by Amy Ruttan
Of course, Meleena hadn’t liked it too much when he’d devoted his life to healing others, to serving his country, and had ignored her. She’d left him, but no one knew about that yet and that’s the way his father wanted it. There were diplomatic policies and contracts at play and his father wanted to wait until it could be properly addressed after Kalyana recovered from the devastation of Blandine.
So he had no one.
No one to worry about. No one to care.
Which was what he deserved.
It was best that he handle this. He was just as capable a doctor as Farhan and Sara were. This was what he lived for. This was all that had mattered since Jeena had left and his brother Ali had died trying to help him. The last thing he wanted to do was put Farhan or Sara in danger.
His mother had already suffered enough because of him. He wasn’t going to put Farhan in harm’s way when he had military training and could manage this kind of disaster situation with ease. Not that they were in much danger now. The cyclone was over. It was just a matter of picking up the pieces. Cyclone Blandine had done severe damage to the islands.
He couldn’t remember such a storm ever hitting Kalyana.
His father King Uttam was all for Maazin helping with relief efforts. He should be a part of it. Farhan was an excellent doctor, but he didn’t have the training Maazin had.
However, his mother Queen Aruna was a little more reluctant to hear a prince of Kalyana was out there helping with relief efforts and getting his hands dirty. She thought it was unsafe.
Of course, even if she didn’t show it, Maazin worried his mother had never been happy with anything he’d done since Ali had died.
But Maazin wanted to help.
He needed to help.
Still, his mother had made her reservations clear...
“You’re a prince!”
“So? What else should a trained surgeon be doing, Mother?”
“You’re only a surgeon because of your time in the Royal Guard.”
“So what would you have me do?” Maazin asked.
“You should stay in the safety of the palace.”
“And tend to royalty? To aristocrats?”
“Perhaps. And perhaps if you had done more of your royal duties and spent time with your betrothed, Lady Meleena wouldn’t have left!”
“I don’t care that she left, Mother. I don’t love her. I couldn’t stand be around her.”
“Ali did his duty!”
“I’m sorry that I’m not Ali.”
His mother’s had a faraway look as she murmured, “You’re right. You’re not...”
Maazin winced. He hadn’t wanted an arranged marriage. Especially with someone his father had chosen only for the betterment of the country.
Your father chose for Ali and he’d been happy. Your father chose for Farhan and he’s happy with Sara.
He ignored that niggling little thought.
Right now Kalyana needed him. When Ali had been alive, he’d always been out there lending a hand, and that was the least Maazin could do since he was responsible for Ali’s death.
You’re not.
Only he felt he was. And he was sure his mother felt that he was responsible for Ali’s death. Ever since then his mother had been cold and distant. With him especially.
And he hated it that he was the cause of her grief, that he was just a living reminder of her pain. And he couldn’t help but wonder if she wished it was him who’d died instead of Ali.
He pushed that thought aside and watched as the Canadian plane landed with much-needed supplies. Cyclone Blandine had done so much damage and they hadn’t been very prepared. Storms had come and gone, but there had never been a cyclone like this. It had formed out of nowhere and so quickly and it had struck so hard.
There was no way they could prepare for quite how extreme it was and they were lucky that it hadn’t done even more damage.
The plane from Canada that he’d been waiting for made its landing. Maazin had made sure that the airport runway in Huban had been cleared of debris so that they could receive assistance from other countries, like Canada, and he had his sister-in-law Sara to thank for that assistance.
The plane circled as the winds were high.
Maazin waited with bated breath as the plane came around again then touched down. He didn’t know why he was so nervous about this plane landing, but something about this was eating away at him.
He hadn’t felt like this in so long.
The last time he’d felt like this...well, he didn’t want to think about her.
This was not the time to think about it. It was not time to think about Jeena. Of course, she was never far from his mind. He was always thinking of her, whether he liked it or not. Always wondering why she’d left him. It drove him mad.
“They’re ready for us, Your Highness,” his driver, Kariff, said.
Maazin nodded. “Let’s go and fill this van with supplies and their doctors. The southeast region is in dire need of supplies and medical help.”
Kariff nodded and drove the van toward the large plane that had dropped its rear door to make a ramp, ready to start unloading its precious cargo of medical supplies and doctors to aid them.
Kariff parked close and Maazin got out of the van. He opened the side doors and the back so that Kariff and a couple of the other men he’d brought with him could start loading up.
“Who should we be reporting to?” a female voice asked, which sent a shiver of recollection down his spine. He knew that voice. He knew it well because it was burned into every single neuron in his brain. Just the mere sound of her voice fired them off, bringing every bitter-sweet memory to the surface.
Maazin turned around and came face to face with someone he’d never thought he would see again.
His blood froze and everything around him stopped. He couldn’t quite believe his eyes and he wondered if he was dreaming. It was like she had walked right out of his dreams, like nothing had changed, like time had stood still. She hadn’t changed one bit. Her rich, dark brown hair was tied back in a braid, just like the first day he’d met her. Her skin was still a warm, rich tawny color.
Her deep brown eyes widened and her red lips, lips he remembered so well the taste of, dropped open for a moment and a subtle pop of coral colored her cheeks. She was just as shocked as he was.
Jeena.
In an instant he remembered when he’d first seen her. She’d looked so out of place and uncomfortable on the polo pitch.
She’d worn a long emerald dress and high heels as she’d teetered on the grass, trying to flip over a divot.
He’d been so entranced by her and had wondered who she was...
“You’ll fall over, trying to flip those divots in those heels.”
She looked up, embarrassed. “Pardon?”
Maazin knelt down and took her foot in his hands. “May I?”
She pursed her lips and nodded. He removed her shoe and pried off the large chunk of turf that had been impaled on the end of her stiletto heel. He replaced the shoe and then stood, steadying her in his arms, catching a scent of her perfume.
Jasmine and vanilla. It was intoxicating and he was instantly drawn to her.
“Thank you... Your Highness.”
“Ah, so you know who I am.”
“Everyone knows who you are,” she whispered, and wouldn’t look at him.
“Well, I am at a loss. I don’t know who you are. I have never seen you at one of these events before.”
She smiled. “My name is Jeena. I am here with my friend as her guest.”
“And who is your friend?”
“Aishraya Raj.” Jeena nodded in the direction of her friend. “Her husband is a diplomat, but I’ve known Aishraya for a long time.”
Maazin smiled and bowed at the waist. “Well, allow
me to welcome you to our little match...”
Maazin tried to calm the pulse that was now thundering in his ears. She had been the only one to truly see him.
The world thought he was this playboy and he let everyone believe that. The tabloids, his parents all believed it and it had got him off the hook of so many responsibilities, but Jeena had seen past that.
He had been so in love with her. He’d wanted to marry her, even though he had always been afraid and not interested in marriage because he’d felt it would tie him down, just like his royal duty.
And he hadn’t wanted to drag Jeena into a life of protocol.
She had been free. Which was why he’d wanted her.
Jeena had left him. Left him without a word, and it was because of her leaving that he’d gone to that party to drown his sorrows and then called his brother Ali to get him.
And that had cost Ali his life, because after she’d left, Maazin had decided to take the bad boy road everyone thought he traveled. Ali came to sweep his indiscretions under the rug and died trying to cover up his mistakes.
It had destroyed him when Jeena had left. It was his own fault, though, because he knew he’d driven her away. He didn’t deserve her and he certainly didn’t deserve anything now. He knew that.
“Maa... Your Highness.” And she curtseyed.
He was angry that she had almost addressed him with familiarity, like he wanted, but had then changed it to a formal address and curtseyed in deference to his station, which he hated.
Were they such strangers?
Yes. They were now. She’d left. He’d never left Kalyana. He’d never left in the dead of night, not telling anyone where he was going. And when he’d tried to find her there’d been no trace of her. It was as if her whole life in Kalyana had been erased.
She’d cost him so much.
You were the selfish one. She cost you nothing.
“I’m surprised that you’ve returned to the country you abandoned with such ease,” he snapped.
Her expression hardened. “My apologies, Your Highness. I’m the lead surgeon on this relief mission. I’m representing Canada and I’m here to deliver your supplies and lend my services to your country.” She turned on her heel and walked away.
She was a doctor?
Maazin was shocked, but as she stormed away he couldn’t help but smile to himself. She still had that spirit he’d admired in her.
That fire.
That had been hidden under the surface, something she’d tried so hard to control, but he’d known what a strong woman had been under that demure exterior.
It’s what he’d loved so much about her then.
Now, to see her standing her ground, it surprised him, but pleasantly so.
It woke up a piece of him he’d thought was long gone and as he watched her walk away, giving out orders, he knew that working with her would be a challenge.
One he hadn’t expected.
CHAPTER TWO
JEENA DIDN’T KNOW what she had been expecting. She knew one thing, she hadn’t planned on seeing him. Actually, she hadn’t expected to see him at all. What was a prince of Kalyana doing at the airport, collecting medical supplies?
Not your concern.
And she had to keep telling herself that.
She was stronger now. She could handle seeing Maazin.
Can you?
She’d changed, but had she really expected a bad boy rebel prince to have changed in the last ten years?
No. Well, maybe? One could hope. Other than his engagement to Lady Meleena, Maazin hadn’t really been in the papers. Perhaps he had changed? She’d always wondered if that image he’d projected before she’d met him had been an act. She knew one thing was for sure, his appearance hadn’t changed at all.
It was like time hadn’t even touched him at all.
When she’d seen him there, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It was like all those years ago when he had knelt down in front of her on the polo field and stopped her from embarrassing herself in front of a social class that she had not been comfortable being around at all.
His ebony hair was shorter than it had been. Gone were the long curls that had framed his face when they’d first met and he was now clean shaven. He’d lost the neatly trimmed beard she’d loved so much. His skin was deep, lustrous gold and warmed by the heat and sun from Kalyana. And he’d lost some of that baby fat that came with youth, but those green-gray eyes were still the same as they’d bored deep into hers, totally riveting her to the spot.
Making her quiver with desire. Even after all these years apart her body still reacted to him. She remembered the feeling of those strong hands on her, the taste of his lips as he’d brushed kisses lightly on hers.
How safe he’d made her feel when his arms had been wrapped around her.
He turned his back on you and Syman, remember...?
“He knows,” Meleena said in a scathing tone.
“He knows?” Jeena asked, stunned.
“Yes.”
“How do you know that he knows?”
Meleena rolled her eyes. “My father is very close to the royal family. That’s how I know. Prince Maazin can’t commit to you.”
“I don’t believe that.”
Meleena fished out a check and held it out to her. “Here. Compensation for your...situation.”
It was like a slap in the face and her heart clenched as she stared at it.
This was all she was worth?
The fact he knew about her pregnancy and had turned his back on her made her firm her resolve. She wouldn’t be duped again by anyone.
She was no longer that foolish innocent who could be swept off her feet by a dashing Prince Charming.
He hadn’t been there when her family had sold off everything to start a new life in Canada.
Neither had he been there when Syman was born.
Syman, who had those same eyes as his father.
Syman.
Her heart sank. He always was curious about his father and as he got older she knew it was something she would not be able to keep from him. Not when he could go online and look Maazin up.
He’d learn his father was a prince and a playboy. How his father had turned his back on her. His father’s whole private romantic life had been splashed across tabloids around the world. The only romance not there and not known was hers. Lady Meleena’s parents had paid people off to keep that secret.
“Dr. Harrak!”
She turned and saw Maazin coming toward her and her heart skipped a beat again.
Stand firm.
She crossed her arms and narrowed her resolve. How many people had tried to push her around when she’d been a resident and learning to become a surgeon because she was short at only five feet four? Too many and Jeena had had to rise above all of that and make sure that her voice had been heard above the others in a competitive medical program.
And on top of all of that she’d raised Syman.
She was stronger than some spoiled and pampered prince who was coddled by parents who gave him everything and ruled a country.
She could handle him. She wasn’t going to let a prince sweep her off her feet again. She didn’t need saving or a knight in shining armor.
And she wasn’t going to be sent back to Canada because he and his fiancée were uncomfortable with her presence in Kalyana.
“I have every right to be here,” she snapped when Maazin caught up with her.
“What?” he asked, frowning.
“I have a visa and clearance from the consulate to represent Canada and assist in this humanitarian and relief aid effort. Kalyana may not be my home any longer...”
“I’m aware of that,” he answered stiffly. “What I came over to say was sorry. I’m sorry for embarrassing you like that.”
Jeena was shocked, but she didn’t let him know that. That was different. The Maazin she remembered had been a bit arrogant with people he’d felt deserved it, but he had always been kind and gentle to her. She’d often wondered why he hadn’t shown that side of himself to the public.
Of course he’d turned his back on her. She wasn’t going to be fooled again.
It had been a painful lesson to learn that she didn’t need a prince to come and save her and that she was more than capable of saving herself.
“No apology needed, Your Highness. I forgot myself for a moment, you are absolutely right, I left Kalyana for another country, because it was right for me. Now I’m here on behalf of Canada. I’m home now and I’m here to help.” She curtseyed again.
“Jeena, stop that.” He was annoyed. She remembered how much he hated protocol. She knew she was getting to him.
Good.
“Stop what, Your Highness?”
“Curtseying and calling me Your Highness. Jeena, we know each other intimately.”
“That’s Dr. Harrak to you, Your Highness.” She crossed her arms and leaned forward. “Perhaps we knew each other once, but a lot has changed. I prefer the formality, Your Highness.”
His eyes narrowed. “Fine.”
She nodded and felt a bit of satisfaction knowing that she had won that battle. It felt good.
Did it?
“Well, Dr. Harrak,” he said, exaggerating her name. “My driver Kariff and I are to take you to the southeastern region, which was hardest hit by the cyclone. Our doctors have been working non-stop since the cyclone hit four days ago and they could use a break.”
Jeena smiled. “Of course, Your Highness.”
He stood there. “Well?”
“Well, what?” she asked.
“We have to leave.”
“I’m waiting for you to lead the way, Your Highness. It’s only proper.”
He rolled his eyes and turned around and started marching stiffly toward the van, the tail of his blue kurta billowing out behind him.
If she really wanted to bite back at him, now would be the time to tell him that he reminded her of his father, which had always used to annoy him as well.