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“Yah!” he sounded to the horse and galloped off. The King watched him gallop off. He knew his brother was up to no good and was not going to listen to him or anyone else for that matter. He wondered how it was going to turn out. If Saja had a temper as Badir said she did, then this was going to be brutal. His brother was not merciful. It would be better for everyone if Basil returned Saja to her family.
The King quizzed his brother about Saja's family over dinner. If indeed he did not like her personality and if she lacked all that he solicited in a woman, why did he not simply give her back? He did not understand why she was still in his palace. Basil reluctantly told his brother everything from El-Tamar to Saja. The King was shocked to learn about El-Tamar's lack of love for his daughter. Yes, she was an illegitimate child but that did not change her DNA. His blood flowed through her veins. The King could understand why she despised him.
“Poor girl,” the King said. “Instead of inflicting more pain, send her home,” he added.
“How is your concubine situation?” Basil asked his brother, changing the subject. He was not willing to discuss Saja any further. The King laughed at the topic Basil decided to shift to.
“Well she and the queen are driving me crazy with their feud.” King Al-Qadir had a wife, who was the queen and he also had a concubine. The two of them could not co-exist and lately it was getting out of hand.
“Of course they are feuding. One woman is not easy to deal with, imagine two,” Basil laughed. He had warned his brother not to get a concubine. That kind of tradition was old fashioned but his brother was not fond of the queen from the beginning, since it was a political marriage. So, he decided to find another woman to bed.
Basil went to Saja's quarters in the morning. She had to yell at him every day, as if it was part of her routine. He decided to let her get it out of her system in the morning, so that she did not come to argue with him later in the day. He especially did not want her arguing with him in front of his brother.
Mona and Amber had already set the breakfast table. Saja dragged her feet as she walked into the dining room. She groaned when she saw Basil already sitting there.
“Pick up your feet,” Basil said to her. Her walk was irritating him and he noticed that she was wearing her pyjama shorts and a vest again.
“Why are you here?” Saja asked him. She sat down at the table.
“Is it not my palace?”
“Your point?”
“I can go wherever I please, when I please.”
“Send me home.”
“Will you give that up.”
“No.”
Basil picked up his cutlery and started eating. Saja did the same. She could not even be bothered to say much. She had concluded that he was crazy. Either that or this was some sort of game to him. There was no way to convince him to let her go. He acted as though she was requesting the impossible. They sat there eating in silence for a moment.
“I did not know you were a doctor,” Basil said breaking the silence.
“How would you know? You always assumed things about me,” Saja replied.
Basil sighed before he replied. “I am getting sick of this attitude of yours,” he said and put his fork down.
“Good! Maybe you'll do what a normal person would do and that is to LET ME GO!”
Mona and Amber slowly left the room. The peace had only lasted a few minutes and now they were going back to war. They could not witness it. It was far too awkward. Basil stood up and walked over to Saja. He pulled her up.
“Let go of me,” she said and tried to yank her arm free but failed. “What, you are going to hit me?” she asked him.
“You think I would strike a woman?” he asked. It annoyed him that she thought that he would hit her.
“Then let go of me.”
Basil stared at her intensely. He strangely found himself staring at her lips and then her cleavage. Saja was feeling both angry and awkward. She hated how he grabbed her so roughly. She noticed him looking at her cleavage. She raised her free hand and slapped him. Basil flinched. He had not been expecting the slap at all and it stung. She was heavy handed.
Saja half expected him to slap her back or yell at her but to her surprise he did neither. Instead, he pulled her closer to him and held the back of her head with his other hand. Saja's eyes flew open when he pressed his lips against hers. She tried to fight him off but he kept kissing her. She stopped fighting him and clung to his shirt with her other hand. She let him kiss her. She felt a warmth in her stomach and a few electric pulses run through her. Basil broke the kiss and walked away. Saja took a few moments to come back to her senses.
“Don't ever do that again!” she called out after him.
He paused halfway. “Don't forget that you belong to me now and I can do whatever I please with you,” he said and walked out. Saja stood there breathless and confused. The kiss was fast and passionate. And it felt amazing. She did not understand how it happened nor had she seen it coming. It surprised her that he would even kiss her.
Chapter 10
