The Billionaire's Christmas Bundle Of Joy - A Secret Baby Romance

by Holly Rayner

  True to Malik’s fears, both of his parents made subtle digs about his former life as a man about town. His father teased that there would be no more women in Malik’s life, unless he wanted to suffer the wrath of an angry wife.

  “When she’s not happy,” Mahumet laughed heartily. “Nobody’s happy! So you do your best to be a good man.”

  The dinner went on as most of their other social gatherings did: light and airy with the overwhelming ambiance of family, and of course, amazing food. This time, Amie didn’t particularly care about making a good impression, but still, she stuck to her contract, acting every inch the refined and excited bride-to-be.

  The only part of the evening that puzzled Amie was Zafina’s reaction. Aside from a brief “congratulations”, the sister said very little to either of them. It was surprisingly unlike her to be so fuss-free.

  Since the ‘wedding’ was to take place the following morning, the entire family was staying at Malik’s palace so they could get ready together.

  Later, as the happy couple were heading to their respective rooms, Zafina finally made her strike.

  She approached them with her arms crossed; a smug smile creeping across her face as she cornered them in the hallway. Then she said the five most fear-inspiring words she could have chosen: “I know what you’re doing.”

  Zafina raised her eyebrow condescendingly and both Malik and Amie froze on the spot. “That’s right,” she continued slowly; clearly loving every minute. “I’ve been doing some research—”

  Before the sister has a chance to finish her thought, however, Malik quickly covered her mouth with his hand and instructed her to come and talk somewhere a little more private.

  The three of them made their way onto the roof; a flat terrace that looked out over the desert countryside. The night was warm, with a cool breeze coming every so often as a refreshment.

  Once on the roof, Zafina grinned smugly and raised both of her brows as she asked, “May I continue, brother?”

  Malik gave a dismissive wave of his hand and sighed. “If you must.”

  “There is nothing about this that made sense,” Zafina said accusingly. “First, I read about your affair with a high profile businesswoman, back in the States; pictures all over the internet. Then you’re calling mother and father saying no, it isn’t true, and that you’ve been seeing someone else.”

  “So?” Malik asked, sounding bored. “I am seeing someone else.”

  “And yet you couldn’t tell us a thing about her! You wouldn’t even tell us her name. Want to know why?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “This’ll be good.”

  “Because you didn’t know her name yet,” she said with finality. “I looked Amie up online. Sorry, Amie,” she said looking at her faux sister-in-law to be.

  Amie merely shrugged sadly; guilt rushing through every inch of her body, but Malik kept up the act, refusing to give in to Zafina’s claims so easily.

  “Amie’s mother is no doctor, she’s a cashier! And Amie doesn’t run a theater; she’s an out-of-work actress!”

  “The information you found is incorrect,” Malik said easily, his voice smooth and convincing.

  Zafina scoffed and pulled several print-outs from her purse. “I have the proof right here,” she stated simply. “Now stop lying and tell me what’s going on.”

  Amie hung her head in shame and gave way to tears. Malik quickly put his arms around her and glared at Zafina, who now looked awkward before them.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you, Amie,” Zafina said quietly. “I just… I don’t know what you guys think you’re doing. I’m not impressed with all these lies, and if I’m not, imagine what our parents will think.”

  “I know,” Malik said in a whispered sigh. “Please, don’t tell them, Zafina. You know how they are.”

  Zafina went to speak but seemed to think better of it. She gave Amie a long look and then sighed, reaching for Malik’s hand. “I’m just… so disappointed,” she said heavily.

  “I understand,” he said, sounding absolutely ashamed.

  Zafina frowned, as though she were battling an intense inner argument. Finally, she made eye contact with Amie and sighed. “I like you,” she said begrudgingly. “At first, I found you annoying, but damn it, I just can’t help but like you,” she swore with a laugh. “And you!” she glared at her brother. “You’re an idiot… but I love you. I’ll keep your secret.”

  Malik sighed with relief and squeezed his sister’s hand. “Thank you. Thank you, Zafina.”

  “I know it wasn’t always easy for you after you left Rabayat. And I understand, sort of, what you’re trying to do. I know that they need peace,” she said of her parents. “I also know they want what’s best for you and for certain they think Amie is it. But, please, at least tell me you at least love the girl?”

  “Amie?” Malik repeated with some surprise.

  Zafina raised her brows as though the answer should be obvious and Malik laughed.

  “I do,” Malik said firmly. “I love her very much.”

  The sentiment sent shivers down Amie’s arms and all at once her tears stopped; she’d learned to sense when Malik was acting, and this didn’t feel like it.

  Zafina squinted her eyes as though she were feeling her brother out. Finally, she let his hand go. “Then you might not be as stupid as I thought.”

  Malik laughed with relief. “Honestly, thank you Zafina. You have no idea how much this means to me. To both of us,” he corrected.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Zafina rolled her eyes as she started making her way over to the staircase. “You’re still an idiot.”

  ***

  Amie and Malik stood frozen on the rooftop for some time, both unwilling to be the first one to speak. After a long, tense silence, the two of them made their way down to the living room where Malik’s parents were happily chatting away, oohing and ahhing over the impromptu wedding to come.

  Amie felt rotten. She could still hear them chattering in the house as she made her way into the back gardens alone. Her head was reeling. She couldn’t think of anything besides the people she would be disappointing. And what would Malik say, down the road? That she’d left him? What would happen when he did meet a girl he wanted to marry? Would he just not bring her home, on account of his fake wife from years gone by? These were all the questions she kept asking, and all the answers Malik didn’t have.

  She sat by the garden waterfall. The water that flowed from it was crystal clear and highlighted by the sunset in an array of reds and purples as it gushed over the rock fountain into the pool below. She could hear footsteps drawing nearer to her and turned to see Malik standing before her.

  He took a seat next to her and looked her up and down. She still wore her dress from dinner; elegant, short sleeved with frills, contrasting greatly with the bare feet that squeezed into the moist soil below them.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he chirped quietly. He waited for a response, and when one failed to present itself, began walking around the pool.

  Amie stayed silent, merely watching him as he looked down at the water with his hands in his pockets. The dawning night began to hide the colors around them, but she knew his brown eyes were still there, wondering and watching. He looked over at her once more, a melancholy look that she couldn’t help but feel something for.

  “Yes, it’s beautiful,” came her delayed response.

  Hearing her voice, Malik came and sat down beside her. Both of them watched in silence, listening to the sounds of falling water. And then, it started to rain.

  Rain was not usual in Rabayat, especially not outside the rainy season. Malik watched as a droplet made its way down Amie’s warm skin, hitting the tip of her nose and past her pink lips. Finally, she smiled at him, and it was obvious now that she was crying.

  She sniffed and her cheeks flushed. She’d tried so hard to be angry with him, and now she didn’t know what she felt. He looked so hurt… but then why continue the farce?

  He inched c
loser to her and grabbed her hand; small and cold, her fingers stiff.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Oh, you know, just everything,” she said, hanging her head and giving a helpless shrug as salty tears washed over her.

  “Don’t worry about Zafina; she won’t say anything,” he said. His voice was so reassuring, she almost believed him.

  She shook her head and squeezed his hand. “I’m begging you,” she said through her tears. “Please don’t do this. We can call off the wedding and just be together. Don’t you want that?” She laughed, despite herself. “That’s all I wanted, just to be with you. Why can’t we just do that and avoid all of these lies?”

  “Yes,” he finally laughed. “I want that! I want to be with you. I want to whisk you back to America right now and take you to all the places I love, to meet your family, to see your apartment and watch you perform on stage. I want all of it.”

  “Did you really mean what you said to Zafina, about your feelings for me?”

  There was a moment of silence before Malik sighed; a smile coming over him. “I do love you, yes.”

  Amie’s eyes filled with tears and for the first time since that morning her stomach finally settled. “And you really want all those things with me?” she asked softly as he cupped her cheek with his hand. “Really?”

  “Really,” he smiled. “We just need to finish this first.”

  And there went her stomach again.

  “Malik!” she scolded. “If that’s the case then I… I can’t be with you.”

  “Why not?” he asked, his brows narrowed painfully.

  She stared at him, hard, and put her hand flat on his chest, pushing for emphasis. “Look, as charming as the whole ‘mysterious bad-boy’ thing is, I promised myself I’d stop with those guys when I was, oh, I don’t know… 17?”

  “A promise you’ve kept?” he teased.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t play with me, Malik,” she said firmly. “I can’t be with someone who would do this to his family. Please… please, let’s just come clean about it, or at least tell them we’ve decided not to go through with the wedding until we can get both of our families together.”

  “We’ve already lied, what’s the difference?” he asked harshly.

  “We can still make it right. We can stop all this from snowballing out of control.”

  Malik stood from her and stared down at the floor; the disappointment scrawled clear across his face. “You just don’t understand,” he said simply. “I’m sorry I put you in this situation, but we’re here now, and this is just what has to happen.”

  Amie looked down at the ground and said nothing, her face a sad picture of resignation as she heard Malik walking away from her, closing the poolroom doors behind him as he entered the house once more.

  She was wrong. He wasn’t going to turn it around. The future she had daydreamed about—it turned out it didn’t exist in the slightest.

  SIXTEEN

  The next morning proved to be one of the hardest yet. Amie had just one full day left in Rabayat: her wedding day. She spent the morning getting ready with Zafina and Sadira; slipping into her beautiful wedding gown and having her hair styled in a long side braid, complete with tiny, colorful flowers.

  She felt like an idiot pretending in front of Zafina when she knew exactly what was going on. Sadira excused herself to begin getting ready as Zafina started applying a warm coral blush to Amie’s cheeks. “Just in case he doesn’t make you feel like blushing for real,” she joked, ending her sentence with the same laugh that Malik would give.

  “Funny girl,” Amie said sadly. “I do love him, you know.”

  Zafina brushed the peachy powder along Amie’s cheekbone and smiled proudly, setting the brush on her lap. “I know.”

  “You do?”

  “I can see it in your eyes,” Zafina said simply. “It’s why I decided not to tell my parents… whatever it is you guys are doing. That, and the way that he looks at you in return. I’ve seen Malik with a lot of women, but I’ve never seen him this way before.” She shrugged. “Sorry, I’m sure you don’t want to hear about all that right now.”

  Amie raised her brows and laughed. “No, no… it’s fine.”

  “You two… fit each other,” Zafina said with a grin—a rare but pretty sight on the girl. “Try not to worry so much.”

  Try not to worry so much? Did Zafina think this was a real wedding, or not? Was she completely on to their scheme, or did she truly believe they were in love? She felt her heart sink and her whole body rush with adrenaline. It seemed Zafina’s cooing instruction had had the opposite effect.

  “Do your parents know?”

  “No,” Amie answered honestly.

  “Ah. That sneaky Malik,” she said with a snap of her fingers. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and stared at Amie; her eyes searching for something else. “I think…” she paused. “I think you’ll be all right. Malik has his ways. His wiles and schemes, also,” she added with a laugh, “but you have his heart, so it will all work out.”

  With that, Amie’s stomach seemed to settle slightly. Maybe Zafina was right.

  Or, maybe not.

  ***

  Amie tried to overcome her misgivings about the situation, but her nerves welled up again once she entered her private car. The driver knew where to take her: the theater. That Malik sure had a sense of humor.

  The outside of the theater was done up with white flowers and the marquee read Malik and Amie. At first, she had been infuriated by the fact that wedding was to take place at the theater. And yet, the more she looked around, the more she realized Malik had chosen a venue that truly meant something to them. Not only had she been in love with the theater since she was a little girl, it had been the first place they ever set eyes on each other. Not only that, she had also fallen in love with Malik the night they saw their first play together.

  Shock overcame her when she saw the red carpet outside and the crowd of friends, family, and media assembled there. She grinned as she glimpsed Azim and Galina—as immaculately turned out as ever—waving at her as the limo pulled up outside.

  Reporters swirled around the building, snapping photos to commemorate the marriage of Sheikh Mahumet’s son. She had known, since Malik was the ruler’s son, that the wedding would be a bit of a big deal, but not this.

  Seeing the sheer amount of friends and well-wishers, Amie realized she deeply missed her own family. She wished they were here, even if it wasn’t a real wedding.

  Suddenly she began to worry that her name would be dragged into online reports about the wedding. What if her mother saw? She had no idea how her mother would come across an Arabic news story, but stranger things had happened.

  She watched as the hundreds of guests piled into the theater until only she and the news media were left outside. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the car, walking down the red carpet, being bombarded by questions from eager reporters. She gulped; maybe her instincts were right, maybe she’d finally bitten off more than she could chew.

  “Miss Shaw! Miss Shaw!” a reporter yelled, gesturing for her to turn toward him.

  She did so and gave him her best Hollywood smile; doing her best to show off her dress and to come off charming yet respectful. Her heart beat out of her chest as she entered the building, finally escaping the paparazzi.

  As the music started up, an usher signaled to Amie that it was time to make her way down the aisle. The aisle was actually the theater aisle, where she was to make her way onto the main stage. How fitting, she thought darkly, that their fake wedding was going to consist of her humiliating herself on stage.

  The music was traditional, with a Middle-Eastern spin, and Amie couldn’t help but feel giddy as she began to walk down the aisle. The photographers’ flashbulbs popped, making her feel even more glamorous as she made her way to the stage.

  Amie’s heart all but leaped out of her chest as she approached Malik. For six weeks straight,
she’d spent basically all day, every day, by his side. But now, on her faux wedding day, she hadn’t heard a peep from him, and the sight of him filled her with glee.

  Malik wore a sharp beige suit and looked every inch the confident, handsome sheikh and future ruler of a nation.

  As Amie approached, however, a nervous anxiety seemed to cloud his expression. He looked at her in shock, his eyes filling with affection and awe as he eyed her up and down in her dress.