Chapter 11
Shehryar
F ucking Neves. Prince Kai proposed.
And Esmeralda said yes.
It didn’t come as a surprise, but it shocked me nonetheless when he told me in the gym.
They were madly in love with each other, that was insanely obvious. I knew they had talked about a future together, and Esmeralda had told me she wanted to spend her whole life with him. She didn’t know, but I’d even interrogated Prince Kai about it the last time he’d come to Jahandar after he told King Kareem and I about his intentions of marrying her in the future.
I just hadn’t expected future to mean the immediate future . It seemed too soon—they’d only been dating nine months, the majority of which they’d spent apart. That was…was that really enough time for them to get to know each other? Enough to know they wanted to get married?
I’d be lying if I claimed I wasn’t concerned for Esmeralda. That I didn’t feel as if they were rushing and hadn’t thought it through entirely. Especially not the dilemma of them both being crown prince and crown princess. But in all the excited commotion of their announcement over breakfast, it was impossible to miss how happy the two of them appeared.
Prince Kai looked at Esmeralda like she was his entire universe, and she looked at him like he was the sun her universe revolved around. And fuck it, despite my brotherly concerns, my heart was at peace knowing her care and happiness were in the right man’s hands.
But as happy as I was for her, there was also a sense of loss. Like she didn’t need me anymore. Not in terms of duty—I planned to remain as her bodyguard and private secretary for as long as possible—but in terms of relying on me as a brother. We weren’t blood, but I’d been there for her all the same, and she’d been there for me too. To talk to, to have fun with, to pester and annoy. Everything.
It felt like a fraction of that part of us was being handed over to Prince Kai, which sent a pang of loneliness through my midsection and shook an unbalanced tremor under my feet. I wasn’t losing Esmeralda, but fuck, things were going to be different.
Prince Kai’s family had been aware of his plans to propose, but there were still tears shed, especially between Mum and Queen Leila, and congratulations were sung loud and proud around the dining table. Even the dowager queen, who usually didn’t show much emotion, grinned from ear to ear. Though everyone knew news of the engagement would have to be kept a secret until after we’d returned to Jahandar for the sake of privacy and security on our trip. And nothing could be confirmed until Prince Kai and Esmeralda had spoken to King Kareem once he arrived the next day.
Nevertheless, the surprise engagement changed all plans for the day. Rather than the four of us going out together, everyone, especially Mariyah, insisted that Kai and Esmeralda go out alone in the afternoon. And who the fuck was I to disagree? Why the fuck would I disagree?
It was the biggest relief not having to spend another day in close proximity to Mariyah in public where I had to pretend to be civil with her. Not that the previous day had exactly been a success in that sense, which was why I needed the break from her even more. Within the four walls of the palace, there were hundreds of rooms to spend my time in where her infuriating arse wouldn’t be.
Literally .
Her arse was infuriating.
I reacted in a way I shouldn’t have after the fucking brat pinched my backside. In the moments that followed, her red-faced ire had pumped my blood full of smug gratification, and pissing Mariyah off felt dangerously addictive. It was something I could’ve made a habit of doing.
I’d deny it if asked, but I hadn’t been able to get the feel of her plump flesh yielding to my palm out of my head. And in the darkness of what should’ve been a peaceful night, my imagination painted Mariyah’s arse bouncing against my pelvis, marked with finger-shaped bruises that belonged to me.
I woke up sour and fucking vexed after losing hours of sleep because of a persistent hard-on.
So, after all the engagement excitement, I stayed away— who gave a shit what I’d said yesterday ? I relaxed. I read. I forced myself to ignore and disappeared from reality knowing Esmeralda was safe.
It calmed me immensely, to the point I wasn’t even pissed off that I ended up sitting opposite Mariyah at the dining table when lunch was served.
“How’s she gonna know what to wear though if she doesn’t know where you’re going?” Mariyah questioned, leaning forward to look past Esmeralda towards Prince Kai.
At the head of the table sat Queen Leila and King Rami next to each other. On the queen’s side were Prince Kai, Esmeralda, Mariyah, and Prince Adam, and on the king’s side were Gigi, Prince Arsh, Mum, me, and Prince Fay in that exact order.
I was still incredibly uncomfortable sitting amongst royalty, especially ahead of Prince Fay. It felt wrong, but for Mum’s sake, I’d suffocated the urge to insist on sitting elsewhere.
“Exactly,” Esmeralda said in agreement. “Thank you, Mar.”
Esmeralda was trying to convince Prince Kai to tell her where he was taking her for their outing, but he was being surprisingly secretive about it.
“Welcome.” Prince Arsh and Prince Fay chuckled at Mariyah’s reply, Mum, Prince Adam, and the king and queen grinned, Gigi smirked proudly, but I rolled my eyes down at my plate.
Prince Kai couldn’t seem to decide if he wanted to smile or frown. “You can wear whatever you choose to, Esmeralda. You always look beautiful.”
A dumbfounded blush licked across Esmeralda’s face as everyone else chuckled or beamed.
“That was smooth,” Mariyah said, nudging Esmeralda.
“Excellent answer, Kai,” Prince Arsh said, nodding in approval.
“I don’t think that was what she meant,” Prince Fay added, his hazel eyes glinting with amusement just like his father’s and uncle’s.
The crown prince set his fork down to tug at his left ear and cleared his throat. “As long as you wear comfortable shoes.”
His mother, the queen, gave a bright, elegant smile, but it was my mum who nodded her head at Esmeralda and said, “I think that should answer your question, dear.”
Still pink in the cheeks, a reluctantly placated smile tugged at Esmeralda’s lips. “I suppose it does.”
Laughter was exchanged again before Prince Arsh set his knife and fork down in his almost empty plate and laid his arm over the back of Mum’s chair. A soft glaze coated his hazel eyes as he looked from Mum to his nephew and Esmeralda.
“Well,” he started. “While we’re on the topic of surprises, may we?”
A wary prickle coasted up the back of my neck, and my hands settled on either side of my plate. I swallowed the food in my mouth and sat upright, watching Esmeralda and Prince Kai smile at each other. Then they turned their attention back to Prince Arsh and Mum.
“Yes. Please,” Esmeralda said with a delighted note to her tone.
What’s going on? Whatever it was, I didn’t like it already.
A buzz rushed across the table as everyone set their cutlery and glasses down.
Prince Arsh cleared his throat as he straightened the lapels of his suit blazer. “We have some news to share with everyone.” He gave a slight nod to Mum. “Would you like to do the honours, my love?”
With the back of her head to me, I couldn’t see Mum’s face, but I could hear the serene happiness in her voice. “The final draft of the new Legitimacy and Marriage Act has been approved by all seven royal families and their governments, and the act will pass into law all over the world this coming February before the Peace Celebrations.”
I stiffened. A blur of rapt chatter filled the following minute.
It was good news, technically. But it didn’t weigh well with me.
“We hadn’t planned so,” Prince Arsh continued, “but only because we assumed Kai would wait until the end of your trip to propose.” Prince Kai flushed red, and everyone else chuckled. “But in any case, we’re glad of it, as with everyone already here, it seemed like an opportune moment.”
The older prince grinned across the table. “Of course, we asked for Kai and Esmeralda’s permission as to not take away from their moment of celebration, and thankfully, they were happy to give it. So…” He gently enveloped Mum’s hand in his own on the table. “Seeing as the enactment of the law is now guaranteed, Katiya and I would like to hold a small wedding ceremony here in the palace and marry before you all. In private. Before our public ceremony next year May or early June.”
What?
It wasn’t the sudden outbreak of thrilled noise that made my ears ring. It was the numb stillness that sunk through me as I tried and failed to process what had just been said.
I knew at some point it would happen, but I supposed the majority of me had still very much been in denial of it happening. And with Esmeralda’s shock engagement, I wasn’t sure I had it in me to accept the surprise of my mother’s marriage to Prince Arsh within the next week or so.
I wasn’t prepared. I wasn’t ready. Not to fend off the hostile chatter of the world that had so far been limited to social media, nor was I comfortable with the way my life would change once my mum married into royalty.
I wouldn’t be a prince by blood, but I’d be tied to royalty anyway. I already was through my job, but this would be different from the times I escorted Esmeralda while cameras flashed all around.
Those cameras would now face me and Mother. We would be the ones in the public eye.
There would be no more secrets or privacy. Our lives would be out there for them to judge.
Including our past.
When they found out who he was, everything my fucking father had done would be aired out like dirty laundry in front of the world. None of it had been her fault, but I knew they’d point fingers at Mum and blame her for it. Because that was what the world of aristocrats and the wealthy did.
A man with the backing of his rich family could get away with whatever shit he pulled.
But the woman from a meagre background who’d ended up alone and pregnant because that man had failed her would always be at fault.
I’d tear the world apart before I let another insult find its way to Mother, but no matter what Prince Arsh said or promised, their marriage would make that a million times harder.
I was the only one who sat there frozen. I didn’t rage, I didn’t smile, I didn’t utter a word. All I could do was struggle to get a grip on the turmoil inside me.
Mum placed a hand over my knee and squeezed. I stared down at her wrist but eventually lifted my gaze. We’ll talk , her soft, green-eyed stare said, wavering back and forth between worry and reassurance. But aloud, she said, “We would like help planning the ceremony.”
Was she asking me to plan a wedding I was kind of against?
Before I completely realised it, I started shaking my head, the movement slow and subtle. Mum noticed—her smile slipped and tightened—though she might’ve been the only one.
“Mariyah could do it,” Esmeralda declared brightly.
My attention snapped to the two friends. “What? Me?” Mariyah asked in surprise.
“Yes, you.” To Mum and Prince Arsh, Esmeralda said, “Mariyah is interested in event planning, and she’s good at it too. I’m sure if you told her what you wanted, she could plan a brilliant wedding for you.”
“No, no,” Mariyah quickly said as she waved Esmeralda away. “She’s just exaggerating. I am interested in event planning, but I don’t have a lot of experience. I wouldn’t know what to do. Plus, it’s your wedding, I’m sure you don’t want me to plan it.”
Her humbleness caught me off guard, and I almost burst out laughing. Mariyah and humble were like water and oil—they didn’t usually mix.
“Why wouldn’t we want you to, dear?” Mum asked. “And it isn’t anything big. Just an intimate ceremony with family and a few friends.”
Mariyah opened and closed her mouth like a fish. “But…don’t you want someone else to plan it? Family, I mean.”
Mariyah looked at Esmeralda. Esmeralda glanced across to Prince Arsh and Mum. Mum turned to me. And I instinctively braced myself.
Mum’s hand clamped around my knee again. “Would you help Mariyah plan our wedding, Sher?”
You have got to be fucking kidding me.
Refusal sat on the tip of my tongue, ready to fire off, but the pleading hope branded in Mum’s eyes forced me to trap it behind my teeth. “I don’t think—” I cleared my throat. “I’m not the right person to plan a wedding.”
“Why not?” she asked.
Why not? Maybe because I don’t want this wedding to happen, let alone spend more time with the fucking brat planning it.
But those selfish reasons made guilt rock through my middle. They made me feel like a shit son.
For the woman who’d done everything in her power to give me a better life, surely I could put my irritation towards Mariyah and my reserves for the upcoming nuptials aside to do something that would make her happy? It was the least I owed my mother.
Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to voice any agreement.
“I’d be happy to do it,” Mariyah declared.
My lashes lifted, and I found myself the subject of her scrutiny. Her eyes were a sharp blue coated in a dull sheen of condemnation. Accusation. Disappointment. For some absurd reason, shame wisped over the curves of my ears, and that in turn injected anger into my blood.
She had no right to judge me, no fucking idea why I was refusing, what my mother had endured, and no clue how quickly I’d rip her to shreds if she thought she could make me feel bad for trying to protect my mother. Neither would I let her make this about herself.
“Okay,” I said, holding her stare. “I’ll help.”
I only looked away when Mother rubbed my knee affectionately. “Thank you, Sher.”
I offered her a tight-lipped smile. “When were you thinking of having the wedding?”
“On the evening of the twenty-sixth,” Prince Arsh said.
Esmeralda’s shoulders fell. “That’s the day Mariyah’s leaving.”
A smirk fought to sit itself on my lips. Maybe the world had already planned to prevent the disaster of my planning a wedding with the brat.
“That won’t do,” Mum said with a frown. “Though I’m not sure there will be enough time to prepare if we do it earlier.”
This was my chance. I sat upright. “Why don’t you postpone—”
“What if Mariyah stayed another two days?” Esmeralda cut me off. “She could leave the same day Sher and I do, and we could still have the wedding with a day to relax afterwards.”
For fuck’s sake!
Mariyah put a hand on Esmeralda’s arm. “I can’t just stay, Ez.”
“Yes, you can. You were going to leave on the Friday, so there would be no difference if you now stayed until Sunday.” Esmeralda arched her brows. “I told you that when you were booking your return ticket.”
“But I’ve already booked it. I’d have to cancel it and—”
“Don’t worry about paying for the new ticket, Mariyah,” King Rami said, his straight teeth glinting through his kingly beard peppered with white. “We’ll cover the cost. It’s the least we could do.”
“Oh, no.” Mariyah shook her head. “I didn’t let Esmeralda—”
Everyone’s heads turned when the dowager queen cleared his throat. “Young lady.” Gigi arched a thin brow, giving Mariyah the pointed look of a strict teacher. “You have been told by a royal you are staying. You’d be wise not to argue.”
Mariyah clapped her lips together and sunk back into her chair, thoroughly scolded.
Well, that fucking did it. Nobody said no to the dowager queen.
Which meant Mariyah was staying an extra two days.
And we were planning a wedding together.
This entire fucking trip had turned into one big shit show.