"It's actually quite refreshing," Khal drawled.
"Refreshing?"
"For a girl not to be as contrary as you..."
Ella angrily bit the tip of her pizza off. Contrary? She took another bite. She was contrary? She finished her slice of pizza, not realizing she was doing exactly as Khal wanted, which was to have her finish her food before lunch break ended.
Khal glanced at his watch. "I should go now so you won't be late for your next class."
Ella's pizza fell back to her porcelain plate. He was leaving already? She forgot all about being mad and turned to him immediately.
"Gotcha." The prince cupped her chin and stole her mouth with a long, deep kiss.
When Khal lifted his head, he was amused to find Ella's eyes filled with a mixture of desire and consternation. She loved him, but she also hated how easy he turned her head around with his kisses.
In one word: contrary.
"I hate having to leave you," he said gruffly.
"Uh oh. You're starting to sound clingy." But while his wife's tone was flippant, her eyes were pleading with him not to go, and Khal's lips pressed together to keep himself from smiling.
He ruffled her hair, murmuring, "Be a good girl, and try not to bully Safiya into being as contrary as you, yes?"
All thoughts of wanting the prince to stay were instantly forgotten. "Jerk!" A scowl accompanied the insult, but the prince didn't mind. It was always better to have his beautiful girl angry than sad.
Ella watched her husband walk away until he disappeared from view. I'm not feeling sad, I'm not, I'm not. Aurora, already done with her daily phone call, nudged Safiya's side to make her look at Ella. Poor girl, she mouthed.
Safiya nodded. Poor girl.
The way Safiya mouthed back the words with such a grave expression on her face had Aurora torn between laughing...and wanting to throttle a certain sheikh's neck. Although she and Ella were careful to not to let Safiya know their thoughts, both of them were seriously pissed—-
Oh!
A group of guys had just approached their table, and Aurora and Ella exchanged looks when they saw the way one of them was staring at Safiya.
Although their university was exclusive to female students, its facilities were open to the public, and this was something students from the boys' college next door had eagerly taken advantage of. Ever since Safiya's arrival in Mushriq, word of her stunning looks had traveled fast, and when two months had gone by without Sheikh Altair showing up, it was then that the other boys had decided to try their luck.
Aurora had personally lost count of the number of guys that tried (and failed) to woo Safiya away from her fiancé's side, but what she did remember was how it always ended. And if she wasn't mistaken, it would happen anytime now—-
"What do you say, princess? All I want is just one date."
Aurora, seeing Safiya give the boy a polite smile, quickly covered her mouth to hide her own smile.
"Thank you for your time, but I am permanently unavailable."
While Aurora and Ella were too aware of their roles as future queens to give in to laughter, everyone else who had been shamelessly watching things unfold weren't as polite. With half the school year already over, just about everyone in the university was by now familiar with Safiya's adorably awkward tendency to speak (and sound) like Siri when dealing with unwanted admirers.
Most of the students had been suspicious at first, thinking that the princess was simply trying to play it cute. But with the passage of time, it had become apparent that while Safiya looked every inch the swan, the princess thought herself an ugly duckling...and that was what everyone thought absolutely and genuinely cute.
An idea suddenly took hold of Aurora, and she quickly retrieved her phone and took a quick photo of Safiya and the boy.
Ella, seeing what Aurora had done, asked suspiciously, "What are you planning?"
"Just sending someone a little wake-up call..."
A LIMOUSINE BEARING the insignia of the royal family rolled up the university's driveway, and it was as if the whole world came to a standstill when they saw the larger-than-life individual stepping out of the backseat.
Although Ramilians in general were known to be tall, dark, and handsome, and Sheikh Altair Al-Atassi was certainly that, it was there the similarities ended. Ramil's military commander possessed a lethally broad build that better resembled the fighters of ancient days. His presence literally took everyone's breath away, and as soon as they recovered from their shock, heads were quickly bowed and knees were bent as the sheikh walked up the steps of the university.
While the photo that the Crown Princess of Layla sent him had prepared the sheikh for the scene he was about to witness...it was another fucking thing entirely to see the truth for himself.
Safiya was surprised when the guy in front of her suddenly shut up and started shaking like a leaf. His face also seemed to have lost color all of a sudden, and Safiya was startled when he also started sweating. "Are you alright?" She unthinkingly reached a hand towards him, her instincts telling her to check for a fever—-
Another man's hand captured Safiya's from behind, and as her senses spun like a ballerina on steroids, she knew right away.
She just knew even without looking...and she was right.
Beloved.
Her beloved sheikh had finally come...along with about a hundred Ramilian soldiers?
Altair carefully drew the princess up from her seat but kept her hand in his. "What do you think you're doing, hamira?"
Safiya was genuinely bewildered. "Was I doing anything, alshaykh?"
"You were about to touch the boy's hand," he murmured.
"I thought he was sick."
Altair glanced at the boy with cool contempt. "Are you sick?"
The question had the boy turning green, and when he looked as if he was about to puke in sheer terror, his friends nervously stammered out an apology on his behalf before quickly dragging their friend away.
Altair glanced at the princess to gauge her reaction at their leaving and instead saw her looking curiously at his soldiers.
"I heard I had competition," he drawled, "so I thought I should have them with me to make a statement."
Safiya glanced up at the sheikh, startled. "What kind of competition?"
"The kind that foolishly thinks it's possible to take you away from me."
Chapter Six
Dear Mama,
I think...I truly am in love with the sheikh. I was unsure before. I knew it was possible I could've mistaken infatuation or admiration for love. But now, I am almost certain. I really do think this is love, Mama, and my heart...
It literally aches every time I think of how wonderful he is. I'm not used to having someone care for me so, and I wish...I just wish you were alive to meet him. I wish you were alive so we could meet you. I miss you, Mama. I know it's silly to miss someone I never knew, but I really do. I miss you, and I love you.
A DRAWING ROOM RESERVED for the university's most important guests was quickly made available at the sheikh's request, and it was only when the door had closed and they were alone that the sheikh finally turned to face her.
Like him, she was still on her feet, and she was even more beautiful than he remembered. Long, black hair. Big, dark eyes. And a body that now looked even hotter in her Western-styled school uniform, with its too-short skirt and black thigh-high socks.