Emerald St. Clair's POV

Two days. It had been two days since Al-Farsi left for Saqr for a matter that needed his urgent attention. I couldn't blame him since he was about to be the king of the nation.

I was back in New York for my last photo shoot of the week. As we agreed back in Italy, before he left that night via his private plane, he would meet me up here for our date.

My heart constricted. I missed him terribly. I missed him annoying me at every opportunity he had while I avoided his company at all costs. Now it seemed that I was craving his presence which was absurd because he was still the same Khalil Al-Farsi that I hated before.

I couldn't help but wonder when he would be free from his obligations in his country and be free to fly back here.

I looked back at my phone. There was no message or phone call from him. It's not as if I am tempted to call him. Don't get me wrong, he had called me in the past two days when he had the opportunity. We often speak for lengthy times during the night, like teenagers talking about random stuff, despite a huge time difference.

If I had to be honest with myself, I missed hearing his deep voice over the phone. I sighed deeply. I feel like a teenager once again because of him.

Not liking where my thoughts were heading, I tossed my phone back to the table while the makeup team was busy preparing me for the shoot.

"Problem, Miss Emerald?" I looked at the concerned face of the makeup artist through the reflection in the mirror.

I tried to give him a reassuring smile. "I am fine."

"You keep checking on your phone every ten seconds," he remarked conversationally.

It took every ounce of my self-control not to show the shock on my face. Was I that obvious? "Really? I didn't notice."

Now that he mentioned it, I was once again tempted to check my phone. But I held myself in check and stopped myself from reaching for it.

It took a whole two minutes before I couldn't wait any longer and reached for my phone and unlocked it. I noticed that the makeup artist had this knowing smile on his face, so I pretended to search the web for anything, just so they would know that I was not waiting for a text or phone call, as they initially thought.

So, I typed his name in the search bar. Seconds later, his images filled my screen. My heart skipped a beat seeing his familiar face looking cold and distant in most of the photos.

But there was a particular picture of him, and a familiar woman uploaded a few hours ago on a gossiping site that caught my attention.

"What the..." Anger filled my whole being. My pretend boyfriend and the princess the Saqr council wants him to marry were pictured together at a formal event at the palace of Saqr.

The woman was not even in his arms, just standing next to him when the photo was snapped, but it didn't lessen the fury that bubbled inside me right that moment.

I found myself gripping my mobile too tightly. And the realization hit me with force. I groaned silently.

I am fucking jealous!

I am jealous of that princess when Al-Farsi is not even my real boyfriend. We're just pretending to be in a relationship to stop Granddad's sly manipulation of me.

Now I am caught up in my own game, mixing up charade and reality. I don't have the right to become jealous, I reminded myself silently. I don't want to be hurt in the end, just like I was eight years ago.

Have you not learned your lesson before, Emerald? He was the same man who broke your heart at sixteen.

I closed the article, not having the stomach to read it even though it was written in English instead of in their native language.

My trail of thoughts was interrupted when someone from the crew dragged me out of my reverie.

"Excuse me, Miss Emerald." I momentarily opened my eyes to meet her gaze through the vanity mirror in front of me.

"Yes?"

"Someone is looking for you," The woman giggled like a schoolgirl. "He's very handsome."

"Who is it?" I asked. Suddenly, I became very curious.

"I think he's your suitor." The woman answered. "If you don't want him. I want him."

My heart leaped in my chest. I only know one man who can have such reception from women. Is he here? Maybe he wanted to surprise me, that's why he didn't bother to tell me about his arrival.

The ready smile on my face instantly vanished when I saw the familiar man with a topknot in his hair, but unlike Daniel's family dinner, he was now sporting a bit of facial hair that made him look like more of a bad boy. "You! What are you doing here?"

He grinned at me as if enjoying my stunned reaction. He had a bouquet in his hand with my favorite flowers.

Granddad...

"For you," he offered the bouquet. I was about to refuse, but I didn't want to be rude in front of these people and embarrass him despite my annoyance at seeing him there.

"Thank you," I said stiffly as I took the offered flowers. There was not much that I could do with it, especially when everyone was looking at us with interest. Even the fashion director for the photo shoot was watching nearby.

"Who is he, Miss Emerald?" one of the staff asked with unveiled interest.

I looked at Ryker Creed for a moment as I formulated my answer. It seemed that he was aware of my hesitation, so he took matters into his own hands and introduced himself in front of this crowd.

"Hello," he said loud and clear. My heart was pounding in my chest while giving him a warning glance. I gave him a do-not-do-something-stupid look, but the devil ignored it. "I am Ryker Creed. I am Emerald's fiancé."

"Are you somehow related to the Creed family from the Hamptons?" one of the staff asked.

"Yes."

A collective gasp echoed inside the studio at his announcement. Seriously, I want to bash his head against the wall and let him bleed to death.

"You are engaged?" the very stunned makeup artist asked me.

"Uh--" I was lost for words. I threw a deathly glare at Ryker, who was just smiling pleasantly in my direction.

"Where's the ring?" the makeup artist said, shooting a glance at my ringless finger. "I expect it to have an enormous rock because you're marrying a Creed, after all!"

I frowned at them while glancing at Ryker's smiling face. "Well, you see, it's only an arranged marriage--" I started.

"Don't worry," Granddad's pawn answered suavely, ignoring my venomous glare. "I will buy my fiancée the world's most beautiful engagement ring."

Everyone inside the studio sighed with envy while I nearly snorted at his dramatic speech. I directed my gaze at him, hoping to send him away as soon as possible. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

He beamed at me. "I am here to pick you up."

"What?" I was bewildered at his answer. The last time I checked, I made it clear to him that I opposed this engagement and that we should move on with our lives. Hadn't I introduced my fake boyfriend to him during Daniel's family dinner?

So, where's your fake boyfriend? A devious voice inside my head asked. The thought made me more irritated than I already was. Here I am, missing that dirty-mouthed, soon-to-be king of Saqr being away from him for just two days.

"This photoshoot might take hours," I warned him, hoping that he might decide to leave. "I am sure you have tons of things to do today."

He gave me a wide smile, but it was more of a smirk, in my opinion. "Oh, I am free. I intend to procrastinate today."

It took every ounce of my self-control not to let my jaw drop. This guy doesn't understand my subtle way of telling him that I don't want him here without being rude to other people. Is he dense or something?

"Don't worry," I heard him, adding with a victorious tone. "I will wait for you until your shoot is done." He moved forward to where I was sitting on the makeup chair. My eyes widened when I saw him lean down and whisper something in my ear. "I think it's time for you to spend some time with me since I have already let your boyfriend take you away for a few days in Italy."

I scowled at him. "I have a job there! It was not a vacation."

"I understand," he nodded solemnly. "Well, good thing he's not around to guard you like a dog. I think it's high time to get we get to know each other."

"Now see here, you--" I gave him a cold look, hoping he would freeze this instant.

"Are you going to flirt with that guy all day, or can we start the shoot? You are wasting all of our time here in case you don't notice, Em."

I gritted my teeth when I heard the familiar irksome voice of Dylan McCord. I saw even Ryker's playful character turn serious and deadly, looking at the current face of a very well-known clothing brand. Even though he has a face that makes girls swoon at the sight of him, I hate him because he thinks highly of himself, and he's narcissistic with his looks and well-built physique.

The first time I worked with him, he didn't waste his time using his charm on me, thinking I was one of those girls who fell for his smile. Of course, he couldn't accept that I turned him down. Since then, he has kept on bothering me.

"...Emerald?" I heard the fashion director inquire.

"Sorry about that," I smiled icily in Dylan's direction, standing from my chair. "Let's start the shoot now. I don't want to waste everyone's precious time."

Everyone started doing their designated tasks, and within minutes I found myself standing next to the bothersome Dylan at the white backdrop in the middle of the studio with the lighting focused on us.

The photographer tried to shoot a few trial photographs and adjusted the lights while discussing something with the shoot director.

"Way to go, Em," I heard the sarcastic voice of Dylan while standing behind me with his hand resting on each side of my waist. "You have a new boy toy with you. What happened to the hot-headed Arab guy who threatened me back in Italy? Got tired of him?"

"Shut up!" I hissed at him. "I don't owe you any explanation."

I leaned into his embrace as the photographer started taking photos of us. Honestly, I hate his touch, but for the sake of this photoshoot, I need to pretend that I love his touch since we're supposed to look like we're in love with this clothing brand.

"I think you should date me instead," he murmured in my ear as we changed our pose from time to time.

"Can we just focus on our work and save the chitchat for later?" I looked at him placing my arms around his neck while smiling at him tightly.

"Of course," he said, leaning down until our faces were only inches apart. "If you agree to have coffee with me after."

I smirked at him, throwing a nod in Ryker's direction. Who would have thought that Granddad's pawn would come in handy? "I'm sorry. He already has that reservation."

I threw a victorious smile when I saw his face form into a scowl, and the photographer scolded him for that.

"Sorry," he mumbled, glancing at the photographer for a moment.

"Focus, guys," the middle-aged photographer reminded us critically.

For the next few hours, we spent our time posing in front of the camera, outfit after outfit. I tried to look at Dylan as if he was the most handsome man on earth while posing with him.

People claimed that we had chemistry together, but the thought was so repulsive to me. God, this man was nothing but a pompous ass. The reason why people might think that we have chemistry together is that we're good at acting.

Finally, the shoot has ended. I saw Ryker was patiently waiting for me at the far end of the studio, and I couldn't miss the way some female staff were throwing him flirtatious glances. I have to admit that he is handsome, more so than an average guy, but...

"Are you done?" he asked me once the crew started to pack up.

"Yes."

"Coffee?"

I looked at him for a moment. "You're not giving up, are you?"

"Nope," he smirked at me.

I sighed deeply. This guy was a stubborn one. What do you expect from a man who was working for Daniel? I couldn't help but wonder who my grandfather managed to convince for this engagement. He doesn't seem like the type of guy who would just agree with that cunning old man without something in return.

Well, this might be a good chance to uncover their secret. I looked at my phone only to see that there was still no phone call or message from Al-Farsi.

I smiled at him pleasantly. "Fine. Let's have coffee together."

He gave me a self-mocking smile. "Uh-oh. Should I be scared of your smile? I think I just got goosebumps."

I removed my makeup and changed my clothes before going to the nearest coffee shop with Ryker Creed.

I ordered an Iced Americano and a slice of cheesecake. I think I deserved it after a busy week at work. We sat at the vacant table near the glass window. I secured the ball cap on my head that acted as my disguise since the last thing I wanted was to be photographed with this man by the paparazzi.

"I don't know if I should feel hurt that you don't want to be seen with me in public," Ryker commented, sipping his coffee.

I could see that he was only teasing me. The playfulness was back in him. "Trust me. You don't want to be tabloid fodder."

"If that means I can be with you. I don't think I'll mind."

I gave him a dry look. "Keep flirting with me like that, and I assure you that my boyfriend will bury you six feet under the ground."

He chuckled lightly. As usual, he commanded the attention of the girls, just like Al-Farsi. "Don't remind me of that murderous fellow. I still have nightmares about his deathly stare."

That made me smile. "So, may I know the real reason why you are suddenly seeking me out?"

He sipped his coffee for a moment before staring deep into my eyes. "I want to invite you to my parents' anniversary this weekend."

I shook my head. I already made plans with Al-Farsi since we're going on a date once he flies back here. "I don't think--"

"Don't reject my offer," he cut me off when I was about to decline him.

"But..."

"Think about it," he persisted with a grin.

I exhaled a loud breath. I glanced at my mobile, which remained silent on the table. "Fine. If I don't have plans for the weekends, I will come with you."

Ryker smiled broadly in my direction. His blue eyes twinkled with delight. "Great. Looking forward to it, my dear fiancée."

This. Is. Trouble.