Page 99 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

Kareem gave a firm nod. “Good. He better. I like him and I don’t want to have to unlike him.”

That made me smile, which made Kareem look a little bashful. “I’m going to tell him,” I said.

“About me not wanting to unlike him?”

“No. About me…”

He went still. For an instant, he looked like he was going to try to convince me otherwise, but then he said, “Are you sure, Esmeralda?”

“He has a right to know, so he can decide if I’m worth the trouble if the truth ever came out.”

“There wouldn’t be trouble with the Change of Law Prince Arsh is proposing. It would protect you too. And if Kai thinks you’re not worth it, I’ll kill him.”

Neither statement was true, but I just smiled at Kareem and wished him good night as he finally got up and headed to the door. Only he turned back before he opened it.

“Esmeralda,” he said. “I didn’t agree to Prince Arsh’s proposal for the sake of him and Katiya.”

“I agreed for you.” His eyes bore into mine. “I won’t allow anyone to judge you for something that wasn’t in your control. I swear that to you on my life.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

ESMERALDA

I shed a few more tears after Kareem left me with his dramatic last statement. Then I washed up in the bathroom, wincing at the sight of my red, puffy face in the mirror, and changed into the black T-shirt I’d stolen from Kai and a pair of cotton pyjama shorts.

After my emotional outpour, I was relatively numb as I made my way out of my room. But the closer I got to Kai’s bedroom, the more I became aware of the quiet jitter of nerves in my belly.

I had never told anyone about the circumstances of my birth ever, not even my best friend, Mariyah. I didn’t even dare bring it up with Shehryar and Mama Katiya—both of whom knew about the whole thing—because I feared that talking about it would print the truth on my face and people would be able to tell just by looking at me. Impossible, but a fear was a fear.

It wasn’t as if I thought Kai would betray me and tell everyone if I confided in him, but I worried about his reaction. That was why I had decided to tell him sooner rather than later. Because if somewhere down the line Kai found about my illegitimacy and decided he wanted nothing to do with me, the damage to my heart would be irreversible. At least if I told him sooner, I had more of a chance of gluing some of the broken pieces back together.

At least that was what I was trying to tell myself.

Kai’s bedroom door flew open the moment I knocked, and the gorgeous man filled the doorway. There was a painful twist behind my ribcage as I took him in. From the sexy permanent shadow on his cleanly-shaven jaw to the perfect fit of his dark green hoodie and black cuffed pyjama bottoms.

I printed him into my memory from head to toe as if this was the last time I would get to see him like this.

Suddenly, he was right in front of me, hands cupping my puffy face and tilting it up. I was forced to stare into his ink black eyes behind his glasses. “Esmeralda,” he rasped with a sense of panic. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

I buried my face into his chest and snuck my arms around his back, clasping him as close as I could. His arms locked me against him instantly, his body curling all around me in a protective ball.

Please don’t be the last time I get to hug him. Please don’t be the last time I get to hug him. Please don’t be the last time I get to hug him.

“Was it Shehryar? Was it something he said?” I shook my head against him before one of his hands stroked up my back and tangled in my hair. “Then what was it? Tell me. Please, Babble. What made you cry? What can I do to make it better?”

Gosh, he so precious. It shredded me apart and flooded me with love for him, and if I needed any more evidence that losing him would break me, I gained it right then. It was solid enough to make me question whether I was really going to tell him the truth. But only for a moment.

I pulled my face back and Kai relaxed his hold enough to let me look up at him. I swallowed slowly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

His expression went blank, but I could feel the tension in his body. Without a word, he nodded and drew me inside his room by the hand, locking the door behind me.

There was an indent on his king-sized bed where he’d been sitting, a book on the bedside cabinet and his pillow resting up against the wooden headboard. He resumed his spot there, stretching his legs out, but when I tried to sit up next to him, he frowned at me. I gasped as he hauled me into his lap, making me straddle his thighs as he cradled me close.

“Why is it every time either of us has something to tell I end up on your lap?” I muttered with a light smile.

“Why shouldn’t you be on my lap?” There wasn’t a single doubt in the deep timbre of his voice.

That was meant to make me feel light and giddy but instead, a heavy stone sank through me. Would he still think so after I told him?

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