Lightbulbs flashed as the press took their pictures, and Liyah tried desperately to focus. Asad held her hands, rubbing his fingers over her knuckles during the ceremony, and smiled gently at her. How ironic that she was marrying the man she loved with all her heart, and all she wanted to do was throw up.

“I vow to love and cherish you until the day that I die,” he said softly, his eyes boring into hers. The whole crowd fell silent. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that you were special, and I’ve spent this whole time trying to figure out how to make you mine. Now I have you here, and I am never letting you go. You are my heart, Liyah. Every beat of it beats for you. You are my breath. With every breath, I’m filled with you. And I vow that none of this will change, so long as I live.”

He slid the ring on her finger, and she nearly burst into tears. How long she had been waiting to hear those words, and now that he’d said them, she knew that he didn’t mean them.

Digging deep, she reinforced her spine and straightened her body. Mila passed her the ring, and Liyah kept her head high.

“I vow to stand by your side and support you in everything that you do,” she murmured. The words failed her, and for a moment, she was silent. Everyone stared at her, and she briefly closed her eyes. She’d practiced this moment, these impersonal vows that she’d written, but this was the one time that she could be honest with him and still pretend that she was hiding behind a lie. If she let the moment slip away, she might regret it.

“You have changed my life,” she said hoarsely. “You’ve shown me a love that I never thought was possible, to be loved and to love in return. You’ve given me a hope that I never thought was possible, a hope that true love really does exist. I know in my heart that, no matter what, you’ll be the only man that I will ever love, and even though I’m sliding this ring onto your finger at this moment, it’s something that I could have told you a long time ago, and it still would have been true.”

He looked completely stunned, and for a moment, she thought she might faint. The rest of the Westernized ceremony was nothing more than a roaring in her ears until Asad led her away. Next, instead of the ceremony being over, they were seated at the head of a large table in exquisite plush seats and given two goblets with which to exchange a toast. Only then did the festivities start. Belly dancers. Singers. Jugglers. It was a huge affair, and as usual, she felt herself lost in the crowd.

The whole affair lasted three days, and in those three days, she barely saw her husband. Everyone drank and laughed and danced, and even Liyah let the alcoholic spirits dull the pain. She danced with Amira and Mila, and when she turned around, she was horrified to see Bashar watching her.

“I thought I was doing what was best,” he whispered in her ear. She could barely hear him over the music. “But you are not happy. Perhaps you need more than a marriage to the man you love to make you smile.”

She was about to demand that he explain himself, but someone grabbed her arm, and she was dragged away.

* * *

The check was on the nightstand when she woke up. Liyah had a horrible headache, but she managed to dress herself and pack her bags. Sitting on the steps outside, she dropped her head to her knees as she waited for the car to pull up.

This was it. She’d said her goodbyes to Amira and Mila last night, but her husband was nowhere to be found.

It was just as well. After those vows, there really wasn’t anything left to say, was there?

The car pulled up, and as she stood, she saw one of the attendants rolling a cart with more bags out. “Oh, that’s not mine,” she called out, but they ignored her.

With no energy to fight them, she moved slowly to the car. The driver opened the door, and she sucked in her breath.

Apparently, her husband wanted to say goodbye to her after all.

Slipping her sunglasses on, she ducked into the car and glared at the man sitting next to her. “I’m not taking the clothes, so you’re wasting their time by having them load them in the car.”

“They are yours,” he said simply. “Who else would wear them?”

“Your next fake wife?” she snapped.

“Not fake,” he reminded. “Just temporary. Why are you so cold, Liyah?” He briefly touched her thigh, and she shivered but stared out the window.

He was either charming her or hurting her. “Why does it matter? You got what you wanted. Sex and condos. I got what I wanted. Sex and money.”

“That’s not you talking, and we both know it. I felt your heart open to me. Now there is only a rock in your chest.”

"Business isn't personal, Asad," she reminded him.

"This is not you."

She was getting tired of hearing him say that. “This is assuredly me."

"What changed?"

Liyah scoffed. “Like you don’t know. You made this version of me," she answered, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Now he’d never leave her alone.

His brow quirked. "How did I make you this way, Liyah? All I did was try to open up to you, even when I knew that you were going to leave me.” He reached for her hand, and she pulled away.

“I’m surprised your driver didn’t tell you. I went looking for you the other day, to take you to lunch, right after you said all of those sweet words to me. Your eyes said everything when you were having lunch, and they weren’t looking at me. You haven't found your sheikha. And I do not have to play the part of a fool for your entertainment purposes."

Stunned at her words, Asad blurted, "The travel planner?"

"Whoever she is. Yes."

Grinning from ear to ear, Asad sat back. “All of this is over her. You were jealous."

"I'm sure there's a more accurate word for what I was. I see no reason for you to laugh,” she snapped. Could this car really go no faster? She glanced out the window and frowned. Was Ori taking them in circles? They hadn’t even reached the heart of the city.

To her horror, he started to laugh in earnest. She tried to ignore it, but he reached over and cupped her chin and turned her face toward him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a brochure and two tickets. “You mean . . . this woman?"

Folding her arms over her chest, Liyah's eyes reluctantly left his and flicked to the backside of the brochure. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking at.

"She's a family friend, just starting her business, and . . . very much pregnant. Surely you don't think I'd woo a married woman—or any other woman, at this point."

Dragging her eyes up from the tickets, she stared at him. There was warmth and relief in his green eyes—and something else. Love.

"There is only you, Liyah. I wrote those vows especially to communicate that. I wish you would have believed them as we stood before the world, bonding our hearts."

Liyah averted her eyes, and his hand covered hers. She didn’t yank it away, but she couldn’t form any words.

“I’d like to think that your vows were honest, as well. Would you really give up all this, with such a dashing young sheikh at its center? Would you have all of this come to an end . . . for business? Our business became personal the moment I realized I would never find another woman more special, and humble, despite how extraordinary she is. I am in love with you, Liyah. Amira didn't need to resort to her cupid-matchmaking. I was enspelled long before that. Fighting it, at first, but spellbound."

Tears were sliding down her cheeks, and he gently wiped them away. She realized that she had been a fool all along, but not because of Asad. No, she was a fool because she hadn’t the courage to follow her own heart when it was telling her to run into his arms and never let go.

Answering him with a kiss, she sealed their fate. “We’re not going to the airport, are we?”

“We are,” he said with a wicked grin. “But you are not going to the States. I’ve booked us a two-week trip on a cruise, and my dear, I am going to love you around the world.”

Laughing at him, she straddled him and kissed him again in earnest. Now, she’d finally found her home, and it was in the arms of her sheikh.