Black Keys (The Colorblind Trilogy #1) (6 page)

A real diamond.

It wasn’t like I had never worn diamonds before, but I’d never even seen this amount of diamonds before in my life. They were all on me, pinned to my dress, making it so heavy that I was sure it’d be hard to walk.

I couldn’t deny that this was the most generous act I’d ever received in my whole life. I couldn’t stop smiling.

Soon, we were covered with our robes again, but this time when we left the room, it was my arm hooked with Joseph’s, not Green Eyes.

We walked a little ways, followed by Huda, who was holding the empty boxes in her hands, then we entered an elevator that carried us up two floors. Huda guided us to a door and we followed her when she entered.

We were in a foyer and then were led to huge bedroom that was open to what seemed like a living room, and in the corner was a door that I assumed led to the bathroom. All of the furniture looked magical, just like the kind you’d see in movies that were filmed in mansions or castles.
Wait …

“Is this a mansion?” I asked Joseph, once Huda put the boxes on the dresser and left.

Joseph offered me a small smile, “I thought you knew, Marie; we’ve been in the king’s palace since we arrived.”

“No way!” I said. “I thought we were in a hotel or something.”

“Well, we used the back gates since the ones in the front were busy.”

I didn’t know what he meant by
busy
and I wasn’t going to ask. I had a more important question to ask. “Why are you with me and not with your wife?”

He sighed, “She’s not my wife yet. Soon.” He nodded. “Do you need help with those?” he asked, pointing at the diamonds around my dress.

“I’m to sleep in here?”

“Yes, Sweetie.”

I smiled, “Please.”

I went to stand by the dresser and opened one of the boxes. Joseph stood beside me and started helping me with unpinning the bows.

“You know that I love you, Marie, don’t you?” he asked when we were almost done.

I looked at his reflection in the mirror and replied, “I do.” I smiled.

“Do you love me, too?” he asked.

“Of course I do!”

Why was he asking me that?

“Marie – I, uh…”

“What is it?” Worry touched my heart at the expression on his face.

“Do you want to keep those on?” He touched the back of my necklaces.

“No, take them off,” I told him, as I started to take off the rings and bracelets as well.

I turned around when I was only in the robe over my dress and my necklace that held my cross charm. I gazed into his suddenly deeply-saddened eyes.

“Joseph?”

“Marie, there is something you need to do–” My brother was cut off by the sound of a knock before the door was opened, and an elderly man gazing at the floor entered.

“You ready?” the man asked, after saying a word in Arabic.

I looked at Joseph with confusion when he replied with a
‘yes’
then guided me to sit on the couch beside him, across from the man who was sitting in one of the armchairs.

“If you approve, please sign here, Miss Marie Archer.” the man said, as he opened the thick folder in his hands.

I looked down at the pages, but I couldn’t read anything. It wasn’t in English or French, the only two languages I could speak, but there was a small picture of me on one top corner of the page, and on the other side was a picture of –
Green Eyes
.

What on earth?

“Joseph?”

“Sign the papers, Marie.” His eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Please,” he begged.

“What are these about?” My voice cracked for some reason, as if I was already aware of what it was, but still not able to believe it.

“It’s your marriage contract to Janna’s brother.”

It wasn’t shock that made me stare at my brother with a gaping mouth, it was confusion. It took me several moments to register what he really said before I asked, “Marriage? Me?”

“Would you please give us five minutes, Sheikh?” Joseph asked the elderly man, who nodded and left the room, leaving the folder behind him and closing the door.

“Marie, it’s too important for you to do this. It’s a life or death decision, believe me,” Joseph pleaded.

“What do you mean, Joseph? You’re telling me I have to get married? Right now? Are you insane?” I chuckled humorlessly.

“No, I’m not insane, it’s the
only
solution.”

“Solution for what? You’re confusing me. What is this?”

“Listen to me, I can’t marry Janna without you marrying Mazen. It’s the law.”

“Then don’t marry her. Are you out of your mind? I don’t even know the guy, and I couldn’t care less about their stupid law!” My voice was getting louder by the second. This was so ridiculous.

“Mazen is a great guy. I would’ve never agreed to this if I didn’t know he’d treat you like a queen. Marie, just marrying him will make you a princess.”

“I don’t frigging care. I don’t want to get married, I’m only twenty-two. I don’t know the guy enough to even like him, and he’s an Arab Muslim! I’d never want to consider him as a remote relative, let alone a husband! And, you’re taking my childhood dream of being a princess way too seriously, Joseph!”

My brother left his spot on the couch and got down on his knees in front of me, his eyes begging me with everything in them to hear him out, to do what he wanted me to do. But it was just insane! I wasn’t even ready yet to seriously think about the fact that he was even suggesting it.

“Marie, I’m in love with Janna. I have to marry her, there is no other option,” he spoke in a low voice.

“Are you kidding me right now? It has nothing to do with me if you’re in love with an Arab with stupid traditions. Who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to put me into this position? Huh?”

“Listen to me,” he said forcefully, his voice as low as he could get it to be. “Janna is pregnant. It’s mine. If I don’t marry her, they’ll kill her, Marie, do you understand? They’ll kill her and consider her as if she was never born!”

I gaped at him with wide eyes, my mind trying to take in what he was saying. Janna was pregnant? It was his? They’ll kill her?

Oh, my God!

“You freaking idiot!” I punched him on the shoulder, not too hard but hard enough to let him know that I was completely upset with him and his actions. “You knocked her up? Where are your frigging manners? Mom and Dad would be so ashamed of you, I’m sure of it.”

“Marie! We don’t have time for this, you have to sign the papers.”

“I’m not signing anything, Joseph! This is
your
problem, not mine.”

“How can you be so selfish? I’m telling you they’ll kill her! They could kill me as well!”

“Kill
you
?”

“Of course they would! Do you think they’ll let the one who caused her death go?”

“Isn’t that what I’ve been telling you, Joseph? Arabs and Muslims kill people. And you go, like the stupid man you are, and knock up one that is
both
!”

“We have no time for this,” he said again, so impatiently this time.

“Why do I have to marry her brother, anyway? Is everyone here married to each other’s brothers and sisters?”

“They have to take blood for blood,” he said, matter-of-factly.

“Blood for blood? What do you mean? Isn’t that when you kill somebody? Oh, my God! You took someone’s blood?”

“Not the blood you think, Marie. I, uh, I took her virginity.”

My eyebrows were furrowed for just a moment after he spoke, before they shot up to my hairline when I understood what he meant.

“You freaking jerk! How could you? How could you?” I punched him with both of my fists on his chest as he knelt in front of me and took it all with his head hanged down, a look of regret and sorrow covering his entire face.

He should be more than sorry.

“Sign the papers,” he said after he reached behind himself, took the folder off the table, and handed it to me.

“I’m not signing anything. You’re delusional!” I jerked the folder away, shoving it into his chest and resting my back on the back of the sofa, folding my arms over my chest and looking down at him with disgust pouring out of my eyes.

Minutes passed as we stayed frozen like we were. The only sound around us was our frustrated, if not slow, breaths, along with the fading music coming from outside with the strange noises the women kept on making every once in a while.

Finally, Joseph stood up, then looked down at me and glared. He seriously had the nerve to glare at me when it should be me doing all of the glaring. Not like I wasn’t glaring back or anything, because God knows I was doing it pretty well.

Suddenly, Joseph shoved his hand down into his pocket at the same moment his other hand fisted my hair and yanked it back, hard.

The next thing I knew was the feel of cold metal pressed to my temple, then a click so close to my ear that my sudden fear of it made the sound almost painful.

A gun.

My brother had a gun pressed into my head, and he was ready to pull the trigger. To kill me. His sister.

“Joseph!” I gasped.

“I’ve been begging the fuck out of you to sign the fucking papers for the last fifteen minutes, but no way, you’re so fucking full of yourself that you won’t even consider saving the life of an innocent girl whose only mistake was falling in love with me.”

My eyes widened even more at the tone and the curses my brother was using, a tone I’d never heard in his voice before in my whole life, let alone directed at me–me, of all people. My heart was pounding so hard against my chest that I was so sure it was going to burst out soon. My throat tightened as the tears choked me before falling out of my eyes. I was drowning in disbelief.

“And better yet, you’re refusing a fucking prince, someone who will be the next king for this fucking kingdom. He has the money and the power as well as noble blood, but no, you think you’re way better than this. You’re so fucking selfish, Marie. I can’t even find a word for your selfishness!”

“
I’m
selfish?” I whispered the question through my tears. “And what do you call the one who’s pointing a gun at his sibling here? Who’s the selfish one here? Me or you? Who promised his sister to someone who’s everything she’s loathed her whole life just so he can marry the one he loves?”

“It’s not about love, Marie, don’t you get it? I could live with a broken heart, but not with her blood on my hands!”

I replied with more tears as I kept my eyes tightly closed. I couldn’t look at his face, the
thing
he had in his eyes was something I wished I would never see again. I wasn’t even able to stand being close to him when he looked down at me like that.

“Sign the papers, Marie.”

“Joseph, please.”

“Sign the fucking papers, you selfish bitch!” he yelled at me.

I think in that moment, a part of my soul died at hearing his words. Joseph had never, ever called me a name, never. And hearing him saying that...it
broke
me.

I couldn’t believe my own ears, couldn’t believe I was actually awake; this was a horrible dream, a nightmare.

With a shaking hand, I picked up the folder and the pen off of the floor, searching for the blank spot where the man had motioned for me to sign it, and did just that.

I signed my name on five copies of the same contract, each holding my picture and the prince’s.

I signed the papers that sold my soul to the devil.

I then was instructed by him to press my ink-smudged thumb to the edge of my picture and the start of the paper.

My brother came behind me with the gun still pressed to the back of my head and called for the elderly man to come in, the man said it was not acceptable that I signed before he got to ask me if I agreed. Like that would matter. He then asked me if I approved on marrying Prince Mazen, and Joseph pressed the gun hidden in my hair and between us closer to my head.