Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Malik jerked in his seat, and a cry of horror escaped her.
That word...was forbidden. That word...shouldn’t have been uttered this early. But now that it was, there was nowhere to go, nothing that could undo the devastating truth screaming at them in the silence—-
“I’m sorry,” Vanna whispered.
But it was too late, and neither of them could close their eyes to what they knew.
Most people waited a lifetime to find the one meant for them – and they were the lucky ones. But then there were the others, people who never had to wait, people who had just known, soulmates who had found their way to each other before destiny could make up its mind about them—-
Just because you knew someone was meant for you didn’t make that person yours.
Malik lowered his head. “I’ll leave first thing tomorrow.” He had no choice. He wanted a lifetime of tomorrows that he would always look forward to, and for it to happen, he had to risk forever and let go of today.
Six years ago
The staff cheered wildly as the television cameras swung to the finish line to show the race’s moment of victory. The camera zoomed in, and Malik’s handsome face filled the screen. More screams and applause filled the palace’s viewing room, and as news traveled of the young sheikh’s victory, so did the cheers. The chef and his helpers at the kitchen, the head gardener and his apprentices at the back of the palace, and even the officials in a closed-door meeting at the war room had taken a break to celebrate the young sheikh’s triumph.
Hail Sheikh Malik for bringing honor to the Kingdom of Ramil!
People began embracing each other, men clapping each other’s backs, women jumping for joy, and yet in the midst of this euphoria, a fourteen-year-old girl looked like she was about to cry. Altair was the first to notice this, and he briskly made his way to her. He touched her head, and she looked up at him with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Malik won,” she said brightly. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
He paid no attention to the words, knowing they were but a way to disguise her true feelings. “What’s wrong?” he asked grimly.
Kyria bit her lip. “Nothing.”
“There can’t be nothing when you look like that.” A torn expression appeared on her face, and he said gently, “If you don’t tell me, I’d have to call Malik—-” Kyria could be surprisingly obstinate when she wanted to, but they all knew how much she adored his younger brother. Whatever Malik wanted, Kyria would strive to do.
Horror filled the young girl’s face at the threat. “You mustn’t!”
Altair’s turned into puzzlement at Kyria’s reaction. “What’s wrong, Kyria? Do you not trust me to help you?”
“Of course I do, but...” She bit her lip again. “You must promise me first you won’t tell Malik about it. Or anyone who could tell Malik.”
He nodded, knowing Kyria would be satisfied with it. Only a fool would doubt the word of Altair Al-Atassi, and his baby sister certainly wasn’t one.
“It’s just that...” The girl started wringing her hands. “I know this may sound crazy, but I think...” She took a deep breath and then blurted out, “I don’t think Malik’s happy being away from Ramil.”
“I see.” The sheikh’s face turned expressionless. Poor baby brother, Altair thought. It only showed how much Kyria cared for Malik that she would realize such a thing, but it also showed how different Kyria’s feelings were from whatever Malik felt that she didn’t fully understand what she was seeing.
Malik had only been racing professionally for a year, and he had already won most of the world’s major races. Although the prize money he won was a mere drop in the bucket compared to his personal fortune, the accolades and fame that came with every victorious race was nothing to scoff at. With analysts already predicting he’d be the youngest jockey to gallop his way to a Hall of Fame induction, companies had been sending out proposal after proposal to the palace, all of them clamoring to have the sheikh as the ambassador of their brand. And if Khalil, their half-American cousin, was to be believed, the women who were after Malik literally numbered in the hundreds.
And yet...it was as Kyria said.
Malik Al-Atassi was the most miserable bastard on the planet, but it wasn’t because he was away from home. It was because he was away from her.
“Do you miss him?”
“Of course.” There was no hesitation in the manner she answered, and the look that she directed at him was odd, as if Kyria couldn’t understand why he would even need to ask such a question.
“And do you want him back here?”
This time, even Kyria’s good manners weren’t enough to keep her from frowning. “Why are you asking these questions, Altair? Of course I want him back. He’s our brother.”