Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Silence.
“The dormitory,” the sheikh repeated.
“Yes. It’s an all-girls boarding school, as you know. Many students live there.” I forced a smile. “It would be more convenient for my studies. And this way, I won’t be in the way of your...courtship.”
For a long moment, the sheikh simply stared at me. I couldn’t read his expression at all.
“If that is what you want,” he finally said.
What I wanted was for him to tell me this was all a terrible joke. What I wanted was for him to cross the room and pull me into his arms and kiss me until I forgot how to breathe.
But this wasn’t that kind of fairy tale.
And he wasn’t that kind of prince.
“I’ll have Gordan make the arrangements,” the sheikh said.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
I curtsied, low and proper, the way Aretha had always insisted I should.
And then I turned and walked away.
I made it all the way to my room before the tears came.
IT HAD BEEN ONE WEEK since I moved to the dormitory, and I had not heard a single word from the sheikh.
Not that I expected him to. Or wanted him to. I might have developed a habit of checking my phone every five minutes since moving to the dorm, but that had nothing to do with him.
Anyway, I was too busy to care, especially since I...had this book in front of me.
Yes, that’s it.
I had this great life that allowed me to read as much as I wanted.
That sounded amazing, right?
But as soon as I opened the book and remembered too late that it was all about two people falling in love...
Nooooo.
I suddenly couldn’t stop myself from remembering the ghost of his hands on my skin. Or the way his mouth had moved against mine that night. My body just had this painfully easy way of remembering everything, even when I was trying so hard to forget.
Some nights, I would wake up tangled in my sheets, heart pounding, skin flushed, his name on my lips. And for one aching moment, I would reach for him before remembering that he wasn’t there.
That he would never be there again.
In fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty waited a hundred years for her prince.
I couldn’t even last a week.
“Lady Aurora!”
I looked up to find one of my classmates rushing toward me, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
“There’s a gentleman here to see you,” she gasped out. “From St. Andrew’s. He’s ever so handsome! He even brought flowers and chocolates.”
I started to turn away, but the other girls kept dragging me out of the dormitory.
“Please, Lady Aurora. We’re crushing on his friends, and we won’t be able to hang out if you refuse to meet with him.”
All I wanted was to be alone, but the way the other girls were looking at me with sad puppy eyes was impossible to resist. Anyway, maybe it was better this way. If news of me spending time with other boys reached the sheikh’s ears, it could make him think I was happy, and then he wouldn’t have to worry about me.
I had already caused him too much trouble. The least I could do was pretend I was...okay.
Even when I wasn’t.
IT HAD BEEN ANOTHER week. Two weeks total since I’d left the palace. Two weeks of silence, of pretending I was fine, of telling myself I didn’t care.
And now he was here.
In my school.
Standing in the middle of the visitor’s parlor in his traditional robes, looking every inch the powerful king he was. My traitorous heart stuttered at the sight of him, and I had to fight the urge to close the distance between us and bury myself in his arms.
Silly Aurora.
Silly, foolish girl who still believed in fairy tales.
“Your Highness.” I curtsied, keeping my expression carefully blank. “To what do I owe this honor?”
The sheikh’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t send you here to flirt.”
If only he knew how little I wanted to flirt with anyone. If only he knew that every suitor who came to call only made me miss him more.
But I would die before I told him that.
“Is that what you think I’ve been doing?” I asked sweetly. “Flirting?”
“The entire kingdom is talking about how many suitors Lady Aurora has. How she receives flowers and gifts every day. How she—”
“How I what, Your Highness?” I stepped closer, emboldened by the anger that was rapidly replacing my heartache. Close enough to catch his scent. Close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body. Close enough that my skin prickled with awareness. “How I’ve been living my life? How I’ve been doing exactly what you asked and keeping my distance?”
A muscle jumped in his cheek. “That’s not—”
“You told me to stay away,” I cut in softly. “You told me you were going to marry someone else. So forgive me, akh, if I’ve decided to do the same.”