“Before I walked in, your father was about to announce your engagement.” Anger flashed in his eyes. “To Khalid.”
What?
No.
I’d just met Khalid. That wasn’t possible. My dad would never agree to that.
But I have something else I’d like to announce first...
Those were my father’s words just before Caspian interrupted him.
Khalid sitting at our table. The possessive hand on my thigh. The way he and Dad shared a curious smile.
No.
I shook my head. “You don’t know that.”
“I do,” he said, calmly.
My voice raised an octave and cracked a little. “You don’t. Just because—”
“Tatum. I do.”
The bile was back, and this time I was barely able to keep from throwing up.
“Why? Why would he—How could he—In front of all those people. He knows what that means.” Reputation was everything in my father’s eyes. You didn’t make public announcements just to take them back. That was why he would never forgive Caspian for what he did. The words had been spoken. It might as well have been a decree.
Caspian stepped forward and pulled me to his chest. He held my head and rubbed a hand down my back. His lips pressed against my hair, and I choked back a sob. A single tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. I didn’t stop it.
I moved my head to look up at him. His eyes were full of something that resembled sadness. His cold features had warmed. He flinched when another tear fell, as if the words had hurt him too. As if my pain were his pain.
“Why?” My question came out in a hoarse whisper.
He took a deep breath.
“I can handle it, Caspian. Just tell me.”
And I could.
I could handle whatever he said next. I’d had enough secrets and lies to last me a lifetime. Now, I just wanted the truth.
“Khalid owns ninety percent of the oil surplus in Saudi Arabia. When your father becomes president, he’s going to shut down our pipelines and give that business to Khalid. Your engagement was insurance—for lack of a better word—that both parties would make good on their end of the deal. And with you married to Khalid, and Khalid getting all the oil import business for the U.S, by default, your dad gets rich and Khalid gets richer.”
Emotions swelled up inside me like a storm on the ocean. Waves of anger, pain, and despair rolled and crested until I felt as though I might drown. I trembled in Caspian’s arms, and he pulled me closer. I wanted to be numb. Other than the feeling I got when he held me tight to his chest, the feeling of walking outside on a warm summer day or seeing a familiar face in a crowd of strangers. That feeling, I wanted to feel forever. It was everything else I wished would go away.
“He sold me.”
He sold me.
I pressed my cheek against his chest, letting the strength and scent of him comfort me. “How did you know? About Khalid, I mean.”
“My father told me. So, when I saw Khalid at the ballet, then again at the party, I knew it wasn’t just an empty threat. I knew it was true.”
Caspian didn’t apologize for my father’s actions. He didn’t make excuses or try to sugarcoat the fact that he’d saved me from becoming what was basically nothing more than a high-class slave.
Because he knew.
He knew what men like Khalid—and apparently my father—were capable of. His father hadn’t shielded him from it the way mine had. He’d seen it.