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She shook her head slowly, a great sadness running through her. Once, she had wanted nothing more than to be married to the great Sheikh Zayn Al-melara. But he’d hurt that innocent young girl beyond repair. When he’d broken her heart, he’d broken it completely, and she knew she’d never be the same again.
Julia wanted to beg him not to do this. He was a very wealthy man. He could help Colin with the spare change in his pockets, just about. There was no need to throw her into the bargain. Except that, for reasons known only to him, he’d decided he wanted to marry her. And Sheikh Zayn Al-melara was not someone to accept defeat.
“Stop it!” She whispered harshly. “Just stop talking about it like that. Just stop.”
Her anguish was obvious, but he was done feeling sorry for this woman. She had fooled him once before. He’d believed her to be all that was sweet and good in this world, and he’d been wrong. He was not going to be wrong about her twice.
She twisted the ends of her hair around her finger. It was a gesture that was so sweet, and so familiar to him, that he felt a strange lurch in the pit of his stomach.
Her earnest eyes sought his. “Did you ever really love me?”
“Love is a fantasy,” he said with an impatient wave of his hands.
“So that’s a no?” She turned away from him, so that he wouldn’t see how deeply his words hurt.
Zayn watched her carefully. He knew she had made up her mind to accept, and yet still, she was seeking a way out. It did not please him. He had always believed that, when he finally chose his bride, she would be grateful. Eager to
take her place by his side.
“What about work?” She stared unseeing out of the window, towards the stables that housed Colin’s beloved horses.
Zayn’s confusion was genuine. “You will not need to work.”
“I want to work,” she said, spinning around to face him. “You obviously think I'm lazy, and that I have no work ethic, but you're wrong. I have just spent four years slaving away to get my degree. I fully intend to put it to use.”
“What job could my wife possibly have?” He said with arrogant disbelief.
“You don’t have law firms in Naman?” She lifted her chin defiantly.
“You will not have time to join a law firm, Julia.”
“Of course I will,” she said with a determined insistence he admired.
“You will be a princess. Even you must see it is not possible.”
She pursed her lips. “What about your mother? I remember you saying once how you were proud of her for how hard she worked.”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “She heads committees. Fundraises.”
Julia nodded eagerly. “Fine. That will work. I have to do something, Zayn, don’t you see that? I’ll go spare if I’m simply expected to be on your arm. You understand, don't you?”
“I will think about it.”
“Zayn, I’ve never been good at handling the spotlight. How can you expect me to marry someone like you, knowing I would never want to be in the public eye?”
He resented the need to lie to her. It weakened his upper-hand to be dishonest. But he knew her naturally shy disposition, and it would be a major problem for Julia if she thought he might ascend to the throne of Naman, taking the place of his older brother. He was impatient now. He had not come here to negotiate, after all, but to take what he had long thought of as his. “I have answered enough of your questions. Now it is your turn to answer mine. Will you marry me?”
A sense of non-reality flooded her limbs as she heard herself say, “Yes. If it's the only way to save dad, of course I will.”
CHAPTER THREE
"Married?" Colin turned his watering blue eyes on his only daughter. She was the spitting image of his wife, Benita, and he felt a clutch of jealous love rip through him at the idea of her leaving him. They had been two peas in a pod for as long as he could remember, and though he knew it was selfish, he'd come to depend on her. He dredged a smile up from somewhere, though it felt heavy on his lined face. "This is sudden."
Julia's eyes flew to Zayn. Not by a single flicker of his expression did he show any discomfort. "Not so sudden, Colin. We met years ago, after all."
Colin frowned. "Has this been going on since then?"
Zayn's eyes locked with Julia's. "It was inevitable, from that first meeting."
