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Zafir, she decided, had paid enough all his life for Behraat He wouldn’t lose her to it too; whether he knew it or not, he had her

And just like that, she felt a little in control of her life again

So what if she chose the social engageirls’ education rather than spending another afternoon with the old shiekha and Johara—ore a brittle smile on her face while the old wo him a murderer to Lauren’s face

Lauren however didn’t er wo personal That she had married the man who had usurped their son and husband respectively was bad enough But that she was also an Anant on top of it was a pill they just couldn’t s

When the old wo about Zafir’s mother, Lauren had walked to the door, called Ahuests out and returned to her bedroom

That whole day, she had spent thinking of Zafir’saway every tie and living in shame with a man who hadn’t even married her

Had she loved Rashid so much then?

If only she could spend an evening with Zafir, just the two of the in teeks was not petulant, she’d told Farrah who refused to stick her head into anything remotely marital

The nu which they saw each other and sed tords didn’t count

Neither did the nights when he caht, sometimes even at dawn

The first night, three days after they had returned, Lauren had seen him earlier at a state dinner She had worn a royal blue creation with long sleeves and a conservative cut that didn’t declare her pregnancy blatantly A Russian oligarch, as interested in investing unholy amounts of money in Behraat, who apparently was very fond of New York City, was the guest of honor

He hadThe ered far too much over her body but Lauren had just smiled and nodded

And none of it had escaped Zafir’s notice