The Sheik’s Expecting Bride by Erin Snihur

13

Almost a week away from your wedding and already you have ruined your marriage. The dark thought threatens to rise up over Kamran’s subconscious.

Kamran mutters a curse under his breath. Even though he knows he must keep his thoughts away from his alluring fiancée, he stares over the balcony’s ledge, searching the palaces gardens. A place where Hasna, her maid, and her loyal guard, Mahdi, walk slowly along the many winding paths.

Even though he is far enough away that he cannot hear her maid make an attempt to engage Hasna in conversation, Kamran can make out his fiancée’s mournful face.

“I don’t know what I can do. She is becoming more withdrawn ever since we heard the baby’s heart beat.”

Behind him, Kamran’s friend and ally, Sheik Kaleem, chuckles from his seat on the patio furniture as he sips at a glass of scotch.

“Have you tried talking with her?” And then with another chuckle, he murmurs, “I found that talking with Seline can work wonders on a relationship.”

“She ignores me at every turn. I send her gifts and provide the perfect entertainment and fine dining. I feel it has something to do with news reports that I’m only marrying her because of the baby and Fikra’s attempts to black list her to the media.”

“How did anyone find out about the baby?”

“I have a feeling that Fikra spoiled the news.”

“How the hell did Fikra find that out?”

“I’m not too sure,” Kamran growls, though inwardly his mind draws him back to Hasna’s uncle, Bandar. The man was coming up with some sort of scheme, that was plainly obvious.

“Why would she be pulling all these tricks to get your attention?”

“It’s been almost a year since I’ve seen her and the last time we were together, I told her it would be the last time and that I was receiving too much pressure from my council to marry. When she appeared in Nilan a week ago wanting to reconnect, I had to give her something. I told her that I was marrying Hasna and when she refused to accept that, I told her I didn’t want to see her ever again.”

“That must have stung. How was she able to attend the engagement gala?”

“By acting as a date to a representative from the UN. He was unaware of our history. I tried explaining this to Hasna, but she will not acknowledge me or she feigns a headache. I was going to send her back to Bandar’s hotel room, but after hearing the baby’s heartbeat, I find I cannot allow her to be out of my sight for too long without adequate guard.”

“Perhaps that is why she refused to talk to you?” Kaleem offers and continues, “Perhaps she is depressed and misses her home? Seline had me read these pregnancy books and pamphlets when we discovered we were expecting again. I’m pretty sure women can become depressed while pregnant or even after pregnancy.”

“It’s nothing like that. Besides, from what I can tell, Hasna has no love of Bandar’s home estate.” Kamran sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “The only real time that I’ve ever seen her happy was in the Jazah Mountains.”

Inwardly he snorts, And when we spent the night together.

Suddenly behind Kamran, Kaleem snaps his fingers, forcing the man to turn and face his friend as the man stands and raises his empty glass in a mocking toast.

“Perhaps that is what she needs.”

“What are you talking about?” Kamran growls.

“She needs to get away from all of this,” Kaleem explains, motioning all around them. “I bet ever since she arrived in Nilan and the announcement has taken place, Hasna hasn’t gotten a moment’s rest or been allowed to just be herself.”

“Where could we go that the press won’t follow?” Kamran asks, thinking back to the spectacle of trying to send Hasna to get her wedding dress fittings completed, only to be bombarded by the media. The designers and seamstresses were forced to visit the palace after that first fitting.

Kaleem snorts, then shrugs. “I’m sure the media is not as difficult to deal with as they were when it was discovered that I had a child with Seline out of wedlock, almost two years before we even got engaged.”

Rolling his eyes, Kamran finally nods with a sigh. “Yes, I suppose you are correct. She barely talks to her maid or her guard. I thought seeing him again would lift her spirits, but she looks at him as if he has betrayed her by working for the Crown.”

“Perhaps she feels as if Bandar firing her only guard and leaving her alone was too much. Then you swoop in to save her and marry her without even discussing it with her first.”

“I had to work quickly. Bandar was going to marry her off to that oil tycoon. I couldn’t let him do it. I had to force the situation.” Kamran argues back.

“You have her physically, but you do not cherish her heart and vice versa.” Kaleem chuckles, “If you go through with the wedding, you will have Bandar as your uncle-in-law.”

Kamran sighs, hating that thought. Trusting his friend, Kamran reveals, “Bandar is becoming more and more intense with his need for a signed marriage contract. I fear he will try to force Hasna to sign over her rights to whatever inheritance and lands her family left for her under the guise that if she doesn’t, the child might be harmed.”

Seeing his friend’s concerned glance, Kamran nods and snorts in amusement as he murmurs reassuringly, “He can’t possibly think that it will work. According to my intelligence officers, it seems Bandar has been garnering support to start some sort of revolution in the Jazah communities.”

Kaleem gasps slightly and protests, “But Jazah is no more. I mean, there are the Jazah Mountains and the nomadic tribes, but they are not full of those wishing to involve themselves in our politics. They tend to keep to their lands”

Kamran nods in agreement. “I know this, but there are still some old, greedy bastards who wish to garner some sort of ‘get rich quick’ deal. When Hasna’s father sold his land to my father, he basically sold off all rights to anyone to take shares out in the country and its contained lands. He upset a lot of people. I imagine if it hadn’t been for that flood, they would have been assassinated or worse, taken hostage so that their enemies could garner funds for retribution.”

“And you think Bandar is seeking some sort of retribution?” Kaleem asks with a murmur.

“He’s basically demanding that Hasna’s inheritance be put in the marriage contract and bequeathed into his name as compensation for acting as her guardian throughout her teenage and pre-marital life.”

“What is so special about Hasna’s lands? From what I can tell they are mostly used for sheep and camel herding. Maybe a few trade routes from nomadic tribes to the cities, but nothing special,” Kaleem ponders.

Kamran lets out a harsh breath as he shakes his head. “What that greedy old bastard wants is money and, according to legend, the Jazah Mountains held many valuable minerals that would set Bandar up for life just by simply mining those mountains.”

“Does Hasna know about this?”

“We were both told the stories as children, but most people believe them to be fairy tales.”

“Do you think she knows about Bandar’s plan?”

“I don’t think so. She hasn’t mentioned his name or even seem interested in the marriage contract or its contents.”

Kaleem collapses back into the sofa and leans over with his elbows on his knees as he shoots Kamran a knowing glance. “Take her to Jazah.”

“What will that accomplish?” Kamran breathes in confusion. “Other than give her a chance to run away.”

Kaleem chuckles and shakes his head furitvely. “Take her to Jazah and when you get there, have her show you around to see what you can find out about what Bandar specifically wants from those lands. It will make her happy to see her old home and it might even bring you two closer together. Didn’t you say you had a crush on her as a child? It might bring back those feelings and make this marriage work.”

“It is an arranged marriage, my friend,” Kamran protests and mutters, “Not all of us can have love matches like yours.”

Kaleem sighs and then releases a knowing chuckle. “My friend, I have known you for a long time. Hasna is a very smart woman. If you think for one moment that she is not as embarrassed about this entire situation as much as you are, then I can guarantee you do not know her as well as you think you do.”

“What are you talking about?”

Kaleem scoffs and shoots Kamran a frown. “Hasna thought you were your brother that night in Musat, and yet instead of panicking when she discovered the truth, she accepted it. She discovered the pregnancy and instead of coming to you for help or a chance at a safe and comfortable life, Hasna decided to do the opposite and protect her child from you. She doesn’t want to trap you in a marriage as so many other women would have done. Clearly, she is nothing like her uncle,” Kaleem murmurs, putting an end to his speech.

Curious, Kamran takes a seat opposite his friend, eyeing the man as he carefully asks, “Did you spend a lot of time with her before finding Seline?”

Kaleem pins him with a stare for a moment before hesitantly nodding. “We did spend quite a bit of time together.” Then he tilts his head and smirks. “Whenever you were brought up, Hasna would become flustered. I always wondered why until the night of your engagement and I realized what it was that I saw in her face.”

“You mean Nashat,” Kamran growls, hating the fact that even his own fiancée prefers his brother over him.

Shaking his head quickly, Kaleem winks. “I think if Hasna had been confronted with Nashat that night, she wouldn’t have gone through with it.”

“Why not?”

“The same reason why Hasna acts the ways she does whenever you are around.”

“What was it?”

“She acted just like Seline did, when we first met,” Kaleem begins. Flustered, intimidated, but also curious about something they perceive is not attainable to them. That curiosity, it will only continue to grow into more arousing feelings,” Kaleem softly reveals, much to Kamran’s shock.

Kamran hesitates in his thoughts as they take him over what his friend has revealed. Standing, Kamran turns and marches over to the balcony’s ledge.

Finding Hasna among the beautiful trees and bushes and flowers only a few feet from where he had last seen her, Kamran holds his breath as he watches his fiancée slowly tilt her head up to take in a deep breath of the afternoon sun.

Body hardening at the sight of her slender neck and slight protruding stomach against the thin robe she prefers to wear in the afternoon heat, he clenches his fists around the balcony’s railing.

Kamran smirks in the light when, as if sensing his presence and eyes on her, Hasna turns her head upwards to gaze directly in his direction.

His dark eyes clash with her sea green ones and slowly he finds himself nodding in her direction. Kamran chuckles when her eyes widen slightly and her cheeks flush red with embarrassment.

Just as quickly as their gazes meet, Hasna spins away and marches down another path, hidden from his sight. Only when she is completely hidden behind a group of trees does Kamran turn back to face his friend.

“It looks like we’re going to the Jazah Mountains.”

Kaleem offers another toast with his now empty glass, “My friend, you will not regret it. In fact, I think this will be the start of a wonderful marriage.”

* * *

“I can’t believeI caught him watching me,” Hasna whispers to Mahdi, as her maid, Abellah, walks ahead of them, gathering up flowers for a bouquet Hasna had started that morning.

Mahdi chuckles. “I can easily scold the sheik for gazing upon his fiancée.”

Hasna ignores her friend’s teasing, still upset with him for abandoning her to Bandar and joining forces with Kamran.

“Whose side are you on?” she hisses. When Abellah hears Hasna’s angry voice, the young girl turns to gaze at her mistress, concern all over her face.

Reassuring the young girl with a smile, Hasna pulls Mahdi to a halt and waits until her maid has returned to picking flowers to whisper, “Bandar told Kamran that I am pregnant by an American diplomat. He must think I have no self-control, especially after what happened in his bathroom.”

Mahdi’s forehead furrows as he grumbles, “What happened in his bathroom?”

When she shoots him a pointed glance, he flushes red and shakes his head. “I don’t want to know.”

“How can he be interested in me when he thinks I am carrying another man’s child?” Hasna continues, slowly walking forward, not even noticing when Mahdi’s once embarrassed cheeks leach pale.

Mahdi stops in his spot and turns Hasna slowly around to face him, his head tilting as he gazes down up her seriously. “Have you talked to the sheik about the baby?”

“We discussed the delivery plans and the next ultrasound appointments with the doctor…”

Mahdi interrupts with a shake of his head and a hand gently cupping her shoulder. “No, Hasna. Have you actually discussed the baby and what happened that night with Kamran?”

She shakes her head, feeling guilt assail her growing stomach as she begins walking once more, trying to hide herself from Mahdi’s intense and scalding gaze.

“Well, not exactly. There hasn’t been a time when we’ve been alone together, and I don’t know what I would even say. How can I tell him the child he thinks is another’s is actually his? Besides, from what I can tell, he’s giving up the chance to marry a supermodel to marry the woman who is having a baby. Why would he do that unless he feels some sort of responsibility for me after our night together? I don’t want to be a burden.”

Mahdi shakes his head, upset written all over his face as he asks, “What makes you think that you are burden?”

“Why else would he marry me while I carry what he thinks is another man’s child?”

Mahdi shakes his head with a curse and runs a hand over his skull. “I swore I wouldn’t tell you. I swore that I would wait until he could come him up the courage to tell you what I did after Bandar fired me.”

“What did you do?” Hasna breathes, her eyes growing wide as her hand rests on her still small stomach.

“I couldn’t let Bandar use you in one of his schemes to get rich.”

Hasna’s eyes squint as she glares at her friend. “Tell me, Mahdi.”

Mahdi shrugs sheepishly and reveals, “I might have demanded to speak to Sheik Kamran the day I was fired and told him the truth about the baby. He, in turn, took matters into his own hands.”

When she does not respond and continues gaping at him like a fish, Mahdi snaps his fingers in front of her eyes. “Hasna? Are you still with me?”

Voice tight and raspy, she seethes, “So he’s not marrying me because of my uncle’s threats or some weird responsibility issue, but because my uncle convinced Kamran to give Uncle Bandar money if he would give me and my child as a sort of marital gift?”

Then Hasna screeches, startling both Mahdi and Abellah, “He is marrying me because he knows that this child is his!”

Hasna sighs as her mind fills to the brim with more knowledge than she ever hoped to know about this messed-up situation. Ignoring Mahdi and Abellah, Hasna storms all around the garden, in an effort to keep herself from sobbing or sounding like a blubbering mess. She hadn’t cried since her near drowning incident at their engagement party.

Hasna’s hormones had been all over the place; nightmares and flashbacks to that time when she lost her parents had grown even more severe. She had taken to walking the palace grounds at night with Mahdi or Abellah safely at her side. Adding onto the fact that her insomniac brain had just discovered the truth about everything, all Hasna wanted to do was crawl into bed an sleep for a hundred years.

Before she can argue with Mahdi about what to do, Kamran’s advisor, Nasim, appears and speaks in a hushed tone to her maid.

Feeling her fists clench at the man’s presence, Hasna calls out to both of them, “What is it?”

Seeming startled by her gruff question, Nasim approaches with a bow. “Your Majesty, I was just informing your maid of a trip that you and the sheik will be taking in the morning.”

“A trip?” Hasna hisses and then straightens. “What kind of trip?”

Hasna inwardly wonders whether this will be the kind of trip where Kamran sends her away to give birth to their child in secret so that he might enjoy his life with his mistresses without her presence getting in his way.

“The sheik has decided that, to celebrate your engagement and upcoming wedding, there must be a tour of the Jazah Mountains.”

“The mountains,” Hasna and Mahdi gasp at the same time.

Nasim nods and bows again, a faint smile on his face. “Sheik Kamran would like to see where you grew up and he would also like to meet with the nomadic tribes there to further peace between our borders.”

As her mind processes this new information, Nasim and Mahdi begin discussing logistics and timeframe. Hasna turns back to glance over her shoulder in the direction of the balcony she had caught the sheik spying on her from only an hour prior.

Hasna breathes a sigh of relief when she does not find him there, but also feels a stab of hurt clench tightly around her heart at missing his intense stare that rushes over her like a bomb of hot oil.

“Why would he do such a generous thing?” Hasna wonders. Then her hand comes to rest on her stomach, inwardly thinking, Perhaps he really does care about us.