The Sheik’s Expecting Bride by Erin Snihur

15

Hasna stares in amazement at all of the vibrant colors pinned to the ground before her. This must be a dream, she thinks as she exits the SUV and takes a step towards the tents that are pitched to the rocky ground.

Breathing in the scent of sheep and camels along with the hint of familiar spices cooking over fires, Hasna smiles and nearly lets out a laugh of delight as she takes in the familiar, nomadic tribe she was forced to leave when her parents passed away.

Hearing the cars approaching, people begin stepping out from inside their tents and abandoning the large fire pit dug into the center surrounding the tents. A few tribe members even call out to her, recognizing Hasna from her childhood.

Hasna cannot help but laugh as the people flood around her and Kamran, welcoming them both back into the tribe. The tribe’s new leader, a position once held by her father, welcomes them both with open arms and even pinches Hasna’s cheek like he used to as her father’s second-in-command of the tribe when she was younger.

Instead of taking the lead on the conversation, like she expected him to, Kamran sits back and simply observes as Hasna does all the talking and reminiscing with many old and new friends. Many of her stories feature those that had passed on to the heavens and those that had brought children into the world.

Hasna couldn’t help the blush that overcame her cheeks when a few of the women she had played with as teenagers teased her about finally marrying a sheik. Many of the unfamiliar women spared Kamran appreciative glances and then whispered questions to Hasna, wondering why he was escorting her around.

When Hasna broke the news that they were engaged, the entire tribe celebrated with a chorus of hoots and hollers. The tribe’s leader even demanded to throw a celebration just for them as a welcome back and to celebrate the news.

When the greetings and excitement had finally died down, Hasna and Kamran were shown to their own personal tenant that someone had given up for them. They had accepted graciously, despite Hasna’s attempts to refuse.

As she unpacks her bags herself, Hasna’s gaze slashes over to the raised curtain that separates the tent in the middle. At the realization that she would be spending the night with Kamran, her heart skips a beat and her skin tingles with desire.

Even though in the real world it might be frowned upon in their culture for a man and woman to share a bedroom together before marriage, it was almost expected that the man and woman once involved in a marriage agreement they lived together so that woman became the responsibility of her fiancé instead of falling on her parents to protect her from that moment forward.

Jumping when the sheet pulls back slightly, Hasna flushes once more at having been caught thinking about Kamran in that most delicious way.

He grins not only in her direction but also towards the tent’s lightly flapping door. “Would you like to take a walk?” he murmurs.

In that moment, Hasna nearly loses her breath when his eyes sparkle and his deep voice continues, “A few of the men told me about this oasis waterfall that is not too far away. It should be deserted by now.”

Glancing around as nonchalantly as she can, Hasna slightly motions behind her towards her unpacked bags. “I didn’t bring a swimsuit and you know I don’t swim.”

Kamran shrugs, his smile growing as he croons, “Who said anything about swimming?” He holds up his cellphone and mutters, “I was hoping to get pictures for my parents and my brother.”

Hasna struggles to remain nonchalant as she shrugs her shoulders and avoids his question, “Will your parents be attending the wedding? I didn't see them at the engagement gala.”

Kamran chuckles and runs a hand through his silky hair. “Mother and father are enjoying their cruise and won’t be back in time, but they look forward to seeing you again after the wedding.”

“And your brother?” she whispers, fiddling with the straps of her bag in an attempt to keep her body from trembling.

“Nashat is still away dealing with business.”

“Dealing with business,” she whispers and then snorts, “Is that a clever way of saying you’ve gotten rid of your own brother until your wayward fiancée is legally tied to you?”

Kamran’s chuckle deepens as he responds snarkily, “Is that what you want? For my brother to be out of the picture?”

“All I want is for my child to be safe and well cared for.”

“It will be,” he growls and then motions with his head towards the tent flaps. “We better hurry or risk losing the light.”

* * *

Kamran couldn’t figureout what was going on in Hasna’s mind. They were currently walking up the rocky terrain of the small hilled area that was set below the mountain. In that time, Hasna had been unusually quiet.

“I should have brought the car,” Kamran croons, mostly to himself, thinking she wouldn’t bother to respond. Kamran knew something had gone wrong since their arrival; something had changed since they had arrived at the camp.

When she had first stepped inside the camp, Hasna was vibrant and happy. So at ease among her old family. These people, she spoke with, laughed with, and even danced with a few the women as they welcomed her home.

When the tribal leader recommended the waterfall to Kamran, he decided to take matters into his own hands in order to be alone with Hasna.

Only a few feet behind them, Mahdi and another guard follow, but at Kamran’s insistence, give them both their space to talk privately.

Halting at the top of the slopped hill, Kamran blows out a low whistle at the sight of the surrounding mountains. He had always believed this place to be a rocky, barren wasteland, but today, as if with new eyes, Kamran was seeing a whole other world surrounding the mountain.

Even some kilometers away, he could make out a secondary tribe that had made camp. Below the sloped hill, their own tribe that they were staying with had smoke burning from their food cooking and the laughter from the children that played among the rocks and among the sheep drifts up to his nose and ears.

Kamran cannot help but feel at ease here in this place and as he turns to ask Hasna what she thinks of the view, he freezes at her still form. She, too, is staring out over the expansive beauty of this barren terrain that someone might think is plain or boring, but what shocked Kamran is the fact that Hasna’s eyes are welling up with tears.

Instead of looking out over the horizon, Hasna is gazing down upon the tribe’s camp. Shocking Kamran once again, she whispers, “They would have been so proud to see how far these people have come.”

Taking note of the way she fingers her charm bracelet, Kamran nods and murmurs back, “I’m sure they know. They can see everything from the heavens.” Continuing to memorize her with his gaze, he whispers, “Beautiful.”

Kamran lifts his hand hesitantly to wipe away a stray curl that falls down her cheek with his thumb. “They wouldn’t want you to mourn them this way, Hasna. They would want you to rejoice in the happier memories.”

“Why did they have to die? Why couldn’t they have just stayed with me? I wouldn’t have had to leave this place.”

Kamran shrugs his shoulders. “If you hadn’t left this place, I doubt we would be having a baby or be engaged at all. Besides, you cannot control mother nature.”

Hasna shakes her head. “I should have stopped them.”

“You were a teenager, Hasna,” Kamran argues and shakes his head. “What could you have done?”

Hasna snorts then shrugs her shoulders. “Anything.”

Not wanting to upset her further, Kamran drops his hand from her cheek to her shoulder to squeeze it compassionately. “Let’s get going before it gets too dark.”

Not bothering to see if she follows, Kamran motions behind them to a group of trees that have sprouted up despite the hot temperatures and lack of grass clustered around a pool of water that replenishes from the waterfall above.

Taking out his phone, Kamran swipes a few pictures, pretending to be distracted with the device as he watches Hasna out of the corner of his eyes. Continuing to follow her with his eyes as Hasna steps away from him to observe the area herself, Kamran drops his phone back into his pocket.

Now watching her more fully, Kamran hesitates to intercede when she manages to step a bit closer to the water’s edge. She glances down into the clear pools for a moment before becoming startled by some unknown energy. Jumping back, Hasna presses a hand to her chest and lets out a groan of frustration, probably in fear of being pushed or tripped like she had been at the engagement party.

Fists clenching at the reminder of what Fikra had done to her, Kamran steps forward and calls out, “Would you like me to teach you to swim?”

Hasna gapes at him, completely flabbergasted from the look on her face as she stammers, “Why do I need to learn how to swim?”

Kamran motions to the guards to give them some privacy as he takes a step towards Hasna. Gently lifting his simple cargo shirt over his head, he grins when Hasna’s face blushes red against her brown skin. Every time he caught her staring at him like that, his attraction for her grew triple.

Kamran motions to the water, pretending not to notice her nervousness. “It’s a useful skill to have, especially for the child.”

Before she can argue, he continues, “What if you are alone with him or her and they fall into the water? How will you rescue them?”

Hasna’s eyes widen at the thought, and she stammers, “I don’t have my bathing suit.”

Kamran’s grin widens. “Neither do I, but that shouldn’t stop us from learning.”

Unbuttoning his pants, Kamran shucks his shorts. Ignoring her gasp and quick movements to cover her eyes as he strips down to his boxers, his chuckling causes her to peek out from between her fingers before quickly sealing them together again.

“You can’t possibly be shy around me now, after everything we’ve been through?”

Hasna’s muffled voice cries out from behind her hands, “Why are you doing this to me?”

Taking a step towards her, Kamran tugs on her hands and removes them from covering her perfect face so that he may stare into her sea green eyes.

“I’m only trying to help.”

Turning, Hasna growls, “I didn’t ask for your help.”

Fists clenched at her side as they tremble with anger, her eyes flash in his direction as she screeches, “I didn’t ask for your help with this sham of a marriage, Kamran. I mean, what were you thinking asking for my hand? I know very well that you want nothing to do with me or the baby!”

“And what exactly makes you think that I want nothing to do with you or the baby, Hasna?” Kamran asks through grounded teeth as he struggles to remain calm.

Hasna motions around her. “Clearly you’re trying to get me to break off this wedding so that I can remain here and you don’t have to worry about marrying a woman you don’t love. Then you can marry that model.”

“What model?”

“Fikra!” Hasna says quickly and before he can respond, she continues with a shout. “I saw the news article where you two were caught just days after our engagement was announced. You were seen talking with her in a restaurant and you hugged her. This engagement isn’t really what you want. You clearly want me to stay here and take care of our child alone so that you can be with your mistress.”

Hasna stomps away and hisses, “I won’t be treated like that and neither will my child.”

“Well, I will not be treated like this either, Hasna,” Kamran growls.

Hasna spins around, her eyes wide as she stares at him. “How have I treated you poorly?”

“You didn’t tell me the child was mine in the first place. You had every opportunity to do so and instead I have to hear that the child’s father was an American diplomat from your uncle, no less. Luckily, Mahdi was smart enough to tell me the truth,” Kamran snarls over his shoulders as he bends down to grab his discarded clothes, uncaring who sees him half-naked.

Hasna sputters and growls back, “He should never have told you the truth. It wasn’t his place.”

Spinning on his heel to march up to her toe-to-toe, Kamran yells back, “No, it was your place. You should’ve told me that day we went out for dinner.”

“You said you wanted to forget everything.”

“Only because you seemed to agree,” Kamran argues.

Both breathing heavily, Kamran stares into her eyes as she stares back up at him and for a moment, he can’t remember why exactly they are fighting.

Sighing, Kamran murmurs, “I won’t force you to marry me, Hasna. In fact, after this trip, I’ll call the whole thing off and ensure you and the baby are well cared for. I couldn’t bear it if you married that vile oil tycoon just because you were trying to protect our child.”

Hasna’s eyes widen a bit when he mentions Sadi and refers to the baby as our child. For a split second, she glances down at her hands and fiddles with the diamond-encrusted engagement ring on her finger. A simple band with one diamond set in the center.

Clucking her tongue, Hasna slips the ring off her finger and holds it out to him in her palm. “Perhaps you should give this to the woman you love.” Then she tilts her head. “I’ll make a statement to the media. If you want me to say it is not your child, you won’t have to provide for it financially. I will somehow.”

Kamran shakes his head and closes her palm over the ring before pushing her hands towards her chest.

“Fikra means nothing to me. In fact, we haven’t even been together in over a year, but she appeared after hearing about the engagement and wanted to get things started back up again. I refused and ended the conversation with a friendly hug, but clearly the media was working against us.”

Kamran continues with a sigh as his hand squeezes Hasna’s closed fist, “I know the man you initially wanted that night was my brother, and I can make you just as happy as he can.”

Hasna flushes and whispers, “Even though it didn’t seem like it, I think a part of me knew it wasn’t Nashat I was giving myself to that night. I think a part of me knew it was you. That’s why I didn’t hesitate.”

Kamran shakes his head. “I guess we’ll never know.”

Tightening his hold on his clothes in his hand, Kamran marches away, hating the feeling of his heart clenching so tightly like vice as he takes each step away from the woman he so adamantly wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

It just isn’t our time.