Emerald St. Clair's POV

I submerged my body in the bathtub prepared by Naima. The woman claims that she's now my maid according to the brute king himself. I didn't argue with the woman since she was very nice to me from the moment I arrived here in the palace several days ago. She was also somewhat my informant on the gossip that swirled around the palace walls.

I pulled my hair on the top of my head in a messy bun, trying to find a solution to my problems. It seems to me that I caught myself between the devil and the deep blue eyes, and I can't do anything about it.

Daniel wants me to marry this man of his choosing. I have to admit that his unorthodox move caught me off guard. He's never been this aggressive when he's manipulating my sisters to get married without them realizing his devious plan.

Then, there's my dilemma with Al-Farsi. He promptly offered himself to be my pretend boyfriend in front of my family for a while. I knew he had a hidden agenda behind his proposed alliance.

I sighed deeply. So much for being positive that I could escape the same fate my weak sisters have suffered at the hands of our cunning grandfather. Now, how can I outwit Daniel when Al-Farsi joined the fiasco?

"Do you want me to wash your hair now, my lady?" Naima asked, entering the bathroom with her silent footsteps.

My eyes remained closed while trying to formulate my next move in this chess game I was playing with Granddad. "Maybe later. I'd like to stay here for a few more minutes."

"As you wish," she answered gently. "I will just change the covers of your bed, my lady. Just call me when you're ready for your bath."

"Okay."

She left me alone in the peacefulness of my bathroom. I need to relax and plan my next move very carefully because I am dealing with two devils at once.

"Naima?" I called after a moment. I want her to get my phone for me from my nightstand beside the bed. I want to call my twin and ask her about the developments in New York about Daniel's whereabouts. But she was not answering, so I called her once more. "Naima...?"

Still no answer.

Maybe she left my bedroom. So, I decided to get my phone myself. I stepped out of the bathtub with my wet feet, and by some stroke of bad luck, my feet went ahead of me causing me to slip on the marble floor, slightly twisting my right ankle in the process while landing my bottom on the floor with a thud.

"Shit!" I hissed as the pain in the lower part of my body intensified after my embarrassing fall. I tried to stand up, holding on to the edge of the tub to support my weight, but another curse escaped me.

"My lady, sorry I went out to get—" Naima's eyes widened when she saw the half of my body slumped on the marble floor. "—my lady!"

I tried to smile at her, but I ended up wincing in her direction because of the intense pain in my lower back and my right ankle. "Can you give me a hand? I can't seem to stand on my own."

The maid paled considerably at the sight of me. She took the unused towel on the bathroom countertop to cover my naked body.

"I will ask for some help, Lady Emerald."

She was about to leave me alone here when I grabbed her wrist lightning fast. "No. Please..." I bit my bottom lip. "I will be fine. Just help me move to the bed, and please don't tell this to anyone. Keep this a secret. I don't want commotion about this matter."

Naima's expression was troubled as she gazed down at me. "But the king—"

"Especially to him," I told her firmly. There's no way I would let him know about this accident. It's so humiliating. "Not a word to him."

The maid shook her head fiercely. She looked at me with horror in her dark eyes. "Forgive me, I cannot do that. If His Majesty learned that we kept this from him, I'm sure he'll have my head."

"He will do no such thing, I assure you."

Naima shook her head again. "You don't have any idea how scary the king is, my lady. He is the most feared man in the country, not just because of his title but because he's a ruthless and cold-hearted man. Even lawless criminals are afraid of him."

I stared at her for a moment, thinking if Al-Farsi was that intimidating man. Yes, the desert thieves who kidnapped and robbed us at gunpoint were damn scared of him when he rescued us, but I only assume at that time that they were terrified of him because he's some sort of royalty in this country but not frightening as a man.

Thinking about him now, I couldn't see how fearful he was the way Naima described him. All I know is that he's an annoying bastard who keeps on nagging me at every opportunity he has.

I shook my head with a grimace on my face. "It doesn't matter. Just help me here.

Naima's face was still troubled as she looked down at me. "At least, let me call someone to help me carry you to the bed. We don't want to put pressure on your injured ankle."

When she mentioned that, I glanced down at my swollen ankle. Not good.

"Please wait here, my lady," the maid said desperately. "I will just ask for some help. We need to transfer you to the bed with much care. We don't want to worsen your ankle's condition."

I only managed to nod in her direction and watched her leave the wet room and ask for help. It didn't take long before she came back with another maid in tow, before helping me up from the marble floor. She carefully assisted me in wearing my bathrobe for the sake of modesty because I was fully naked under the towel that covered my torso. Every movement I made was so damn painful.

"Ready, my lady?" Naima asked, helping me stand while supporting my weight on one side while the other maid helped on the other side.

The discomfort was so severe in every movement I made. The distance from the bathroom to my bed feels like miles away. I was so thankful when my body hit the soft mattress.

"Are you okay, Lady Emerald?" Naima inquired after placing a stack of pillows behind my back for support.

"Yes, thank you."

"I will just call for the head of the female servants here in the palace for help," she said carefully. "I'm sure she knows what to do with your injured ankle."

I nodded in her direction while closing my eyes. I need to meditate to forget the excruciating pain. "I appreciate that. Thank you, Naima."

The maid was still shaking her head ruefully. "I still feel that His Majesty will have my head once he learns about this. I'm sorry, my lady. This is my fault. I should not have left you alone while bathing."

"This is not your fault!" I informed her when I saw the shimmering tears in her eyes. "It was an accident, and I am so clumsy. That's why this happened. Please don't cry."

"Forgive me, Lady Emerald," the woman bowed slightly before leaving me alone to fetch the woman she told me about moments ago.

I didn't know how many minutes had passed since Naima left me alone in my room, but when I opened my eyes again, I heard a ruckus inside my room, and my gaze was met by a fumingly mad pair of cobalt eyes.

"What the fuck did you do?" he spat in my direction. Despite his American education, this was the first time I heard his accent thickening. "Do you want me to go insane worrying about you?!"

I was taken aback by his outburst. I stared at him for a long moment. He was vexed, which I didn't understand. "What?"

His powerful gaze bored me. "Are you happy seeing me sick with worry about you?"

I frowned at him. "What are you talking about? I am fine."

He stared down at my swollen ankle and let out a string of filthy curses in the silent room. Anxiety was visible on his face. He looked angrily at the hovering maids in my room. "All of you! Why are you just looking out here and doing nothing? Have you already called the doctor? And summoned at least three orthopedic surgeons to get the best doctor in Saqr. Make sure they are all women."

The maids inside my room scrambled away from the room to fulfill this brute king's command.

I exhaled a heavy breath. He's overreacting again. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Naima near the doorway, looking at me with apologetic eyes. I threw a betrayed look in her direction for breaking her promise and picking up this man in front of me. She looked away and lowered her head until her gaze was fixed on the floor.

"Seriously, Al-Farsi. There's no need to call doctors to see me. You're just causing another gossip with your autocratic behavior now. I just need a pillow under my feet so the circulation will go back to normal."

He sent a dark look in my way. "It's pretty serious to me. Humor me, how did this happen anyway?"

I saw how visibly paled Naima was from the corner. I sighed deeply. She's really scared of this bully. I stared at him laconically. "I was taking a bath when I realized that I wanted to get my phone and call my sister in New York. I need to get it alone because I instructed Naima to get something for me in the kitchen. That's when my feet went ahead of me on the bathroom floor."

He let out another crisped curse. He took a deep breath while staring down at me from the bed. "From now on, you are not allowed to slip out of the tub without a maid. That's an order!"

I could see the relieved expression from the woman near the doorway while looking at me. I focused my attention on this tyrannical man with a cold glare on my face. "Just who do you think you are to boss me around? Let me tell you something, Al-Farsi. I am not one of your subjects. I will not follow orders from you. Never!"

There was a reluctant smile fitted in his tensed mouth. "Oh, believe me. You are lucky that you're not a citizen of this country, habibti, or you'd find yourself at my mercy. I might lock you up in my bedroom forever, which is quite an appealing thought at the moment, I might add. But then again, I am tempted to do just that now to keep an eye on you."

I tossed a murderous look directly at him. "Fuck you," I hissed at him softly in case Naima heard the foul word I threw at their sovereign lord. "Fuck you to hell."

He astounded me when he moved closer to the bed. He leaned down near my ear and whispered something in my ear. "When you say that to me, ya amar. My brain translated it differently."

It took me a couple of seconds to comprehend what he meant by that statement when the realization hit me. I swore that my cheeks were as red as my hair at the moment. I stared at his hunger-filled eyes with disbelief. Before I had the chance to give another hot retort, two women entered my room.

"Your Majesty," the first woman curtsied to him. "I am Dr. Aziz."

"Your Majesty," the second woman curtsied to him also. "I am Dr. Ramzi, an orthopedic surgeon."

"Good thing that you're here now," he said to the female doctors who came immediately to the palace. "Check this lady's body condition thoroughly. If you suggest, we will bring her to the hospital. I will do it right away."

"As you wish, sir," Dr. Ramzi answered.

Al-Farsi stepped away from the bed and sighed deeply. "But I am still waiting for the third opinion."

I glared at him darkly. "You haven't heard the first and second opinions yet!"

He didn't bother to answer me. Instead, he just stood there like a brooding barbarian king snarling at the poor doctors while they were carefully bandaging my right ankle while I unintentionally whimpered from the discomfort.

"You are rude to the doctors," I accused him once we were finally alone in my room. Even Naima left along with the two doctors. My ankle was now fully bandaged and they also put ointment on my bruised lower back.

He snorted, crossing his arms in the middle of his chest. He still has this annoying expression on his face. "They should be thankful that I didn't put them in the dungeon for being careless while treating your injury."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "My God! They are just doing their job."

"They are not that careful."

I shook my head in resignation. "You are hopeless."

He exhaled a loud sigh. "When it comes to you, my rational thoughts are not working well."

"Is that enough reason to justify your actions?"

He shrugged. "It is for me," he looked at me for a moment. There was something emotional in his eyes that I couldn't comprehend at the moment. "Does it still hurt?"

"What do you think?" I looked at him dryly. "I sprained my ankle, remember? So most likely it will hurt like hell."

The corner of his mouth tugged with a smile. "I don't know what I will do with your sassy mouth."

"Why don't you leave me alone then?" I suggested sweetly with a million-dollar smile on my face. "Because talking to you is making my injured ankle hurt even more."

My breath was hitched when he suddenly leaned down on the bed, pinning me with his strong arms. "Sorry, can't do that, habibti. A boyfriend's first duty is to take good care of his girl and that's what I am going to do."

"B-Boyfriend...?" I asked incredulously. My eyes widened in his direction while my heart beat wildly in my chest. "Since when did you become my boyfriend, Al-Farsi?"

He gave a self-satisfied smile. "Didn't we agree on this the last time?"

I swallowed hard. I tried to shrink my back on the bed even more, but his face was still too close to mine. I couldn't think straight when he was this near. All I could think about was the hammering of my heart. "I-I...Uhm, I have not agreed to that yet. Don't assume."

"Why are you stammering?" There was a deviltry in his voice while his eyes glowed like sapphires under scorching fire. "Do I make you nervous?"

I cleared my throat, staring straight into his eyes. "O-Of course not."

He laughed softly, which made me shiver down my spine. "Liar." I was about to deny it fiercely when he added a smirk to his mouth. "Don't worry. You have the same effect on me, my lovely Emerald."