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That girl is not for our kingdom!

Show some taste, Sheikh!

And finally, the two threads merged into one conversation.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather ship MaRia than these two.

AFAIK Kyria Markides is Vanna Al-Atassi’s legal ward, so technically not the sheikh’s sister.

Farica de Konigh vs. Kyria Markides? Thinking it’s better we choose someone homegrown, you know?

By the time Malik and Farica returned to their table, everything was perfectly clear, and Kyria made a face the moment she met the sheikh’s gaze. “You should have told me from the start,” she muttered.

Farica nodded supportively. “He should have but—-” Her voice turned sweet. “The dear man wanted to see you jealous. Were you?”

Kyria thought about lying, but then she saw the way Malik stiffened as if a part of him was preparing himself for a denial. Oh, sweet heavens, how could this beautiful manstillnot realize how much he meant to her?

And so she heard herself say, “More than I thought possible.” And when the sheikh turned to her with burning dark eyes—-

He was right after all,Kyria thought dazedly, and it was more so than he probably imagined. He had told her once that they would both know when it was the right time, and he was right. Sometimes, you just knew, and tonight was that night. Tonight, it was time for him to make Kyria his.

But it was more than that, too. Sometimes, when you loved a person – you just knew. It would come out of nowhere, for no reason, but you just knew, with all your heart, without a shadow of doubt – you loved that person.

And that was Malik.

If one were to ask her when exactly had she stopped seeing him as a brother, Kyria knew she wouldn’t be able to answer. If one were to ask her when exactly had she started loving him, the way a man loved a man, she wouldn’t be able to answer that either.

But it didn’t make her feelings any less real or true.

Sometimes, you just knew.

And right now – her heart was dying for him to know the same thing. She wanted Malik to know she loved him, wanted him to know that he had not waited in vain for a seven-year-old girl to grow up and find her way back to him.

When it was time to go, Malik and Kyria stayed with Farica while they waited for her driver to come up the driveway, but as soon as they were alone, she turned to look up at the sheikh, saying simply, “I love you, Malik.”

She laid her head against his chest, happy just to have found the courage to say the words, and thus missing the way the sheikh had suddenly whitened. He did not, in any way, look like a man who was equally happy to be loved.

****

“MARHAVA, EMIR SHEIKH.”

“Everything alright?” Khalil asked his youngest cousin as soon as he heard Malik’s ragged tone over the phone.

Malik lowered himself to the couch and leaned his head back. “I’m not sure how I should answer that.” The rest of the study was dark and quiet, but it did nothing to soothe the savage tension inside of him.

“Is this about the dance?”

His lips twisted. “It’s made the rounds then?”

“The gossip about you and Farica de Konigh or Kyria?” Khalil didn’t wait for an answer. “Both have been extensively covered by our local media, and so far the odds are 8:1 in Kyria’s favor.” The king paused. “It’s as you predicted when you told us of your plan, so why the hell do you sound like you’ve just lost the war?”

“Because I might still have.”

Khalil frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“A member of my staff came to me while we were still at the event,” Malik said harshly. “I had assigned him years ago to monitor anything or anyone that might have something to do with Kyria. For the most part, his reports had been restricted to her grades in university, the people she associated with, but it was different this time.” Malik closed his eyes. “My staff’s contact at Kyria’s university informed him that the university was in the process of filing a formal request for Kyria to attend a disciplinary hearing. Apparently, their board of directors has a couple of conservative members who were offended by the possibility of Kyria and me—-”

“Bullshit.” Khalil’s tone was coldly furious. “If your own palace does not question the legality of your relationship, what gives them the right to do so?”