Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
“I’ll be right outside. I’ll knock when Elissa gets back and after you’ve eaten, I’ll escort you to Queen Yasmine. She asked about you earlier.” He stepped out and closed the door behind him.
“Are you sure you won’t have some coffee? I can get you some cream and sugar, if you like,” Hanin said, his hand on the ornate silver pot.
She shook her head. Tea sounded so much better. “No, but thank you.”
“You don’t mind if I pour some for myself, do you?” He was already reaching out for another cup.
“Feel free. Now, what is the problem, Hanin?”
He was silent while he poured the steaming hot coffee. When he turned around there was a frown on his face. “The problem is one of perception. I’m worried that when certain stories come out, and they will eventually, your past will bring down the royal family.”
She stilled because the whole room seemed to chill. “What are you talking about?”
“Do you think Kashmir’s whore of a girlfriend is the only one who knows about your past?” Hanin asked, his tone dark and nasty. “I have been the queen’s right hand for years. I helped her investigate you.”
“And I assume you disapproved.”
“Of course I did. You’re common. Worse than that, you’re not even a proper female. You argue with your betters.”
“My betters being men, I suppose.” Oh, her mother-in-law was going to be disappointed, but Hanin was leaving the palace today. He would not be allowed back, but she was interested in seeing how far he would go.
“I’m sick of this generation of women not knowing their place. The queen has always known. She didn’t argue with her husband or her son, and her son is an idiot.”
“I assure you the queen had control. She might have done it in a sneaky way, but Queen Yasmine did not sit back and allow the men around her to run things. She simply didn’t take credit for her work. My generation doesn’t have to dissemble.” She stood up. Maybe she wasn’t so curious. She was ready to go and be with her family.
She was ready to start the fight for Kash’s heart because he was worth it, and she needed to tell him that. In plain English. Hanin was right about one thing. Her husband could be an idiot at times. Especially when it came to his own emotions.
“Your generation will bring down this monarchy with your disgusting need to expose yourselves, your every emotion, your wants and needs,” Hanin continued. “No one cares about them. Society can’t work when everyone is an individual. Can’t you see that? We need the crown and the crown needs true royalty.”
She held up a hand. “You’re dismissed, Hanin. I don’t want to see you here again.”
He gripped the coffee cup like it was a lifeline. “You can’t do that. You can’t fire me.”
“I can and I did. My husband will back me up, and once my mother-in-law has heard how you’ve spoken to me, she’ll be on my side as well.”
“The queen won’t believe you.”
Day gestured up to the camera that covered the living room. “She’ll see you. She might not hear things, but there’s no doubt you’re being less than gracious right now.”
His mouth turned up in a nasty smirk. “Oh, but I cut that camera out of the feed. With all the new security, it was easy to explain that the king wanted more privacy. No one questioned it. So we really are alone right now, dear, and I truly wish you’d tried the coffee.”
That chill she’d felt before went positively arctic as Day glanced down at her own cup. “You poisoned the Scotch.”
“I was watching the ballroom and I saw when Tasha hauled Kashmir off. I saw when you strode in and made a spectacle of yourself. I’d been watching for days and knew you liked to play the man. I knew you had a glass of Scotch with the king. So when he sent you up, I sent up Jamil with the special Scotch I’d had prepared. I knew you would get there first, and like the weak slut you are, you would need that drink. You almost took it. I almost had you.”
She’d come so close to falling into that trap. “You could have killed Kash.”
“It was a risk I was willing to take, but I planned to rush in and save him. Then we could have found a proper bride.” He stared down at the cup in his hand. “I didn’t know Jamil was a thief.”
“He wasn’t a thief. He was the king’s friend.” She started to back up, trying to put some distance between her and the man who’d tried to murder her only a week before.
“The king must be taught that he is above us all. He can’t be friends with the help. He must be the king, exalted and revered. That’s what we’re missing. I believe a bride, a pure royal bride, could teach him this. Or at least she could have his child and we could start over again.”