Chapter Eighteen
Kim rushed out of the Sharqi residence as fast as her clumsy legs could carry her. Saeed’s words kept echoing in her head and she knew that she had to leave that place immediately or risk saying something that she would regret. When she saw all those zeros on that cheque, a thousand thoughts ran through her mind.
She felt insulted. That was all Saeed saw her as; a materialistic woman that could be bought off just like that. It showed that Saeed did not believe that Kim had genuine feelings for Karim even though she truly cared for him and only wanted what was best for him.
For a split second, part of her considered taking the money and using it to keep the orphanage open. Those girls had nowhere else to go and the money would have gone a long way toward securing their futures.
She felt bad for considering the money but it was for a good cause. She was also unclear about how Karim felt about her. Maybe she was fighting a losing battle. Either way, she knew that if she took that money, then there was never going to be any hope for them.
As Kim was pulling her suitcase toward the car, she bumped into something and almost lost her balance. She looked up and saw Karim standing in front of her. “Where’s the fire?” he asked her.
“Sorry,” she apologised.
“Where are you off to? You stood me up when I asked you to meet me in your room.”
“I did not mean to.” Kim tucked her hair behind her ear in agitation.
“I waited and waited for you.”
Kim raised her eyebrows and then looked at the ground. When she had finally made it back to her room, he wasn’t there. She had not realised that he waited for her. She wished that she had gone to him as they could have enjoyed their last moments together before she left.
“I didn’t realise. I was prepping Amare and his friends for their exam,” she said quietly. Karim moved closer to her and touched her waist.
“Never mind, the damage is already done now. How will you make it up to me?” he asked her. The feeling of his hand on her waist made her shatter inside. She knew that she would never feel his touch again. She so badly wanted to walk into his arms and just cry on his chest.
“I am afraid I cannot make it up to you. You’ll have to forgive me,” she told him unable to look him in the eyes.
“You have to. You cannot leave me hanging like that and not try to make it up to me.” Karim pulled Kim closer and kissed her on the cheek expecting her to melt in his arms. While she would have liked nothing better, it made her realise how much she was going to miss him.
“You are quiet today,” Karim said. “What is the matter?”
“I am going back home, Karim.”
“Home? What do you mean?” Karim looked down and saw the suitcase next to her. He looked back at her waiting for an answer.
“I am going back to the States. Your father does not want me around you, and he is right. We could never work.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you suddenly leave without talking to me first?”
“I was never going to stay here forever anyway. It’s best that I return now before we do something that we will both regret.”
“Kimberly, you are not making any sense!”
“Amare has learned a great deal. He will be fine without me here.”
“And what about me? Will I be fine without you here?”
Kim fought back the tears. She wished that she could stay there with him but she could not. He would soon find someone more appropriate to his status.
“You will be fine. We would have never worked anyway.”
“What does that mean? We would not have worked?” Karim placed his hands on his hips and waited for her response. Kim reached out and touched his face for the last time.
“We are too different. You are Arabic and I am not. You are a sheik, and I am a clumsy school teacher,” she said to him as she bit her lip to keep from crying.
“So what?” he asked.
“I am just a spoilt American brat. We can never be together, Karim.” Kim caressed his cheek with the back of her hand and then walked off leaving Karim standing there speechless, as his father’s words played in his head.
Chapter Nineteen
Karim watched Kim get into the car. He knew that he had been remiss in not sharing his feelings with her, but in truth, until he had lashed out at his father, he didn’t know how he felt about her and now, it may be too late. No, it can’t be too late! She was needed here. Amare still needed her to get him through his studies. And he needed her, at his side.
She had said that they were too different and it would have never worked. He liked the fact that she was different from all the women he had ever been with. He found her smart, funny and when she smiled at him, the whole room lit up.