SophiaWe sat there for some time in silence. Luke’s head appeared to get heavier in my lap, and I thought he had fallen asleep. When I leaned over to check on him, he spoke.“He was a good man,” Luke said.“He was,” I said.A smile touched his lips as his eyes fluttered open. “When I first moved to the palace, I was so scared. At the orphanage, we were crammed into small rooms. All of us were on top of each other all the time. Father gave me a room big enough to fit more than half of the orphanage building inside. It was too much for me, so Father would allow me to sleep in his room.”“That’s nice.”He chuckled. “Mother didn’t appreciate it because, apparently, I was quite the restless sleeper. But sleeping in their room helped. Eventually, I felt bad for taking up their days and nights and made my way back to my room. But Father always gave me the time and space that I needed, even when I didn’t know I needed it.”“Sounds like he cared for you a great deal,” I said.“He did,” Luke s

LukeMother sighed heavily and leaned against her pillows. She stared at the ceiling.The conversation between Father and me reminded me of the next conversation I had with Mother. If she had been the one who died, I would have felt terrible about the things I’d said to her. Watching Father pass so quickly, I realized how short life was.“I’m sorry for what I said to you the last time I was here,” I said.She waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t want to talk about her.”I gritted my teeth. Even in the face of losing her husband, she still held onto her hatred for Sophia. Or maybe she had given up. Either way, this was no time to argue. We had work to do, and neither Mother nor Abir seemed to be willing to put in that work.“I know you’re in mourning,” I said. The customs of our country gave widows much time to mourn the loss of their husbands. But Mother was also a queen and not one to sit down and let life take over when there was work to be done. “We have much to do to prepare for the

SophiaWhile they didn’t get the answer they were looking for, everyone who approached us was friendly toward me. They acknowledged my presence, much to Gia’s disappointment. I felt her heated stare from across the room more times than I could count. While I appreciated the kindness toward me, I wondered if it was just them being polite or if they thought I would be their future queen.I had to immediately shake away that thought. I didn’t want to be with Luke just to become his queen. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the position at all. Erol’s funeral was not the time to consider it. Luke wanted his space when it came to the throne, and I would comply, if not for my own selfish reasons as well. When it came to any future between Luke and me, I knew it involved a crown on one or both of our heads.When there was a little break in the crowd coming to speak with us, Luke pulled me aside. We stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the room, opposite from Gia and Abir. I wasn

LukeI knew she meant to ask if there were any more funeral events, but I wanted to be honest with her about what was going to happen. I didn’t want to blindside her after the council decided. This was the last chance for us if she wanted to be by my side for the rest of our lives.“There will be a council meeting tomorrow,” I said.“Tomorrow?” she asked. “A little soon?”“Not really,” I said. “We will mourn for a while, but business needs to be handled by the next heir. And that heir is to be chosen the day after a ruler is buried.”Sophia was silent for the rest of the walk over to my room. I really didn’t want to have this conversation when both of us were dead on our feet, but if not now, when? I had to put my cards on the table, no matter how much I didn’t want to.When we reached my chambers, I helped Sophia out of her dress. I couldn’t help my hands from roaming around her body. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and peered up at me. Without any words between us, we knew

SophiaLuke was a smart man. Even if he hadn’t told me, last night should have alerted me to what he was going to do. He wanted me to tell him that I loved him and that I would be the queen he needed at his side.Stupidly, I rejected him on the eve of the most important day of his life. He’d already had a pretty shitty day with the funeral, and I had turned him down.I leaned against the stone railing, peering down at the palace grounds. While I doubted Qatar ever had a Western queen, Luke had trusted me enough to offer the position. He pushed past tradition and went for what he wanted. That was me.I blew out a breath. He chose me. He trusted me. And I went and broke his heart because I couldn’t utter the words that were deep in my own heart.Whirling around, I started down the hallway again. I knew what I had to do. There wasn’t anything in Dallas other than a job with a boss who didn’t appreciate me. I could bring Matt to the palace as much as I wanted, but other than that, I wasn’