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12
ROYA
INSIDE THE PALACE, I was ushered swiftly along, no one talking to me. Apparently any verbal contact with me, the family outcast, had been expressly forbidden. Every aspect of my life here had always been so desperately impersonal that this silence made hardly any difference.
The other women surrounding me melted miraculously away, leaving me with just the guard regiment. I did not walk with my head bowed as the men marched me directly across one of the many courtyards. They escorted me straight to my suite of rooms and locked me inside without a single word spoken.
There in the bedroom, someone had been fast at work. Every single item Aris had packed up and delivered back with me lay strewn all over the floors and furniture. My jewelry had been trashed and stomped on. The clothing slashed and torn.
It seemed so trivial, but my anger intensified. Those colorful ruined outfits and the shattered baubles were a metaphor for my life.
I waited, knowing the hammer would fall in a much more destructive manner soon. Demolishing my personal belongings was only the most visible form of punishment.
It took two full hours before I heard the key turn in the lock.
Father closed the portal behind him, standing there with a pinched look on his thin face. I’d often wondered what my mother or any of his other wives saw in him, but then, nothing at this level of royalty had anything to do with romance or love or even attraction.
It was all about expanding the empire built by men through arrangements beneficial only to those men.
His cold gaze swept around the room and my scattered, shredded clothing. Only then did a faint hint of satisfaction gleam in his eyes.
“I am so honored that you’ve graced me with your presence.” Sarcasm dripped from my tone.
He moved a step farther inside while I rose from the seat near the windows. “I do not even recognize you anymore, Roya.”
“Well that’s probably because all your female offspring are interchangeable to you. Much like your wives.”
“Your impudence will not serve you well,” he said sharply.
“And I will no longer pretend to have any respect for you, in public or otherwise.” Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I glared at him head on.
Screw keeping my voice down and my face lowered.
“Your antics end now.” A slight man, he stomped a foot on the floor.
It was almost enough to make me laugh.
“Forthcoming, you will not have the chance to disobey me, in public or otherwise. You have brought disgrace on this family and your misbehavior will not be tolerated.” His voice rose at the end.
He didn’t enjoy arguing because he’d never had to. He just snapped his fingers and those around him were too cowed to challenge him.
I actually rolled my eyes at him, a western gesture that made his mouth prune tight.
“You will stay here in your suite with no visitors or friends—”
“I’ve never had a friend in all my life thanks to you!”
“Until I reach an agreement with Hamzah Al Waleedi.”
That announcement made me falter. I had to place a hand on the windowsill to steady myself.
Father saw the chink in my righteous armor, going for the kill.
“Come now,” he chided. “You didn’t think I’d show you favor after this and pick a younger, more suitable suitor, did you?”
Hamzah was a fat old swine who blamed his wives for his inability to breed them with child. It was a well-whispered fact that though he could rise to the occasion, so to speak, his ill health and ponderous weight meant the act of penetration became difficult.
Small mercies.
There were also the rumors about the small size of his member, and his general lack of potency.
He beat his wives mercilessly for their barren state, intent only on creating a long line of heirs.
I would become his third and youngest wife. And I’d rather die than have to lay beneath his obese, sweating flesh. I’d rather kill myself than carry a child of his, not that that was likely to happen.
Straightening again, I put every ounce of hate into staring down Father.
Beady eyes returned the wrath of my gaze. “Are you still a virgin as Aris claimed?”
It was with utmost delight that I gave him a smile at full wattage. “As a matter of fact, you’ll be most displeased to know I did away with that pesky obstacle. I gave my virginity to Aris last night and he was very, very thorough.”
Father’s face turned an alarming shade of purple before he forcibly composed himself. “No one will find out as long as you act accordingly on your wedding night. And you are never to speak of it, or that Russian animal, again.”
His voice shook. The finger he pointed at me trembled.
I kept smiling, shrugging one shoulder.
Father left with a jarring slam of the door, which he locked once again.
Releasing a shriek, I hurled a priceless vase. Futile rage consumed me as the fine crystal exploded against the portal, adding to the mess.
