PRESENT TIME...

Khalil Al-Farsi's POV

I looked at the woman in front of me with a grim smile on my face. I didn't know if I should feel happy that I had reminded her of how much she hated me in the first place.

Her words shouldn't have had any effect on me by now. For goodness' sake, it's been eight years since everything between us went straight to hell.

My mouth twisted with distaste. Looking at her now, I have realized that I may not have come as far as I thought. Her words still affect me.

I crossed my arms in the middle of my chest and looked at her straight in her expressive green eyes. "Why don't we have it out in the open, once and for all, Emerald?" I invited her to speak freely. "What went wrong with us?"

She scoffed rudely in my direction. "You have the nerve to ask me that, Al-Farsi? Seriously? You know damn well what went wrong. Don't play dumb."

I gritted my teeth together when years-old anger started to resurface from my strongbox. "Care to enlighten me, then? Because I only remember the anger I felt when you introduced me to your boyfriend two days after you stood me up for our second date, the following day after our trip to Coney Island."

She shrugged nonchalantly, silently telling me that it was not a big deal. Damn her for making me feel the same pain I had felt that day as if it only happened yesterday. "I don't have to explain anything to you. Dustin was my long-time suitor at that time, and I finally agreed to be his girlfriend. What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong?" I asked in a dangerously soft voice. I could feel the fury inside me like a beast that was trapped inside my body, remembering that fateful day I waited for her outside her prep school to demand an explanation as to why she didn't show up for our date when she came out of the school gate with her hand wrapped around some guy's arm. "How can you do that to me?"

"What did I do to you?" she snorted, rolling her pretty green eyes to me. A normal person in this country would never do that to me if he or she was afraid to be thrown inside a prison cell for being disrespectful to the king of this land.

But this woman is different.

She had so much effect on me that I would always overlook her whenever she insulted me on any occasion.

"You led me to believe that there was something special going on between us," I spat at her angrily. "How could you introduce that weakling to me as your boyfriend?"

She glared at me vehemently, her eyes snapping with fire. "I will throw your words back in your face, Your Highness. How could you let me believe there was something special between us when you didn't feel the same?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I was there," she answered, her eyes filled with hatred and anger. "I went to the Waldorf Astoria that Sunday morning to surprise you with breakfast..." Her face held a forbidding smile, probably remembering that day. "...but it was me who had the surprise of a lifetime when I saw you kissing a girl outside the hotel."

A frown marked my eyebrow as I tried to remember that day. I bit back a filthy curse when I suddenly recalled that scene. "Did you see that?"

"Yes," she smiled coldly in my direction, the kind of smile that gave her the reputation of the 'wintry maiden' in the fashion industry. The untouchable heiress of the St. Clair family.

"Let me explain that—"

She threw a wintry look at me. "Do you think that I need an explanation about it? Well, I don't. So, save your breath. I don't want to hear it."

"Emerald—"

"I don't want to hear it!"

I could feel the anger inside me, but I tamed it down. I don't want another confrontation with her. "What's with you and your pride? Why don't you just listen to my explanation?"

Her eyes held no emotion in their depth. I sighed deeply. She's not giving me an inch to explain my side. "There's no need for that. It's all in the past now. Thanks to you, I knew men shouldn't be trusted easily. They can say sweet words, and yet they don't mean it."

"But your long-time suitor became your boyfriend the following day." I pointed out dryly at her. "A little contradiction, don't you think?"

"What can I say?" She flipped her flaming red hair over her shoulder. "I am not the girl who will weep for you because you're nothing but a heartless bastard. Dustin made me forget our time together. He's a fun guy."

Something inside me twisted with her words. My jaw clenched from unjustified anger. "Dare to say his name again in front of me and you will surely regret it, Emerald."

She tucked her arms in the middle of her chest, raising an eyebrow in my direction as if challenging. "Do you think that will scare me? You're nothing to me but a bitter and distant memory that I had the misfortune of meeting."

I felt my hands fisted on my side. Looking at her now, she's still the most beautiful woman I have laid my eyes on. She has grown into a beautiful woman that she only promised at sixteen. I didn't know what kind of willpower I had mustered in the last eight years, seeing her and keeping my hands to myself.

But every patient has its limit and I have already reached mine. I could no longer keep this almost decade-old attraction I had with this red-haired, green-eyed beauty that I met when she was a teenager.

My God, she doesn't have any idea what kind of effort I had to pull during our date not to kiss her lovely lips or do inappropriate things with her because she's still a minor. I didn't want to end up in jail if I couldn't keep my hands from touching her.

My mouth twisted with disdain, remembering the time I saw her with her first boyfriend at that time. I couldn't help but think that it should have been me. That lucky bastard should have been me at her side. Holding her hands, kissing her lovely mouth, and most importantly, receiving those sweet smiles she'd been giving him. They should have been mine!

I took a deep breath. There's no use in dwelling on the past now. What matters now is the fact that fate has given me a second chance to be with her. Even though she still hates me for what happened in the past, I would not let her have the chance to escape me this time.

She's mine first. Whether she would deny it or not, it doesn't change the fact that she was already mine before some other guys managed to get her into a relationship. I'll be damned if I would let that happen again while being this close to her.

Then, there's a thing about her grandfather. I heard that he's on a mission to marry off his four granddaughters before this year ends. So far, three of them have succumbed to the demand of their grandfather, and only the last one remains unmarried.

There are only three months before the year ends. I looked at the last St. Clair heiress, who was left unwed. I am sure that Daniel St. Clair is already making his move to find this woman a husband—not that I would let that happen. Even if I need to have a deal with the devil, I would gladly do it.

There's no way in hell I would not do something and watch Emerald St. Clair get married to another man. In ancient times in Saqr, no one could deny the king the woman he wanted under the penalty of death. I would not mind implementing such a barbaric custom again just to get this woman.

I never wanted a woman in my life more than I wanted this woman in front of me right at this moment.

"Do you have anything else to say?" she asked, dragging me out of my reverie. "If there's nothing else, I'd like you to leave now."

I hid my smile. Does she know that I own the damn palace, not the other way around? She's giving me orders as if she's the one who owns it.

Before I had the chance to reply, a knock sounded in the doorway. "Come in."

A maid came inside with her eyes downcast. "Your Majesty, here are the items from the hotel you requested."

"Please leave them there."

The woman placed the luggage on the side and bowed before closing the door firmly behind her.

Emerald eyed the familiar luggage. "D-Don't tell me that's my luggage from the hotel where I am staying?"

"Yes, it is."

"How did you get it without my agreement?" Her eyes narrowed like a scalpel in my direction. "And who gave you permission to transfer my things without my consent."

I rolled my eyes. "You don't need to be mad at this small matter, habibti. You need your things while you're staying here at the palace. You can't wear a bathrobe all the time." I ran my gaze appreciatively up her body that was hidden behind the fluffy bathrobe. "Though I would prefer it that way, I cannot let other men see you like this. This kind of sight of you is for my eyes only."

"Shut the hell up! Keep your nasty thoughts to yourself, Al-Farsi," she said heatedly. I hid my smile when I saw the pink stain on her cheeks. So, she's not immune to me as I first thought. This is going to be interesting. "Don't worry. Once my team gets here, we'll go and book the soonest flight to New York. You don't have to see me ever again."

Not so fast, my love. "Was the photoshoot successful?"

She blew a loud breath. "Successful? Need I remind you that we were robbed and kidnapped in the middle of the shoot? Does that sound successful to you? Now millions of dollars of jewels are missing."

"Don't worry about those jewels. The authorities informed me that they've all been recovered from the thieves."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yes," I informed her with a smile. "If you want, you can discuss this with your team once they arrive here. I am offering you a chance to redo the photo shoot inside the palace to make up for the bad start you have in our country."

"Why?"

I shrugged indifferently. "Call it compensation for the trouble those thieves caused your production team while working in Saqr. To sweeten the deal, I will also ask the local designer to lend you dresses that you might need for the photo shoot."

Emerald's green eyes narrowed in my direction. "You will do that?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

"I don't want our country to leave a bad impression on our visitors," I answered honestly. And there's the fact that I don't have any plans of letting her leave this country any time soon. But I didn't bother to point that out to her. I'm sure she won't appreciate it for now. I would do anything to keep her here with me.

She was still looking at me as if she didn't trust a word I had said. Not that I blame her because my real intention was far less honorable than letting our country leave a bad impact on this American production team.

I smiled politely. "Do you agree?"

"I'll discuss this with my team," she said after a moment.

"Great," I said with much enthusiasm. "I will leave you alone to get dressed. I'll see you later. I have matters that need my urgent attention."

I was about to leave her room when I noticed her luggage. I was about to transfer it to her bed, so she didn't have to lift it by herself.

My heart stilled when my hand got in contact with hers and our faces were inches away from each other. I only had to lean forward and my lips would brush against hers. I swallowed hard, fighting the temptation that was so damn hard to resist.

It didn't help with my self-control when she slightly bit her bottom lip. I want to bite my lip with my teeth.

Damn it!

I could feel that something was awakening in my groin. Not a good idea. I need to leave before I lose all of my self-control with this woman. "I, uh, I...need to go."

I didn't wait for her reply and left her room almost immediately. I walked briskly through the corridors of the palace before I could listen to the devil inside me and went back to Emerald's room and kissed her senselessly.

I went to the east wing of the palace, where my private office was located. I needed to work. I needed a distraction to keep my mind off of that tempting woman. I don't know what madness possessed me to think I could be under the same roof with her and do nothing about this hunger I have had for her over the last eight years.

I found my own hands still shaking after such an encounter with that red-haired beauty. I smiled mockingly. This is how strong my attraction to her was, like a beast who was dying of hunger. Just the smell of my prey is making me lose my sanity.

I strode into my office and shut the door with a loud bang. I went to the table at the corner and I uncapped the bottled water. I grimaced until now, and my hands were still shaking. I drank the liquid in one swig, trying to tame the emotions inside me. I needed to calm myself, I told myself silently. I went to stand at the glass window and stared outside, taking a slow, measured breath.

"Your Majesty," I heard Omar come inside my office. "I've already arranged for the arrival of Princess Amina."

"Don't start with me, Omar," I warned the elderly advisor, still looking at the garden outside. "I swear, I will throw your ass in the dungeon without water and food for a few days!"

"But sire..."

I turned around to face him with a deathly glare. "I'm warning you. Not now."

"Is this about that American woman, sire?" the older man asked with displeasure on his face. "Need I remind you, sir? You cannot marry a foreign woman with no royal blood. Our law doesn't permit a king to marry such—"

"Dare to disrespect her in front of me and you will surely regret it," I moved closer to where he was standing and glared at him darkly.

He lowered his head. "Forgive me, sire. I didn't mean to insult the lady, but I am just stating the truth. You cannot marry such a woman. You can only offer her to be the king's mistress but not as queen of this country."

My face darkened as I grabbed his thobe with my hands. "Shut up! Before I cut your tongue. I will not hear this nonsense again. Are we clear?"

There was resentment in the advisor's dark eyes, but he didn't argue with me anymore. "As you wish, Your Majesty. The princess will be arriving within three days, sire."

I didn't bother to answer and left him alone in my office. I raked my fingers through my hair while walking through the palace corridors again. Before I realized what was happening, I found myself in the south wing of the palace again.

I abruptly stopped walking and went in the other direction towards the king's private quarters in the west wing of the palace. I need to have my attraction in check for Emerald.

A king's mistress... My mouth twisted with abhorrence. My Emerald is more than that! I will not let anyone insult her like that, or I will exile them to the desert and strip them of everything they have.

I went to my room and hit the shower to clear my head. I let the water drip to my body while resting my palm on the cold tile. No amount of power can take her away from me this time. I would do everything to keep Emerald St. Clair in my life. That's a promise.