Gambling With the Crown(69)

                Instead, she inclined her head and accepted an escort. But the servant did not show her to the suite of rooms she’d been sharing with Kadir before they’d gone to the oasis. He showed her to a different set of rooms, smaller, and she blinked in confusion.

                When she turned around to ask the man why she’d been moved, he was gone. Her breath whooshed into her lungs in shallow pulls as she stood in the room and told herself not to panic. It was a mistake, that was all. She started throwing doors open. When she came to the closet, her clothes were not in it and she let out a shaky breath. She pivoted on her heel and started toward the door to find someone, to inform them of a mistake. The man who’d shown her to this room had clearly been wrong.

                But then she ground to a halt at the sight of her suitcases nearby. She’d only traveled with one large suitcase and a carry-on, but there were two more cases sitting with the ones she recognized. She went over and picked one up. It was heavy, but she threw it on the nearest surface and ripped at the zipper.

                Inside, the lovely clothes that Guido had dressed her in were packed with tissue. She ripped through the case, finding clothing, shoes and scarves. The next bag was also full, and the next. She tore them apart, sobbing like a maniac, until all the clothes were strewn across the furniture and floor.

                Then she sank down on the carpet and beat her fist against the cushion of the nearest chair while she pressed her face into it and cried harder. She cried until her body ached, until her throat was raw, until she wanted to curl into a ball and go to sleep for days.

                But then, the longer she sat there, as her tears leaked away, she got angry. Was this what her mother had done? Was this what sex and a dynamic lover had done to Rachel Bryant? Had she been so desperate for pleasure, for her lover’s touch, that she’d given up her pride and her dignity and followed him to her doom?

                Emily shuddered. She was so close to being that kind of woman right now. She would do anything Kadir asked her. Anything for one more night with him. She sucked in a deep breath, determined to get control of herself. She’d spent years making herself into a serious, professional woman. She would not lose that person simply because Kadir had turned her world so completely upside down.

                She got to her feet and went into the bathroom to wash her face. Her eyes were puffy and red and she laughed brokenly at her reflection. So pitiful. But then she stared at herself until her jaw hardened. She was done being pitiful. She’d made her choice and she’d had her blissful night with her former boss.

                She would not allow it to break her. She was stronger than that. She’d made the decision and she would deal with the consequences. Life would go on. She’d entered the fire with Kadir and she’d been burned. But she would not let it consume her, because she was made of sterner stuff.

                Emily finished washing up, changed into a fresh dress and heels, and then she carefully repacked everything she’d strewn across the room. When it was done, when she believed that she was ready for anything, she sat down to wait for whatever came next.

                When a man appeared some time later, holding a sheaf of papers, her heart sped up. But she refused to betray herself. She simply sat and waited. Whatever happened, she could handle it.

                But she was not quite as prepared as she’d believed. She’d thought a heart could only break once. She discovered she was tragically mistaken. Apparently, a heart could shatter into a million pieces even after it had already done so.

                “The king has signed the divorce decree, madam,” the man said, bowing low. “You will be taken to the airport now.”





                                      CHAPTER THIRTEEN