Page 7 of Sheikh's Unexpected Triplet Babies

"And I suppose you will also know about what she is advocating for?"

"I'm sure I will," he said negligently. "I imagine we will choose it together."

"So she's allowed to be invested in something that you choose together, but not at the expense of your own passions and interests. That sounds like a splendid deal."

Jahin shot her an amused glance. "Let us be fair, it is not like I am asking for all of this for free. I am prepared to give her the life that she wants, one where she will never want for anything, surrounded by beauty, wealth, every advantage..."

Bedelia wanted to fight him for a moment, to tell him that there were women who did not want such a life, no matter how much he promised them. Then she sighed, because there were probably women who would be more than happy with a life like that.

"It doesn't sound so happy for me," she said, stopping to look at a few hand-carved toys that a woman was selling from her stall. They were ingenious little things, slightly crude but very lovely.

"So what would make you happy?" Jahin asked, a teasing note in his voice. "What would make you realize that a man was the one for you, and that he was the one you wanted in your life for the rest of it?"

"Well, I was going to say that it should be obvious, but after our talk, I'm not sure it is," she said with a wry grin. "It's not something I have ever thought about...but I think in general, I want a man who is honest, who has a passion in his life, but who makes me...the most important part of it. Because that is what I would do for him. I would make him the most important part of it, and I want someone that I could look at who I would be proud to do that for. And I want him to be proud of me."

Jahin tilted his head at her. "That is very broad."

"Well, we don't all have lives like yours," she said with a shrug. "And isn't that better anyway? If I tried to be with a man who wanted to direct my activities, who expected me to be beautiful every moment of the day..."

"That's not what I said--"

"You might as well have. If I had to be with a man who thought so little of me, I would never be happy, and in fairly short order, I believe I would start to make him very unhappy as well. That is not a thing that anyone wants, I believe."

"That is what you truly want? In your heart of hearts?"

She smiled a little, because she supposed she deserved to be caught out. "Well, yes. But it sounds like you're asking if I want more. And if I am honest with myself, I do. I want...romance as well. I guess I want a fairytale."

She shook herself.

"It's dangerous to want things like that in real life," she said, looking up at him. "I know that."

"Do your hands know that?"

She looked down, startled, and realized she was holding a little wooden figurine of what looked like a young woman, her headscarf and tunic elaborately painted, who held a beautifully detailed bouquet of red and white flowers in her hands. The look on her face was mysterious; her tiny red smile seemed to hint at secrets that she would keep.

"She's lovely," Bedelia said, and Jahin nodded.

"That's Meelia, the flower girl," he said. "Her betrothed went off to war, and she said she would water a valley with her tears. She cried so much for his loss that she blanketed the valley with those white flowers she is holding."

"Did...did he come back?"

"Some stories say yes, some say no. When he comes back, they are wed in a glade full of white flowers, and when she weeps with joy, the flowers come up in red instead. When he doesn't, we say that she is the reason we still have white flowers today."

"Oh, then I am glad that this Meelia got her betrothed back," Bedelia said, pointing at the red flowers mixed in with the white.

She started to put the little toy back, but Jahin stopped her. As she watched, he pulled a small handful of notes out of his wallet and handed it to the vendor woman, who gaped at the amount and tried to protest. Jahin only grinned, told her that it was fine work, and pulled Bedelia away.

"Oh, you shouldn't have..." Bedelia protested, but he shook his head.

"Take it," he said, his voice oddly tender. "For someone who wants a fairytale of her own, it will serve as a good reminder of what you might have someday."

"Do you think I'll have that?" she asked without meaning to.

He glanced down at her, and she wondered if there was something wistful in his copper eyes.

"I certainly hope so," he said.

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