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CHAPTER ONE

SAND, sand and more sand

Her father couldn’t have sent her to a more remote place if he’d put her in a rocket and sent her to the moon And if that had been possible, no doubt he would have signed the cheque, Bella thought bitterly as she curled her bare toes into the coarse sand of the desert and stared across the stark landscape Coht as well be the moon Or maybe Mars The red planet

Why a retreat in the middle of the desert?

Why not a nice spa on Fifth Avenue?

‘Bella?’

Hearing her naave a ht

Reluctantly, she turned None of this was his fault, she reer and frustration out on him ‘Early start, Atif?’

He was dressed sis of the Arabian sun ‘I meditate before dawn’

Bella suppressed a yawn ‘Personally I prefer to startblack coffee’

‘You can find a better start to the day by feasting on what lies around you,’ the oldthe sunrise in the desert Don’t you find the peace soothing?’

‘Honestly? It’s driving , Bella reached for her phone and then re else that she needed to communicate with the outside world She tapped her eh and then looked down at her fingernails with distaste Given the choice between a coffee and a manicure, she would have opted for the manicure ‘Do you actually own this place?’

‘I ah When I am ready, I will move on’