Frantically, she tried to pull herself together, speak the words that would restore sanity. ‘I can’t.’
His grip tightened. Imperceptibly. But she felt it. And she saw the cold withdrawal in his eyes before he freed her.
Turning, he strode to the bar set on the far side of the elegant living room, and poured a shot of amber liquor. Throwing it back, he rolled the side of the glass over his lips before he set it down with a sharp click.
Slowly he strolled back to her. Despite the steady, unhurried pace, Allegra’s spine tingled with dread.
‘Are you prepared to lose everything you’ve spent your life building without due consideration?’ he enquired casually, his balled fists sliding into his pockets.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I’m talking about your foundation. Your freedom.’
Ice-cold fear climbed into her throat. ‘My freedom?’
‘Once the disappearance of the box is discovered, you can be assured charges will be brought.’
Allegra gasped. ‘You said you didn’t give a damn about the box,’ she muttered through frozen lips.
A hard light momentarily gleamed in his eyes. ‘I don’t. But there are others who do. It wasn’t just a personal possession you stole. Before my mother died, she expressed a wish to have her collection made a national treasure, to be displayed in the Dar-Aman National Museum upon her death. My father could never bring himself to honour that wish.’ His face tightened for a moment before his features neutralised. ‘As Dar-Aman’s ruler, the collection is now mine. I’ve had my hands full with other matters of state to get it done. But my mother’s wish is one I intend to honour in the coming months. The theft of such a treasure is an offence punishable by a lengthy prison term.’
Panic clawed through her. ‘And how does marrying you change my fate?’
He shrugged. ‘As my queen you’d have to answer to no one. The box can be my wedding gift to you. Marry me, and your grandfather need not lose his precious keepsake. Your foundation will continue to thrive, free from the scandal that could see all your hard work turned to dust overnight. My people won’t have to suffer the consequence of the scandal of an illegitimate child. And most importantly, our child won’t suffer the stain of being called illegitimate. He or she will be my true heir, with an unchallenged birthright.’
The calculated way he enumerated his wishes chilled her soul. On the one hand, she knew he was offering her personal salvation and a safe start to her child’s life. And yet, looking at him, seeing no softness in Rahim, her heart dropped to her stomach.
Was this to be another failure to add to her ever growing list? In the hours since Rahim had left her alone, she’d tried to convince herself she could do this alone, if need be. After all, millions of women had succeeded, hadn’t they? But now Allegra realised that she hadn’t really believed herself. What she’d hoped for was a sign that Rahim would be willing to undertake this journey with her, not out of duty but because a part of him, no matter how small, wanted this child too. Looking at him now, fresh doubts flooded her.
Her parents had provided legitimacy and the occasional bout of twisted affection and nothing much else. Allegra knew the fierce glow that burned within her each time she thought of the child growing in her womb was a different emotion to what she’d experienced as a child. It was even different from what she felt for her siblings.
It was deeper, and fiercely intense. One that she would lay down her life to protect.
But would it thrive in an atmosphere filled with recrimination? Like her parents, would that love eventually become distorted once she accepted a ring from a man she barely knew? A man whose sole reason for being here was duty?
‘Allegra.’
She looked at Rahim. ‘Was this why you left? To make this cold and calculating plan?’
His face hardened further, drawing a shiver from her. ‘Our marriage won’t be cold and calculating. Only the planning and execution of it.’
‘Is that supposed to reassure me?’
‘You’re a pragmatist, Allegra. Same as I. We are faced with a situation and we have to find the best way forward. This is the only way forward.’
No mention of love. No mention of hearts and roses. Allegra told herself it wasn’t what she’d expected anyway. She didn’t fool herself for a moment into thinking Rahim would feel the same newly discovered love she felt for the baby growing inside her.
But even as the alien hurt lodged itself in her chest, she forced herself to think past it. She reminded herself that to Rahim she was a stranger. Yet he was willing to tie himself to a woman he’d had a one-night stand with for a lifetime. Even if it was just for the sake of their child, it was a huge sacrifice. One she couldn’t dismiss out of hand.
And as calculating as it seemed, perhaps she was better off halving the risk of failing as a mother with Rahim by her side rather than not. He had known a better childhood than her...could perhaps even find affection for his child once it was born...
The endless darting thoughts ground to a halt when his hands jerked out of his pockets and he stormed forward. ‘Allegra...you do want this baby, don’t you? You haven’t changed your mind?’ The question fired from him, white-hot and bullet sharp.
Seeing the lethal tension spiking higher by the second, Allegra swallowed. Surely if he felt this strongly and was still concerned about what her decisions were about this child they hadn’t planned, then it was a good start?
‘I haven’t changed my mind, Rahim. I want this baby.’ The belief that she could make this work settled deep inside her.
He exhaled, the tension slowly draining out of him. Then he nodded. ‘Good,’ he gritted out.
Although she accepted rationally that she couldn’t hold it against him, a tiny part of her soul still withered at the matter-of-fact way he’d set the course for the rest of their lives.
Allegra had pushed any thoughts of settling down far out of her mind when she realised she wouldn’t be mother or wife material a long time ago. But there’d been times as a child when she’d dream of her fairy-tale prince.
Rahim Al-Hadi was as regal and princely as they came. But she knew this was as far from her childhood fairy tale as she could get. She’d taken all the wrong turns to get to this destination.
And while she was being offered a chance to make the best of a bad situation, what exactly did being the wife of a sheikh entail?
‘I won’t stop my work with the Di Sione Foundation.’ That was non-negotiable, notwithstanding her actions having placed her career and any future good she’d hoped to do in a precarious position. Her foundation work had been her saviour when every other aspect of her existence had been a grey wasteland. She had her child to think of now, but her work was equally as important.
He nodded. ‘Of course. I’ve appointed a few more women ministers in the past month. I hope you’ll work with them to see to it that Dar-Amanian women achieve the same rights as their male counterparts?’
Allegra felt her eyes widen. ‘You’ve done that already?’
He
