THE TRUE KING OF DAHAAR(78)

                Reaching for her, Zohra steadied Nikhat. “Yes. They are making a statement tomorrow. The aides are all running around like crazy. Can you imagine? They have just over a week to find him—”

                “A wife,” Nikhat said, the word burning on her lips.

                A prince needed a wife to be king.

                Her mind whirled, the walls of the office she had cherished so much closing in on her. She couldn’t continue to live in Dahaar and see the news of him with his wife, one who would give him sons, some unknown woman taking everything Nikhat wanted.

                It was unbearable.

                “If you are thinking of just running away again, believe me, Nikhat, it won’t help.”

                Nikhat turned around, astonished at how well Zohra could read her mind. “What do I do, Zohra? I broke my own heart last time. I…I can’t give him what he needs.”

                “I don’t believe the man I’ve come to know the last few weeks, everything I’ve learned about what he has been through, he…gives his heart lightly, nor will he resent you for what you can’t change. You reached through to him when not even his parents and brother could, Nikhat. Doesn’t that tell you something?”

                “You know?”

                Her hands resting on her belly, Zohra nodded. “Ayaan told me after I pestered him about you and Azeez.

                “I can’t imagine what you must have felt when you learned about your condition. I can’t imagine feeling like I couldn’t be everything Ayaan needed me to be. But how it will dictate your life, that’s up to you.”

                There was no sympathy or comfort in Zohra’s voice. Only cold hard facts. Maybe if she had had a friend like this before, maybe if she had confided in someone…Nikhat smiled through the sheen of tears gathering in her eyes, appreciating Zohra’s coming all the way. “Thank you, Zohra.”

                “I do feel safe in your hands. But I didn’t come for you. I came for him.”

                “For Azeez?”

                “I understand now why it killed Ayaan to see Azeez like that, why he was prepared to do anything for his brother.

                “Because Azeez would too.

                “He agreed to everything Ayaan set in front of him, he even agreed to bear your presence, despite his pride, so that I would feel better, didn’t he? I don’t like the look that has come back into his eyes. He is my brother, too, now, and my king. He has my loyalty, and my love.

                “But if you go near him, make sure you know your mind, Nikhat. Because it’s not his acceptance you’re craving, is it?”

                With that parting shot, Zohra left, leaving Nikhat reeling under the weight of her words. No one had ever spoken to her like that, ever cut through the pain she had surrounded herself with, so effectively.

                For the rest of the afternoon, Nikhat went through her duties like an automaton. She visited a couple of patients in their homes, went through the inventory and finally went home.

                Her sisters’ laughter and conversation surrounded her with its usual warmth yet she felt as if she was removed from it all, a deep freeze surrounding her heart.

                A strange sort of fever gripped her, and yet fear held her back. She went in search of her father, the only choice left to her slowly gaining power inside her head. And with that came anger, too, and the strength to speak her mind.