Page 21 of The Sheikh's Fake Fiancée

I’ll be in a meeting with some official delegates by the time you wake this morning. Feel free to explore the palace or just relax in our rooms. Breakfast will be delivered at nine a.m. sharp.

Kain x

She smiled. That he was considerate enough to leave her a note at all revealed the kind of person he really was. That he’d brought her to orgasm before giving into his own revealed even more about his character.

She refolded the note and slid it into the pocket of her robe, sipping her drink in contemplation. He was acting his part in full right now. Did he seriously expect her to believe that he cared about her?

The cup clattered as she put it down. Perhaps shewouldexplore the palace a little. It’d do her good to get out of her own thoughts for a while and focus on the furnishings and arts that filled Kain’s home.

What about your late period? Are you going to give any focus and attention to that?

She pressed an outspread hand to her midriff, her body tensing. If Tabari really had impregnated her, she might well suffer from morning sickness while attending one official function or another by Kain’s side.

She pressed a shaky hand to her heated brow. How much deception could she possibly pull off?

She’d finished the tea in her little cup when Esma stepped back into the kitchen and dining room. “Anything else you need before I go…Zania,” she added, as though testing her name without its status.

Zania managed a wobbly smile. “Actually, yes. Is there a doctor I can call on if I feel unwell again?”

Esma blinked. “Of course. Kain has his own personal physician. Is everything all right?” She bit into her bottom lip, her lashes fluttering. “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.”

“That’s all right, honestly. It’s nothing, though. I’m just trying to find out where all the important services are.”

The other woman nodded. “Oh, of course. It’s always good to know. His physician has a room in the right wing of the palace. Once you walk through the sitting area section that divides the four wings—you’ll know it by the huge dome gold ceiling—you take the blue-tile archway. The doctor’s room is the fifth on the left.” She giggled. “If it makes it easier, he has a number you can call. Did you bring your cellphone with you?”

Zania winced. She’d turned it off days ago after all the horrid texts and calls she’d been getting. “I did. It was in my luggage.”

“Any personal items will have been put into the drawers of your bedside table.”

She nodded. “I should probably go and make sure it’s there.”

Esma nodded, taking a small notepad from her pocket along with a pen. “Let me write down the number.” She ripped the page free and handed it to Zania. “If you need anything else…?“

Zania poured some more tea out of the pot and into her cup. “No, that will be all. Thank you Esma.”

The servant left then and Zania abandoned her tea to enter the bedroom and find her cellphone was indeed in one of the bedside drawers. She turned it on, relieved to find the battery had a little charge left in it.

A knock on the front door of the suite of rooms heralded the arrival of her breakfast, and after she opened the door, a male in a white thobe and chef’s hat pushed the trolley inside. He nodded respectfully and began to set out her food on the dining table. Flatbread, olives, honey and jam, dried fruits and pastries.

“If that is all, Sheikha Zania.”

She resisted wincing at the title that didn’t belong to her. “Thank you, this looks wonderful and is more than enough.”

She waited until he bowed and left before she typed in the doctor’s number, then checked her messages.

Her chest expanded and then pulled tight at the single text Tabari had sent her a few hours ago.What the fuck? She opened his message with a shaky hand, unwilling to read it, yet just as unwilling to put it down without knowing what he wanted.

She focused on the words.

My sweetest Zania,

I hope this text finds you well. I never did get the chance to explain my sudden departure, but please know it wasn’t from my lack of feelings toward you.

I’m shattered to hear you are engaged to Sheikh Kain and I sincerely hope there is still room in your heart to forgive me for disappearing when you needed me most.

There is still so much left unexplained between us, and I’d really love to see you for a chat, no pressure though. I’ll be flying into Qaman early tomorrow morning.

Text or ring me at your convenience. I’m hopeful we can meet up.

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