LylaMelanie's engagement party rolled around on Saturday.I'd been busy for the remainder of the week, helping my best friend get all of the final details booked and ready to go once the first morning of the weekend began. It had surprisingly been less stressful than I imagined, and a part of me thought it must've been in part by Zayed's doing.Since I hadn't spent much time with him in Dubai, I hadn't gotten a truly good read on his personality other than he seemed to care very deeply for my friend along with having a bit of a dotting spirit. What I hadn't expected was for him to be way more over the top with that personality trait than anything. It was funny to me watching Melanie try and work her way into Zayed's plans and be thwarted left and right by him waiting on her hand and foot. It was a different side to Melanie that I'd never seen before. She had always been the caretaker in any relationship I'd seen her in, including both her friends and the
RashidEven with Lyla trying to refuse me, I wouldn't let her get away without eating like she was supposed to. I hadn't meant to watch her so closely during the party, wanting to hang back and let her and the rest of her friends—minus her stupid boyfriend whom I was glad had decided to skip out on the festivities today, or else I would've been driven to insanity seeing him together with Lyla—hang out while they celebrated Melanie and Zayed engagement.However, the longer the party dragged on, the more I could see Lyla growing wary and uncomfortable. Her hand rested on her belly, rubbing in slow circles as she ate another bite of the sandwich I had made. She was devouring it quickly, meaning I'd been right in accusing her of not feeding herself properly. How long had it been since she'd had a proper meal?Did her boyfriend even cook for her?I doubted it.What kind of father was this man going to be to his future child if he could barely take car
LylaHoly fuck.Holy fuck I had just been about to tell him.Was I actually insane?I panted over the sink, my hands clutching the rim of the counter in a tight grip while I swayed on my feet. Reality had come crashing down once again the second I'd heard Rashid talking in Arabic to whoever it was on the other end of the phone.My stomach had rolled and I'd raced to the bathroom in order to heave over one of the toilets. The nausea was still there, even as I'd pulled myself up from the floor and wandered over to the sink to splash water on my face.Lifting my eyes, I stared at my reflection. I looked just as much of a mess as I felt on the inside. I can't believe I'd been about to tell him about the baby. His words had lulled me into some kind of trance that had made it feel like I'd be okay, that we'd be able to be a happy family together if he knew the truth.How fucking stupid could I be?Had I learned nothing from being threate
LylaI ended up heading home with some anti-nausea medicine and strict orders from the doctor to keep my stress-levels low or else I was at risk of going into early labor.A hilarious thought considering that I had both the Dubai and Abu Dhabi royals breathing down my neck. But the threat of delivering my baby too soon was enough for me to force myself to take a long hot shower and relax in bed for the rest of the day. Both Shane and Charlie had been the ones to pick me up from the hospital after I'd been discharged, the relief on their face at seeing me awake and alert were incredibly heartwarming.They'd taken me home and gotten me comfortable after my shower, dotting on my hand and foot in a very loving, but rather suffocating manner. I didn't have the heart to complain though, mainly because neither of them needed to and were only doing it out of caring for me.Thankfully, Shane's face was looking better than how he'd been a few days ago. There was s
RashidWith Lyla spread out beautifully for me on the bed, I couldn't help but realize that if I wanted to take her right here and now—call up a cab and get us both back to the hangar where my jet sat and put us both on a plane to Dubai—I could.Would she fight me? Would she let me whisk her away like I wanted—no, needed—to?Lyla moans when I lifted my mouth off her, her fingers tightening in my hair and dragging me back down to her throbbing clit. I licked lengthwise up her, flicking my tongue over it a few times and chuckling when her legs shook from the overstimulation.I had a feeling that if I were to wrap her up in a blanket at this very moment and throw her over my shoulder, she wouldn't fight me at all.My fingers came out of her hole with a small 'pop' that had us both shivering. Bringing them up to my lips, I wrapped my mouth around them and sucked, tasting her once more. On either side of my head, her thighs flexed around me. She caged me ag
RashidI traced Lyla's spine with my fingers, watching her sleep peacefully tucked into my chest. The morning light streaming in from the windows across the room made her look like an angel, her serene expression pulling me in as I peppered a few kisses across her forehead. There was movement down by my waist, causing me to pull back slightly to see. Lyla's stomach jumped slightly, movement from underneath my skin catching my attention as I stared down at the baby rolling around inside of her.I snort softly to myself. "Jealous…?"There was another subtle bounce, another kick. Very slowly, I reached between us and rested a hand over Lyla's belly. I hadn't done that either time we'd slept together, feeling that I'd cross an unspoken boundary between us if I did. I'd wanted to, even if it was to simply pretend that she was carrying my baby and not someone else's.It was a fantasy that I kept locked away from the light of day, not wanting to let it
Lyla I jumped, putting a hand over my heart as it raced inside my chest. "Jesus…" I mumbled. "Uhhh," I heard Shane say from across the townhouse. "Who—?""RASHID!" The loud tone had me wincing. It was ear-piercing and grating, a shriek like nothing I'd heard before. Next to me, Rashid grabbed the pan that had fallen out of his hands before setting it back down properly. He pulled me into a quick kiss, a frown settling on his face."Stay here."As he walked out of the kitchen, I followed behind him a few feet back. Like hell I was going to be left behind while whatever drama was going on in my living room unfolded. I couldn't imagine who the hell was here. Peeking around the corner, I made sure to keep out of eyesight as Rashid stormed over to the front door. My eyes widened at the same time that Rashid stopped short, both of us realizing just who was standing on the stoop of my townhouse, peering in through the front door.
LylaI had very little time to catch my breath before the door was closed behind Rashid and his mother and all that was left behind was me, Shane, Charlie, and Hafsa.She sighed, long and heavy while running a hand over her face. Her fingers scrubbed around her temples in slow circles as she closed her eyes. She looked pained, more so than she had this entire time. Now that Rashid was gone and his mother wasn't within shouting distance, the real Hafsa was out to play. "You've really made a mess of things."That was all she said before opening her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. She'd surprised me by wearing plain clothes today. Gone was the black and gold embroidered abaya that I'd become accustomed to seeing her in and had been replaced with a two-piece pantsuit in a pastel pale green. She still had her black heels on, matching the headscarf covering her hair, and a pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head—giving her that modern a
RashidThree Months Later…"Rashid! Can you come grab the milk out of the microwave!" Lyla called out through the house.I looked up from the laptop resting in my lap, my eyes readjusting from looking at the screen for too long and watering slightly. "I got it," my sister said, pulling herself up from the floor."Thanks." I stretched my arms over my head, feeling my shoulders crack as I did so. Who knew trying to find accommodations for a former princess was going to be this much of a hassle?Salama and I had been working on finding her a place to live on her own while Lyla and I's house was being built. After her breakup with Javier, my parents had disowned her as well, cutting her off before she had a chance to explain that he'd masterminded an entire campaign into trying to steal my wife away to Spain with him.According to our parents, Salama was just as much of a failure as I was and since she'd gotten back into contact with me and come ov
LylaJavier smiled at me. "I told you that. Remember?"I shook my head at him, trying to move backward but was only met with the hard bodies of the guards surrounding me. In my arms, Nasir began to cry. The sound made my heart ache. It fucking sucks that my newborn child has been put into this situation. It's not fair. "What is going on!" Salama tried to jerk away from the guards surrounding her too. "Javier, what are you doing!"He sighed. "I'm sorry to tell you, but I have to break off our engagement. Don't worry, I won't make it look like you were at fault.""I don't care about that!" she snapped back. "You're not actually taking her back to Spain with you, right?""I am, actually."I shook my head. "I'm not going anywhere with you, Javier. You know that."He frowned at me. "Lyla, we had a deal. I help you get your baby back and you come with me to Spain. You agreed to that.""I got my own baby back! No thanks to you!" I cried, holding m
RashidI wasn't completely familiar with the palace but I had a general sense of where things were from the copious amount of times my father had gone into great detail about the intricacies of how this palace had been rebuilt after he'd become king.Why my father had been so obsessed with discussing architecture with me was beyond my comprehension at the time, but today I was grateful for it. Thankful even. Maybe I'd send the old bastard a thank you card after this was all said and done.After we'd closed Hafsa inside the nursery, we hurried down the hallway on the opposite side of where we'd come up from the staircase. I remembered there being a door to the outside toward the back of the palace, used for any of the waitstaff that came and went as they needed to.I didn't have any worries getting past them. By the time any of them realized who we were and what we were doing in order to call someone, we'd be long gone in a car to my jet sitting in the hangar w
LylaI instantly wanted to cry.All of my emotions over the past few days that I'd bottled down in favor of trying to remain headstrong were finally coming up to the surface at the mere thought of finally being able to see my child again. Was this it? Was this really it?"Is he…?" Rashid asked from across the room.Before I actually broke down though, I reached over the side of the crib and gently folded my hands under the bundle lying there, lifting him gently until I had him out of the crib and tucked into my chest. He made a small noise as he readjusted himself, pressing his face into my neck and sighing softly against my skin.Oh my god.Finally.My hand came up to curl around the back of his head, my entire body folding around him to protect him from everything. Like I was his own personal human meat shield. My baby. My son.Finally, back in my arms.I rocked him gently, feeling that familiar weight I remembered on my chest
LylaDucking and weaving around corners to remain hidden was more annoying than I thought it would be.With Salama guiding us through the palace, she was constantly grabbing my arm and yanking me into a dark room, the sounds of others passing by or even the remnants of someone moving down a corridor had us both spooked beyond belief.I wasn't sure as to why Salama's parents wanted her back just as badly as they wanted Rashid, but I tried to stop understanding them a long time ago. It was easier to just assume the worst at this point.We wandered around what felt like every single damn hallway we could find. Having no clue as to how we were supposed to get out of here, or where to find Rashid in all of this as well as where Hafsa had run off to. Both of us were slowly growing more frustrated with each hallway we stumbled upon."This place is so horribly mapped," she spat as she dragged me down another corridor. "Who in their right mind would design a palace like
LylaI had no idea how long I sat there on the floor before I remembered I had my phone still tucked into my jeans pocket.Sometimes past-me really had future-me's back. That was for sure. I had no idea who the hell I was going to call, but I had to try someone.Pulling my phone out, I dialed Melanie first. Her groggy voice answered me only a moment later."Mmm… Lyla?"I gasped into the phone. "They have me locked in a room!""What?" There was rustling on the other end. I sobbed into the phone, my entire body shaking as I spoke. "They locked me in a room! They took Salama away too! Javier's going to take me to Spain with him and I'm never going to get to see my baby again!""Hold on, I can't—hold on." There was a groan on the other end from Zayed before Melanie came back on the phone. "Lyla, where are you?""The palace in Abu Dhabi," I choked out. "They… I don't know, had this plan to give me to Javier to take back to Spain. I don't k
LylaI pushed past Salama to get into the room, a gasp leaving me the moment I laid my eyes on the scene in front of me.My heart pounded so wildly in my chest that I was afraid it was going to split my ribcage open and jump out. It felt like a dream to see what was in front of me—to finally lay my eyes on the one person who'd completely ruined my life and the one that had completely changed it too.There was Hafsa, seated in a large round chair with her arms cradling a small bundle. She smiled down at it, rocking slightly as she murmured something softly. The scene was so domestic and sweet looking that for a moment I felt delusional. There was no way that someone looking that content with life could have done all of this.But as soon as I heard a soft cooing sound, my dream-like state crumbled, forcing me back into the reality that was and not the one that my brain wanted me to believe in.I stumbled forward toward her, a hand quickly jerking me back from the
RashidWe followed the attendant to an unmarked room away from the waiting room we'd been kept in for a little over half an hour. I wasn't surprised they were all taking their time. It was normal for officials to draw these kinds of things out, either for their own benefit by starving their clients, or making them too aggravated to think properly.And while normally it had the potential to work, both Javier and I were above falling for such things. We'd been trained in it, after all.Although, I am becoming a little jittering having to wait for so long. Because I know that if all goes well with this meeting, I'll be one step closer to getting my son back and holding him in my arms, and witnessing Lyla be a wonderful mother to him like it's second nature and she was born to do it.We're missing out on so many firsts with our newborn baby all because of that selfish fucking woman. The thought of Hafsa with Nasir caring for him like Lyla and I should be at this t
Lyla Waking up the next day to Rashid's grave face sent me into a small panic attack that I ended up locking myself inside of my bathroom to deal with it while he got the rest of our stuff ready to head out.I didn't want to bother him with more of my head-shit, having seen him stressed way too much about the other things on his plate he had very little control over. It wasn't fair of me to monopolize him with all of my problems when he had his own to sort out too. Dumping everything onto him, especially right before we were going to be heading out, was a shitty thing to do.Finally, after what felt like an hour, I gathered myself and splashed some water on my face before finally leaving the bathroom and heading out to join the rest of our group in the living room. Surprisingly enough, they all looked just as stressed as I felt, even Salama who I'd suspected only came on this trip to supervise her fiance looked like she'd barely slept all night. I didn't know whet