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Chapter 52 The Fake Wedding?
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DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 53 I Want To Love You
THE NEXT MORNING they boarded the royal jet to Paris. Since last night Amira had felt closer to Abdullah than ever before, even though neither of them had put a name to what they felt. Perhaps it was too early to put such fragile feelings into words; in any case, Amira was simply glad to be sharing Abdullah’s life, and that he wanted her to.‘You must be very close to your aunt,’ she said as the plane took off and they settled into their seats. A royal steward brought a tray of coffee and pastries into the main cabin.Abdullah poured milk into both of their coffees, his mouth twisting in something like a grimace. ‘I am, but it is a complicated relationship.’‘How so?’‘When Aunt found me, I’d been in the desert for three years. I was...’ He paused, his gaze on the bright blue sky visible from the plane’s windows. ‘Difficult. No, that is putting a polite spin on it—feral is a better description.’Feral. Amira swallowed and blinked back sudden tears. Emotions, ones she’d suppressed and
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 54 The Secret
As they left the airport for Aunt’s Diyannah townhouse near the Ile de la Cité Abdullah marveled at the change in himself. He felt like some shell-less creature, pink, raw and exposed, everything out there for another person’s examination. It was a strange and uncomfortable feeling, but it wasn’t necessarily bad.He’d been glad to tell Amira about his childhood, his aunt, his own fears and weaknesses. He’d never talked that way to another soul, yet he craved that kind of honesty with Amira.He just didn’t know what to do next. How it all would actually work. Take one step at a time, he supposed. For now he needed to think about Aunt Diyannah.He’d phoned her from Muscat, so she was waiting as their limo drew up to her townhouse and their security detail quickly got out to check the surrounding area.Aunt Diyannah came out to the front steps, her face wreathed in a tremulous smile, her wispy white hair blowing in the breeze. She looked so much older, Abdullah thought with a pang, and h
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 55 Not His Son
Abdullah stared at her, his expression shuttered. ‘You are speaking in riddles.’ ‘Only because I am still afraid to tell you the truth,’ Diyannah admitted quietly. ‘But I can see you have changed, Abdullah. I know you love Amira—’‘Don’t tell me what I feel.’ Abdullah cut her off brusquely and everything in Amira cringed and shrank. What was happening, and how had it all gone so wrong, so quickly?Because it hadn’t been strong enough to begin with.‘Abdullah.’ Diyannah faced him directly, bravely, as if she were facing a firing squad—a death sentence. ‘Hashem is not your father.’His expression, amazingly, did not change. It did not so much as flicker. He didn’t even blink.‘Say something,’ Diyannah said softly and a muscle in his jaw bunched.‘Nonsense.’‘You don’t believe me?’ Diyannah blinked, incredulous.‘Why are you telling me this now, Diyannah, after so many years?’ He nodded towards Amira. ‘Is it because of Elena? Because you think I’ve changed?’Amira flinched; he sounded s
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 56 I Am A Pretender
Amira paced the salon of Diyannah’s townhouse, her mind spinning, her heart aching. Abdullah had left that morning, right after that awful confrontation, and although it was nearing midnight he had still not returned.Diyannah had gone to bed, after reassuring her that Abdullah would return soon and things would look better in the morning. Amira had felt like shaking her. Things wouldn’t look any better in the morning, not for Abdullah. She knew what kind of man he was, how strong and proud. How he’d built everything on the foundation that the throne of Jumeirah Dubai was his by right. To have it taken away would devastate him...and he would be too proud to admit it.And how would he be feeling, knowing that the man he’d thought was his father wasn’t? That the truths he’d insisted on believing for so long, that had been sustaining him, were actually lies?She longed to see him, to put her arms around him and comfort him. To tell him it didn’t matter to her whether he was Sheikh or not
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 57 The Place Called Sohar
‘You don’t know what her situation was, Abdullah. How unhappy she was, or what drove her to it.’He nodded slowly. Amira knew it would take a long time for him to find peace with these revelations,, but she wanted to help himHe turned to her, his eyes wide and bleak, his voice raw. ‘I love you, Amira. I didn’t think I even knew what love was, but you’ve showed me in so many ways. You’ve believed in me, trusted me even when I didn’t deserve to have that trust. I still don’t know if I do. I don’t know what the future can look like,’ he told her, a confession. ‘I don’t know how to be.’‘We’ll figure it out together.’ She stood in front of him, letting all her hope and love shine in her eyes. ‘I love you, Abdullah. And you love me. That’s all that matters.’His face crumpled for a second and then he pulled her into his arms. ‘Oh, Amira,’ he said, and he buried his face in her hair. ‘Amira. I love you so much. I’m sorry for being a fool. For being afraid.’‘You think this doesn’t scare me
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 58 Why I Am Here?
And up. And up.Aaliyah knew where she was going. She’d dutifully looked at the images while flying over the Gulf Countries. The Hermitage had been built centuries ago to honor a Sohoian king. It had been carved into the mountain itself and still stood proudly, famous for the lights that beamed out from this otherwise restricted island when a royal was in residence, like a beacon over the archipelago.Or like the ego of the man she knew waited within.But there was no point in worrying about him just yet, Alliyah told herself. First, there was living through this hike.The wind picked up as she trudged up the path, doing her best to huddle against the side of the mountain without seeming to do exactly that. She did still have her pride, after all. Pride that was hard-won and well deserved—and she was keenly aware that every step she took drew her closer and closer to one of the major reasons she’d had to fight so hard in the first place.She didn’t like to think about those last few w
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 59 He Was There
Inside, she blinked as she looked around, because she was still outside, if beneath the outcropping above. She’d walked into what looked like some kind of castle keep and realized that what she’d taken for an ornate window between one floor and the next was actually a perfect place to pace around, staring down at the world far below. On clear days, Hannah Ynnah Russo’s assistant had informed her on the plane, it was possible to see the entire sweep of Sohar from the hallowed heights of the Hermitage. Aaliyah hadn’t cared much about that while flying. But now that she was up here, she found herself almost wishing that it was clear today. Because she imagined the view must be spectacular enough to almost make even her forced march worth it.And that was when some faint little movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. So she turned her head, and there he was.Her breath caught.Seeing him, it turned out, was significantly worse than imagining seeing him had been all these y
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 60 Omar Farouq Abu Bakir
A thousand possible responses to that flooded her. There was outrage and insult aplenty. She couldn’t deny that. And maybe, buried way down beneath it, some kind of hurt, too.Because she certainly remembered him. Every single day, whether she liked it or not.But in all of this, it had never occurred to her that he would fail to remember her in turn.She wasn’t sure she believed him. Even so, she wanted to remind him exactly who she was and who she’d been to him, if briefly. So much that she ached with all the things she didn’t say. She wanted to give him dates and times and even produce the one photograph she had of the two of them together, but she didn’t.Because if he didn’t remember her, Aaliyah couldn’t influence him one way or the other, and that was her entire reason for being here.And if she couldn’t influence him, if she didn’t have the leverage on him that Hannah Russo had imagined she would, Aaliyah might as well turn right around and leave.There was a different kind of
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