Bound by the Millionaire's Ring(17)

Angelique attached a breaking news story that contained a brief video of  Kasim. He exited a closed-door meeting to be confronted with the storm  surrounding his mother's statement. Reporters were demanding he respond  to whether he intended to marry Angelique. Surely not, given all this  controversy.

His reaction, released minutes ago, was already going viral.

Isidora had only met Kasim once. He would have intimidated the heck out  of her even without the title of king of Zhamair. He was tall and  dynamic. The only things remotely soft about him were his long-lashed,  dreamy dark eyes. They were especially heart-melting when his gaze  rested on Angelique.

The rest of him was short beard, desert garb and an uncompromising air.  His essence of supreme power came through even on the small mobile  screen as he spoke in Arabic, his implacable words translated as English  subtitles beneath his unyielding image.

"Let me resolve this once and for all. We are married. I am king. If I  say she is my wife, she is my wife. Treat her with the respect my queen  deserves. Gossip and speculation will not be tolerated. Move on." He  walked away.

Oh. She couldn't help the small chortle that pushed into the back of her throat. That was one way to handle it.

A quick flick to the social sites on her own phone showed the video was  already looped to a GIF meme and beginning to trend. If I say she is my  wife...

"So much for worrying about an engagement announcement." Isidora used a  weak laugh to cover how envious she was. Kasim's defense of Angelique  was ruthless and sexist, sure, but swoon-worthy.

Ramon immediately placed a video-chat call to his sister. Angelique  appeared next to Trella, with their office at the design house in the  background.

"Wait," Angelique said breathlessly. "Henri wants in." She tapped and added his image to the screen.         

     



 

Ramon's twin held an infant swaddled in a pink blanket. Henri's jaw was  shadowed in stubble, exactly like Ramon's. Their mother sat on one side  of Henri, Cinnia sat on the other. Cinnia had a blanket draped over her  shoulder, presumably nursing their second newborn. Cinnia looked tired,  but healthy and happy as she said a warm "Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Angelique wiped at the tears tracking to the corners of her  smiling mouth. "That's not the way we meant to do it. He just...said  it. He's not the least bit sorry and neither am I."

She sighed, but it was a blissful one. Then she fanned her streaming  eyes. "I don't know why I'm crying. I'm happy. And relieved. His mother  was trying to override resistance to our engagement. She wanted to start  planning the wedding, but now it's done. I'm married!" Her hands went  up in bemusement.

"So no proper wedding?" their mother asked with a disappointed throb in  her voice. "Henri's was in the hospital. I was so looking forward to a  big affair with yours, Gili."

"We'll plan something, Mama," Angelique promised. "But right now a plane  is waiting. I'm flying to Zhamair as soon as I throw a few things in a  bag, but-"

She looked to Trella, who drew her in for a warm hug, then dried her  sister's cheek with a gentle touch. "Our leaky little Gili is married.  Don't worry about me. Go. Pack. Be with your husband."

Angelique was obviously torn. She looked to the screen as she rose.  "Kasim's team will take care of my PR going forward. I hate to leave you  all in the lurch-"

"You're not," everyone said in unison, making her laugh-cry again. "I love you all so much."

"We'll issue a statement that we're very happy for you," Ramon said.  "Which we are. Will you come to the engagement party this weekend?"

"I have no idea. Kasim said something about honeymooning at his oasis." She blushed. "Either way, you'll all come see me soon?"

"Count on it," Henri promised, which was quite an offer considering he  literally had his hands full. As if on cue, the daughter he held began  to fuss. He exchanged a rueful look with his wife. "Time to switch out  again. We have to go. But Trella-"

She bowed her head against her hand. "I know."

"I've got this," Ramon said to his brother. "Take care of your chicas. Besos, Mama."

His mother blew them a kiss and Spain signed off. Angelique walked away,  presumably to pack. Trella lifted her face from her hand. She sighed as  she looked at her brother through the small screen. "Don't start."

"Is the prince of Elazar the father?" he asked. "Have you told him?"

"No."

"No, he's not the father? Or no, you haven't told him?"

She skipped past clarifying. "For Kasim's sake, Isidora can confirm that  I was the twin in the photo. Hold off on announcing the pregnancy. I  don't want to link the two in people's minds."

"Trella," Ramon growled.

"I'm handling this!"

"You're not. A baby doesn't go away, hermana."

"Oh, you think? You're just mad I'm not letting you handle it."

"Trella," Isidora interjected. Once these two started arguing they could  go on for days. She had heard it with her own ears. "Do I say whether  the prince knew it was you? Is he likely to comment one way or another?"

Trella dug her hands through her hair, and groaned, "Don't say. We'll see if he comments and deal with it if he does."

"That's hardly 'handling it,' is it?" Ramon said. "The more you play coy, the worse this will get. I will-"

"What?" Trella challenged. "Make out with Izzy on the bow of the boat?  Let them catch her topless? Stop trying to fix this. You can't. It's my  problem, Ramon." She ended the call without another word.

With a feral noise, Ramon gripped his phone tightly and gave it a small  shake. "Braguillas." Brat. He made a noise of disgust and set down the  phone with a clatter.

Isidora scratched her upper lip. "Just to be clear, we're not, um, going to do those things, are we? I get to keep my top on?"

His gaze flicked across like a whip, his expression fierce. "Do you honestly think I would expect that of you?"

That arrogant tone got under her skin.

"I don't know, do I?" In the back of her mind, she knew she was  deliberately provoking him, looking for any sort of reaction beyond flat  disinterest. "It's something you would do. You always deflect attention  from her. That's how I wound up in this fake engagement, if you  recall."         

     



 

She reached for her phone as a small shield, tensing with apprehension  that he would come back with something about her chest not being enough  to interest anyone.

His thundering silence was worse.





CHAPTER SEVEN

THIS WOMAN. SHE was driving him insane, revealing exactly what kind of  fire burned inside her before tearing him down and locking him out.

The things she had revealed the night of the party had been a shock, and  he hadn't dealt with it well in the moment, had been too sexually  frustrated to process all that she had revealed-and how much shame she  had sent crawling up inside him. But he'd had plenty of time for  self-castigation since.

He had underestimated her feelings for him over the years, thinking them  superficial because from the time he had become sexually active, he'd  been treated as a trophy. Even the racing fans who "preferred" him over  his brother were more interested in the driver than the man. Besides,  Isidora hadn't been mature enough for anything more than surface  infatuation, he had always believed.

But he couldn't stop hearing her say "if I thought you wanted me." Like  she believed herself interchangeable with the women he'd encountered  over the years.

She wasn't. Deep down, he had always known an affair with Isidora would  be the furthest thing from impersonal. That's why he had held her off so  uncompromisingly. Emotional intimacy made him close up inside.

He had told himself he was protecting her, denting her ego, not her  heart, but he wasn't so devoid of conscience he would pimp her out with  topless photos, and it wasn't just because the idea of any man seeing  her naked was abhorrent to him.

Really abhorrent.

"No, I wouldn't ask you to strip down to divert attention from my  sister," he stated, biting out each word. "Effective as that might be."

She took up her fork and dipped her head, brows pulling with  consternation as though she wasn't sure whether he was complimenting her  or what.

It struck him afresh that his discouragement over the years had affected  her far more seriously than he had intended. Looking back, he could see  that a young woman's confidence could be impacted by such things, but  at the time-He sighed with self-disgust.

"I shouldn't have taken advantage of your loyalty as badly as I have. I  know what a precious commodity it is. Anyone else would have sold us  out, or pushed me into traffic by now."

"If the doors to the terrace had been open the other night..." She  stuffed a cherry tomato into her mouth, sealing her lips over the threat  she didn't finish. But even as she chewed, he saw the faint tremble in  her lips. His few words of culpability affected her.