Chapter 13 - The Fall

"Amaro, you told me that I can sleep over at Joyce's place. After the ball, I will go to Joyce's place." Kashmir spoke.

Amaro did not respond.

"Promise me Amaro" she spoke again.

Amaro nodded.

Today is Saturday and they are working at Amaro's office at home. They were working on some documents for his company in the US. They had a video conference from morning until 2 o' clock in the afternoon. 

They have also prepared some documents for the project they are working on. After they finished working on the documents, Amaro told Kashmir to get some rest. He knew how exhausted she was, but did not complain though.

Kashmir went to her room, laid on her bed and fell asleep. She dreamed about the incident at the ski resort and Amir's blue eyes. She woke up and sat at the edge of her bed thinking about him, each passing day her longing for him got stronger.

She thought that it's impossible to see him again because she didn't know what his full name was. If she knew his full name it would be easy for her to get connected with the help of many social media platforms. 

She made up her mind to search for him on f******k, twitter or i*******m. Maybe, there's a chance for them to get connected.

Since it's her day off tomorrow, she has time to check social media platforms to look for him, instantly her mood becomes better.

She went to the bathroom for a shower and when she came out from the bathroom, she heard a knock. She walked to the door and opened it.

"Hi Ms. Kashmir" Ms. Faruk greeted her.

"Hi Ms. Faruk, how are you?" Kashmir asked smiling at Ms. Faruk. 

"I am doing great!" Ms. Faruk enthusiastically answered her.

"And how about you?" Ms. Faruk asked. 

"Well, I am good,'' she smiled.

"You know Ms. Kashmir, I enjoy being your make up artist because you're beautiful inside out. I have many clients, most of them are bitchy." Her statement made Kashmir smile.

"I want you to be my friend." Ms. Faruk said, smiling at Kashmir.

"I also want you to be my friend. I like you, you're really nice." Kashmir hugged Ms. Faruk.

"Let's start now or else the prince will barge in if he becomes impatient again." Ms. Faruk said giggling.

"Who chose my gown?" Kashmir asked Ms. Faruk.

"According to my source, the prince chose it" Ms. Faruk winked at Kashmir.

"Is your source reliable?" Kashmir chuckled.

"Of course, she is the shop owner where your gown was bought. She is my friend; I will introduce her to you. Maybe if you have time, we can have dinner together." Ms. Faruk said

"Yes, I liked that. I want to have more friends here. Can I bring my best friend along with me?"

"Sure, you can, the more the merrier." Ms. Faruk said.

"Ms. Faruk, may I know your first name. It's awkward to call a friend by her surname. It will be more intimate if I call you by your first name." Kashmir said as she sat at the chair in front of the vanity mirror. 

"It's Fatima," she giggled.

"Wow! I like your name, it's beautiful. By the way, call me Kashmir and drop the formalities."

“Sure!” Fatima said while she brushed Kashmir’s hair. 

After almost an hour Kashmir was all set for the ball. She thanked and hugged Fatima for helping her to get ready for the ball. They had a chat for a few minutes and Fatima bade goodbye. 

When the clock struck 6:30 pm, Kashmir went out of her room and was surprised to see the prince walking towards her. Their eyes met and Kashmir became conscious about her looks as Amaro was intensely looking at her.

"You're exquisite!" he said with admiration.

"You are not so bad yourself," Kashmir said with a smile. 

"Shall we?" Amaro crooked his arms and Kashmir placed her hand on the crook of his arm and they began to climb down the stairs. 

Kashmir got startled when she saw the Queen at the foot of the stairs looking at them. Amaro noticed that she tensed up when she saw his mother and he could feel her trembling. He silently affirmed her by placing his hand on top of her hand. She smiled at him when she felt his affirmation.

"Your majesty" she bowed, giving honour to the queen.

The queen smiled at Kashmir. Amaro bowed and hugged his mother, the queen.

"Mother?" he said, with a quizzical look on his face. 

The queen knew that Amaro was asking for a reason why she appeared at this side of the palace, because she doesn't usually come to this side of the palace if it isn't important.

"Well, I have come here to see how you look. I am just curious because it is your first time attending an event. You have turned down thousands of invitations before and I just want to see the very reason that changed your mind." The queen elucidated.

Then she turned to Kashmir smiling at her, she said "You are beautiful. Please take care of my son" and the queen left.

Kashmir was bemused by the queen's words to her. Amaro squeezed her hands and smiled at her. She was comforted by his gesture. 

They walked through the hallway without talking to each other but Kashmir felt calm, she couldn't understand it but Amaro's presence made her feel secure. 

As they arrived at the palace entrance, Omar was already waiting for them; upon seeing them he opened the passenger door.

"Good evening your highness and Ms. Kashmir" he bowed.

"Good evening, Omar" answered the prince.

"Good evening too, Omar," said Kashmir, smiling at him.

The car began to move and Amaro raised the privacy screen. He wanted to talk to Kashmir about her reaction when she saw the queen.

"Kashmir, I noticed that you tensed up when you saw my mother. Is anything wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"Oh, there's nothing wrong. It was just that I was surprised to see her. I think it's just natural for a commoner like me to react like that when I see the queen. Besides, not everyone has the opportunity to see the queen. It's just that I was excited to see her." Kashmir explained to him, Amaro breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing her explanation. 

They arrived at the hotel where the charity ball was held. There were no paparazzi at the entrance of the hotel. Amaro already arranged that no paparazzi be allowed at the vicinity of the hotel. He asked the police authorities to ensure that there were no media at the hotel or the surrounding area.

Amaro was the first one to alight from the car, then he held Kashmir’s hand to help her get out of the car. She placed her hand on the crook of his hand once she got out of the car. 

When they arrived at the hall, seeing the crowd, she tensed up again.

"Princess, always remember I am here for you." He whispered to her ear and squeezed her hand.

Kashmir told herself to get used to Amaro's calling her princess; besides her dad and mom used to calling her and her sister 'princess'.

"Thank you". She smiled and he smiled back at her.

The auction began after they had dinner. They started with the least expensive item. When the most expensive one was being auctioned off, he looked at her. The item being auctioned off was a diamond necklace, he made sure that he got it. He was the highest bidder, consequently, he acquired the diamond necklace.

When the dance began after the auction ended, Amaro excused himself to talk to someone. Kashmir was left alone and watched the other guest dancing. She was wondering where Amaro would go. She got bored being alone and no one to talk to, she wished Amaro did not leave her. 

Suddenly, she heard someone clearing his throat and she looked up. A gorgeous man standing in front of her, his grey eyes are beautiful but not as captivating as Amir's eyes. Those eyes that awakened her dormant heart.

"Can I dance with you, beautiful lady?" he smiled and extended his hand.

She doesn't want to dance with this stranger but she doesn't want to make a scene. Thus, she held his hand and stood up. They went to the dance floor and began to dance. He held her hand and put his other hand on her waist.

From a distance, Amaro watched them dance; he clenched his fist. He was furious with himself because he made a mistake in leaving Kashmir alone. He wanted to go to the dance floor and shove his fist on that man's face who is holding Kashmir's waist. But he held his anger back, causing a scene is not the way to deal with it.

"May I know your name, my lady?" the man asked.

"Kashmir" she said and looked at the man’s eyes.

‘There’s nothing like the eyes of Amir’ Kashmir told herself. 

"The name fits you, just as beautiful as you"

"Thank you," she said.

And there was a deafening silence after that. 

"Are you not going to ask my name?" the man spoke, breaking the silence between them. 

"Though you're not going to, I'll still tell you. By the way, I am Clifford Cornwell." He introduced himself.

Kashmir did not open her mouth and kept herself from speaking hence Clifford did not say a word while they were dancing. He just enjoyed looking at Kashmir’s exquisite face. 

The dance ended and he escorted Kashmir back to her table and Amaro was already there. He looked daggers at Clifford but he did not see Amaro’s look because Clifford’s attention was on Kashmir. 

“Thank you for giving me the honour to dance with you.” Clifford bowed and turned on his heels and walked away. 

After Clifford left, Amaro whispered to Kashmir. "You owe me this dance."

"Amaro, I'm really sorry. As much as I want to dance, my feet are sore. The stiletto that I am wearing is too high and I am not used to it. I am really sorry." Kashmir explained to Amaro her eyes looked tired. 

"Do you want to go home now?" Amaro asked her.

"I would love to, but remember I am going to Joyce's place." She reminded him.

Amaro regretted that he promised to bring her to Joyce's place. He wanted to spend more time with her.

He stood and helped her stand to her feet. When they reached the lobby, she felt the need to go to the powder room. He told Amaro that she's going to the powder room. 

When she came out of the powder room, she stepped into something that her stiletto heels wobbled and she sprained her ankle. Just as she was about to fall, she was caught up by a pair of strong hands.