“You are the man who left my sister, heartbroken and alone, before she could tell you that she’s pregnant! You disgust me!”
CHAPTER TWO
Rafiq froze. He was rarely surprised, but this woman had totally managed to knock him sideways. He knew it couldn’t be possible, and yet, he had no doubt the fiery red head in front of him believed it completely.
“Who is your sister?” He asked, a kernel of worry already lodged in his chest.
“Cassandra,” she hissed angrily. “Or do you sleep with so many women that you can’t even remember their names?”
The name meant nothing to him, and it must have showed in his face, because he could see suddenly that Emma was about to slap him. He put a hand up and easily caught her wrist in his, and wrapped it around her back, bringing her body sharply back into contact with his. He was right, he thought distractedly. Their eyes clashed and all he could think about was how much he wanted to kiss her again. It was so out of character that he released her immediately, and put some much needed distance between them.
“Show me your sister,” his voice was imperious and haughty, no sign of heat nor passion.
“Show you my sister?” She repeated, rubbing her inner wrist where his fingers had touched, as if to erase the feelings he evoked.
“Yes. I presume you have a mobile phone or something with a photograph?”
“Are you actually pig-headed enough to admit you don’t know who she is?”
He spoke slowly, as if she were incredibly slow witted. “Show. Me. A. Photograph.”
With a glare that spoke volumes, she fished her phone from her pocket and opened the photo album. There were a thousand to choose from. They might look like chalk and cheese, but they had always been best friends. “Here,” she thrust the device at him, a hand on her hip, a scowl on her face.
In other circumstances, he might have been amused by the show of defiance. It was certainly a novelty for him to be treated with anything other than complete respect and deference. He turned his attention to the photo she had selected and something clicked in the back of his brain. Cassandra. Yes, it was coming back to him now.
He raised his eyes to the woman in front of him, a small frown on his lips. He didn’t like being caught on the back foot.
“Remember her?” Emma asked with saccharine sweetness. “That’s the girl who’s been crying her hormonal eyes out for weeks, all because you ran out on her! I’m not surprised that you’re a philandering cheat, I’m really not. But to carry on like this when you’ve left a girl pregnant, with no way to contact you… That’s despicable.”
He looked down the length of his aquiline nose at the woman who had unapologetically turned his life on its head in a matter of minutes. He ignored her insults. His brain was switched on to fact finding. “One moment.”
Emma watched, heart in her mouth, as he yanked open the door and began speaking in rapid fire Arabic to a security guard beyond. She tried not to seem weak, but what she desperately wanted was to sink down on to the bed, head in her hands. The pent up emotion of the last two months had taken its toll, in the moment she’d finally confronted him with the awful truth.
But she would not let this man, this man she hated, see her sudden fatigue.
“Your sister is in America now?”
Emma sniffed. “You don’t even know where she’s from?”
“She’s in LA, Emma.” He was grateful then for the security guard having a memory for detail. Any woman who was dating Amar’an royalty was subject to rigorous background checks. Fatush had been able to list several salient details about her background when requested.
A bitter wave of disappointment fell down on Emma, and she realized she’d been hoping there’d been a mistake. A mix up. But there was none. She’d seen the recognition in his face. And he obviously knew where Cass based herself.
Emma’s eyes were dull when she looked at him, her nod small.
“Fine. We will go to Cassandra together.”
“Huh?” She stared across at him, confused.
“I presume you only took this job to confront me with this… news?”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
“Well, you’ve done it. Cassandra is fortunate to
have such a loyal sister. And now, I am anxious to confirm this pregnancy for myself.”
“Wait just a minute, your highness,” she infused the title with as much disdain as she could.