"Let me go!"
"I'm sorry," he said hoarsely. "You were right. You were absolutely right. I was terrified that I'd make the same mistake and cause harm to the people I care most about. But you were right. I should've known you were different. We're different—-"
"Stop it!" Tears were running down her face, and each drop was like a fucking stab to his heart. "I don't need you to lie just because you feel guilty for hurting me—-"
"I'm saying these things because I love you," Ilyas said fiercely.
"Just let me go—-"
Ilyas cupped her face. "I love you, Ember. I love you."
"Please—-"
God.
Just minutes ago, she had been begging him to let her stay, but now she was begging him to let her go.
Was he really too fucking late?
"I love you," Ilyas said rawly. "And I'm the one who's begging you now to give me a chance."
But Ember only looked at him as if it was truly over between them.
"Please. Just please fucking stay. I love you, Ember. I love you. You're the air I breathe—-"
Ember managed to catch him off guard by suddenly shoving him away, and Ilyas whitened as she stumbled back.
Was he truly too late?
"I never—-"
Ilyas swallowed hard. "Please—-"
"I n-never thought you could say something so cheesy."
And then she was laughing and crying at the same time, and Ilyas didn't know whether to thank or curse the heavens upon realizing that his damn little chick had been leading him all along.
"Damn you."
But he was hauling her close as he said it, and this time she was sobbing for real as her arms wrapped around his neck.
He pressed his lips to the top of her head, still barely able to breathe because he knew there still had been a point that he had almost lost her for good. "I love you."
More tears tracked down her cheeks.
"I love you," she said with a wobbly smile. "I've loved you from the first day I met you, but..."
Ilyas stiffened. "But what?"
"Can I ask you for something?"
"Of course—-"
"Can you say it again?"
Ilyas frowned. "Say what?"
"That I'm the air you breathe," she said with an impish smile. "I wasn't ready earlier, but I am now, and I'd like to record you saying—-"
His mouth swooped down to shut her up with a kiss, and as she moaned against his lips, it occurred to Ilyas that even with all that had happened between them, this was actually their first kiss...and it was perfect.
Epilogue
Ember carefully placed Lucky in his cozy little bed, which was now a custom-designed creation since Ilyas believed in buying only the best things in life for their "firstborn".
Hehehe.
She knew she was acting like an idiot again, but every time she remembered the demon prince actually using that very word when referring to their cute little kitty—-
Hehehe.
He said it every time actually, and Ember tried not to laugh out loud when she remembered the way Ilyas' brothers had reacted upon hearing it for the first time.
'What did you say?' Rashad had sputtered.
'You have a child?' Saif had growled out.
'Fuck! Who's the mother?' Khadem had demanded.
'Ember, of course.' And Ilyas had then showed them their little kitty. 'Say hi to your uncles, Lucky.'
As Lucky obediently meowed while sleepily rubbing his eyes, the other Huznan princes had stared at Ilyas like he had completely lost his mind, but her royal bosshole hadn't given a fuck.
Hehehe.
Ember was still feeling secretly giddy at how adorable the sheikh could be even after leaving their "firstborn" to his cat nanny, but all of her good vibes disappeared as soon as she entered the ballroom.
Holy shit!
Tonight was yet another official engagement in which hundreds of guests were invited (and afterwards made to sign an NDA prior to entering the ballroom), and as always, the demon prince had women circled around him like a pack of she-wolves, and he appeared this close to losing his temper.
Ember barely made it in time, and she was able to plant herself in front of the sheikh just as he was about to open his mouth and say something that was likely ungentlemanly, undiplomatic, and everything un- that wouldn't do their kingdom's bid for a "modern" and "civilized" image any good.
"I'm so very sorry, Your Highness, but a European ambassador wishes to speak to you." It was a lie of course, but it was a plausible-sounding lie, and that was all that mattered as Ember now had the right to whisk Ilyas away before those poor girls figured out that the sheikh was not the gentle and charming prince they thought him to be.
"You should have just told them you were my girlfriend," Ilyas muttered under his breath.
"Wouldn't you be so lucky?"
Ilyas glared down at his secretary, aka the-woman-who-refused-to-let-the-public-know-she-was-now-dating-her-boss.
"How long will this fucking punishment last?"
"As long as I want to," Ember said cheerfully.
"Damn you."
"Is that Huznan for 'I love you'?"