Inscribed In The Stars

Chapter 12

"What is going on? Why is the room being emptied?" He demanded.

The servants all paused in their movements and turned to find their king at the door. One of them - whom he recognized as Thaina's handmaid - came forward.

"Malik!" she gasped, lowering her gaze. " We have been ordered by Malika to clear the room,"

"Why?"

"Um-well," Lana mumbled, fiddling with her fingers.

"Well?" Harun pressed, impatience fueling his agitation.

"Sahiba Dalia is taking over the room,"

His eyebrows furrowed in a mixture of confusion, rising anger, and hurt. He couldn't understand why his wife would give away her most precious gift from him.

"What? Where is the Malika?" he ordered, searching around the room for her in vain. He exited, storming through all the remaining doors in his quarters, only to find them occupied by stillness and silence.

"She is not here, but she has ordered us to ensure the room switch is done by the end of today," Lana answered and his expression hardened.

If he couldn't find her for answers, he would go to the next person who had them. Infuriated and blinded by his anger, Harun stormed away without exchanging another word with anyone and headed straight to the Harem. When he entered, the female handmaidens all wore the same startled expression, but he ignored their assistance and strode around the turquoise pool to the chambers on the other end.

Dalia, having heard the sudden commotion, paused, and turned her head to the doorway as a maiden came rushing in.

"The Malik is here!" she had just announced when the King appeared behind her. She ducked away and exited.

Dalia and Meera lept up from the cushions.

"Malik! We did not know you were coming, otherwise, I would have prepared Sahiba-" Meera chortled.

"There is no need." He interrupted. "You may leave."

Meera lowered her head, glanced back at Dalia, then hurried past the gossamer partition.

Noticing the hardened expression on his face, Dalia froze.

"Malik-" she started, trying to smoothen her skirt.

Harun moved closer, leaving an arm's length between them.

Dalia's heart began to race and her mind began to-

"Why are your items being moved into Malika's painting room?"

Dalia's eyes widened, and her cheeks burned abashed at how her imagination had so easily painted absurd scenarios in her head. Had she indulged herself in too many romance novels that her mind had simply forgotten the circumstances of her marriage?

"The Malika kindly gifted it to me," she responded, regaining her composure.

"Were you not happy with the room I provided for you?" Harun urged, his voice lowering.

Bewildered by the confrontation, Dalia became enraged.

"Since you asked, no, I was not happy with the room-" she started, folding her arms over her chest.

"And so you decided to take over the Malika's room?"

"As I said before, she kindly gifted it to me," she scowled, her gaze unrelenting.

Harun's sharp eyes glowered back at her.

"She wouldn't have just gifted it," he declared.

"And why is that?" Dalia hissed, her frown deepening.