The Lost City of Al-Sheerma - Rescued by the Sheikh - completed

Chapter Ten

"Olivia, there's a Ms. Mimi Anderson requesting to see you." She froze, staring at the book in her hand that trembled, slowly lifting pain-filled eyes towards the man in the doorway. Kitty curled up at her side. "Olivia?" Khalaf enquired as she paled before his eyes. "Habibti, is your past catching up with you?"

She blinked then blinked again. "I don't want to see her, Khalaf," she whispered. He entered further.

"You can't run from your past forever, precious."

She swallowed hard. "She was my best friend, who betrayed me. How can I face her?"

"How can you move forward if you don't?

"You have no idea what she did," she wailed in pain. Her friend's betrayal hurt more than her so-called fiance had Olivia realised. Placing down the book, she stood, running sweaty hands down her kaftan. It was time to face her past, no matter how painful.

"Do you want me to join you?" Khalaf asked with concern that warmed her all over.

She looked at him searching, not just him, but inside herself as well. "Would you Khalaf?" she asked softly. "If you don't mind." She wasn't ready to face this alone as before. Not even her parent knew all the facts, only her brother, and she had sworn him to secrecy.

"Of course, habibti." He offered his hand that she took, closing the distance and was guided to his side. "You need to let go to go forward."

She leaned against him. "When did you get so wise?" she teased because as far as she could remember, he had always been wise.

Nothing had prepared her for the sight of the woman standing before them, looking out the window, facing them sideways, where the sunlight highlighted the small bump through the loose summer dress. Shaking Olivia turned towards Khalaf and buried her face into his chest. "I can't do this," she barely whispered over a tight throat. That was an insult to injury. She might forgive her friend for bedding her fiance but that was rubbing it in her face of their betrayal.

"What's wrong Olivia?" Khalaf asked softly.

Frantically, she waved at the distant woman. "That's what's wrong. She's carrying my fiance's baby," she wailed, revealing all that mattered in that one statement. Khalaf without hesitation guided her back towards their room, where he settled her down into the sofa, placed a guard outside the room, while he saw to this so she wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

He sent a guard to collect Ms. Mimi where she was shown to his study. He was seated behind his desk. Mimi entered and the door closed as the guard was waved away by his hand. Khalaf eyed her closely, his jaw clenching in anger. "How dare you come here and parade your sins in front of Olivia. Have you no shame woman?"

"If Olivia married James, she would've been making the biggest mistake of her life. The whole engagement was a mistake. James made a mistake with both of us, a huge mistake. We love each other. He just saw her as a perfect wife. However, he fell in love with me. I know that's no excuse for what we did to her and how she found out."

Khalaf's eyes narrowed. "How did she find out?" Ashamed, she lowered her head. He could guess but wasn't letting her off the hook. "I'm waiting."

"In bed," she whispered.

"Whose bed?" he asked sensing more, though that was bad enough.

"Their's," she answered.

Khalaf stood. He was shocked to hear that. "So you used her bed, well their bed." He waited to be corrected, receiving silence, and then frowned. What was he thinking? "What are you not telling me," he demanded to know. "Do not try to tarnish her name because I will not wear it." He knew differently, didn't he?