Chapter Seven #4
Reluctantly he gave his driver orders and given it was peak-hour traffic, the journey was impossibly slow as Rafiq’s excuses came thick and fast.
‘You and I were seen together on two separate nights and that is what has caused the problem.’
She stared ahead.
‘There are strict edicts…’
‘Are you promised to Yara? Betrothed, engaged, dating?’ She glared at him then. ‘I didn’t realise I had to give you a selection, or be so specific. I thought I made it clear I would not see you if you were involved with anyone.’ Her voice rose. ‘Or promised to anyone…’
The car was turning into her street, the location Liliana had insisted she be taken to, but panic struck, for photographers were already there. And when she demanded that the car turn around and take her to her mother’s it was precisely then that her mother rang.
‘Mum.’ Liliana did all she could to keep her voice calm even as her mother informed her that there were photographers outside her home too. ‘Just pull the curtains and ignore them,’ Liliana said. ‘And don’t answer the door.’
‘Is this why you hid here this weekend?’
‘I wasn’t hiding,’ Liliana said, but her voice cracked then and when tears started to fall, Rafiq took the phone.
Oh, the perfect prince he was at his silken smooth best. He first apologised for the stress this was causing then told her mother how his people were taking care of things now and that very soon the photographers would be gone.
Reassuring her that there had been a slight miscommunication.
His voice was so measured it was almost soothing—of course this would soon be sorted out, but it might take a little time for it all to calm down.
Then, having calmed her mother down, Liliana listened as he told her his plans.
‘Ms Hamilton, we’re going to get you to a hotel until it’s all died down.
There’s a car coming for you now,’ Rafiq said and to Liliana that sounded like the best idea, but then she frantically shook her head as he spoke on.
‘Liliana has agreed to come to Al-Zahir until I’ve sorted out the press and had all the articles and photos taken down, and she’ll return when it’s yesterday’s news. ’
‘No,’ Liliana mouthed, shaking her head. ‘No way,’ she insisted when he’d ended the call. ‘I’ll go to the hotel with my mother.’
‘And you’ll be outed. Your picture is all over the place, you’ll be recognised in a matter of moments. I’m sure now that there was a spotter on the train. Usually I notice them…’ He was honest. ‘In fact, I did, but then you boarded and I forgot about him.’
‘I saw him.’ She thought back to the man in the grey cap and how he’d been looking over to Rafiq.
She thought of the pack of reporters waiting at her work, then at her mother’s. And then flicked through the photos, again hating that their first kiss was out for public consumption.
It felt as if the whole of London was chasing her.
It felt like it had when her father’s wife had found out.
Panic started to hit, the enormity of it all, her pulse was roaring in her ears and she massaged her temples. She could feel the colour leaching from her face and though sitting down felt close to a faint, she leaned forward. ‘I can’t deal with this, Rafiq.’
‘Then let me.’
His voice was low and calm, but even more soothing was the light touch of his hand on her back, a touch so light yet it felt as if he took the weight of the world from her a little.
‘I don’t have my passport.’
‘Tell me where it is and give me your keys. Salar will sort it.’
She was angry and confused—more than she could express, but with that touch somehow he conveyed that he would get her through this.
That she could let go of the fear.
‘My plane is waiting. You’ll be away from all this before you know it and I’ll join you as soon as I can.’
‘You’re not coming with me?’
‘First I need to sort things out for your mother, for you…’ He hesitated for a second and perhaps chose to be honest. ‘We can’t be seen together, even at the airport.’
‘Because of Yara?’
Rafiq closed his eyes in frustration. Salar was driving, the privacy screen closed and while he wanted to trust him, while Salar was helping get Liliana to safety, still he did not feel he could freely speak.
‘We’ll talk when I get there. For now, you will be taken care of in my desert abode…’
‘Hidden away.’ Her spine stiffened and he removed his touch as if registering she neither wanted it nor needed it now. Her voice was flat when it came. ‘I’ll be taken care of as your lover…’ She glared at him. ‘Was that what you were going to ask me on Saturday night?’
‘Let us talk in the desert.’ He breathed deeply in. ‘I know that this must all have come as a shock.’
‘A slight understatement.’
‘You also know that we do need to work things out.’
She stayed silent.
They did have to speak, Liliana knew that…but whatever was shared she would not be revealing her fears that she might be pregnant. She would work them out first, though she could not envisage how.
‘And if I want to leave…’ Her voice trailed off.
‘My promise remains. You can leave anytime.’
That side of Rafiq she trusted.
It was the only reason she agreed to fly to Al-Zahir.