Chapter 6
Paris – France
Two Weeks Later
“I managed to get some footage from the security cameras of a hotel in Manhattan showing His Highness entering and leaving the place with several bodyguards. He was wearing Western clothes, but I have no doubt it was your brother, Your Highness.”
I have to fight the urge to roll my eyes at my aide’s formality. No matter how many times I tell Amin, my childhood friend, that he can speak naturally when it’s just the two of us, the man never listens.
I really hate being called Your Highness, even if traditionally it’s the proper form of address. After all, I do carry the title of prince of my emirate.
“Why on earth would Naim go to the United States in secret? He travels all over Europe, as we both know, but he’s not in the habit of going to America.”
Even though I stay out of my country’s political affairs, which are currently managed entirely by the sheikh, I keep myself informed about everything that happens in Rheadur.
I’ve always preferred to stay on the sidelines while my father was in power, but lately he’s been increasingly anxious about the way his eldest son is handling his legacy.
Our emirate’s economy has weakened because my brother has managed to quarrel with almost every neighboring ruler, acting like a spoiled child who storms off whenever things don’t go his way.
He’s destroyed trade alliances that took years to build.
The problem is, this isn’t his private playground—it’s an entire nation that could suffer the consequences of his reckless decisions.
It’s gotten to the point where the rulers of neighboring emirates have started ignoring his invitations to state receptions.
Once upon a time, such snubs would have been seen as an act of war, but Naim’s reputation has sunk so low that no one takes him seriously anymore or fears him.
I glance at Amin. He doesn’t answer my question. He simply lifts a brow, and I’m pretty sure we’re thinking the same thing: the sheikh probably went to the United States because of a woman.
Naim has always had a weakness for them, and more times than I can count, his uncontrollable lust has gotten him into trouble.
Now that he’s the country’s ruler, he seems to think he can do whatever he wants.
Back in Rheadur, my father has managed to suppress the scandals, at least as far as I know, since I never stay long enough to be certain.
The problem is, Naim started crossing borders, leaving trails of disgrace across Europe, and now, maybe, in the United States too.
“Any idea who she is?” I ask, getting straight to the point.
“No, but he’s been visiting the island of Argyros[24] quite often lately.”
I once considered doing business with the old Greek, but I backed out the moment my advisors handed me the results of a quick background check.
The man’s supposed integrity was nothing but a facade. He’d been involved in so many shady deals that I withdrew immediately. I already have one crook in the family; I don’t need another. For my peace of mind, Naim has no ties whatsoever to my shipping company.
“There’s no business between Leandros Argyros and Naim, and consequently, none with Rheadur,” I say. “From what I’ve heard, the old Greek’s gone bankrupt anyway. He owes every last coin to Odin Lykaios[25].”
“That’s the thing,” Amin replies. “If His Highness went to Greece because of a woman, during those visits to the island, there was only one of the Argyros girls he could’ve been interested in: the blonde who’s now Odin Lykaios’s wife, Elina[26].”
“I don’t believe Naim would ever take a foreign woman as a wife. But either way, investigate. Though I doubt it’s likely.”
“If I may ask, Your Highness, why not? With all due respect, your brother doesn’t seem to have a particular type, and Argyros’s eldest daughter is extraordinarily beautiful,” he says and immediately blushes.
And just like that, I find out Amin has a thing for blondes.
“Because not even my brother is stupid enough to chase another man’s wife, especially a man as dangerous as Lykaios.”
“Dangerous?”
“Yes. He doesn’t fool me. That polished CEO exterior hides a predator underneath. Trust me, he’s not the kind of man you want as an enemy.”
I have more respect for Lykaios than I do for Naim.
We’ve done business several times. He owns companies in multiple sectors, mainly technology, and as I do with all my business partners, I had him thoroughly investigated.
I don’t know much about his personal life, but as a businessman, his record is spotless.
“And if that’s the case, if he’s somehow involved in your half-brother’s disappearance?”
“Then I’ll have to find out what happened. Have the jet ready. I’m flying to the United States tomorrow morning. I need to see firsthand what kind of trouble Naim’s gotten himself into. His wives and daughters deserve an answer.”
And besides, finding him might finally give me back the freedom I crave.
After Amin leaves, I stare at the photograph on my desk.
What the hell have you done this time, idiot?
As easily as he lets women make him forget his duties, he’s never been gone this long before.
Months without a single word is excessive, even for my reckless brother.
I have to find him quickly, or my father will cling to that insane idea of me taking the throne. It’s the law of our country. If the ruler is gone for more than three months without justification, the next in line must assume the position.
I walk to the window and look out over the Champ de Mars from my apartment on Avenue de la Bourdonnais.
My time to find my brother is running out. The thought of losing my freedom inch by inch is driving me insane.
I don’t want to rule anything other than my own businesses. I have no desire to be tied to the life of a ruler.
Beyond never having wanted the title of sheikh, if I’m forced to take it, I’ll also be required to marry, just as my father ordered. Some emirates allow an unmarried sheikh, but not ours. Being wed is mandatory.
What worries me most is that my father’s health might not survive the heartbreak of having one son missing and the other refusing to take his place in the nation he loves so deeply.
I know myself, and I know I’ll never run from responsibility.
As much as I despise the idea of becoming sheikh and everything that comes with it, if Naim doesn’t return, I’ll take the throne. Even if it means being miserable for the rest of my life.
Honor, to me, comes before pleasure.
Even if the whole world sees me as a billionaire playboy, I’d never leave my people without their sheikh.
And because I know I’ll sacrifice myself if it comes to that, I’ll go to the ends of the earth to bring Naim back to Rheadur before I surrender to duty.