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)
Such a simple gift. Such a simple moment.
And yet he would trade his entire kingdom to have it back.
He turned the letter over in his hands, feeling the weight of it. His thumb traced the seal she had pressed into the paper—the seal he had given her, the one she had smiled so brightly at receiving—and something twisted in his chest.
And then he opened it, preparing himself for the worst.
I wish you well, too, Your Highness.
And I truly mean that because I’ve come to realize that living away from you was exactly what needed to happen for my eyes to be opened.
I’m destined to be with another man.
And it is thanks to you that I’ve already met him.
The sheikh read the words once.
Twice.
Three times.
And then his fist closed around the letter, crumpling it into a ball.
She thought she was destined for another man.
She thought she could thank him for helping her find someone else.
As if he hadn’t memorized every curve of her body. As if he hadn’t tasted her sighs. As if she wasn’t already his in every way that mattered.
As if any other man could ever be her prince.
No more.
Mik’hail had tried to do the right thing. Had tried to push her away, to protect her from the scandal that would erupt if anyone discovered the truth about them. Had told himself that she deserved better, that she deserved someone who wasn’t haunted by the ghost of her dead sister.
But he was done.
Done pretending he didn’t want her.
Done pretending he could live without her.
Done letting her believe that anyone else could ever take her place.
He was her prince. He had always been her prince. And it was time he started acting like it.
The sheikh rose from his chair and strode to the door, yanking it open to find Gordan waiting in the hall.
“Your Highness?” The retainer’s eyes widened at whatever he saw in the sheikh’s face.
“Ready the car.” Mik’hail’s voice was ice. “I’m bringing her home. Tonight.”
Chapter Eight
THE DRIVE TO THE SCHOOL took an eternity.
Mik’hail sat rigid in the backseat of the car, the crumpled letter still clutched in his fist, his mind racing with all the things he needed to say to her. All the things he should have said weeks ago, before he’d ruined everything with his cowardice.
I’m destined to be with another man.
The words burned through him, stoking a fury he could barely contain.
She wasn’t destined for anyone but him. She had been his from the moment she’d curtsied before him and called him ‘akh’ with that teasing sparkle in her eyes. His from the moment she’d kissed his cheek and made his whole world tilt on its axis.
His Briar.
And tonight, he would make sure she knew it.
The dormitory matron tried to stop him when he arrived at the doorstep of her building—
“Your Highness, visiting hours are over, and the young ladies are preparing for bed—”
But Mik’hail didn’t even break stride. “Which room is Lady Aurora’s?”
“I really must insist—”
He turned to look at her, and whatever she saw in his face made her go pale.
“End of the hall,” she whispered. “Last door on the right.”
“Thank you.” Manners should not be forgotten, not even when he had a ward to discipline and reclaim. But when he reached her room, he also didn’t bother knocking...because manners could also be temporarily set aside, depending on how important the mission one meant to accomplish.
And the mission he was on right now?
It spelled the difference between living and merely existing, and when he entered the room and finally saw her—
Aurora.
The sheikh knew he was exactly where he needed to be the moment his gaze fell on the girl who had so easily captured his heart without even trying.
She stood frozen by the window, wrapped in nothing but a thin robe, her damp hair falling in waves around her shoulders. She must have just come from the shower, her skin still flushed from the heat, and the sight of her stole the breath from his lungs.
So beautiful.
So achingly, impossibly beautiful.
And she thought she belonged to someone else.
“Your Highness?” Her voice was strained. “What are you—”
“You wish me well?” He stepped into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. “You’re destined to be with another man?”
Aurora blinked. “What are you—”
“You think you can dismiss me with a few polite lines?” He advanced on her, and she retreated until her back met the wall. “You think you can thank me for helping you find someone else?”
“I don’t know what you’re tal—”
“Don’t lie to me.” He braced his hands on either side of her head, caging her in. This close, she was intoxicating. He could see the rapid flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat, could feel the warmth radiating from her skin. “Tell me his name.”
“There is no one—”
“Tell me his name, Aurora. It’s the only thing you didn’t write—”