26KhalidMy eyes widened when Valeria tried to walk towards me, but fainted. I reached towards her, holding her arms and head from crashing before she fell. My heart rate increased when she didn’t wake up, Elena pushing me away to check her pulse and her head. “Is she okay?” I asked, my voice low. “She possibly has a concussion. If what she said is true, we need a doctor to check her olfactory nerve.”I nodded mindlessly, stroking her hair and taking her to my room, being close to her. What if she lost her sense of smell? And it all happened because of me?***“You look like shit.”I raised my eyes from Valeria’s face to my brother. He was still wearing his clothes from the ceremony even though it was the next morning, bags under his eyes. Zain, Zayed and Elena had taken care of the break in while Rahim and Zara had managed to calm down the royal guests with the help of grandma. I was too afraid to leave Valeria alone, even in my bedroom. I had stayed with her the entire night, ho
27Valeria“And you’re done!” Zara beamed, stepping back. “Khalid is going to pray as soon as he sees you.”I smiled at her. The light makeup she had applied made me feel better. It had been a couple of days since the baby shower. Khalid was making sure I ate regularly and bathed me, always being gentle when he touched me as if I would break. He was right. I might break if someone grabbed me out of the blue.“Do you want me to take you to his room?” Zara asked in a soft voice, keeping away the products.I had talked to her about her studies when she had knocked on my door just as the sun set. She was studying photography and traveling the world all on her own. Even though she was a Princess of one of the richest countries in the world, she earned her own money and lived by herself. I was glad that Zain and Khalid had done a good job spoiling their little sister with love and not materialistic things. I shook my head, “I can manage, thank you, Zara.”“You can call me anytime you need
28Khalid“Do you have to leave?” I frowned, staring at her suitcase as Valeria kept her toiletry bag inside the suitcase, asking me to help her zip it closed. “We already talked about this, Khalid,” she grunted, sighing as she zipped another suitcase. My grandma had ordered me to give her a lot of sweets and snacks from Azmia so she had more bags with her than she arrived with. “I know that you have a new launch coming soon but… can’t you stay for a week?” I asked, almost begging her not to leave. After that incident in the bathroom, I hadn’t left her side for more than an hour, wanting to make sure she was safe. No one had commented on the slash on my cheekbone if they noticed it. I knew she felt guilty for it, but she didn’t hurt me intentionally. I was the one who stepped towards her, wanting to make sure the glass didn’t hurt her when it slashed through my skin. “I have to prepare for interviews and photoshoots for the launch campaign, Khalid.” She walked towards me, hugging m
PART FOUR “Ruin me if you wish to. I am all yours, Valeria.” 29Khalid“You look pathetic,” the old woman with grey hair mocked me when she entered my room. She scrunched her face at the scent of oil paints and fumes, eyeing the red mess on the canvas. “Did you do that, boy?”“You know what my name is, jadati,” I said, staring at the painting. I wanted to tear it apart. Burn it. “Zain seemed concerned about you. Ever since Salman died, you haven’t stepped out of this room,” she said taking a good luck at the painting. I shrugged. “So what? Why are you here anyway? You have never been around.”If you were, you could see what your son did. You could have saved who was I kidding by overthinking about it. He was dead. I had killed him. “I wanted to make sure how you were coping, Khalid,” she whispered. Grandmother never knew what her son did, she lived in another palace even though our grandfather had passed away. My father rarely allowed her to visit but when she did, it felt like
30Valeria“And please check the packaging for any leaks. Yes, I want you to go the factory and check them personally—”Someone knocked on the door, I pulled the phone from my ear and said, “Give me five minutes, please.”I continued talking to the employee until he understood what he had to check after visiting the factory and the chemical lab. “Come in.”I read the paper in front of me, my fingers tracing over the Braille. The person who had entered wasn’t light on their feet like my assistant. The feet felt heavy but soft. There was a change in air as someone deposited something on my desk, looming close to me. Before I could ask them who were they, I heard him. “Hello, my sweet one,” Khalid greeted me, standing in my office. In London. In front of me. I stood up, ready to hug him but held back, remembering the times he had made me scared and worried about him for the past month. Ignoring me as if I didn’t exist. I cleared my throat. “Hello, Khalid. What are you doing here?”
EpilogueKhalidI lounged on the blue velvet armchair as if it was my obsidian throne. That time, a male interviewer was sitting across me, taking notes and stuttering, asking me questions. I wished he could hurry so I could be with—“Your painting, Rose Colored Sorrow, has been auctioned for over three-hundred million dollars. Do you feel that it is because of your fiancé and your love story or purely because of the art?” With my smooth, deep voice, I said, “I would need a moment to ask her myself, if you’ll excuse me.”Without waiting for his reply, I stood up and walked off the small stage for the interview and searched for the stunning red-haired woman who had my heart in her palm. The art show was buzzing with people whispering about Valeria’s and my recent engagement. I found her talking with my old friend and his wife, Ethan Kane and Kiara Kane. I wasn’t surprised to see Kiara pregnant, as Ethan had shared that they had been trying for a while. I hadn’t seen Ethan so carefree
Unknown“How many were killed?” I asked, seeing the endless sand out of the car window. “Eleven, sir,” he answered. Eleven people died to kidnap one woman.“And they couldn’t even reach the princess, could they?” I said, giving him a pointed look. His eyes lowered to the sleeve of my shirt which were splashed with blood from my previous… detour. Even the gold cufflinks were red. Pity, I liked them. “No, sir, they couldn’t reach princess Zara. She was heavily guarded along with Sultana.”I hummed, giving the signal to the driver. “Nasrin is pregnant, isn’t she?”The man in suit didn’t reply, only swallowed the lump in his throat. “I take that as a yes then,” I smiled. “I told you that I wanted her dead the last time, didn’t I?”“Y-yes, Sir, but we couldn’t sneak inside the Golden Palace, it was heavily—”I cracked my knuckles, rubbing the sore muscle on my neck. “I received a report from a source that both Zain and Nasrin were at that sheikh’s oasis. Khalid was with his blind love
Explicit Bonus Scene - Filthy Hot PrinceValeria“My sweet one,” Khalid whispered, his hot lips kissing the pulse on my neck, my body shivering at his gentle, scorching touch. I hummed, his hands smoothening up and down my naked body as I leaned on his chest, watching our figure in the mirror across us. He kissed my breasts, lightly squeezing them before donning me in a beautiful white dress. The expensive fabric accentuated my curves, the sound of zipper breaking the silence between us. “My pretty girl,” Khalid said, tilting my chin up and claiming my lips. I wanted to deny because I had some time applying the makeup, especially a pretty shade of red lipstick, but he didn’t seem to care. His fingers cupped my neck, his other hand lowering down my back to squeeze my ass.I moaned into the passionate kiss, pressing against his silk shirt and pulling him closer. I could feel the knot of arousal forming, my mind and body wanting to push him on the bed and ride him before we have to le