Chapter 36
Elowen
I place Avi’s phone and mine in the nightstand drawer, then pull her into the bathroom, locking the door behind us.
“He was here,” I whisper, my voice low and urgent.
Her eyes go wide. “What?! How?! When?!” The questions come out in a frantic, whispered yell.
“At my concert—” I tell her the whole story: how he stayed in DC for three days, and how he’s gone now.
It’s been four days since that night. I go to the park every day, but he doesn’t show. I’ve convinced myself he’s gone. But some stubborn part of me refuses to let go of the hope he’ll appear, even though I know it’s better if he doesn’t.
She holds her head in her hands.
“What kind of dangerous game are you playing?” She mutters, then straightens abruptly, her eyes widening. “Wait, wait, wait. You said your dad and mom suspected he’s your kidnapper, and then he goes missing the very next day? How did you never consider that your dad might be behind it?”
My mouth falls open. I slap a hand over it.
“Oh shit.”
I pace the bathroom. “What if it’s really true? How do we find out? They played along with my lie so well, it’s possible they planned the whole thing just to make me believe my lie was safe.”
She perches on the edge of the sink counter.
“Stop panicking. Let’s make a plan to find out the truth.”
I stop pacing and face her. “I can’t think of a way. We don’t know where they keep captives. We know nothing about the crime side of their work.”
She’s quiet for a moment, then says, “My mother does.”
“She won’t help us,” I point out.
She nods slowly, chewing on her lower lip.
“I have an idea.” I snap my fingers.
After discussing the plan, we leave the bathroom and get ready for the party. That’s why Avi is here.
I choose a long red dress; Avi picks a long yellow one. The design is identical, only the color separates us.
Once we get downstairs, we look for our mothers.
Usually, Autumn and Lyn come to these parties, but this one isn’t that big.
Besides, Lyn doesn’t want to see Leo, and Autumn’s busy with university.
Our mothers are gathered with Aunt Stacy—Uncle Troy’s wife, Aunt Savi—Mom’s cousin, and Aunt Bella, who’s Aunt Savi’s sister-in-law.
Avi and I exchange a look. We need them alone to execute our plan.
“What do we do now?” Avi asks.
“We’ll have to adapt. Let’s work with what we have.”
She nods.
It’s impossible to get them alone now that their friends are here, and we only have this party to carry out our plan.
We walk over and greet everyone. I settle close to her mother; Avi sits near Aunt Savi, across from me.
“How are you?” Aunt Savi asks with concern.
“I’m good, Aunt.”
“That must have been a horrible experience.” She looks at me with pity.
“Oh no, it wasn’t. Her kidnapper was hot.” Avi winces the moment the words leave her mouth.
Aunt Savi pinches her cheek and glances at Aunt Abi. “When will your daughter grow up?”
Avi rubs her cheek and stands. “I’m going to complain to Uncle Maksim about your bullying.”
Everyone chuckles as Avi leaves.
Aunt Savi sighs. “I always wanted a daughter like her.”
Mom chuckles. “You have a son now. Marry him off and demand a granddaughter.”
Avi appears beside me, her expression disturbed. She leans in and speaks close to my ear. “I overheard someone talking, they caught your kidnapper.”
My head snaps toward her, horror spreading across my face. “Who?”
“What’s the matter, girls?” Mom asks.
I glance at Aunt Abi, then at Mom as I rise. “Nothing, Mom. We’ll be right back.”
Avi and I hurry away. We round a corner and peer toward the sitting area. Aunt Abi rises and walks toward where the men are gathered.
Avi and I exchange a grin and follow, keeping to the shadows.
Aunt reaches Uncle Alex and leads him out of the party hall. We trail them outside.
We can’t get close enough to hear, we can only read their expressions.
Aunt speaks to Uncle, her face serious. He frowns, then gives a slight shake of his head and responds. She says something else, and he chuckles.
After their brief exchange, they head back inside.
I look at Avi, my mouth turning down. “We missed our chance.”
She grins. “No, we didn’t.”
She glances around, then leans in. “Mama asked if they’d caught your kidnapper. Daddy said no, they still haven’t located him. Then Mama told him she heard me saying that to you. Daddy waved it off, said I must have misheard, that she shouldn’t take anything I say seriously.”
I bow to her. “You’re a goddess.”
She laughs. “I know.”
I chuckle. “When did you learn to read lips?”
She shrugs. “Anyone can read their parents’ mouths with a little practice. I learned so I could know what they were discussing about Zoan when we were kids.”
“You’ll learn anything if it’s related to Zo.” I tease, still grinning.
She grins and slaps my arm. “Don’t say it so loud.”
We make our way back inside.
Avi stops me. “Let’s eat first, then we’ll sit with the ladies for a few minutes before we leave.”
I nod.
We change direction, heading to the dining area. Only a few people are scattered here, it’s nearly empty, since everyone’s still in the party hall.
After dinner, we head back. The moment we step inside, Mom catches us.
“Where were you two?”
“Eating,” Avi answers.
Mom turns and starts walking. “Come with me.”
We follow her to the center of the room, where Dad stands with a few men and a woman. Mom positions herself beside him. We stand near them.
Dad introduces us to a man in his sixties. “This is my daughter, Elowen.” He gestures to me, then to Avi. “And this is Alexander’s daughter, Avira.”
He turns to us. “This is King Adham Al-Fadhl of Saudi Arabia.” He indicates the striking woman beside the king. “And Queen Zareen.”
We offer our greetings.
Dad then gestures to the man standing beside the queen. “This is Crown Prince Aziel.” He motions to the man beside the crown prince. “And Prince Qais.”
We greet them as well.
“They look so alike,” Queen Zareen observes, her Arabic accent thick and melodic—genuinely fascinating.
Mom chuckles. “They take after my mother.”
The Queen smiles and nods, then places a light hand on her son’s arm. The Crown Prince looks at me, and I know, instantly, that this is a setup.
“Holy shit,” Avi mutters under her breath.
I watch the other prince approach her, his smile promising plenty of flirting. I’d find Zo and make him watch, if my own ass weren’t currently on fire.
I focus on the man now standing before me, his hand extended. I glance at my mother. She nods, smiling.
What are you nodding at, old woman? Didn’t I make it clear just a few days ago that I don’t want to get married? So why this stupid setup? I scream at her inside my head, which she, of course, completely ignores.
I place my hand in Aziel’s, and we walk toward the exit, Avi and the other prince falling into step behind us. Once we’re outside, he releases my hand, for which I’m more than grateful.
“You have a beautiful name, Miss Bennett,” Prince Qais says to her.
She chuckles awkwardly. “Thanks, Mr. Alfredo.”
I bite my lip to hold back a laugh. Prince Qais doesn’t, he laughs outright.
“It’s Al-Fadhl.” Aziel corrects her, his voice cold.
Qais’s laughter dies instantly. He speaks to Avi, “Don’t mind my brother. He’s very serious about family name.”
We walk into the garden. Our guards follow us in but don’t venture deeper into the garden.
Qais halts Avi near a cluster of rose bushes while I continue on with Aziel.
“Our parents are planning our betrothal. I’d like to know your thoughts on the matter.”
“My thoughts?” I pause, searching for a diplomatic answer. “I’m not ready for marriage.”
He nods. “I understand.”
We settle onto a couch, keeping a careful two feet between us.
“This marriage would unite two powerful parts of the world. May I ask why you’re not ready?”
What do I tell him? I have a strong feeling whatever I say here will go straight back to his parents. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he files it away as ‘The Response of King Alessio’s Daughter to a Marriage Proposal.’
But what mature response can I possibly give him?
He’s waiting, his eyes fixed on me, making me more anxious by the second.
“I don’t think I’m ready to take on the responsibility of marrying someone as powerful as you.”
He smiles. “No one is born ready for such responsibilities. And no one becomes perfect without practice. But that only works if you have the will.”
I smile politely. What I have is no will to marry you—but that would be the wrong answer.
“Do you agree?” he presses.
I nod.
“Then that’s no longer an obstacle.”
Shit. I just got maneuvered so smoothly.
“Since we have no issue here, may I take that as your agreement to the arrangement?”
“I have another concern.” I pause. “I don’t want a politically convenient marriage. I want to marry for love.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. We can fall in love first and then marry.”
I sigh. “I’m already in love with someone else.”
There’s no other way to make him understand that this advantageous marriage isn’t advantageous for me.
Disappointment flickers across his face. He nods slowly.
“You could have said that earlier.”
I stare at my hands in my lap. “It’s a secret.” I lift my gaze. “My parents know I like someone, but they don’t know how much. They want me to forget him, but I can’t. I can’t even imagine another man.”
He smiles faintly. “He’s a lucky man. I would have preferred this alliance, but for that reason, I won’t push.”
I smile, relieved. “Thank you, Prince Aziel.”
“I under—” He cuts himself off as the garden lights explodes, one after another.
We’re both on our feet in an instant. The sound of rushed footsteps fills the space as bodyguards flood in, their flashlights cutting through the dark.
Travis reaches me first. “Miss, please come with me.”
I hurry with him, matching his pace. Other bodyguards close in around us. Avi’s team does the same, and we’re both hurried inside.
The bodyguards don’t leave our sides until we reach our rooms. In this mansion, our rooms are close. I follow Avi into hers.
“What was that?” I ask.
“Sounded like gunshots.”
“But who would shoot out the garden lights?”
Her door opens before she can answer. Zo steps inside, jaw tight. He looks like a man carrying a storm inside him—barely visible on his face, but unmistakably felt in the air around him.
“I think you have some answers to give. See you tomorrow.” I bite back a grin and walk toward the door.
“Did you—” Avi starts, but her words cut off in a gasp. I turn to find Zo kissing her, fierce and possessive.
Butterflies dance in my belly at the sight. Still grinning, I step out quietly and pull the door closed behind me.
How adorable Zo looks when he’s jealous.
My smile fades into longing. Would he have looked this wrecked if he’d seen me with someone my parents want me to marry?