Chapter 44
Two Months Later
“Father?”
“I know I came without warning, my son, but we need to talk.”
I motion for everyone present to leave the room.
I’ve had a wing of the palace converted into an office similar to those in my headquarters around the world.
Before being a ruler, I’m a businessman, and I can’t function, whether running my company or leading a country, without order in my life.
That applies both to the people around me and to my surroundings.
“You never interrupt, Father. But you’re not usually up this early. Did something happen?” I lead him toward the leather armchairs by the window.
“It’s been happening, actually, since your brother disappeared.”
I wait for him to explain, because I honestly don’t know what more there is to say about that.
Even after the former FBI agent I hired as a private investigator gave up the case, I kept paying others to continue the search. But at this point, everyone in the family, including his wives and daughters, knows he’s not coming back.
Naim is dead, and the chances of discovering what really happened grow smaller with each passing day.
“I don’t know what else to do, Father. I think we’ve exhausted every possibility,” I say honestly.
“That’s what I came to talk about, Kaled. It’s not fair for you to keep torturing yourself over sins that aren’t yours. I love you, my son, and I know how honorable you are. Because of the promise you made to find your brother, you’d spend the rest of your life searching for him.”
I don’t respond, because he’s right. I don’t go back on my word. Even though, after learning the full extent of Naim’s cruelty, his death doesn’t stir a single trace of anguish in me, I would still search for him . . . for my father’s sake.
“I would,” I admit.
“I know. That’s why, starting today, you’re released from that obligation.
Go live your life with your beautiful wife.
You already have more responsibilities than most men your age between your companies and governing Rheadur.
It isn’t fair that your few free hours are still burdened by this ghost.”
“I want to take Adeela on a honeymoon. Daisy’s chemotherapy sessions are ending, and my mother-in-law is getting stronger every day now.”
He looks at me with a kind of sad affection. “Forgive me, Kaled. You’ve always been the best son a father could ask for. You never gave me trouble, even when I disapproved of your Western lifestyle. I was selfish to give you the thankless task of finding your brother.”
“Half-brother,” I correct because, whatever else I am, I’m not a hypocrite.
“I never had any real connection to Naim. Our shared blood was a coincidence of fate. But even so, despite everything he did, and even if I don’t mourn his death, I never wished for his place.
His becoming sheikh was the worst thing that could have happened to our country.
Still, it’s not for me to decide who should live or die. ”
My father leans back in the armchair. “I should have changed the law. Naim was never fit to rule Rheadur.”
He sounds weary, and I know he blames himself. His health kept him away from public life for a while, but during my transition to power, he was by my side every step of the way. As the last true ruler our emirate had, he saw firsthand how chaotic the nation’s economy was when I took over.
“Yes, you should have,” I say, without sugarcoating it.
“I plan, actually, to allow a second son to inherit if the council deems the firstborn unfit. Or even, who knows, to open the possibility for a sheikha to rule. I know it’ll take time and it won’t be easy to convince the elders or the conservatives, but I intend to start laying the groundwork. ”
“I’m proud of you, Kaled. In just a few months, the improvement in the country’s economy is already visible.”
I nod. The unemployment rate has dropped significantly compared to the same period last year, and tourism is slowly returning to normal. “Then why ask me to end the investigation now, Father?”
“Odin Lykaios called me yesterday.”
“What?”
“He wanted to speak with you, actually. He said he tried your cell phone first, but when he couldn’t reach you, he called the palace.
The landlines for international calls from the United States are being monitored at Amin’s request, which, by the way, was a very wise decision.
So when they couldn’t find you, they transferred the call to me. ”
I’d imagined Lykaios would try to contact me eventually, after my conversation with Elina. But speaking with my father? If he truly was the one who killed Naim . . . that’s surreal.
“What did he want?”
“He said he called because he’d just found out his wife had met with you in the United States, and that from now on, if we had any questions, we should direct them to him personally.”
“And did you ask him anything?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
To my absolute horror, my father covers his face with his hands and begins to cry.
The pain of seeing him like that is almost unbearable. I look away, silently cursing my brother for managing to make our family suffer even after his death.
“Because I already know the answer,” he says at last, regaining his composure. “It doesn’t matter that we can’t prove it. It was him.”
“And now?”
“Nothing. We’ll never know exactly what happened.”
“You sound too calm. What’s changed?”
“I haven’t changed, just found the courage to face the truth. After everything we learned about Naim, and after what you told me about Lykaios’s wife, it was only a matter of time before someone sought revenge for one of those women.”
I know what I’m about to say might forever change how he sees me, but I can’t stay silent. “If I were in Odin’s place, I would’ve done the same.”
“I know.”
“No, Father, you don’t understand. Even if Naim had been my full brother, if he had beaten or tried to touch Adeela, I would have killed him myself.”
We both stand, eyes locked.
“If it were against my wives or daughters,” he says quietly, “I would have too.”
Then he leaves.
Fifteen days later
“A chocolate factory?” I ask my smiling, naked wife, who’s lying across my chest.
I’m still dizzy from hours of pleasure, and not entirely sure I have a single functioning brain cell left.
“Not just any chocolate factory—a brand that uses camel milk. We could experiment with flavors, mix in dates and other fruits,” she explains, glowing with excitement. “And we wouldn’t have to limit ourselves to sweets. We could make bottled chocolate drinks, like the ones they sell in the West.”
“You think that’s feasible?” I ask, suddenly alert, the businessman in me taking over.
“I’m sure it is. The factory would create jobs for our people and attract tourists. In time, we could even export the product and—”
Her enthusiasm brings my desire rushing back.
She’s irresistible at any moment, but when she smiles like this, eyes shining like twin onyx stones, she drives me insane.
“Have I told you that every time I see you defend an idea with such passion, I feel the need to steal a little of that fire for myself?”
Her smile widens. “Why steal what already belongs to you?”
An hour later
I brush a strand of hair from her face.
What are you doing to me, Adeela?
I thought that after a few months, the fever would subside, but instead, the need for her only grows stronger.
Trying to force myself to think rationally, I say, “I can’t give you an answer about the factory yet. I need to study the feasibility.”
“I wasn’t expecting an answer today. I know you’d never invest money without analyzing everything first.”
“Still, if we do build it, it won’t be with public funds. I’ll invest my own, under your name.”
“That’s practically a yes.”
“No, that’s a maybe.”
“I’m an optimist by nature, husband.”