Page 41 of The Sheikh's Secret Family

The expression of guilt and worry on Tariq’s face told Emelia everything. She stepped away, pulling her hands free.

“Are you serious?”

“Emelia, please, let me explain.” Tariq took one more step towards her then stopped, his expression pleading. “Yes, I’m keeping you and Owen a secret. I know it’s hard to understand, but it’s for a good reason. If the Al Salyan traditionalists, even my advisors and my own mother, found out about you, it would be a huge scandal. You and Owen might have to leave the country because of it. I could lose the reputation I’ve worked so hard to build — I could even be removed from power. I know I can’t keep you a secret forever, but I don’t know what to do. I can’t think of any way to tell the public about you without huge problems.”

Emelia felt tears burning at the back of her eyes and blinked them away. Everything she’d worried about was true. In college, Tariq had lied to her and kept her a secret from his family. Now, years later, he was still lying and still keeping her a secret. She’d hoped that he’s grown and changed, but clearly, he hadn’t.

“How can I trust you?” she asked, her voice breaking again. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt me or Owen, but you have. What kind of life is this for him, not being allowed to be seen with his father? What kind of life is this for me?”

“I know,” Tariq said. He reached for her again, but let his hands fall helplessly away. “I can fix this. Just give me a little time.”

“You’ve had time,” Emelia said, crossing her arms. “We’ve been here for more than a month, Tariq. You can’t keep doing this.”

“Please, Emelia, I love you. I can figure this out. I’ll tell everyone about you eventually, soon, I just need to figure out how. I just need you to be patient for a little longer.”

A hundred times before, Emelia had let things slide. She’d let foster families introduce her as a family friend after identifying all their biological children by name. She’d let foster families tell teachers and principals that she was ‘just’ a foster child when they asked why she was acting up or not doing her homework. She’d let Tariq lie to his parents about her. But she wasn’t going to let it happen again. This time, her son was involved.

“When Owen was born,” she said, her voice low. “I promised him something, right there in the hospital bed. All the nurses were asking when my partner or my family was coming and I told them that all my family was right here. And then I whispered in Owen’s ear that he was the most important thing to me and that I would give him a better life than I’d had. I would never let him feel like he wasn’t wanted. I would never let him feel like he was something to be ashamed of.

“Well, because of you, I’ve broken that promise. So, there won’t be a family to tell anyone about. We’re leaving. In Boston, we may not have a lot of money, but at least we know who we can rely on.”

With that, Emelia turned on her heel and walked away.

CHAPTER23

TARIQ

Tariq couldn’t bear to see the love of his life walk away, taking their son with her. He felt like his heart was breaking all over again. All his old hurts, from losing his father and Emelia at the same time, reopened.

“Emelia!” He hurried after her, reaching for her hand. “Please. Don’t go.”

“I have to.” She turned around, her green eyes full of hurt and unshed tears.

“Then please, stay one more night. Let me have one more family dinner with you and Owen tomorrow. Let me say goodbye.” This time, Tariq’s voice broke and he let it, feeling years of pain behind his words. Years of loneliness. Years of keeping his heart shut. Emelia had every right to go, but he couldn’t bear it.

Her face softened a fraction at his words and she nodded. “All right. We’ll stay for one more day and one more dinner. But after that, we’re leaving.”

This time, when Emelia walked away, Tariq let her, though he kept watching until long after she’d turned the corner. He knew he couldn’t ask her to stay longer. Not only would she say no, Tariq knew that it wasn’t fair. Even though all his choices had been made to protect them, he knew that they had hurt the love of his life and his son. Badly. His heart heavy and his head full of sadness, he collapsed into bed and fell into an uneasy sleep. All his dreams featured Emelia disappearing from his life, taking their son with her.

In the morning, Tariq asked his assistant to clear his schedule. Around eight, he got a message from Hamid that Emelia had cancelled Owen’s lessons and that she was packing. Tariq had known this would happen, but the news hit him as heavy as a ton of bricks all the same.

All he wanted to do was rush to Emelia’s rooms and beg to talk to her, or at least to spend this last day together. Still, he knew that nothing had been solved and that she wouldn’t want to talk to him, so instead, he walked to the gardens. Every flower and plant and sweet smell brought back memories of walking here with Emelia and watching Owen run back and forth, small arms and legs pumping with enthusiastic energy.

Tariq had been sheikh for six years now, nearly seven, and his accomplishments were far too many to count on his fingers. He’d avoided wars, improved the taxation system, increase fair trade, and created jobs for thousands of Al Salyans. He’d raised awareness about women’s rights, overhauled the education system, and even launched a project to get stray dogs off the streets and into humane shelters or family homes. If Tariq were to look himself up online, he would find articles calling him a fair, just ruler who had helped modernize his country while honoring its rich and beautiful traditions. He would even find an article or two talking about how proud his father would be.

All of it meant nothing to him now.

When he looked back on the last six years, they seemed empty. He’d thrown himself into his work and had done his best to live up to his father’s memory. But he’d also been alone. His heart had been closed off. He’d had his mother and friends among his advisors, but no love.

His accomplishments as sheikh seemed small, almost insignificant next to his time with Emelia and Owen. The joy he’d felt showing Owen around the plane or pushing him on the swings was far more than he’d known to be possible. And the love, attraction, and respect he felt towards Emelia were stronger and more powerful than he’d imagined. They were his family. In just a few short weeks, they’d become his reason for waking up each day. The thought of them leaving was too much.

Tariq paused by the swing set, laying his hand against the smooth wood. As a child, he had spent hours here, swinging and playing. Sometimes his father had even joined him, both of them laughing as Tariq spun himself up in the chains or did fancy jumps through the air. More recently, Tariq had come here with his own son, the little boy who had stolen his heart. He wished that his father could have met Owen. They would have liked each other. Tariq wished, too, that his father were here. There had been no wiser man. Certainly, Sheikh Nabir Ibrahim would have known what Tariq should do.

With a soft sigh, Tariq moved on, letting his hand fall away from the wood of the swing set. His heart was breaking. How would it be to walk these gardens alone, never again hearing the joyful shouts of his son? How would it be to pass the rose garden and know he would never kiss Emelia again?

He turned towards the rose garden and was hit with another wave of memories, so powerful that they almost knocked him off his feet. This was where he and Emelia had kissed each other for the first time since college. Tariq hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the feeling of her soft lips against his and the warmth that had spread through him when she let out a soft moan. Emelia had felt so right in his arms. Tariq had been able to imagine that she would stay forever.

Tariq loved Emelia. He’d tried to keep himself from admitting that, even within his own mind, but when it had come to it, he’d blurted the words out without even thinking about it. Of course he loved her. He always had. Emelia was the smartest, kindest, more capable, most beautiful woman he’d ever met. She was the mother of his child. She made his heart race like a teenager on a first date. And when they kissed, the whole world seemed to hold its breath.

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