Page 29 of The Sheikh's Matchmaker Bride

They spent a while walking, and the conversation drifted to details of the wedding and the kinds of things which still needed doing.

Then Nadyah left, giving Aliyah one last reassuring hug and a look that said that if Aliyah didn't follow through on their talk about Shahid, there might just be some serous consequences.

Once her friend was gone, Aliyah tried to figure out her reaction to what Nadyah had just told her. Could it be true? Had she completely misjudged Shahid's intentions? Had that entire episode at the beach simply been a meaningless, trivial flirtation on Shahid's part?

Aliyah felt a sinking sensation in her middle at the thought that she'd been naive, that she'd madea fool of herself. Could it be that everything he'd said to her in the garden had been a lie? Maybe she'd been a fool. Perhaps everything he'd made her feel at the beach had been based on a complete misunderstanding on her part. How could she have been so stupid?

Now she understood why he'd just brought her home and dismissed her as if she was just another failed conquest. Maybe that was all she was as far as he was concerned. That thought seemed so unlikely, and yet it still hurt her, still caused something to tighten inside her.

Aliyah made her way back to her room. As she closed the door behind her, she felt indignation twist in her middle. She leaned back against the door and gazed up at the slowly revolving ceiling fan. She felt her jaw tighten and she drew in a sharp, deep breath, desperately trying to calm herself.

How dare Shahid play her for a fool, just like he'd done so many times when they'd been younger. Back then, Aliyah had known it was just fun, simply a childish teasing, nothing malicious.

Just friends. Maybe that was all they were now. Friends. Not potential lovers.

Memories of the past drifted into her mind. Back then things had been so different. Then, there hadn't been the promise of connection, the temptation of a deeper, more serious relationship. Back then, she had been different. Shahid had been different. Things had been so much simpler. Maybe that was what she had to do now. Re-establish the rules that had kept them being friends.

But there was a difference now.

Aliyah had convinced herself of something that now seemed naive. She'd told herself that she and Shahid were changed people, that they were both grown-up, mature.

Different. And, because of that, the feelings she felt for Shahid were somehow real. Authentic.

How could she have been so stupid?

She had fooled herself into buying into the lie.

Yet again, a surge of irritation coursed through her.

Had he lied to her? Even worse. Had Aliyah lied to herself?

She refused to believe that, rejected all notions that she could have opened herself up to him only for him to crush her heart.

Because, right now, that was what she was feeling. Crushed. Utterly and completely let down.

She tried to calm her emotions because she needed to decide what to do about this; what she could do about this.

She had a decision to make and the prospect of what could happen if she made that decision triggered an anxiety that took her by surprise. But, she forced herself to think, pushed herself to face the truth, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how bad it made her feel.

It came down to one simple choice.

Either she could let Shahid continue to play with her emotions, let him toy with her just as he did with so many other women. That way promised pleasures. She knew that, felt the temptations claw at her, teasing her with barely resisted fantasies. But, she wasn't about to become just another one of Shahid's casual conquests.

The other option was just as clear in her mind. She could face him down, call him out, demand answers, wrench the truth from him, once and for all.

And then what?

Either way, it meant she would get the truth. And, once she had that, she knew she could move on, even if it meant there was a possibility that in doing so she might have to be without Shahid.

And, at that moment, as she stood there, fists clenched, determination burning in her like never before, Aliyah knew that, just as so many times in the past whenever Shahid had tried to play with her emotions, there was only one thing she could do.

Face him down.

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