*17*
The time passed very quickly and even too quickly. As Alicia wanted and hoped, her project was proclaimed as the best project of the year. And the project had the chance to join the city's history department. But she hadn't had the chance to join the big guys in the field or even in the programs because she was only working as an assistant in her field...She worked almost all day and got almost nothing at the end of the month. She was forced to take a small job online that allowed her to decorate her weekends...It was discouraging! As for Sarah, she had taken over the reins of her father's businesses, she hadn't even had time to get her diploma and license. She and Alicia rarely spoke, and they weren't as close as they used to be. In just a few months, their lives had completely changed. Alicia found herself locked in an office doing the dirty work of all her superiors and Sarah found herself giving orders, making decisions and being responsible. In fact, they were living their worst nightmare...
-I decided to take a vacation. I had one of these two days ago and the doctor strongly recommended it.
-I'm so happy for you, Sarah. You're always cooped up in your file cabinets!
-Speak for yourself, Alicia. You're still in your research! You've made your dreams come true by doing what you wanted to do: History and research! Sarah replied wistfully.
Alicia hadn't had the courage to tell her best friend that she hadn't gotten the job she wanted. That she was just there to do other people's jobs! And she'd been lying to her for over a year, making her think she had her dream job!
-You should talk to your father about this, Sarah. You should tell him that you're not fit to run a chain of real estate offices!
My brother's a total screw-up and he's running the company into the ground. What do you want me to do? I'm his only child after my stupid brother.
-I pity you, you know! Anyway, you deserve this vacation a lot. So tell me! How are you, Habdil?
And yes. Habdil and Sarah were still together after more than 15 months of long distance.
-He complained that I was always busy. That's why he jumped at the chance of this vacation to spend some time with me! I'm pretty sure we're going to Fiji! You should come with us...!
-And feel like a fifth wheel? No, thank you. And besides, I'm almost out of vacation time. I don't need one anyway, I love my job!
-I envy you! I really envy you! And I miss you...
She paused and sighed before resuming...
-I have to go Alicia, an emergency at the office! Bye, talk to you!
-Talk to you, Sarah! Take care of yourself!
Alicia hung up the call and looked at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. If only Sarah could see her like this, she would be sure that she didn't have a king's salary, insurance to cover most of her expenses, or the benefits she was making up... Her face was exhausted. She had dark circles under her eyes and she had lost a lot of weight. She huffed in exasperation and prepared for bed. She showered and brushed her teeth, then went into her sisters' room to read them stories and put them to bed. Her mother was working overtime at the local bar to supplement the school money. Their lives were in chaos right now. She sat on the couch in the living room waiting for her mom while writing the next day's article, her online work. Then when her mother came home an hour later, she could finally go to bed, leaving the rest of the article for the next day. Frankly, she did not like her life... She had not stopped thinking about the Sheikh. On the contrary, he kept interfering in her thoughts every moment of the day. She hated herself for hurting him and cursed him for throwing her in the dungeon. She wondered if he was thinking about her and if he was getting better. Sometimes at any time of the day, she wondered what he was doing. She cursed herself for thinking about him when she was sure he had probably forgotten about her. But she couldn't help it. It was actually her first real kiss so she wasn't going to forget it... She would not forget this vacation, this incident, this day and even less the Sheikh!
- Sarai! I already told you not to speak when we are at the table! You are a princess... This kind of thing is not part of our education!
- But big brother, it's only during the dinner that I have the chance to see the whole family!
- Habdoul, don't scold her for so little! Aren't you interested to know what your little sister did with her day? Said the queen as a defense.
- The family meetings! That's what they're for, right? Mother, don't excuse your daughter's inappropriate behavior!
- Who is your little sister! And moreover, family meetings that you never attend! Lord, what have we done with my son?
Habdoul looked up at his mother and arched an eyebrow before clenching his jaw. It had been like this ever since the young woman left after his recovery. He didn't seem to care about his family anymore. He had become cold and sometimes arrogant. He argued with Habdil all the time and had become stubborn.
- I have to go. I have an important meeting...
He rarely came to eat at the table and when he did, he never stayed until the end of the meal. His mother, Queen Elizabeth, was sad. Habdoul suffered from her departure but preferred not to talk about it and hated her, especially since she had caused him to spend the whole month on his bed, cloistered between oxygen and medication! He had even forbidden the planting of oranges! Sometimes he seemed like a real tyrant. And Elisabeth felt bad for her son... He was engaged to Princess Alliah out of interest, a girl he hated because of her reputation as an easy woman. He took his duty as Sheikh seriously. If only he could admit that he missed the young woman, that he missed Alicia... But that was an impossible thing because he hated even hearing her name! The only prayer she always addressed to Allah was that Alicia would come back to Jaipur.
Months passed and nothing improved. On the contrary, the Sheikh had become even colder and was hardly seen anymore. Sometimes he agreed to see his mother or father. But this never lasted and did not bring any improvement.
- Habdil. I told you that you should marry Princess Chekinah!
- And why don't you marry her yourself? Stop trying to find me a wife! I already have one...!
- An American! Habdil, you're a prince! And princes marry princesses!
- You know something? You're getting on my nerves... I'll ask Sarah for her hand in marriage and I'll stand up in front of her family! And we'll get married and I'll see who'll stop me!
- Habdil, I promise you, if you do this, I will...
- You what? You what, big brother? You'll kick me out? You'll kill me... Anyway, it's better than putting up with your stubbornness and stupidity!
- Habdil! Control the way you talk to me! I'm your governor!
- AND MY BROTHER! My fucking big brother. You are supposed to want my happiness not to see me in sadness and grief! I don't understand you anymore! Where is my brother who would do anything to see us smiling and happy? These days you only hurt us... I am sorry MY SHEIKH, but I refuse to marry this princess! Thank you for giving me the courage to finally propose to her!
- Habdil, I...
- I'm not asking you to agree! I'm just asking you to welcome her properly when she gets here and to take part in the ceremonies. I'll take care of the rest!
As the door to his office slammed shut under his grandson's anger, Habdoul turned to his mother and father who were sitting nearby watching the scene...
- Try to reason with your son! If not, I will be forced to use my own means to force him to get rid of his illusions and marry Princess Chekinah!