King Malik surprised him again by putting his hand on Cade’s shoulder. “You have done well and I am pleased.”
Words that shouldn’t have mattered, yet somehow eased a tiny fraction of the gaping hole inside his heart.
“Thank you.”
With that, Malik walked back to his car, nodded at his driver and got in. Seconds later, they were gone.
Cade stared after them wondering what on earth had just happened. Malik had flown halfway around the world for a ten-minute visit? He hadn’t even spoken to Bethany—there hadn’t been time.
He started toward the house, only to realize that if she hadn’t left with her father, she was still here. He stopped outside the back door, not wanting to go inside, yet wanting to see her. Only he couldn’t want that because the Bethany he’d known, the Bethany he’d started to care about, wasn’t real.
He’d understood Lynette was vain and selfish, but he’d told himself her love for him would overcome all that. He’d ignored the problems in their relationship, her willingness to sleep with him without ever talking about the future. He’d assumed she would grow up a little and see they belonged together, and he’d been wrong.
In hindsight, he’d been lucky to escape as easily as he had. If she hadn’t dumped him, he might have been tempted to hang around and try to change her mind. What a disaster if he had.
But with Bethany, everything was different. He knew her. Knew she was a hard worker, knew she was kind and funny and determined. She was fearless, affectionate and it had all been a lie.
Maybe not all of it, but enough. He had no idea which parts of her were real and which were just a game—the princess playing at being like everyone else.
He walked into the house and found her waiting in the kitchen. She’d dressed in jeans and a T-shirt—her usual work uniform. He took in the thick braid, the big blue eyes and felt a stabbing sensation in his gut. He wanted to tell himself he’d gotten off easy a second time, that his luck was holding, but he knew better. Forgetting Lynette had taken a couple of weeks and then he’d been over her. With Bethany it would take longer. Possibly several lifetimes.
She stood with the kitchen counter between them. She placed her hands on the worn tiles—hands that were almost as strong and scarred as his own.
“I’m sorry,” she began. “I want to be clear that I’m not going to say I didn’t mean to lie to you. Of course I did. I came here as Beth Smith. I didn’t want you to know who I was. I didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Everyone has fun in her own way.”
She flinched. The movement was small, but he caught it. Caught the intake of breath, as if he’d hurt her. He tried to find pleasure in that, and couldn’t. Instead he wanted to go to her, pull her close and tell her he was sorry. That they would figure it out. Only he knew that forgiving her would begin a spiral from which he would never escape. Better to let her talk, then send her packing.
“It wasn’t for fun,” she told him. “From my perspective, it was for survival.” She hesitated. “At the risk of playing the ‘poor little princess’ card, it’s not easy being in my position. I’m an American at heart, living in El Bahar as the daughter of the king. I straddle both worlds and I don’t do it well. I love my family but I want more from life than an arranged marriage and having babies. The problem is there are limitations to what I can do as Princess Bethany.”
Her expression turned pleading. “Imagine how things would have been different if I’d come here as her. You wouldn’t have talked to me or let me stay at the house. You would have treated me differently.”
He wanted to say that wasn’t true, but it was. He wouldn’t have teased Princess Bethany or taken her to dinner with his family. He wouldn’t have kissed her or...
“You lied,” he said, more to distract himself than accuse her.
“I did.” She continued to hold his gaze. “I’m sorry about that. I was wrong, but I’m not sure I could have made another decision.” She drew in a breath. “I like being plain Beth Smith. I like being the same as everyone else.