Page 13 of The Sheikh's Fake Fiancée

Shamsa clapped her hands once. “So how did you meet my son? I want details!”

He saw me fall to pieces after the man who screwed me fled the island, leaving me to face the hateful gossipmongers.

Kain finally stepped in. “All I can tell you is I saw Zania and couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I knew then I couldn’t leave without first getting to know her. From there our feelings quickly grew.” He shrugged. “When you know, you know.”

Shamsa’s face softened at her son’s announcement. She turned back to Zania. “I never took my son as a romantic. You must have made quite the impression.”

Zania’s face grew hot. “The feeling is mutual. Kain is everything I ever wanted in a man.”

Their drinks arrived then, but not before she noticed Kain’s exaggerated eyebrow lift. He wasn’t to know she was speaking the truth. Yet he’d be nearly any woman’s ideal man.

“He is quite the catch,” Shamsa agreed. “Goodness knows he’s had everyone from princesses to sheikhas trying to catch his attention.”

Yet little nobody me supposedly managed what so many others had failed to do.

“Then I must be a very lucky woman.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Kain said with a low, throaty voice.

His mother sipped herrummandrink made from pomegranate fruit as she looked between them. “What about the scandal?”

Zania’s breath caught somewhere deep in her throat, her pulse surging. So Kain’s mother had heard the damning gossip. News clearly traveled fast on the grapevine even from abroad.

“What about it?” Kain asked mildly.

“We can’t have it overshadow your relationship. The sooner you two marry, produce heirs and move on with your lives, the sooner the scandal will be forgotten.”

The room did a slow spin and Zania was suddenly glad to be sitting. She reached for her icy-cold drink and swallowed a big mouthful of the tangy fruit drink before she answered. “As much as we’d love to marry in haste—“

“Then it’s settled,” Shamsa declared. “I’ll make all the necessary arrangements.” She looked from her son to Zania.

Did she look as white as she imagined she did? And why did Kain look so damn amused? This wasn’t some joke, it was serious!

Shamsa then said crisply, “It will take the pressure off you both after dealing with so much negativity.”

Kain cleared his throat. “Mom, I think Zania and I would like to discuss wedding dates first.”

“Nonsense. The sooner, the better! You both have to admit silencing the critics should be your first official objective. As I said, the sooner you marry, the sooner the rumors will be behind you.” She sighed a little and added, “Besides, it will give me something to look forward to after what happened with your dad.”

Zania realized that was the moment Kain relented. Her mouth dropped open. He couldn’t seriously be considering this, could he? For one, she’d never agreed to actually marrying him. And for two, he wasn’t in love with her or vice-versa. He’d felt sorry for her and her shattered reputation, and he’d used her to help his own situation. That. Was. All.

His mother blinked rapidly, then dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a napkin as she looked at Zania and explained, “Not many people know the real reason behind my husband’s demise.”

Kain shoved a hand through his hair. “Mom, now probably isn’t the time to explain—”

“Zania is part of this family now, is she not?” Shamsa interjected. At his tight nod, she refocused on Zania. “He didn’t die in his sleep from heart complications as suggested.”

Zania’s breath stalled. “He didn’t?”

“No. He was assassinated right beside me as I slept, by one of his most trusted men. I woke to my maid’s screams, and to see blood everywhere. But what scared me most was m-my husband’s empty, staring eyes.”

“I’m so sorry,” Zania said softly. “I-I had no idea.”

“Very few people do,” Kain said, his knuckles white around his glass. “Except those involved in his murder.”

She bit her bottom lips. “Did the murderer get caught?”

Kain nodded sharply. “Yes. I caught him myself.” His quiet voice was full of savagery. “I made him regret he ever touched a hair on my father’s head. At least now anyone associated with him won’t consider going against my family again. Not if they have any sense.”

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