Page 112 of The Billionaire's Timed Wife

It doesn’t escape me, and surely not her, that he doesn’t give her the courtesy title usually granted to the first wife of a former sheikh. It’s a message: her privileges are over.

“We intend to pursue the death penalty,” our attorney says bluntly, without preamble.

She finally deigns to speak. “Death penalty? I’m not being charged with murder!”

“Yes, death. Perhaps you should have studied the law before attempting to take the life of the unborn prince and the wife of His Highness, Sheikh Kaled. Crimes against members of the Royal Family are punishable by death, whether or not the attempt succeeds.”

She blanches and returns to whispering with her lawyer. Then he asks for a brief recess to talk to his client.

It feels like an eternity before they return, though my watch says only ten minutes have passed.

“Is there any possibility of a deal?” her lawyer asks.

“What kind?” our attorney replies.

I glance at Kaled, full of doubt. He can’t let her slip away. She has to pay.

But when he meets my eyes, I can tell he’s asking for my trust.

“One that takes death off the table,” the lawyer says. “We’d accept life imprisonment under house arrest.”

I relax a fraction. I don’t need her to die, as long as she pays and is removed from society.

Kaled looks at his father, who has listened in silence until now, face impassive.

“No,” Kamran says. “If she delivers her accomplice and details of this heinous scheme, we’ll commute the death sentence to life imprisonment, but not at home. A common prison.”

“Kamran, you can’t be serious,” Eiza says. Until now, she hasn’t shown a shred of shame before her husband.

“I am,” he answers, steady, and then, to the shock of everyone in the room, he renounces her three times aloud.

They are divorced.

The woman’s shock is visible. She looks ready to faint.

“So then, about the deal . . .” our lawyer continues, unflinching, as if nothing extraordinary has happened.

Perhaps understanding for the first time how dire her situation is, the woman finally yields. “Arif Ghazal. He is my accomplice. The reason we didn’t want this pregnancy to continue was so that our grandson would one day rise to power. My daughter Nalini is not Kamran’s child; she’s Arif’s.”

It’s as if someone hit a mute button. No one expected that.

I look at my father-in-law, worried how the revelation might affect his health, but the strength radiating from him surprises me. It’s like watching an older version of my Kaled. There’s so much dignity in his face that it hurts to see his life exposed like this.

If it’s possible, I hate Eiza a little more.

Apparently, he recovers before anyone else. “Did my daughter Nalini know about your plans?” he asks Eiza, and I’m awed by his honor. Any other man would disown the girl he raised as his own on the spot.

“No. She knew nothing, and she has no idea you aren’t her father.”

He nods once.”Make the deal. If she delivers Arif to us, we will spare her life.”

I leave the room shortly after, letting the lawyers hash out the terms. Kaled follows me, but his father insists on staying to the end, a pillar of resolve.

I couldn’t remain in that woman’s presence. Being near Eiza is like staring into the face of evil.

In the corridor, with my husband at my side, we see Amin approaching.

“I have bad news, Your Highness.”