Page 56 of My Arabian Billionaire

Silence.

“Unless of course you believe that her choice of clothing is harmful to others?” Harper paused. “I grew up in America as well, but perhaps it’s changed in the short time I’ve been gone. Is it different now? Are women’s clothes considered a murderous weapon – or was that you just being catty?”

Jennifer’s face turned red with rage, and she snarled, “How nice. Just because you’re a queen, you think can say such things to anyone---”

Harper let her eyes go wide, saying with all earnest innocence, “Oh, but you’re mistaken. It’s because I truly believe in equality that I’m saying this. I may be a queen, but I’m a woman first. I have every right to be a bitch when I see someone being unfairly attacked---”

“It’s not my fault if she can’t defend her own position, is it?” Jennifer retorted. “And you coming to her rescue is exactly why people think women areweak---”

“And it’s people like you that make everyone think feminists are all idiots and bitches combined,” Harper snapped.

The AFK’s faces turned stony, all three of them recognizing the signs of the queen’s anger. Once her temper was riled, there was no stoppingit---

And they were right.

“Feminism isn’t about men versus women,” Harper growled. “If you really understood feminism, then your first priority is to find a way for women to help each other up and not pull each other down. It’s certainly not for one woman to belittle another woman – and wasn’t that what you were doing to Kyria?”

Do you get that now, you ninny, Harper wanted to yell at Jennifer’s face, but caught herself in time and instead stopped to inhale deeply, realizing too late that she hadn’t even paused to breathe in her entire tirade. And she was shaking too, dammit. She only shook this much when she was really angry, and this Jennifer woman was definitely---

A sound interrupted her thoughts.

Clapping?

A moment later, and the applause became thunderous.

Holyshit.

Harper gaped.

She had lost her temper, and they were clapping forit?

As Jennifer stormed out of the scene, Kyria rushed to the queen, eyes glowing with admiration. “You were so great, Your Majesty.”

Harper cringed. “I was such a hothead, youmean.”

“Because you were angry for me,” the younger girl said loyally.

“I was, but I should have remembered to be more…” Queenly? But that had occurred to her earlier already, hadn’t it? She had thought about the right thing to do, thought about why she would do it and whom she would do itfor---

Don’t do it forme.

And in theend---

She had done it for Kyria. For people who needed protecting. For people like the kingdom of Ramil---

Oh.

Her head immediately snapped, her gaze wildly searching the crowd---

And finally, her eyes met the sheikh’s.

And he was smiling.

Do you understand it now, wife?

She wanted to laugh and cry, wanted to wrap her arms around him as much as she wanted to throttle him. Damn him. He could have simply told her straight that he wanted her to be a queen who would put the people’s needs before everything else, butno---

Damn sheikh.

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