Page 316 of The Skeikh's Games

“That’s not what I meant,” he said impatiently. He opened his mouth again, but his mother shot him an angry look.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Kamal and his father seem to be very busy with work, so they don’t need to pay any attention with what we do today. We may run errands all day long. We might go see a movie and have lunch and maybe, just maybe, we’ll have dinner out tonight and tell the staff to take a day off,” Ameena said in anger.

Stunned, Kamal sat back and stared at them. What the hell was going on with his parents? Nahid stood. “Come on Kamal, we need to finalize some details before you leave,” he said darkly as he stalked from the table.

“Jada, can you give us a minute,” Kamal said gently. Jada pushed her chair back and immediately left the dining room. “Mother. I know you’re upset that I’m leaving for a little while…”

“Kamal, you are so blind. So blind. Your wife is trying so hard to please you, and you are never home. Not only are you never home, but now you’re leaving. At the very least, you should take a few days off to spend with her,” she interrupted him sharply.

“Why?” Kamal said in frustration. “She’s not comfortable enough around me to even be herself. I’ve seen her when she’s talking to herself alone and when she’s with her friends. She’s crazy and fun and sassy, but when I get around here, she can barely look at me. I feel like she thinks she’s a prisoner, so she probably thinks it’s a relief that I’m leaving.”

In frustration, he got up and left the table. Jada stood in the hallway staring at him. He could tell from the look on her face that she’d been listening. “How much did you hear?” he asked quietly.

“Just the part where you think I want you to leave.” She took a deep breath and met his eyes. “This is all very new for me, Kamal. I’m not going to get the hang of being your wife in just a few months. And I’m sorry that I’m not pleasing you, but you’re not right. I don’t want you to go. But as your wife, I know I’m supposed to be supportive. So go. Do your thing. And when you get back, maybe we can finally talk to each other and find out how we can make this work. Because I really want to make this work.”

She didn’t wait for a response. As she brushed past him, he closed his eyes and shook his head. He was married. He should be fighting for the marriage to work like her, but the truth was that if anyone felt like a prisoner, it was him. He stayed out late on purpose. He was looking forward to leaving.

But she was beautiful, and when she was in his arms at night, she was perfect. She was absolutely perfect. So why the hell was he so happy to run?

Chapter Seven

Kamal had been gone for a week now. Nahid and Ameena were barely speaking to each other, and Jada had been cooped up in the wing all this time. She was going stir crazy, and she needed to do something.

Carefully, she crept out into the hall and listened. The palace was silent. Taking a deep breath, she slipped down to the stairs and tip-toed down. She’d made it to the bottom when Nahid walked in. Freezing at the bottom step, she could only stare at him like a deer in headlights.

“Jada,” Nahid said with a chuckle. “Are you sneaking around the palace like a teenager?”

“Sheikh,” she said as she bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I’ll go back upstairs.”

“Jada, I am your Sheikh, but I am also your father-in-law. And since my son is across the ocean in another country and my wife is no longer speaking to me, I’d very much appreciate it if you were my family right now instead of a citizen of my country.”

“Of course.” She smiled and shook her head. “I’m kind of lonely myself. So you and your wife are fighting over your decision to let Kamal leave. I think I’m supposed to take her side in the matter.”

He chuckled. “Didn’t realize you had the spunk. I like it. I suppose you’re right. You should be taking my wife’s side. Does that mean that we’re not going to be friends?”

“Yes, I do think it means that. But you didn’t want a friend, you wanted family. And as your family, I know you’re doing what you think is right for the biggest company in this country. I understand what the expansion means. Certainly more money and a bigger export base. It’s not just business. It’s political.”

Nahid gazed at her curiously. “Your father said that you went to school.”

Jada blushed. “Sorry. I like international politics. I think the move that you’re making is brilliant. I just wish it didn’t include my husband. Not that it matters.”

“Are you saying that you don’t think your voice matters in this family?”

“I think it doesn’t matter that I didn’t want my husband to leave. I think that my husband wanted to go, and that I didn’t say anything to stop him.”

Nahid grunted and cocked his finger. Jada sighed and followed him. It’s probable that he was pissed at how forward she’d been, but the truth felt good. She didn’t care that she’d said it.

“Ameena and I didn’t even know each other when we were married. After the wedding, it was rough. She was too scared to talk to me, and I was too damn cocky to care. It went for an entire year before she finally broke and screamed at me. And after that point, we didn’t speak at all for two months. It took all that time for me to realize that my wife had been terrified to speak to me. I wasn’t actually seeing her.” Nahid led her into the office and sat his briefcase down.

Jada blinked. “I’m not sure why you’re telling me this.”

“Because you, my dear, are too scared to talk to your husband. And your husband isn’t seeing you. You need to let him know that you need to be seen.”

“I’m not scared of Kamal. In the beginning I was concerned. Not all arranged marriages work out well for women. But Kamal has made it clear that I should not be scared of him, and I’m not scared of him.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Laughing softly, Jada shook her head. “My father raised me to marry Kamal. From the moment I was born, my father made sure that I was groomed and ready to be the future wife of the future Sheikh. It wasn’t until I left for college that I even knew what I wanted, and I knew that I wasn’t the woman that my father raised. But he is my family. Until I married into your family, he was my only family. And I can’t let him down, Sheikh. I can’t. I need to make this work, so I’m trying to be the woman that he raised me to be.”

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