Page 22 of His Scarlette Obsession
I’ve been so consumed by the idea of dressing her up for myself...I forgot what it would feel like to share her, and my jaw clenches, knowing that I only have myself to blame. I shrug off my jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. It’s so large on her petite frame that the sleeves swallow her hands completely.
She looks up at me in surprise, and I find myself issuing my second command for the evening.
“You are not to take this off at all costs. Understood?”
I shoot her one last warning look before turning my attention back to the guests that have lined up to greet us, and I can feel her confusion growing as they bow their heads and speak to me with deference. It seems she’s only aware of my reputation as a businessman, but not of my royal standing in Sharasa.
Ah, my poor innocent Scarlette.
Was that why she thought an engagement could provide her an escape clause?
Ambassador Farouk approaches us with a smile. “Your Highness, thank you for honoring us with your presence.”
“Ambassador Farouk.” Now seems as good a time as any to burst my Scarlette’s bubble, and I notice the ambassador’s eyes widening as I pull her close. For those of us from the Kingdom of Sharasa, such intimacy carries enormous weight...and consequences, depending on one’s intentions.
“This is my fiancée Scarlette Hood.”
The words prove too juicy to ignore, with gasps filling the hallway as the other guests inadvertently expose themselves to be shameless eavesdroppers. In only a matter of minutes, I expect the news to be all over the Internet and reported by every news channel.
Ambassador Farouk, on the other hand, is beyond elated.
What an honor, Your Highness!
What a privilege you have bestowed on this humble household, to be the first to welcome and celebrate your engagement!
Long live the future queen of Sharasa!
And of course, this has Scarlette paling and stammering, her confusion and panic evident as she fumbles for something to say.
“Ambassador, please...it’s not...” She looks at me as if asking for help, and I only gaze back at her with a raised brow. Where she sees trouble, I only see the truth, with Scarlette’s reaction as an entertaining sideshow.
Scarlette turns back to the ambassador. “Sir, if you could...we’re hoping...privately—”
The older man chuckles. “You have a great sense of humor, Ms. Hood.”
“O-Oh?”
“His Highness is one of the world’s most eligible bachelors,” Ambassador Farouk says with a respectful toward my direction. “Any news about his engagement is sure to spread like wildfire.”
“I’m just, um, concerned for Sheikh Qahari’s sake,” Scarlette says weakly. “I don’t want people to, er, look down on himbecause of our engagement. That’s why, I was thinking, it’s better that only few people know—”
Ambassador Farouk beams at her. “How kind and humble you are, Ms. Hood.”
Scarlette turns red. “No, I’m not. At all.”
“Your humility is refreshing, Ms. Hood. Indeed, it is becoming quite clear why our esteemed prince has chosen you to be his bride.”
“I’mnotyet—”
The ambassador chuckles again. “Ah, I finally understand.”
Scarlette sighs in relief. “I’m glad.”
“Everyone knows that royal engagements in Sharasa can only end with either a wedding or a beheading. And it will make a nice little joke, if you say that you are only marrying our prince to save your neck.”
Ambassador Farouk is still chuckling to himself when he finally takes his leave, and to my Scarlette’s credit, she has the patience and wisdom to wait until I have led her away from the rest of the crowd—
“You lied to me!”
