Prince Nadir's Secret Heir(85)

                ‘Nadir, bro...?’ Zach used the kind of placatory tone he might if he was facing a band of militants with only a soup spoon to defend himself. ‘I’m not sure that’s the most important thing to discuss right now. What’s going on?’

                Nadir thought of the scene he had interrupted in Imogen’s room. Her ex-lover holding her tightly in his arms.

                At first he’d been furious, his instinct to grab hold of the smarmy buffoon and pull him off her and beat him to a pulp for daring to touch what was his. Then he’d registered that Imogen wasn’t resisting. That she was snuggled against him and that she was weeping. Sobbing, almost.

                Those tears had torn at his heart and he’d realised in a flash of unwelcome insight that he was behaving exactly as his father had done in stealing his mother from her tribal village in a fit of passion and then forcing her to bend to his will when he had taken another wife. Of course his circumstances were different from his parents, he knew that, but he also knew that the common denominator wasn’t. He was a tyrant who hadn’t given her a choice. He now had and she’d very definitely exercised it.

                He forcibly shut his emotions down. He knew it had been a mistake to let them out. They had confused things. Made him think that sex was love when the truth was that he and Imogen shared a phenomenal chemistry and a child and he cared enough about her that he couldn’t force her to do something she didn’t want to do. ‘Nothing is going on.’

                Zach looked at him. ‘Pull the other one—it has bells on it.’

                Nadir cut him a brooding glare. ‘Fine. I found Imogen in the arms of her ex-lover.’

                ‘Naked!’

                ‘No—’ he heaved a sigh ‘—she was crying.’

                Zach frowned. ‘Why?’

                ‘Because she wants to marry him, not me.’ Nadir surged to his feet in irritation and turned towards the windows. ‘How the hell should I know? Suffice it to say, she invited her ex-lover to our wedding and now they’re together.’

                Zach blew out a breath. ‘That’s rough. Why’d she do it?’

                ‘I assume because she loves him.’

                Zach nodded as if he fully agreed and then started shaking his head. ‘No, I meant why did she agree to marry you when she’s still in love with someone else?’

                ‘Does it matter?’ he asked briskly. ‘The fact is she was living with this guy in London and now she’s free to go back to him.’

                Zach nodded again. ‘Which she wants.’

                ‘Right. Now, there’s a lot to sort out. I’m hoping you want to stay on in Bakaan if you don’t take the leadership role because I’m going to need a right hand and I want that to be you.’

                ‘So, to be clear,’ Zach began, completely ignoring his attempt to change the subject, ‘she actually said that she preferred this other guy to your face.’

                Nadir swiped a hand across his jaw. ‘Can we just forget Imogen?’ A muscle knotted in his jaw. ‘She’s not relevant to this discussion.’

                ‘Sure.’ Zach eased back in his chair. ‘If you’re happy with her bonking another guy then who am I to argue?’

                Nadir slammed his portable mouse down on the desktop. ‘I told you to forget her.’