Princess's Secret Baby(85)

                Bloody Jasmine, James thought, making her mischief                         from the grave.

                He handed Leila their baby and he watched as Leila gazed upon                     her with so much love and he saw, too, the flicker of confusion, for she had                     once been that small.

                ‘Are you sure that you don’t want me to let your parents know?                     I don’t mind,’ James offered—he was the gatekeeper to her heart and would not                     let her be hurt again. ‘I can practise my Arabic,’ James said as he cleared the                     back of his throat, and Leila laughed, but with affection.

                ‘No.’ Her moment of weakness just after the birth had long                     since faded. ‘I don’t want them near her, ever. I will not let them poison her.                     They can read it in the press if they choose to, or Zayn can tell them. Really,                     James, I don’t care if they know or if they don’t. I have my family and that is                     you and her.’

                She loved him so much and she was not scared to love him                     now.

                Their love was real, it existed, and he showed her that each                     day.

                ‘We need a name,’ James said.

                ‘I’ve already chosen it.’

                ‘Well, that’s the sort of thing that might merit a discussion,’                     James hastily said, and sat on the bed. ‘It’s for both parents to decide.’

                ‘Please let me have the name I want for her, James. It would                     mean so much to me and you know that I would have chosen it after careful                     thought.’

                James took a deep breath and looked at Leila, who had just                     given him the greatest gift of his life, and really, how could he say no to her                     for something she really wanted? ‘Sure.’ He looked at his daughter and was                     determined to smile and say, ‘How beautiful, how perfect,’ when Leila said she                     wanted the baby to be called Jasmine...

                ‘Aqiba,’ Leila said.

                ‘Aqiba?’ James repeated, and she watched as a very real smile                     spread across his lips as he worked out the translation.

                ‘Consequence,’ Leila said.