Olivia’
s eyes flew to Tamir’s face. His mother’s gown? That didn’t make sense.
“It is appropriate, and it is also tradition.”
“You cannot make this woman Queen.” Selena spat, dragging her eyes over Olivia.
Olivia froze, her insides churning with embarrassment at the obvious mistake. She opened her mouth to correct Selena, but Tamir’s fingers were digging into her sides, non-verbally urging silence.
“It is done. She is Queen. You owe her your allegiance and loyalty, Selena.”
Beside him, he felt Olivia sag. He had not wanted her to discover the truth like this. Then again, was there any way he could break the news to her that wouldn’t have resulted in her anger?
“When?” Selena spat. “You were only in London for days.”
“The details are not your concern. We finalised matters on the plane, and she is now my wife, and your Queen.”
Olivia would have stepped away from Tamir, but he held her tight. Besides, she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to stand if she didn’t have his support. His wife? His wife? She forced herself to remain perfectly still. She would have plenty to say to him when they were alone, but an entirely inexplicable sense of loyalty kept her mouth shut. Selena was definitely trouble, and Olivia suspected it would bode better for her if Selena believed their marriage to be real.
“It can’t be true.”
“I need a wife, and Talidar needs an heir. I am thirty four, and the future of Talidar rests on my shoulders. It is time I thought about the future of this lineage.”
“Talidar has an heir,” Selena shouted. “My son!”
Tamir sighed. His sister’s ambition had long sat as a rock between them. Her desire to plant her own child on the throne was not one she attempted to conceal. “And he is heir still. Until Olivia and I produce a child, Zayid is my presumed successor.”
“You have done this to hurt me,” Selena spoke softly, her pain obvious.
“I have done what you have always known I would,” he intoned wearily. “It is not a debate. Marriage was never something I could avoid. So I have done it.”
“This is because of Marni,” Selena accused darkly, looking at the blonde English woman with a sense of animosity.
Tamir swore under his breath. “It is not, Selena. You are wrong.”
Selena sucked in a deep breath. “This is not the end.” She stormed away, towards the limousine, without a backwards glance.
“I apologise, your highness,” Selena’s husband spoke with a small grimace. His eyes were drawn to the blonde woman, with a sense of familiarity that made no sense. Olivia couldn’t shake the feeling that these people knew more about her than she herself did.
“She will be required to act with more dignity at the next encounter, Saf,” Tamir responded coldly, feeling an irrational anger to one of his oldest friends. “My marriage is legally binding. Olivia is not going anywhere. The sooner Selena accepts that, the better.”
CHAPTER SIX
“I am ready now,” Tamir said tiredly, looking at his wife with a degree of concern. “Say what it is you have been thinking for the past hour.”
The drive from the airport to the palace was not long, but once he had returned to his principle residence, Tamir had needed to meet urgently with his mother, to explain his hasty and unexpected marriage. He would have preferred to spend that time with Olivia, but the very idea of Selena breaking the news of his marriage to his mother before he had, filled him with worry. The situation was one he intended to control. It was his country, and his life. Only Olivia was the wild, unpredictable element.
But now, in his bedroom, staring at the woman he’d married without her consent, he felt a stab of worry. She was so silent, and so still, that he couldn’t be certain she wasn’t in a state of catatonic shock.
Olivia’s green eyes were round like duck eggs. “What do you want me to say?”
“Want you to say?” He frowned. “I want you to say what you’re thinking.”
Her laugh was shrill. “No, you don’t. Believe me.”
He couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips. “Is it so bad?” The hope of seeing the spirit he knew she possessed was extreme. Even if that came out as anger, he would welcome it.
She bit down on her lip. “You lied to me.”