Spice of Love - Completed

Chapter 17

Cat stood there shaking as she stared at the vacant spot where he had stood. He was gone. And soon she would be too. She won't have a chance to say goodbye. Did she even want to, knowing that he would be with his first wife, doing everything he'd done with her last night? It was just too much for her to take in and her fragile body silently shook with the pain of it all. She really had to leave, and leave soon before she fell completely apart.

It took her name being called out twice in rising accents in that same booming tone as before to draw her back to herself. Cat took a deep shuddering breath before turning to face the king.

"Pack your things. My man is proceeding with the divorce even as we speak. It will be publicly announced over lunch and you will not be in attendance then. I have the authority to speak on your behalf and I will see it done. But you leave now."

Cat's heart thudded loudly in her ears, drowning out a lot of what he said next, but he was no longer speaking in her language. Instead he addressed the number of ladies who suddenly came swarming in and taking over in preparing her for her trip home.

Married and divorced in not even twenty-four hours had to be a record of some sort. Only she was ashamed that it was a record that was hers to hold.

In less than an hour later, clad in a pair of expensive jeans and t-shirt, Cat clutched the bag that contained her wedding dress momentarily to her chest before thrusting it out at one of the girls as an offering. It was best not to delve in memories once she was gone. She would take nothing with her when she left. The lady accepted her gift with a smile. Then they departed with many smiles. Cat stared again into the mirror she sat before, at a profile that was once again hers. Her blond hair, washed and blow dried, looked neater than ever before as it hung down her back in a straight line. Her makeup-free face was washed out of all colour and not all of it to do with the makeup she had on earlier. The royal jewellery she had unwittingly slept in was returned to Marina for safe keeping. It was time to leave.

Cat took the last bite of a cinnamon-encrusted bun and downed the last of her coffee. Then she rose to her feet and grabbed the bag that she would be taking back with her, the one that contained the PJs she had arrived in. Cat reached out for the black burqa and threw it over her frame for the last time. She watched it billow about her before settling gracefully across her shoulders. She pulled on the head covering and slid the face veil into place. Her eyes peaked out at her with none of the sparkle that once lit them from within. Their blue hues were muted now and without a life of their own. Cat nodded her head, approving the reflection. It matched the mood she was in, iced-up and devoid of feeling. It was a mood that would see her well as she embarked on her journey home, alone.

Without ceremony, Cat was escorted out the palace and into a waiting vehicle. A nondescript Jeep without the fanfare of an escort with which she had first arrived at the palace. But then, she was no longer a princess bride-to-be now, or a bride at all for that matter. She was just Cat... Catherine Little. Cat climbed in then turned back to wave at Marina, but she had already gone back in. So, she turned instead to look at the man who would drive her; it was no one she had met before. Turning back to face the front, Cat gripped her bag to her. In it were some currencies, the Saudi Riyal and some USD, her flight ticket, and her passport. Not her real passport but one that would get her across the Saudi border and into Melbourne without difficulty.

They drove on in silence and Cat was halfway through the long journey back to the airport when she thought to ask for a phone. A mobile was instantly provided to her and after some momentary difficulty interpreting the language on the screen, she was able to work it and put a call through to home. Blaise answered at the first ring.

"Cat! Everyone has been so worried. Where the hell are you? When are you coming back? Do you know mum and Patrick are...?"

Hearing her brother's voice brought tears instantly to her eyes. Blaise, she hadn't even had a chance to start getting to know him before Sadiq whisked her away. She blinked them away. Hearing him mention her parents reminded her of how she'd left them, so Cat quickly broke in to ask, "How are Mum and Dad? I need to speak to them."