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)
Stroke her with fingers that revered the softness of her skin. And when her sighs turned into whimpers, he lifted her up so he could claim her with his lips and bring her body to release.
As the shudders gradually faded, he slowly moved up, and as their gazes met, he knew she could see her words reflected in his.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
She touched his cheek with trembling fingers. “I c-can’t believe this is real.”
Mik’hail pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s real.”
“You’re not going to change your mind in the morning? Tell me this was a mistake and send me away again?”
The vulnerability in her voice made him hold her tighter.
“Never.” He tipped her chin up, needing her to see the truth in his eyes. “I’m done running, Briar. I’m done being afraid. I want you—only you—for the rest of my life.”
Her breath caught. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying—” He paused, suddenly aware of how inadequate words were for this moment. “I’m saying that I want to marry you, Aurora. I want to wake up next to you every morning and fall asleep beside you every night. I want to give you everything—my heart, my kingdom, my name.”
Tears were streaming down her face again, but this time it was accompanied by a smile that wobbled on her lips.
“Will you marry me, Aurora?”
“Yes.” She laughed through her tears. “Yes, yes, yes.”
They drove back to the palace in the early hours of the morning, Aurora asleep in his arms.
Mik’hail couldn’t stop looking at her. Couldn’t stop touching her hair, her cheek, the soft curve of her shoulder. She was his now. Really, truly his. And in a few months, the whole world would know it.
He was already planning the announcement in his head when the car pulled through the palace gates. Already imagining the look on Gordan’s face when he told him the news.
But when the car rolled to a stop and Mik’hail looked up, he knew at once that something was wrong.
Gordan was waiting at the entrance, but he wasn’t smiling. His face was ashen, his hands clasped tightly in front of him, and the moment their eyes met, Mik’hail felt the cold hand of dread close around his heart.
He eased Aurora from his arms and stepped out of the car, every muscle in his body tensing.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I thought...you would want to know in advance.” Gordan swallowed hard. “Lady Aretha...is back.”
Chapter Nine
MY SISTER WAS ALIVE.
The words kept circling in my mind as Mik’hail and I followed the doctor through the palace corridors, but no matter how many times I repeated them, they refused to feel real.
Aretha. Alive. Here.
The doctor stopped outside a door and turned to us, his voice low. “She’s resting now, Your Highness.”
“What happened to her?” I heard myself ask. “Where has she been?”
“It appears Lady Aretha suffered amnesia from the accident. A man named Royce found her at the crash site, and when he realized she had no memory...” The doctor paused. “He told her she was his wife.”
Oh, Aretha.
“She only recovered her memories yesterday,” the doctor continued. “She tried to escape, but Royce caught her climbing out a window. There was a struggle. She fell.” He gestured vaguely. “Her leg is broken. She’ll need to wear a cast for at least a month.”
My throat was so tight I could barely speak. “May I see her?”
The doctor glanced at Mik’hail. I caught the sheikh giving a small nod, and then the doctor was opening the door.
The room was dim, just a single lamp by the bed, casting soft shadows across the walls. It took a second for my eyes to adjust, and then...
Aretha.
My throat tightened with tears. She looked so small in that narrow hospital bed. So fragile. Her dark hair was spread across the pillow, her face pale, her leg encased in a cast and propped up on pillows. Nothing like the fierce, commanding sister I remembered.
Guilt consumed me as I thought of how Aretha had been alive all this time, trapped and deceived into living a life that was never hers...while I was here in the palace, falling in love with the sheikh she was supposed to marry.
I wanted to reach for her hand. I wanted to tell her I was sorry—for everything. But my feet wouldn’t move, and my voice wouldn’t work, and all I could do was stand there and watch her breathe.
“Lady Aurora.” The doctor’s voice was gentle behind me. “It’s best to let your sister rest. We’ll look after her, and we’ll let you know as soon as she wakes.”
I nodded and let him guide me out, and as the distance between Aretha and me grew, my guilt turned into the most self-centered of fears.
Oh, Aurora.
How selfish could I get, to worry about the future I had with the sheikh, considering all my sister had gone through? My nails dug into my palms as my mind circled back to Aretha’s face. How pale she looked. How small. It was hard to think of her as the sister who had once made me feel like I would never be good enough.