time too, now that the doctors knew what was
happening they could start trying to treat him, although they had said that much of
the damage was not reversible. The moment that he'd seen the photos of his wife and
her driver, his first thought had been of Jenny. He was no longer going to be
married and Amir was no longer a threat. It was like all the things he had been
hoping for finally came together.
He didn't know what to do with himself, he was desperate to fly to South Africa and
find Jenny and beg her and plead with her and ask if there was any chance that they
could pick up where they left off. But...
What if she had moved on and arriving on her doorstep a year and a half later would
just fuck her life up? Husain went looking for Rafiq, who had been acting strange
these last few days. Not that everything wasn't strange, but he could see that
something was going on with him.
Hussain found Rafiq in the library sitting very oddly by the window looking out
over the gardens. He was holding what looked like photos in his hands.
"I was looking for you." He said moving towards Rafiq.
Rafiq looked up and Hussain stopped. "What's wrong?" There was something so odd in
the way that Rafiq was looking at him.
"It's been a big week." Rafiq said.
Hussain nodded. "It's been, hectic."
"To say the least." Rafiq echoed.
Hussain watched as Rafiq fingered a the pile of pictures he was holding in his
hand.
"What's going on?" Husain asked suspiciously. Something very weird was up and it
had nothing to do with what was currently going on with Amir and his wife, soon to
be ex-wife.
"I have to tell you something." He said slowly and carefully.
"Ok. You're sort of scaring me." Hussain said, there was something in his eyes that
unsettled him completely.
"But before I do I want to you know that everything I do, everything I have done is
always in your best interests."
"I know that old man, why are you getting so sentimental on me now?"
Then Rafiq reached out and grabbed Hussain's hand. "You are like a son to me, you
know that?"
Hussain squeezed his hand back, "Yeah. I know that. I feel the same way, you've
always always had my back and you're always right- even though I hate to admit it
most the time."
Rafiq pulled his hand away and pushed a photo accross the table towards Hussain.
"This is the man I love. have loved my whole life but..."
Hussain took the photo and looked at it. It was a photo of a much younger Rafiq
with his arm around another good looking guy.
"I've never shown anyone that, until now."
Hussain looked up at Rafiq and felt touched by this. The fact he was sharing
something so intimate and personal with him.
"He's not at good looking at you." Hussain smiled at him and passed the photo back.
"We were not allowed to be together, " He said, "The law forbids it and it would
have been unsafe for me to contact him, or keep in touch. It wouldn't have been
safe for either of us."
Hussain nodded.
"I wish I could get a second chance though, if I was given one, I would take it."
Rafiq then pushed two pictures accross the table and Hussain gasped. He had no idea
what he was looking at for a few moments and then...
"Is that... is she.... is...." He stuttered at the picture stupidly.
"Pregnant." Rafiq said.
Hussain felt his heart explode, "Is it, mine?" he asked, his voice was shaking.
Rafiq pushed another photo over. It was of a tiny baby. It stared up at the camera
with big green eyes and in that moment Hussain was completely overcome. He grabbed
his chest as the feeling hit him. Love. Pure unadulterated love.
"It's...?" He looked up at Rafiq stuttering again,
"She. Abigail."
Hussain grabbed the photo and pulled it all the way to his face and started. She
was the most perfect, beautiuful thing he had ever seen.
"I didn't tell you, because I did not want Amir to ever know, not until it was
safe. You understand, right?" Rafiq sounded desperate, like he was afraid Husain
was going to hate him.
Husain looked up and nodded. "You.... you, it was the right thing to do.... is she,
I mean...?" He was making no sense but Rafiq seemed to undertand him.
"I met her. I held her and she is perfect. Jenny is well, she looked good. Tired,
but really happy."
Hussain just continued to nod. Almost dumbstruck. "I.. I... what must I...?"
"You must go to her. Go to her and try to make it all right." Rafiq said.
Hussain leapt accross the table and hugged Hussain and then without sauing another
word, he left.

Chapter 67
JENNY
Jenny sat waiting for Emma to come back with the babies. She had to tell someone
who Abi's dad was. She could not walk around with this secret anymore, it was
killing her. Especially now that the family was in the news and probably would be
for months to come. She was gripping the magazine in her hand. She trusted Emma.
After everything they had been through and the time apart, in the end it had just
made their friendship even stronger.
She sat on the veranda waiting for her to return, she saw the prams coming round
the corner. She stood up the second she saw Emma.
"I have to tell you something. I have to tell you about Abi's dad."
"Ok." Emma rushed, truthfully she had been waiting for this moment, although she
had never pried. "Let me pop the girl in their pen."
Emma lay both the girls on their backs, looking up at their mobiles. They cooed and
played with each other hitting the colored toys and taking each others hands. They
would probably fall asleep like that soon. Clinging onto each other. Emma and Jenny
could look at them for hours while they slept like that.
"You have to promise not to tell anyone though." Jenny said.
"I won't. I promise. On Maddie and Abi's little chubby lives. I promise."
Emma moved over and sat next to Jenny, who was still visibly shook up. Jenny didn't
say a word, instead she just passed the magazine article over.
Emma looked at it, scanning it at first, not sure what to make of it until she saw
the photo of Husain and his green eye.
"Oh my God." Emma lowered the magazine. "His eyes." She glanced across at Abi. "You
mean... him... he is...?"
Jenny nodded. "Yes."
"How?"
Jenny hung her head, this is the part that she was dreading. But she tole her the
whole story and Emma listened and nodded and took Jenny by the hand when she teared
up and started crying.
"You still love him?" She asked.
"More than anything." Jenny confessed. It was the first time she had said that out
loud to anyone. "But I mean nothing to him."
"But this whole thing sounds odd, I mean, I wasn't there but it sounds like he
loved you."
"I thought so. But why would he have me thrown in jail and say those things?"
"Maybe he was trying to protect you from the evil guy?" Emma said pointing at the
photo of Amir.
Jenny looked at the photo of Amir and then back to the photo of Hussain. She had
never considered this, not once. She had been too overwhelmed with saddens and
anger to think about the reasons why he would do it. And when Emma said it,
something about it made sense. Maybe that was just her foolish naive hopes again...
"And he doesn't know about Abi at all?"
"No." Jenny said, "And I have no idea what I am going to tell her when she asks."
Emma squeezed Jenny's hand. "I always thought Abi was a princess, our little
princesses, that's what we called them. But a real princess, that's just..."
"Crazy. I know."
"More than crazy." Emma admitted. "Wow. We are in the presence of royalty. Should
we start curtsying to her?"
Jenny looked at Emma and smiled. "I hope she doesn't grow up and start behaving
like one. She is already so full of herself."
The two women sat there in silence for a while looking at their children.
"You are a great mother." Emma finally said to Jenny.
"You too."
"What can I say, we rock!" Emma nudged Jenny with her shoulder. "And I'm here for
you."
Jenny felt so much better for telling someone about this. It felt like a massive
weight had been taken off her shoulders and she signed a sigh of relief, but she
also couldnt stop thinking about what she had said.
What is Hussain had only done that to protect her from Amir? What if he did lo- she
cut that train of thought off. She could not afford to go there.

Chapter 68
HUSAIN
Husain was freaking the fuck out. Understatement. He had lost his mind just a bit.
His private jet had landed in Cape Town international airport and then he had to
wait to fly to Bloemfontein. He paced the airport. He didn't know what to do. In a
few hours he would be meeting his daughter- hopefully. And then Jenny..
"Fuck" he said out loud and a mother and child turned and glared at him. "Sorry.
Sorry." he apologised and moved on to pace some more. He passed a shop selling baby
things and walked in. he picked stuff up, all the pink stuff anyway. He had no idea
what was age appropriate, or what sh... Abi... would like. So he bought it all.
Literally. He bought one of everything and walked out with an obscene amount of
bags.
He then walked over to a jewelry shop. Should he buy Jenny something. A diamond
ring? The whole shop, what the hell could he do to prove that he loved her and was
more sorry about this than he had ever been before?
He walked over and looked at all the diamonds- they seemed so dull when he compared
them to her.
"Fuck it" he said again and tried to sit still. He tried to hide his face too, as a
few people recognised him and snapped some pictures.
An hour later he was on his plane, the seats were piled up with bags of pink fluffy
things and he was wringing his hands. Rafiq had told him not to prepare anything,
to speak from the heart, but he wasn't listening and was currently trying to
prepare a speech. One of those speeches that the hero gives at the end of the
romantic movie that totally wins the heroine's heart.
"Fuck it." He grumbled again and started looking at the cute pink caterpillar that
he had bought. He tossed it back on the chair and then started pacing the aisles of
his jet. It felt like a millennium before it touched the ground and he was in a
car. He hadn't bothered to hire a driver, and in all honesty, couldn't really
remember the last time he had driven himself anywhere. GPS on. Go North.
He'd donated some of the babies gifts to the people at the car hire place, because
the bloody Porsche he's hired didn't have enough room. Why had he hired this car?
And why oh why was he driving it like a kid that had just gotten his licence?
He followed the GPS voice and everything seemed ok, until he reached the bad, dusty
road. It wasn't tarred and it looked rough. He wondered if- in the history of the
planet- whether anyone had ever attempted to take a Porsche off road before. He
crawled along the road slowly. Every time the car went over a bump is shuddered and
he could hear stones flying up and hitting the car on the undercarriage. This was
not good.
And then, predictably, the tyre burst. Husain climbed out and looked at the spare.
He looked at all the tools that came with the spare and looked at the tyre. He had
never changed a tyre before! Maybe if he Googled it...
But no cell phone signal in this rural place.
He'd walk. No big deal. he'd walk in the country, in the blazing son in his YSL
suit. What was he wearing a black suit in the middle of the day?
And so he walked. The son was killing him and he had only walked for thirty
minutes. At some stage he couldn't take it anymore and pulled his jacket off and
dumped it on the side of the road. Water! He needed water!
He pressed on and as he went pulled his shirt out of his pants, unbuttoned most of
this shirt and rolled his sleeves up. He was like some wild man trekking through
the desert. Finally he saw a small town in the distance and decided to start
running.
He finally arrived on the road that ran through the town. It looked like this place
considered of one road and one road only. he saw a shop ahead, he needed something
to drink. He walked inside and it was empty. Such a small town thing, leaving a
shop opened and unmanned. He went straight to the fridge and downed two Cokes in
quick succession and then dumped a handful of notes on the counter.
Now what? He had no idea where Jenny was, but this was a small town and people knew
everything here. He caught site of a door at the end of the shop and walked through
it looking for someone who could help him. He popped out into a small pretty garden
that looked more like a Kindergarten, and then he heard it...
The sound of a baby cooing.
He approached cautiously, looked around and there was no one in sight. He walked up
to the playpen on the grass, under the shade of a tree and looked in. He froze.
His heart felt like it ripped out of his chest when he saw the green eyes looking
back up at him. The tiny tufts of red hair tied at the top of her head with a
little pink bow. He reached down for the baby- his baby. His daughter and
tentatively picked her up. She responded instantly by reaching out and touching his
face and tugging at his hair.
He had never felt anything like this before. This immediate, rush of massive
unconditional love. He pulled his daughter towards him and buried his face in her
neck, God she smelt amazing, like flowers or something. He could hold her forever
he thought.
He just stood there, holding the baby in his arms and he'd never felt happier in
his entire life. His eyes teared up. He couldn't help it, these emotions he was
experiencing were almost too much to contain inside him.
But where was Jenny? She wasn't the kind of person to leave her baby. He looked
around and that's when he saw the unfamiliar women sitting on a bench staring at
him. She had a look of shock plastered across her face and suddenly he realised she
must think he was here to steal a baby or something equally terrible..
"I'm not," he said, "this is, and..."
"I know." The woman said getting up and rushing for the house,
"Jenny! Jenny!" The woman called.
"What, is something wrong?" He heard a panicked voice answer from inside the house.
He looked up just as Jenny come running outside... she looked up and their eyes
locked.

Chapter 69
JENNY
Jenny could not believe her eyes. He was here. And he was holding her.. their, he
was holding their baby. And the way he had just been looking at her, it made her
love him even more. God, she didn't want to fall in love with him even more. But
looking at the father of your child, looking down at your baby with such awe,
adoration and love in his eyes, was about the most beautiful thing she had ever
seen.
And that was saying a lot, because he looked totally beautiful right now. His eyes
locked with hers. She had imagined this moment so many times, all her anger towards
him, the rage, the betrayal would culminate in her giving him a look that could
kill. But that didn't happen. Even if she had wanted her face to do that, it was
out of her control. She smiled at him and he smiled back in a way that melted her
heart.
"Ok, well..." Emma was scuttling up and down like a crab. "I'm just going to... um,
I'll take Maddie and leave you guys to... Hi, I'm Emma and you, your majesty
whatever... I'll shut up now. Sorry."
Emma pushed past him almost tripping and got Maddie out the play pen, then she
disappeared into the house.
Husain looked at after her and smiled. "She seems nice," he said to Jenny.
God his voice. She had heard that voice so many times in her dreams it was
unbelievable.
"She is. She's been very helpful, with Abi, and the girls are the best of friends."
"That's great." Hussain nodded, "I'm so happy you have had someone to help you,
and... " He stopped and looked at his daughter again. "She's perfect!" He said, his
voice almost cracking. "You brought the most perfect little thing into the world."
He looked up at her with an expression she could only describe as wonder. "You're
amazing."
Jenny felt herself blush. As she did, Abi started crying. The look that washed over
Hussain's face was the same look that she'd had when Abi had cried for the first
time. He looked panicked.
"Have I done something... " he looked at her, "Is there something wrong." He pulled
her away and looked at her as if he was examining her.
Jenny walked up to him and took her, "She's just hungry."
Jenny walked into the kitchen and returned quickly with a bottle and sat on the
bench outside. She looked up at Hussain who was hovering.
"Would you like to." She held the bottle up for him.
"Would it be okay?" He looked nervous.
"Totally fine."
Husain took the bottle and Abi and started feeding her, as soon as he did she
stopped crying. The two sat in silence watching Abi drink, it was a weird surreal
moment, and it felt right. Despite everything that had happened, something about it
felt right.
"I stopped breastfeeding, "Jenny said, "It hurt like hell!"
Husain looked at her and smiled. "Really? Tell me everything. Tell me everything
about her, and you."
"Well, she is a nightmare at night. I mean, she doesn't want to miss any fun so she
forces herself to stay up late."
"What else?" He asked.
"She is crawling like a mad thing, the other day I turned around for one second
and she had almost crawled to the other side of the house. You wouldn't think
something with such chubby little legs could move that fast."
Hussain was looking at her as if he was listening to every single tiny word she was
saying and absorbing it all. "What else?"
"She and Maddie, that's Emma's baby, are as thick as thieves let me tell you. They
are going to be trouble as soon as they both start walking, Oh, and she hates
bathing, hates it more than anything!"
Husain smiled at Jenny. "I've missed so much." He said softly looking down at her.
"I missed the moment she came into the world."
"MMMmmmm, trust me, that moment was not pretty. You could quite happily miss out on
that, I think I turned into a devil women, I screamed the place down and almost
broke one of Emma's fingers."
Husain reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "I should have been there for
that. I would have let you break my arm. I should have been there and I wasn't."
Jenny shrugged. "Well, we can't go back in time, can we?"
"I wish I could,though, all those things I said to you the last time I saw you."
"I don't want to talk about it," Jenny said.
"But I do. I need you to know that everything I said was... it wasn't true. I loved
you. That weekend we spent together was the best few days of my life and when I
asked you to marry me, I meant it. I love you- I do."
Jenny looked at Hussain for the longest time, trying to figure it all out. "So why
did you say it all?"
"Rafiq advised me- not that it's an excuse- he advised me to make sure I said those
things so that Amir thought you meant nothing to me. And in retrospect, that was
definitely the right thing to do. But if it were up to me, I would have-"
Jenny cut him off. "But you married someone else. You went and you married someone
else."
"I know. And I'm not going to sit here and defend it, but believe me when I say I
only did it because I could not let Amir become King and my father gave me an
ultimatum, and it was his dying wish... ...I thought he was dying..." he paused.
"I'm so sorry about that, is he okay now?"
Hussain shook his head, "Better, but too much damage has been done to his organs. I
don't think he has much time, it's bought him some, but he's not going to be around
for another five years."
"I'm so sorry. And Amir?"
"He's behind bars, permanently. You and Abi are totally safe." He glanced down at
Abi who had stopped feeding now and like a puppy with a full tummy, was falling
asleep on him.
"And your wife?" Jenny said moving around uncomfortably in her seat. Just saying
those words made her feel very uncomfortable."Is she...?"
"We're getting divorced. And she and I... we didn't, hardly ever at all, in fact
that's why we are... I didn't, really all I could think about was you."
Jenny shot Hussain a look, "Oh, please. It's been almost a year and a half later."
Jenny stopped herself, this was the last thing she wanted to speak to him about,
how many times he may, or may not have had sex. "Don't worry. That's between you
and her anyway."
"I am getting divorced though," he said meaningfully.
Jenny kept quiet as Hussain passed Abi to her and stood up.
"This is not really going the way I had thought it was going to go. You are
supposed to be shouting at me, God, I even imagined you chucking a piece of
furniture at my head and I would totally deserve it."
"I've shouted at you in my head for the last year and a half, so that's over now."
"But still, you were meant to be shouting, and I was meant to be crying and on my
hands and knees and telling you how much I am so madly in love with you, how in
love I am with our daughter, how much I want you and I was going to beg you to give
me another chance." Hussain said looking at Jenny. "That's how I thought things
would go."
"Sorry, I didn't get that script," Jenny said with a small smile, "But since I am a
failed actress, I'm sure I could do all that if you want."
"Are you not even angry with me? Do you not even resent me for not being here and
hate me for what I said and want to kill me?"
Jenny shook her head, "No. What I would like to do though is put Abi in her
stroller and take her for a walk, she sleeps better like that."
"Ok." Hussain looked caught off guard.
"Do you want to come?"
"Sure." He jumped.
Jenny put Abi in the stroller and the three of them walked out onto the street
together like a real family might.

Chapter 70

Husain
Husain watched as Jenny lower Abi into the stroller and buckle her in. Her hair
was messy and scraped back, piled on top of her head in a massive bun. She had no
make-up on and her face was full of freckles. She was wearing baggy tracksuit pants
and a shirt that looked like it had drool and vomit on the shoulder, it probably
did. She also had a sprinkling of powdered milk on her forehead, where it looked
like she had wiped her face.
And yet, he had never seen her look so incredible before, ever. This mom look she
had going on right now, beat anything in an expensive evening gown and jewelry any
day of the week. He hadn't realised that he could love her even more, but he did.
Watching her with his daughter made his heart burst with joy and love- he'd never
felt anything like it before.
They walked out onto the dusty street and Jenny looked around. "How did you get
here?"
"I walked." Husain said, "Literally. Not joking. I walked."
Jenny looked at him sideways with the cutest smile and he thought he was actually
about to forget his name.
"I forgot how cute you were," Hussain said wondering if he was allowed to reach
over and touch her. He wanted to touch her so badly right now, in a million
different ways.
"Cute." She said. "I'm not sure that's the right word."
They continued to walk and Hussain looked around. This place was dead. Desolate
even. It looked like one of those tiny one street towns in a western, he was half
expecting to see a tumbleweed roll past.
"I know, " Jenny said, "Not exactly the palace gardens."
The two of them continued to walk up the street together, every now and then Husain
would catch himself and wonder if he was dreaming, was he actually taking a family
stroll up a road with the woman he loved and their child.
This was not something he ever thought he would find so enjoyable, but it was
amazing. And he never wanted it to end, ever again.
"So will you marry me then?" the words just came flying out of his mouth.
Jenny stopped pushing the stroller and looked at him. "Sorry, what?"
"Marry me!"
"Just like that," Jenny asked. "I must just forget everything that happened and
marry you?"
"Yes." Hussain said moving towards her slowly. He saw her look at him and respond
in the way she always used to when he was about to reach out and touch her.
"And then what?" She asked.
"And then we live happily ever after. You me and Abi and all the other brothers and
sisters we want to give her."
"I... I..." Jenny was doing that cute little nervous stutter thing she did. He'd
thought about that so many times before.
Hussain stepped closer, fuck it, he was going to touch her now, and kiss her and
convey to her how much he loved her.
Jenny didn't back away. Instead she stood dead still and waited. He walked all the
way up to her and reached up and touched her face. She closed her eyes in response
and let out a loud breath. He looked down at her face and ran his fingers over it,
tracing her lips softly.
She finally opened his eyes and Hussain put his face all the way up to hers,
touching her nose.
"I'm going to kiss you now." He said to her, his lips almost touching hers and not
waiting for a reply at all. He kissed her and it was better than he had imagined it
would be. She tasted salty, and sweet and had a trace of powdered milk on her lips.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer and he almost screamed with
happiness when she did the same. They stood there in the road kissing and it felt
like they had never been apart and were picking up where they left off.
For the first time in ages, Hussain's body was actually responding the way it
should and fuck.. he needed her.
"How long does Abi sleep for?" he asked breathily in between kisses.
"She'll wake up soon."
"So tonight then..." he carried on kissing her, it was getting faster and more
desperate by the second.
"I live with my parents you know."
Hussain pulled away. "Crap!"
Jenny smiled at him, "My dad would chase you with a shotgun."
"I wouldn't blame him," Hussain said grabbing her head and kissing her again.
"Then a hotel? A babysitter?"
Jenny smiled at him. "I think I can arrange that."

Chapter 71
JENNY
Jenny stood outside watching Hussain reading to Abi as she lay in the crib.
"And the kitty went meow, and the bunny went hop-hop, and the duck went quack-quack
all the way home."
Abi was sleeping at Anton and Emma's house, and was sharing a crib with Maddie, so
the two girls were both listening to the story and smiling when Hussain made his
hand hop up and down like a bunny.
Jenny smiled and walked off to give them some privacy. Emma and Anton were seated
in their lounge still looking awkward as hell, since they had a prince walking
around their house. Jenny joined them and Emma leaned forwards.
"Can I hire him to read stories every night?" Anton said
"I don't think you can afford him?" Jenny quipped.
After a few more minutes Hussain came walking into the lounge. He looked so out of
his depth here in this small farm style house. Probably like she had looked the
first time she came into the palace.
"That was fun." Hussain smiled at them all. "I think they're both asleep."
"Thank you." Emma said. The three fell into a semi-awkward silence for a while
until Jenny broke it when she stood up and walked towards Hussain.
"So... shall we?" She linked her arm through Hussain's and started heading towards
the door, "I'll see you in the morning," she called over her shoulder.
"Don't rush. Take your time." Emma said in a little sing-song voice and Hussain and
Jenny exited. "At least one of us is getting some..." She joked and shot her
husband a look.
"I owe you guys." Jenny said as she walked out.
They walked out into the street. It was evening and the light was dim and the place
was alive with the sounds of crickets.
'So where are you taking me?" Hussain asked grabbing Jenny by the hand. He laced
his fingers through hers and it felt so normal and natural.
Jenny pointed. "There." Across the road stood the old hotel that had been built,
and probably service about seventy years ago. Jenny smiled, "Have you ever stayed
anywhere less than 5 stars?"
Hussain smiled. "No."
"Well this is going to be an experience for you then."
"As long as I'm with you..." Hussain pulled Jenny back and into his arms, "I don't
care where I'm staying."
"You're saying that now because you haven't seen the place yet."
"Really?" Hussain pulled away. "I could call for a helicopter or something and we
could be-"
Jenny put her hand over his mouth. "No, I think it's time you roughed it a bit.
Learned how the other half lived."
Jenny felt Hussain's hands around her waist and her body stiffened. She had thought
about this night with him for so long, but she was also feeling totally self-
conscious. He hadn't seen her since she'd had Abi. Things didn't quite look the
same. Stuff was a lot wobblier and wider and her stomach was dotted with small
stretch marks that no matter how many creams you rub into- do not go! So to have
his hands on her waist right now evoked two feelings, and one was fear.
But it still didn't stop her from letting him kiss her.
"Fuck I love you." He whispered against his mouth while he kissed her which just
made her want him even more. She hadn't kissed anyone in so long that she thought
she had almost forgotten how to, but clearly it was like riding a bike.
Husain slipped his hands around to her back and then up her shirt. She moaned as
she felt his hands against her skin. His kissing got harder and faster and hungrier
and if they didn't get out of the street right now, they would probably be arrested
for indecent exposure in a few more minutes.
Husain stopped and pulled Jenny by the hand, dragging her across the road as
quickly as possible. They checked in, not that they needed to, the place had three
rooms, max and walked into their room. It was and old room, sparse, with a small
double bed, a few paintings of cows and other farm animals on the walls and a
terribly looking bedspread. Jenny looked over at Husain.
"It had a bed. It's perfect. That's all we're going to need." And with that, he
approached her with sucg intention that she froze to the spot. He'd always had that
effect on her. He immediately reached out, taking the hem of her shirt and started
tugging it up over his head.
"Stop. Wait." Jenny said stopping him.
"What?" He asked looking at her.
Jenny cringed, "It's just.. um, well... can we keep my top on."
"Absolutely not." Hussain started tugging on it again, but Jenny stopped him.
"I'm being serious... it's... I'm..." All Jennys' self- confidence suddenly
plummeted. She remembered how perfect his ex-wife looked like, and how imperfect
she looked, now that her body looked like a roadmap of the journey to motherhood
she had just gone on.
"Close your eyes." Hussain whispered, clearly he wasn't taking no for an answer- a
usual Hussain trait.
So she did. And she cringed thinking about what he was about to see.
She felt the top lift off and head it fall to the floor. She heard a sharp in
breath from Hussain and suddenly felt his hand on her stomach. Her totally
imperfect, stretch-marked, slightly loose skinned stomach.
"You're so beautiful," He said tracing his fingers over it.
Jenny opened her eyes and looked at him. He was looking at her stomach in a strange
way, as if...
"Everytime I look at you now, I'll be reminded that your are the mother of my
child. That you brought the most precious thing to me into the world."

Chapter 72
HUSSAIN
Her body looked completely different now. He could see it immediately. Her hips
seemed a little wider, waist thicker and her stomach bore all the marks that you
would expect a new mother to have. He traced his finger over the pale lines on her
stomach and marvelled at them. He wished he had seen her pregnant, he wished he had
been able to run his hand over her big belly and feel his child growing inside-
seeing all these little marks and touching them now, was the closest he would ever
come to that. And knowing that this was the women that had so obviously carried his
child, made her more attractive to him that she had ever been before. And he
couldn't hold back a second longer...
He pulled her pants down immediately, threw his shirt off and wiggled out of all
his clothes. He walked her backwards to the bed and climbed on top of her
immediately. It was very possible that, no matter how hard he tried right now, that
this was not going to be a very long affair. He brought his mouth down to hers as
he kissed her. Deeply. Slowly at first. But as soon as he removed her bra and
looked down at those familiar breast that he had longer for, the kissing changed.
His lips left her mouth and traveled down to her breasts and then her stomach. He
reached down and pulled her panties down, wasting no time in pushing her legs apart
and putting his hand between them. She winced and he knew that she wouldn't need
that long either. They were both so excited and turned on right now, that this
would be one of those quick, and very satisfying affairs.
"I can't hold back anymore, he said, "I jus have to..."
He didn't finish the sentence, he just pushed his way inside her and she reacted
immediately with a load moan and quick breathy gasps. He reciprocated and moved
faster and harder. Jenny clawed at his back which just drove him even more wild
with lust for her.
Suddenly she started calling out, "Hussain.. oh my God.. Hussain..." she repeated
his name over and over again and he simply lost all control. He was gone in that
moment as he got faster and faster. Soon they were both moaning loudly, so loudly
that he was convinced they would have woken up someone, somewhere.
He collapsed on top of her, out of breath and lay there. The room was silent,
except for the sounds of them both gasping for air.
"I love you." He whispered into her ear, barely getting the words out.
"I love you." She echoed.
Hussain finally pulled away and looked at her. "If you give me ten minutes or so, I
think I could probably do that again with a lot more finesse."
She smiled up at him. "Who said I want finesse."

Public service announcement

Hi,
Ok, so this has been brought up a few times by a few people throughout this book-
and it is something that I take very seriously and was aware of when writing it.
A few people commented that I had not made the characters wear condoms- which is
totally irresponsible as people, they should have (in real life) But it was just
one of those things where I didn't want to write a sex scene only for Husain to
say, "Stop, let me go get a condom."
I do take this very seriously, though, as I live in South Africa with the highest
rate of HIV/ Aids in the world, so I should never neglect things like that- even if
I did need an accidental pregnancy.
So just imagine that this book is set in a totally unrealistic world where stuff
like that does not even exist! :)
And when you guys are all out and about planning on getting 'giggy' please do
remember to have a sex scene that is interrupted by someone getting a condom!
Signing off of the public service announcement and commencing soon to last two
chapters.

JO X

THE END

1 year later
Husain stood at the top of the aisle. It was a dreamlike moment, it was so surreal
and magical all at the same time, that he hoped if he pinched his cheek, he wasn't
going to wake up and realise that this was all a dream.
He literally grabbed his chest as his daughter and Maddie came walking around the
corner throwing petals on the floor with their chubby hands. She was the most
beautiful thing he had ever seen and he didn;t know he could love anyone so much.
The crazy, overwhelming love for a child is something he couldn't ever imagine
feeling like this.
And then he smiled as Abi sat down in the middle of the aisle and tipped all the
flowers out of her basket and stuffed a petal in her mouth. Maddie soon joined in
and within seconds the two were doing their own thing.
Emma rushed up behind them and scooped them up in each arm and rushed down the
aisle, taking her position up as bridesmaid. But Abi was having none of it and she
waddled across to Husain who was forced to pick her up.
So there he stood, with his daughter in his arm, waiting for the love of his life
to walk around the corner and marry him. Husain had gone to great lengths in
trying to make himself look good for the day- and that including carefully doing
his hair which was currently being pulled and pushed by a chubby little hand. A few
people in the audience laughed and so did Hussain. he had come to understand that
with a child- life is never predictable. There are surprises around every corner
and just when you are on your way out to meet the Prime Minister of a country, they
will throw up on your suit. He'd never been happier... no, well that was a lie...
the second he saw Jenny walking up to him, this was the happiest moment of his
life.
She smiled at them both and shook her head. Abi gave a loud "mama" as Jenny walked
closer. He remembered the first time that Abi had said 'dada', it had been one of
those moments in life that he would never forget. He remembered everything about
it; where he was, what time is was and what they were doing.
He was looking forward to a life time of 'dada's' from multiple children he might
add. Jenny looked incredible. She was wearing such a simple dress, she had refused
all the big designers that had scrambled to offer her a fancy dress for the
wedding.
But she looked perfect and this was the most perfect moment of his life. When
Hussain thought about it, it was almost as if he had never lived until he met her.
He had certainly never loved.
She had awakened him and taught him how to love and now he was marrying her and
they would spend a lifetime together. He would be sure to wake up every morning and
tell her how much he loved her and how grateful he was that she had saved him...

End note

Well, there you have it ladies, the cheesiest book I have ever written in my life.
I was sure I would never write a book about a billionaire bad boy prince and an
unexpected pregnancy.
So that's it, I've done it and it was fun- I admit. But hell of a cheesy in
moments, so much so that I even cringed!!!!
Thanks so reading and don't expect another book like this from me again!!!
JO XXXX

60 years later
Jenny knew that this would be the last time that she would ever come down here. Her
body was failing her now, but she knew that she needed to see the place one last
time.
Her son and grandson were supporting her as she walked slowly along the beach. All
she could hear were the sounds of the waves and the joyous laughter coming from her
great grandchildren as they ran ahead of them. It was the most beautiful sound she
had ever heard and she wanted to remember it for the rest of her life... however
long she had. She knew that her moments were running out fast, and so she would
cherish each one and hold onto it as closely as she could.
They finally arrived at their destination and walked out the cave and into the
sunlight. The day was perfect and the sunlight glinted off the blue pool in front
of them. This was such a special place for her. It had been the first moment that
Hussain had let her in, showing her the one place that he had never showed anyone
before. And then they had made love in the water, a memory she would never forget.
But it was even more special to her now. It was Hussain's final resting place. His
ashes had been scattered here, and now they were a part of this place forever.
A tear came to her eye, she wiped it away. She had promised herself that she
wouldn't cry today. Today she would only be happy, remembering the life that they
had had together. The memories that they'd shared, the laughter and the tears. The
highs and the lows. All of it. She gazed across at her son, he was a splitting
image of his father. He was kind and gentle man, and an even better King.
"Sorry we're late!" She turned as Abi came running onto the sand. She run up to her
mother and kissed her on the cheek. Her daughter was so much older now. Her once
red hair was a beautiful grey color, but she was still the same beautiful baby that
she had held in her arms so many years ago.
She looked around, and everyone was there. Her children, their children and her
great grandchildren who had made a beeline for the water already. Her son helped
her into a chair he had brought and she sat there under the shade of the palm tree
that she and Hussain had spent so many hours under.
She watched her family carefully. Studying each and every one of them. She wanted
to remember every tiny detail about them all, because she knew that this was going
to be the last time that they would all be together.
Hussain had died four years ago and she had wanted to join him ever since. But
there had been a few things she had wanted to see first, the birth of her last
grandchild being one of them. But she knew now that it was time to join him. She
wasn't sure what she believed in, heaven, and afterlife- but she just hoped that
whatever was waiting for her, that Hussain would be there to meet her.
She looked up at the clear blue sky and inhaled deeply. The air was warm and smelt
salty. Her life had been wonderful. She had lived the best life that she could ever
have lived with Hussain by her side. The love that she'd had for him had only grown
over the years. And the love that she had continued to feel for him, even after she
had held his hand while he had taken his last breath, had never faded.
Their last words to each other had been, 'I love you," and when she saw him again,
those would be the first words she spoke to him again.

Vote for Acting Royal

HI!
After a whole bunch of deliberation, I have decided to enter Acting Royal into the
Watty awards. (Since you all seem to like it)
So please go over to Wattpad's Twitter account and vote for it TODAY (1st August)
for the Watty's People's Choice Awards. #Wattys2016
You can only vote today, and please tag me too, JoWatsonWrites. And while you're
at it, follow me.
Thanks so much for reading this book, commenting and Liking it. And thanks for
getting it to 1 million reads so quickly.
JOX

*Announcment*
Hi everyone,

I am so, super excited to let you all know that Burning Moon is finally in book
stores!!
You can grab a copy at Barnes and Noble and Books a Million. So if you read the
book online and have always wanted to own the paperback- now you can! The paperback
is also an extended longer version.
And to prove the awesomness, here is a photo taken by the amazing SarahLWhite who
rushed out and bought one.
If you get one too, please be sure to take a photo and Tweet me at JoWatsonWrite
and post it on Instagram #BurningMoonBook.
Thanks again, ( I can't say this enough) for making this happen for me. I am so
gratefull to you guys who keep reading my books and loving them.
JOX