The Sheik's Secret Bride (18 page)

Liana swallowed her frustration. Screaming at the king was only going to make him angry and what she really needed was the monarch on her side. Even so it was difficult to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “So you’re saying that because I have no family, any man in El
Bahar
can marry me against my will?”

“Something
like
that. But, as I mentioned, these are the old ways. Things are different now.”

Relief flooded her. She sank back onto the sofa and for the first time that morning, smiled. “So we’re not married?”

King
Givon
glanced at his son, who still stood with his back to them. “Modern practices have taken the place of desert marriages for most
people,
however the desert arrangements can still be valid under certain circumstances.”

Liana swallowed. A knot formed in her stomach and she had a bad feeling about what the king was going to say. “What circumstances?”

“If you went through the desert ceremony last night and that was all, then the marriage can be annulled immediately. However, if the marriage was consummated, then I’m afraid it’s completely binding. At that point the couple is truly married for a month. After that time, they may consider a divorce, but not before.”

Liana couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t move. She could only stare at the king sitting next to her and press her lips together to keep from crying out in frustration.

“That can’t be it,” she whispered.
“Anything but that.”

Givon’s
bushy dark eyebrows
raised
slightly. “I see.”

Just two words, but there was a wealth of meaning behind them.
Color and heat flooded her face. Liana sprang to her feet and mumbled an apology, then ran from the room. She pushed past the startled guards and ran until the king’s private office was far behind her, and she was again in a familiar part of the palace.

She stopped by a small fountain in an alcove. The splash of water sounded like tiny bells, but she barely heard the soft melody because of the harsh sobs clawing at her throat.

It couldn’t be true, she thought frantically. Someone was lying. In this day and age a man couldn’t really marry a woman without her permission, could he? Not even a Crown Prince. And even if it were so, why would
Malik
do it?
And with her?
Was he tricking her? Did he want to punish her for leaving the palace? But that didn’t make sense, she thought as she dashed away her tears. Of course, nothing made sense anymore.

She leaned against the cool wall and continued to sniff and smooth away her tears, all the while trying not to notice the henna staining her hands. What was she supposed to do now?

Liana slowly focused on her surroundings. She’d stopped in a little-used corner of one of the side corridors by the harem. She straightened and drew in a deep breath. She had more than herself to consider—there was also
Bethany
. This affected her as well.
If it was true.

Liana knew only one other person she could ask about the marriage, so she walked around the corner and headed for the gold doors that marked the entrance to the harem.

Inside, she found both of
Malik’s
sisters-in-law as well as Fatima waiting for her.
Bethany
bounced to her feet and raced over to her mother.

“
Fatima
says that you’re really married to Prince
Malik
, which means you’re a princess,” her daughter said, beaming up at her. “Can I be a princess, too? Please, Mommy?”

Liana looked at the elegant queen. “So it’s true?”

Fatima
rose to her feet and crossed the marble floor. When she was in front of Liana, she rested her hands on Liana’s shoulders, then leaned forward and kissed her on both cheeks. “Well, my daughter,” Fatima said. “I’m afraid you have married the Crown Prince.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Of course, now that you have him, I can’t help thinking he will be the one to change, not you. You’re an excellent partner for my grandson.”

The queen was actually smiling at her, Liana thought in amazement. Both Dora and Heidi were nodding with approval. As for being partners, that wasn’t going to happen. Not if she could do anything about it.

“We’re not really married,” she said flatly, stepping back from
Fatima
.

“But the king called and said you are,”
Bethany
announced.
“Just now.
And
Fatima
was happy, and now Princess Dora and Princess Heidi are my aunts and
Fatima
is my grandma and I have a big family.” She clapped her hands together. “I’ve always wanted a big family, but till now it was mostly Mommy and me.” She looked at her mother. “What are you going to tell Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Oh, Lord,” Liana murmured. What was she going to tell her parents? Nothing for now, she thought. Nothing until everything was straightened out. If she and
Malik
were really married, then her parents would have plenty of time to deal with the fact that their daughter had married a prince. If she could get the situation fixed, they might never have to know.

Liana pressed her fingers to her temple. “I don’t feel too good.”

“Perhaps you should sit down,”
Fatima
said, leading her over to the sofa.

Dora gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’ll order tea.”

Liana looked at her. “I don’t think tea is going to help this situation.” She shook her head. “This isn’t really happening, is it?

Bethany
plopped down next to her. “
It’s
okay, Mommy. You’ll see. You’ll like being married to Prince
Malik
. He’s really nice. When we go out riding, he always listens to me and talks to me. Not like some grown-ups. And now we can live here in the palace where there are horses and the babies. I’ll still go to school, of course, and I’ll study really hard and not be a moment’s trouble.
Really.
So you’ll like being here and will want to stay married to Prince
Malik
forever.”

Her own daughter had already bought the idea, Liana realized. She’d thought
Bethany
might be upset, but of course she wasn’t. For the nine-year-old, having
Malik
as a father was something out of a fairy tale. After all, he was a handsome prince who had taught her to ride a horse and now appeared willing to make all her dreams come true.

“I think I’m going to faint,” Liana said as all the blood rushed from her head and the room swayed.

“Deep breaths,”
Fatima
instructed. “You’re in shock, but you’ll get used to the idea.” She smiled. “You’re now married to a prince. That can’t be a bad thing.”

Liana wanted to disagree in the strongest terms possible. Of course it was a bad thing. She’d been tricked into marriage by a man she hardly knew. Nothing about her life had prepared her for this, and she didn’t want to be here. If she’d known what was going to happen when she came to El
Bahar
, she never would have left
California
.

She looked at the other women in the room. They stared back with varying degrees of concern, but no one was shocked. They weren’t appalled and bemoaning her fate. Was she the only one still based in reality?

Heidi leaned forward and smiled at her. “I know this must seem strange, but it’s not as bad as you think. After all, you get to be married to a prince. Imagine how wonderful it would be if you fell in love with him.”

Liana opened her mouth to speak,
then
closed it. There was no polite way to respond to that comment and she didn’t want to alienate herself from everyone at the palace.
In love with
Malik
?
Not her, not ever. If she were left alone with the man for more than three minutes, she would skin him alive…or worse.
In love.
That was ridiculous.
Just because he was sort of attractive and fairly decent to her daughter.
And the sex had been spectacular, she added grudgingly.
More than spectacular.
It had been intense enough to change the earth’s rotation. But that was lust, not love, and, as for the rest of it, she would never allow herself to care for someone who thought he could get whatever he wanted just by pushing other people around.

Besides, she had a life of her own.
Which reminded her.
“I have to get back to my condo,” she told
Fatima
.

“Of course.
You’ll want your things.”

Liana didn’t want to think about the reality of having to move back into the palace. So she didn’t. “Actually, I was more concerned about my lesson plan. I need to go over it for Monday.”

Fatima
patted her hand. “That’s not necessary, my dear. You’re the wife of the Crown Prince. You won’t be teaching anymore. In fact, you never have to worry about working again for the rest of your life.”

Not having to work again might be someone else’s fantasy, Liana thought grimly, but it wasn’t hers. She enjoyed taking care of herself. Being with Chuck had taught her not to depend on anyone else, and she didn’t intend ever to forget that lesson.

So she sat quietly through her tea with
Fatima
and the two princesses, and, when she could, she escaped back to the guest suite where she and Bethany had first stayed. There she made the first of her two phone calls. She was not about to accept her current situation without a fight.

However, thirty minutes later she was forced to concede defeat. The administrator of her school had congratulated her on her unexpected nuptials and had gone on to inform her that not only had her classes already been reassigned to other teachers, but that her account had been credited for her full two years of salary. Liana grimaced. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind as to where that money had come from, and if
Malik
thought he could buy her off, he was going to be surprised.

Her second call had been to the American consulate. While the man at the office had been sympathetic and understanding, he hadn’t been the least bit helpful. El
Baharian
desert marriages were legally binding. If she and the prince had consummated the union, then she was married for the next thirty days. After that time, she could pursue a divorce. Oh, and he had also suggested it would be very nice if she didn’t make an international incident about the issue. Relations with this very rich Middle Eastern country were most cordial and the
United States
government intended to keep them that way.

Liana got the message. This was her problem and no one was going to help her out of it.

No matter how many times she replayed the situation in her mind, it didn’t make sense. Why her? Men like
Malik
didn’t fall for women like her. She knew he wasn’t in love with her. And while the sex had been amazing, that had occurred after the so-called marriage ceremony. He was a prince. She was a schoolteacher. They did not belong together, so why had he done it? She glared at the phone, picked up the receiver,
then
slammed it down again. This couldn’t be happening, she thought frantically. She wouldn’t let it. When had she lost control of her life? Was El
Bahar
really so very different? Had she truly been trapped into marriage without her consent?

“Mommy, why are you mad?”

Liana hadn’t heard her daughter enter the room, but now she glanced up and saw her standing by the entrance to the suite. Familiar blue eyes stared at her in confusion.

Liana held open her arms and her daughter ran over to her. They hugged each other,
then
Liana settled the child on the sofa next to her and brushed her bangs out of her face.

“I’m not angry so much as frustrated,” Liana admitted.

“But
Fatima
says that now we get to live in the palace and I can ride horses every day.”

Liana pressed her lips together. When the situation was described like that and viewed from a nine-year-
old’s
perspective, what was there not to like?
Bethany
could live in a real
castle,
have a prince for a father and a bevy of aunts and uncles ready to spoil her at every turn.

If only life were that simple for adults, Liana thought sadly. “Prince
Malik
and I are married,” she admitted, although she hated giving in on that point. “But it’s not a permanent marriage. It’s like summer school. You know, shorter than a regular semester. Well this marriage is going to be shorter than most.
Just a month.
And when the month is over, you and I are going back to
America
.”

Bethany
’s eyes filled with tears. “But I want to stay here forever. I want Prince
Malik
to be my daddy. He likes me and talks to me, and he’s never too busy or forgets to come get me. Please, Mommy. Can’t we please stay? I’ll be really good and Prince
Malik
will buy you flowers every day and you’ll never have to worry about having enough money to buy me school clothes and I’ll go to bed right on
time
every night, I promise.”