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Chapter 85 : Trades
Huling Na-update:
2023-08-02 18:00:24Kaugnay na kabanata
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 86 : Cordial
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
Huling Na-update : 2023-08-02Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 87 : Treason
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.
Huling Na-update : 2023-08-02Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 88 : Turned Around
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
Huling Na-update : 2023-08-02Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 89 : Non-Conclusive
Rashid"When we get back to the palace, your father will be waiting for you." This was the first thing my mother said to me the moment the car took off into the streets of L.A.I stared out the window, barely comprehending the words.My entire life was flying by me in slow motion. None of it felt real. Like I was underwater and could barely breathe the farther we drove away from Lyla's apartment. It's a startling realization to know that no matter what I did, I could never have her.There would be no happy ending. From the moment I was born, my life had been decided for me and I was all but an unwilling passenger in the backseat of it. Watching from a distance that the happiness I desperately searched for my entire life was dragged farther and farther out to sea. I let out a humorless laugh at my mother's words. Because really, what else could I say?No one would bother listening to me, anyway. So what was the point in wasting my breath, going bl
Huling Na-update : 2023-08-02Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 90 : Try Again
LylaWhen I woke up, it hit me almost instantaneously that I was in a moving car.Jolting upright, my hand fell over my belly as the seatbelt that had been clipped around me dug at the soft part of my neck. The road out my window passed by quickly, cars traveling on either side while I was being taken to an unknown destination.The sun crested overhead, low on the horizon and casting a harsh glare that had me pulling the visor down to shield myself.I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, my vision coming into focus as I turned to look at the driver's side. "Hey." Shane glanced over at me. Both of his hands were on the steering wheel, gripping it loosely.Despite that, his shoulders were tense, and his eyes focused ahead with a determined set on his face."Where are we going?""My parents."I settled back into my seat. The drowsiness was slowly working its way out of my brain, my thoughts circulating into a more cohesive sense the longer I b
Huling Na-update : 2023-08-02Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 91 : Cog Wheels
LylaSurprisingly, it had hardly changed since the last time I'd been here.The air was stale with cigarette smoke and dust that clung to the walls of the entryway, staining the once brightly colored wallpaper an old yellow color. I wrinkled my nose and tried not to sneeze at the sudden change in air quality—not wanting to offend my parents mere minutes after they agreed to house me and my friends for the time being."Take off your shoes," my mother instructed, waving her hand. "Leave them by the door before you come in."I tried not to let her see my shocked face at the weird request.Since when did she care about the state of her floors?The varnish on the wood floors had long since been chipped away and painted over with an ugly blueish-gray paint. Deep pock-marks were dug into the surface in a wide arch that matched the exact pattern of where the door opened. It creaked under us as we huddled together to kick our shoes off, leaving them in a single-
Huling Na-update : 2023-08-11Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 92 : Choked Silence
Rashid "Hi! You've reached Lyla Arden. I can't come to the phone right now, but—"I cursed under my breath before pulling the phone away from my ear to drop the call. "Why isn't she answering?"Melanie turned around from the front seat to look at me, a worried frown set on her face. We'd stopped at a gas station as soon as we'd gotten out of the city to fill up before heading out on the road again, giving us enough time to situate ourselves and figure out what the hell we were going to do. Now that we were all but fugitives running from the Dubai embassy, we had very limited time in deciding on a plan. There was no telling when it would be that my mother would send out the entire U.S. armed forces in order to surround us and drag us all back to Dubai—save for probably Melanie.Though, even that was subjective. If my mother was feeling particularly vindictive, she'd drag Zayed's fiance back to the UAE just to throw her into jail out of petty rev
Huling Na-update : 2023-08-11Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 93 : Remnants
LylaGrabbing Shane's arm, I tugged him back behind me as the thundering steps of my brother rattled the baseboard above us, my heart beat picking up with each one.It wasn't often that I had contact with my brother even when I still lived here. I'd come to the conclusion that suffering through any of his man-baby tantrums only fueled my grief within this family and putting any energy toward trying to better him wasn't worth it.He'd been stuck in his ways for a long time now—mostly due to my mom baby-ing him and never holding him accountable, unlike me who was the scapegoat for everything. His Golden Child status was an ever-present reminder that no matter what he did, he'd never see any kind of accountability as long as our parents continued to support his bad attitude and poor impulse control. Hell, he was pushing thirty and still lived with our parents.That right there spoke volumes in itself.My hand tightened around Shane's arm as the footste
Huling Na-update : 2023-08-11
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Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 150 : Epilogue
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
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 149 : Turn Around
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
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 148 : Trick Of The Eye
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
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 147 : Ammunition
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
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 146 : Pointed Remarks
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
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 145 : Actions
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
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 144 : Trapped
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
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 143 : Betrayal
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
Sold to the Prince of Dubai Chapter 142 : Marked
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
