Page 9 (1/2)

She shook her head, sending her tears splashing everywhere A few fell on his hands, felt as if they’d burned hiht she’d given defeat sound, she now gave desperation tone and texture “Don’t Judarians value only hter to a prince like you who surely wants only heirs?”

“So, first you dare to i born at all, and now that I’d discard her for being born feesture, beseeching his understanding, his ain threw herself in his path, but was shaking so hard she couldn’t even cling “I didn’t drea with the need to slake the accuer in that body that had deprived hi pleasure elsewhere He’d been unable to conte another after she’d walked out on hie-control measure when Tareq had rushed out and married the first woman to accept hiibility to rise to the succession once and for all, had asked his king, who couldn’t go back on the e-criteria decree, to stall everyone until he furnished irrefutable proof of Tareq’s perversions and cri that proof, but now he’d found Car the succession Not that he would let Tareq go unpunished Or Car her aas harder than anything he’d ever had to do Then he strode through the entrance she’d been guarding, went deeper into the apart through his flesh, her sobs constricting his lungs

He ignored the feelings, stopped before the door that he just knew had his daughter on the other side Then he turned

“Show hter, Carmen”

He had no idea why he asked her perave her that consideration when she’d shown hiently

That was for his daughter, he told hier polluting those first ical moments Children picked up on moods, deciphered tension between adults And he wasn’t poisoning herfear and anxiety in her life for any reason, was even willing to make peace with herI won’t havebeside me She’d forever linkeration “Cut theher impressionable psyche just to paint me black in her mind?”

“No, no…I’d never…never…” She alht, his hands around her rib cage, so close to the breasts that were now shuddering with emotion, that had once shuddered in his palms, beneath his chest in ecstasy She raised rabid eyes to his and wailed,

“Don’t take hter away…I’d die without her”

Three

Farooq stared down at Carmen for a stunned moment

He had heard about the power of tears before, had had them shed for his benefit on countless occasions, by both women andthe lioodwill But her tears…

Ya Ullah, hada mostaheel—it was impossible the way they affected hiht he intended to take her baby away

It was only in thiswhat he intended

He’d gotten the intel sixteen hours ago, had been on his fastest jet within an hour, had spent the time on the nonstop transcontinental, transatlantic haul seething with realizations and convictions Some of the latter had been of how an exploitative mother didn’t deserve to keep her child