LukeSaying goodbye to Sophia wasn’t going to heal the ache in my heart. I stood in Father’s office, watching her roll her suitcase out of the palace and out of my life for good. It was the hardest decision of my life. I knew that if I went out there, I would pull her into my arms, kiss her, and tell her it was all a mistake.But I couldn’t. With Father gone, I had to step up in his place. Losing Sophia and my happiness was my sacrifice for my family. I’d spent too many years denying my place in the kingdom. Too bad Sophia couldn’t have wormed her way into my life sooner. We would have had more time. We could have built a relationship, and she would have had the space in her heart to love me. At that point, we could have made it work.Her admission last night was my deciding factor. I couldn’t be with her if she was uncertain about our fate together. I didn’t blame her at all, but the timing was off for us.Sophia turned so quickly that I could have sworn I’d said her name aloud.Inst
LukeMother knocked on the door, and Abir and I turned to face her.Her hands were clasped in front of her, and her face was almost fully concealed by her headscarf. I could’ve sworn I saw a hint of a smile on her lips. No doubt, she had already figured out what happened between Sophia and me.That fact was confirmed when she said, “You did the right thing, son.”Abir snorted and left the room. Mother glanced over her shoulder at him, then turned back to me.“I don’t need a lecture, Mother,” I said, turning to the windows. While I knew life was short and all that, I had no time for hearing how she had been right about Sophia. I wasn’t ready to go into the details of our final encounter. I doubted I ever would. It would be one of the only scars in my life, other than my parents’ deaths. It would forever be a part of me and offer a place and time of reflection, but that was it.“I’m not lecturing you, Luke,” she said. “I’m glad you came to your senses. Today is a big day, and you don’t
LukeA month had passed since accepting the role of the king in my home country of Qatar, but my hands still moved automatically to adjust the phantom tie at my neck. For years working in England at my family’s oil business, it was rare that I went to work without a tie. It was rare that I didn’t go to work in general.With any thoughts of England came the influx of memories of the one woman who I would have stayed there for. I would have given up all of my father’s hopes for me to become king if only she had felt the same for me as I did for her.I shook away all thoughts of Sophia as I tried to do every single morning. Even after some time had passed, she was still lodged firmly in my mind. I wanted to know what she was up to, if she finally wrote the story that she’d come to England and Qatar to write, and most of all, if she was happy.When she left me the first time, I had flipped around and become the stalker that she had been to me when she was hungry for the story. But this ti
LukeWalking into the meeting room was still a new experience for me, even though I’d done it almost every day for the past month. As a child, the room had always been forbidden unless Father requested our presence. Those occasions were few and far between and would usually involve other officials within the kingdom.I was used to meeting with people who didn’t see me on their level. I got used to it years ago when Father first gave me full access to our family company. I would butt heads with many of the older investors, but it never took long for me to prove my worth.The council had been generous the first week of my reign, due to Father’s death, but they stopped holding my hand soon after.I jumped into the job with the enthusiasm I had when I first moved to England and had to claw my way through the trenches until I earned those investors’ respect.All five council members were in attendance when I entered the room. I wasn’t late, but they had made it a point to arrive earlier th
Sophia“We are beginning our descent into Seattle,” the pilot said over the speakers.Chewing the flavorless gum as quickly as possible, little popping sensations sounded in my ears as the plane landed. The journey from Dallas to Seattle was a piece of cake compared to the long-distance flights I had traveled just a month ago.A month.I drew in a breath, feeling the effects of Luke still in my system. The swirl of pleasure that I felt for him now circled my lungs and squeezed every time I thought of him.Mechanically, I moved down the aisle of the plane, falling in line with the other passengers. Just like every time I thought of Luke, the world closed in around me, and I struggled to breathe. Even in the ample open space of my apartment or at a coffee shop when images of him floated into my mind, I developed a strange sense of claustrophobia that crippled me until it decided to pass. Which usually wasn’t for several minutes, although it always felt like hours.Those situations were
SophiaMatt brought me to an expensive restaurant near the water. I scanned the menu, seeing so many good options. My palate had changed a lot since meeting Luke. Him taking me to expensive restaurants and the amazing food at the palace had brought me out of my fried food and pasta meal rut. Since I’d worked so much, those were always easy and quickly bought or prepared.“Don’t worry about the bill,” he said. “My treat.”“I don’t want this vacation to be me sucking your bank account dry,” I said.“Like you did to yours?” he asked, sipping his water. “Too soon?” I glared at the menu, and he gave up for the time being. I ordered the cheapest entree, but Matt didn’t skimp on the white wine. The sun was shining, a rare thing for Seattle, and after a full glass, I started to relax a little bit.“You can’t hold me in suspense too long,” he said. “I am paying for lunch.”So that was his game. He was footing the bill as long as I supplied him with information. I supposed there were worse thi
LukeRolling over in bed, I reached out to the spot next to me. For a brief moment, I felt something solid and warm. My eyes sprang open, and Sophia gazed back at me. Her lips curled into a smile, and she was still her breathtakingly beautiful self.I reached out to touch her but came up with nothing but air.I blinked again, and she disappeared, leaving two large white pillows in her place.It wasn’t the first time I had woken up thinking she was still with me. It was my fault she was gone, and for some reason, my subconscious couldn’t accept it.I shoved the pillows to the floor. There was no need to take out my frustration on them, but it was all I could do.Every day without Sophia seemed to get worse instead of better.Glancing at the clock, I remembered that it was Friday. I wasn’t scheduled to meet with the council today, but I did have breakfast with my family.Meeting for at least one meal a week was something that Mother requested soon after Father’s funeral. Since both her
Luke“Don’t be out too late,” Mother said, hardly disguising her stamp of approval.For the rest of the conversation, I asked Abir about Alda and how they met. It all seemed to have occurred naturally enough, but I kept an eye on Mother’s reaction. I didn’t know why I cared so much, maybe because she had tried to set me up every single time I came to visit the palace. There wasn’t one time before a month ago, when I brought Sophia as my fake girlfriend, that she hadn’t set me up on at least two dates during whatever short time I’d been home. And she wondered why I stayed in England for most of the year.Abir didn’t want to be late for his date with Alda, so he left soon after shoveling his breakfast in his mouth.I wanted him to stay, but I knew I would have to face Mother alone sooner or later. After discussing Abir’s love life, I knew what was coming before she said the first word.“With all this talk of girls and women in my boy’s life, I wanted to tell you that I’ve arranged a dat