The Sheikh's Rebel (gay) ☑️

36. A painful search.

Once alone in the hallway, a disturbance began to sway in him. Jared was back, but they hadn't had a chance to talk to each other. Thinking about Jared lying comfortable in Fleur's arms, he cringed. Responding to an overwhelming sense of despair, he grabbed his coat and ran out of the house.
The hotel room he hadn't been to for a week welcomed him. Good memories washed all over him. He could feel the intense grief coming. Under the hot rays of the shower, it broke through. Sitting in the shower with his hands around his knees, the hot tears streamed down his cheeks.
What good was it to have access to everything the Al-Din family and the Aroujo family had? All their wealth and influence meant nothing to him. The only thing he wanted, was also the only thing out of his reach. He dragged himself to bed where he fell asleep exhausted.

The next morning, he woke up with swollen eyes and a soaked pillow. A towel with cold water cooled his heated face slightly. He walked back to the house. "Good morning, Tyler. You're out early?" Tarek greeted him.
"Good morning," he said timidly to the party at the table.
"Sheikh Jabaar, grandfather and Princess Jasmine are already engaged in their consultations. Are you going to join them?" asked Tarek.
Tyler looked at Fleur and then put his eyes on Jared. This one was uncharacteristically silent. Even his expression was flat.
"I have no idea. Nothing was said about it yesterday." Not wanting to run around like a headless chicken, he added: "If anyone's looking for me, I'm with Adam."

He grabbed an apple and quickly got out of his feet. In his room, he quickly changed and ran up the stairs to the training room. Adam looked disgruntled at the apple in his hands.
"You have to eat well," he said sternly, dragging Tyler to the breakfast table.
Adam watched him like a mother hen while Tyler ate a good breakfast. Now that the table was empty he ate relaxed and with taste.
Adam patted his shoulders with satisfaction. "Beautiful. Now we're going to burn some calories."

As always, the movement did Tyler well. The repetition of everything they had done together plus some exercises he had practiced with Nathan made for a successful training session. Tyler had decided he'd sleep in the hotel room for the rest of his time in Paris. Now that he was 'out', he thought it was only reasonable not to sleep under this roof anymore. He didn't have a chance to say this personally to Princess Jasmine, so he told Rasheed.

Before lunch he moved his belongings to the hotel room and decided to see something from Paris for the rest of the afternoon. On his lonesome he wandered through the many streets and shops. Because he hadn't thought about it last time, he bought some souvenirs for his mother and sister now that he had the chance.

Ping-ping. "Where are you?" Fleur.
"In the city."
Ping-ping. "I need you. Meet me at this address."
Tyler sighed. It was nearby and he had the nasty suspicion that it wasn't going to be fun.
Unhappy, he stopped in front of the jewelry store and checked the address. Through the big windows he could see Fleur who was already inside. She saw him and beckoned him in. Pouting, he walked up to her. "Come on! Could Jared have done this?" he said sulking.
"Jared was called away for business," Fleur said looking around almost absently. Tyler's heart sank. Without speaking a decent word to him, Jared would have run again.
"Where to?" he asked hoarse.
"Home."
The mere sound of the word shot a warm desire through him. "Is he coming back? Can I go home too?", asked Tyler, aware of the homesickness he couldn't keep from his voice.
"I don't know," Fleur said. "For now, you're here and you can help me."

Tyler looked around helplessly in the glittering store. He'd never bought jewelry before. The earrings he once gave lindsey were picked out by his mother.
"I'm looking for an engagement ring and a couple of wedding rings," he heard Fleur say to the seller.
He appreciated her speaking English. The seller picked her up from head to toe and showed her a selection of their most exclusive rings. Most of them were made of huge diamonds.  At no point did she ask or looked at the price. The man's eyes shone a little brighter. Tyler saw Fleur's smile in response to the vendors' suggestions, but this was more out of politeness.