Page 42 of I Accidentally Married A Sheikh

Oh God, please.

I slowly open my eyes.

And I start crying again.

Because God's answered my prayers.

"Z-Zahir."

He pulls me to his feet, and even though Iknowfor sure now that we have everyone staring at me, and the best thing to do is to get off the track—-

I need to know, God.

I find myself beating his chest over and over.

"What took you so long?"

But I only end up crying harder with how he doesn't make a move to stop me.

"D-Do you know how hard—-"

"I know." He wipes the tears from my cheeks. "I know,habibti,and I'm more sorry than you will ever know."

"Then tell me—-" And I actually find myself kicking his shin, but he doesn't even flinch. "Tell me w-why—-"

"It is a long story—-"

"Then make it short!" I don't care if I sound like a brat right now. "I need to know—-"

Because I want to stop hurting.

"So tell me—-"

"Alright." He pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket while speaking, and I only realize what he means to do when he presses it to my nose. "Blow."

I start to shake my head, but Zahir only looks at me. "You want the truth?Blow."

I glare at him even as I end up doing what he says.

I blow my nose, and then I shove his hand away as soon as I'm done. "Your turn," I snarl. "Tell me—-"

"The woman you met at Paradijs is the only daughter ofEl Diablo."

"If that's supposed to mean something—-"

"Drug trade, human trafficking, and money laundering are just some of El Diablo's crimes."

Oh.

"But three years ago, he also made the mistake of attempting to start his own cartel in our kingdom."

OH.

"The only way to get close to him is if you join his gang...or be his prospective son-in-law."

Is this my punishment for acting like a brat earlier?

Because now that I know the truth, I'm starting to wonder if maybe I was better off not knowing the truth at all.

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