“You mean…? But you…and he couldn’t be…” Her stuttering came to a halt before she burst out. “I can’t let you do this, not for me. You may regret giving up so much, and I can’t-”
“It’s giving you up that would have been giving up my very life. Kamal will be the future king. He is probably more suited for the role than I am. And he’s unattached, so marrying Aliyah should be no problem for him. I and Farooq will still be princes, second and third in line, and we’ll go on as before, ensuring Judar’s greatness and the region’s stability.”
At her continuing objections he placed a finger on her lips. “I’ll never regret my decision, ya mashoogati. My only regret is and will remain ever hurting you, losing your faith, if even temporarily. It almost killed me, to see you in such pain, pain I inflicted, to feel you breaking up inside, drifting away from me where I felt I may never reach you again. You’re the one I was born to love, the one my heart was made to beat for. You awakened me to a world I never dreamed existed, you saved me, ya farah rohi, joy of my soul, and you own me.”
She threw herself at him, murmuring incoherencies, covering him in kisses and reciprocations. And he stood, taking it all, showered, taken, blessed.
Then it was time to let in the outside world. Only because he believed she needed it to complete her healing.
He turned to the others who’d been watching them all along.
“This will work out for the best,” he said to the troubled but clearly resigned king. “Kamal is a far better statesman than I am.”
The king gave a harsh bark. “You’re letting your brother, the region’s most uncontainable force, enter a union with my nie…my daughter, the region’s most volatile entity, and you’re promising me the best results? If there’s anyone who can make the Aal Shalaans rue their machinations and the Aal Masoods regret succumbing to them, it’s those two.”
Shehab laughed, dropped a kiss on Farah’s alarmed mouth. “Maybe they’ll be exactly what the region needs.”
“Don’t you mean what it deserves?” the king scoffed, before approaching, bringing with him the still-weeping Anna and his highly moved sister.
“My daughter, forgive me for opposing Shehab’s pledges, but I was unaware of the depth of your involvement. I have to say I was alarmed when I saw this would lead to settling on the last Aal Masood brother…” He winced, as if settling on the devil would have been preferable in his opinion. “But now I’m only grateful Shehab has a spare heir, even if it is Kamal, so he can give you what you deserve, the best this life has to offer. In the time I thought of you as my daughter, I truly came to care for you. I hope now you’ll be my daughter’s selfah-sister-in-law-and by virtue of sharing a mother, her sister, that I’ll be in your heart as you are in mine.”
Farah gave a strangled sound and catapulted from Shehab’s hold to throw herself at King Atef, hugging him around the waist and sobbing, “I would have loved having you for a father. I k-know you’ll be in my heart…” She raised hesitant eyes to his. “And in my life?”
The stunned king groaned, hugged her back. “B’Ellahi, it would be a privilege and an honor, ya bnayti.”
At this point, Shehab feared Anna would collapse, or worse. He turned to her. “And I hope you’ll feel as enthusiastic about having me in yours, ya sayedati.”
The woman’s color became dangerous, her eyes never leaving Farah’s face as she stuttered. “Yes…yes, of course…”
He tugged at Farah, who’d stepped away from the king, murmured in her ear, for her ears only, “Make peace with the mother who loved you so much, she didn’t know how to love you. Guide her, ya habibati, like you guided me, in how to love, then take all the love that’s due to you.”
The flare of love and gratitude in her eyes was so pure, it was more bittersweet torment, his Farah’s specialty.
Then without further recriminations his magnanimous Farah swept her mother into her embrace. “I always wanted to make you proud and happy, Mom. I love you. You shouldn’t have struggled alone-you should have let me help you. And I will, from now on.” Anna burst into another weeping jag, and Farah soothed her, kissed her cheeks, hugged her more securely. “Don’t feel bad, Mom. It’s over. As for all the things I said, look how wrong I was. If not for you keeping silent, I wouldn’t have found Shehab, wouldn’t be happier than a human being has a right to be now. And I didn’t mean it, about Aliyah-uh, or I did only because I thought Shehab would marry her, not because she’s your real daughter. I hope she lets you, and me, be part of her life. I’d love nothing more than to have a sister.”
“Aliyah most certainly would love nothing more, too.” That was Bahiyah, smiling tentatively now. “She always wanted a sibling, namely a sister.”
“This means you’ll be my aunt.” Farah threw her arms around the woman, to Bahiyah’s delighted surprise. “I always wanted an aunt, too.”
The gathering soon moved to the king’s family room, where Shehab watched Farah winning over everyone around. And though he wanted nothing more than to sweep her away to be alone together again, he let them have as much as they wanted of her and she of them.
Hours later, the king had left and only Anna remained, getting acquainted with him and getting reacquainted with Farah. It was only when Shehab felt the mother/daughter relationship was on the path to true balance that he finally decided to bring the warm gathering to an end.
He bent to kiss his future mother-in-law’s cheek. “I would have insisted that you come with us now, but I know you are King Atef’s guest and have another daughter to forge a relationship with. When you’re ready to come to us, our home is yours.”
He bent to Farah, who was looking at him with her heart emblazoned on her face, and swept her up in his arms. “Now, pardon me. I need to take my bride-to-be home.”
An hour later, aboard his jet in their bedroom, Farah turned in his arms and whispered, “Is all this happening? I have you? And I will have my mother at last? And maybe a whole new family, too?”
He smoothed his hand lovingly down her back. “It’s all happening, the least that you deserve, ya malekat galbi.”
“You will translate every word in Arabic from now on. I want to speak it as soon as I can.”
He chuckled. “I promised to teach you everything you want. Malekat galbi means ‘ruler of my heart.’”