by Amy Ruttan
“Wait, you knew she was pregnant?”
Queen Aruna nodded. “I did, but Meleena convinced me it was a hoax. Meleena told me that Jeena was going to blackmail us. You already had a bad reputation, so I was grateful to Meleena, and she said she would help take care of the problem. She would take care of the rumor...another one of your indiscretions. I thought Meleena was doing right by you in getting Jeena to leave, by paying her off and sticking by you.”
“I still don’t understand. How did you know Jeena was pregnant?”
“The doctor informed me. I knew you were in love with Jeena. I was happy, but then Meleena convinced me it was a lie and that Jeena was using you. I wanted to protect you.”
“Meleena hurt us all,” Maazin said bitterly.
“She may not have loved you but she wanted to marry you, Maazin, so she lied to all of us.”
“I remember,” Maazin said. “Now I remember that.”
Uttam nodded. “She found out about Dr. Harrak’s pregnancy and took it on herself to ruin your life. Meleena knew that you were going to choose Jeena and not her.”
Seeing his son’s furious expression, he reached out and placed his hand on Maazin’s arm. “She’s gone, Maazin. She’s not worth your time. She’s someone else’s problem now.”
“That’s not good enough! She cost me ten years with the woman I love. She cost me time with my son!”
“I am sorry.” Aruna motioned for Maazin to sit on the edge of the bed, where she was sitting next to Uttam. It looked like his mother was about to cry. “No one should lose precious time with their child. I have wasted time with you, Maazin. I was scared your reckless lifestyle would cost me you as well, but I want you to know I don’t blame you for Ali’s death.”
“You don’t?” Maazin asked, stunned.
“No. I thank God every day you survived. Oh, at first I was angry that you had gone and done something foolish. That you were reckless again, but Ali did not have to go and get you, and it was an accident.”
“That’s what Farhan said,” Maazin said quietly.
Uttam nodded. “He will make a fine king. One day. Not soon!”
Aruna smiled. “Stop blaming yourself, Maazin. You deserve to be happy. Ali would want that.”
Maazin took his mother’s hands. “And he would want you to be happy too.”
Aruna’s smile wobbled. “I will try. I am sorry if you’ve blamed yourself all this time. I don’t blame you. I love you.”
Maazin hugged his mother while she cried, and he felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders.
Maazin smiled at his parents. “So what do I do?”
“You go and you marry Dr. Harrak. You marry her and make things right. You may have lost those years with your son, but he’s still young and you have time with him. Cherish that time with him and bring him to Kalyana.” Uttam’s chest puffed out. “Illegitimate or not, he is my grandson and I want him here with me. Life is too short.”
“What do you think, Mother?”
Aruna brushed away a tear. “I want to know my grandson too. I want to know Syman and I want to apologize to Jeena. It’s my fault as well. I am sorry my grief over the loss of Ali has made you feel that way, but when Uttam told me we have a grandchild, well...” More tears gathered in her eyes. “I want to meet him.”
“I do too.” Maazin stood up and kissed his mother on the cheek. “I’ll have to take the private jet, then, to Canada. And we’ll have to call the prime minster and get clearance to enter Canada.”
“You leave that to me,” Uttam said, and then he saw the stern look from his wife, which basically told him that he was treading on dangerous ground. “Or perhaps Farhan can arrange it?”
“Thank you, Father.” Maazin bowed quickly and turned to leave.
“Maazin, wait!” his mother called out.
Maazin turned around and his mother held out a ring. “It was Queen Narubi’s ring. Please give it to Dr. Harrak. Please let her know that we welcome her here. Explain to her it was not our doing. We were led to believe the wrong thing. Had we known the truth...she wouldn’t have had to leave. She is welcome here and she would make a good wife for you. I’m sorry.”
“That’s right,” Uttam shouted from the bed. “If I’d known that you were in love with her and that she was pregnant with our grandchild, I would’ve insisted you marry her straight away.”
“Thank you.” Maazin kissed his mother on the cheek again. “I will make this right. I promise.”
And if Jeena didn’t want to marry him and come to Kalyana, he would let her be, but he was hoping that in her heart she still loved him, just as much as he loved her.
He wanted her to know that she would be safe and protected. That she wouldn’t be trapped. Things were changing and they were changing for the better. Perhaps this was a life he would want for his son.
Perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all.
Maybe together he and Farhan could change the face of the Kalyanese monarchy.
And if Jeena did agree to come and be his wife, he would have to go about building some kind of indoor ice rink so that his son could keep up with hockey. Just the thought of that brought a smile to his face.
The whole future lay ahead, bright and full of sunshine.
If only Jeena would say yes.
* * *
Farhan had worked with the Canadian government to make sure that no one got wind of Maazin’s arrival in Calgary. He didn’t want Jeena to know that he was coming. Or the media. He didn’t want her to flee.
He wanted to let her know that she would’ve been accepted.
One petty person whose pride had been hurt had ruined their lives for the last ten years and Maazin only hoped that it wasn’t too late. He only hoped that he hadn’t ruined his chance with her.
Kavan, Farhan’s bodyguard, had accompanied Maazin to Canada and was going to make sure that the press kept their distance, as well as drive him to Jeena’s home. Farhan had insisted on it because Kavan had been with him when he’d gone to Canada to track down Sara, and he was familiar with the country and driving conditions there in snowy and icy conditions.
As the plane approached the runway at Calgary International Airport Maazin let out a shudder when he saw white on the ground. In the distance he could see the city and smoke rising from the buildings into the clear blue sky.
The large Calgary Tower stuck out in the skyline.
“It’s very cold down there, Your Highness,” Kavan commented.
“I agree,” Maazin said. “Jeena told me it was cold.”
“I think this is colder than those ski trips that you and your brothers took in Kitzbühel.”
“I believe you’re right.” Maazin shuddered. “You made sure that customs has already cleared us and that the Canadian government is on board with our hushed operation?”
“I have the assurances from the prime minister himself. He’s quite a charismatic man.”
Maazin smiled. “I’m glad to hear he’s so accommodating.”
The plane landed smoothly and was directed to a private runway on the far side of the airport, reserved for foreign dignitaries, royalty and the prime minister.
There was a small fleet of cars waiting, which would accommodate Maazin’s small staff and security. As requested, the Kalyanese consulate hadn’t added the flags to the cars as it was a private visit and Maazin didn’t want to catch any one’s attention as they made their way north out of Calgary to a small ranch between Calgary and Airdrie.
It would be easy to locate the Harraks’ ranch, because it was the only property in the vicinity that had a large number of greenhouses, and the Harraks were known for growing and selling poinsettias.
As Maazin stepped off the plane it felt like his skin was being cut by sharp knives. It was bitterly cold and he didn’t like it one bit, but for Jeena he would brave anything.
Even freezing cold temperatures and biting, nasty wind.
The Kalyanese ambassador to Canada was waiting and he was wearing a parka.
“Your Highness, I have a parka for you.”
Maazin nodded and gladly allowed the ambassador to slip it on his shoulders. “This is awful!”
“Nothing like beautiful Kalyana weather.” The ambassador smiled. “Everything is ready for all your people.”
“Thank you.”
The ambassador stepped back, the door to the SUV with tinted windows was opened and he slipped inside. Kavan took his place in the driver’s seat. Maazin adjusted the temperature settings in the back and then slipped off the parka.
“Are you ready, Your Highness?” Kavan asked from the front.
“Yes. Let’s go.” Maazin touched the breast pocket of his designer suit to make sure Queen Narubi’s ring was still there. His pulse was racing as Kavan punched in the co-ordinates on the GPS and then slowly drove away from the private jet. The rest of Maazin’s people were going to the embassy in Calgary.
There would be a car following them for security, at his father’s insistence. If Maazin had his way, he wouldn’t, but then again, with the media pestering Jeena and her family and his son, he didn’t want to take any chances.
He sat back and looked out at the scenery, which was very different from Kalyana’s. They drove north on a large highway with cars everywhere. He noticed a lot of the vehicles on the highway were trucks and they were all white.
“Why do you suppose so many of the vehicles are white, Kavan?”
“Something to do with the oil fields, Your Highness, but I’m not certain.”
“Oil fields?” Maazin really didn’t know much about Canada, but one thing was for certain, the endless stretch of open plains without trees or sea to break the horizon was slightly unsettling. But if this was where Jeena was happy, if this was where she wanted Syman to stay, he would get used to it.
He would stay and do whatever she wanted.
He wasn’t leaving without her. He wasn’t walking away from her again, even though he didn’t know that he had done that in the first place. He didn’t know that she had been sent away. All these years he’d thought she left him.
And for all these years she’d thought he’d walked away from her.
Now it was time to make everything right.
It was time for him to claim his family, like he should’ve done ten years ago.
It felt like it took an eternity to drive forty minutes to the outskirts of Calgary and then on a side road off the highway that turned into a gravel road that had a sign pointing to the Harraks’ greenhouses.
Maazin couldn’t believe the large stretch of land that Mr. Harrak possessed. It put his small vanilla plantation to shame. Before they even reached the main house Maazin could see the greenhouses and through the fogged windows he could see the red of the poinsettias.
Kavan made another turn and they approached a raised ranch-style house. Kavan drove as close as he could. Maazin’s pulse was thundering in his ears. To the side of the ranch house there was a small ice rink and there were kids out on it now, skating. He couldn’t help but wonder which of those boys was Syman.
He was finally going to meet his son.
* * *
“Hey, Mom! There’s a strange car parked in front of the house!” Syman shouted as he skated by her, gesturing wildly.
Oh, no.
Jeena turned around and was worried that the press was ignoring her father’s restraining order and they were coming to get a glimpse of Syman again. Her phone was in the house because it was so cold out that the battery would die within minutes.
She hoped that her father had seen the cars approach and had the good sense to call the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the restraining order violation. The RCMP had promised to protect her after a particularly intrepid paparazzo had gotten into one of the greenhouses and done substantial damage as he’d tried to get information about her parents.
Not to mention one photographer who had scared Syman senseless when he’d got off the school bus.
Since she’d got back three days ago there had been endless harassment.
And she was getting sick and tired of it.
She started marching in the direction of the SUV when she saw who had got out of the back. She froze in her tracks and her heart skipped a beat.
Maazin?
He was completely inappropriately dressed for this crazy cold snap that they were currently having.
“Maazin?” she called out.
He spun around and then started walking toward her.
“Jeena, thank goodness...”
“What’re you doing?”
“I’ve come to see you.”
“I get that. I mean, you’re going to freeze to death standing out here without a coat on.” She glanced behind her. “Why don’t you have a coat?”
“I do. I left it in the car.”
“Let’s get inside and tell Kavan to come in as well. It’s too cold to leave the car running.”
“Well, if it’s too cold, why are there children out there, playing on the ice?” Maazin asked.
“They’re dressed for it and they’ll be heading inside soon. They had to get their practice in. My father can manage the boys. He’ll take them into the greenhouse staff lunch room for hot chocolate. Let’s go into the main house.”
Maazin nodded and motioned to Kavan, who was shivering as well.
Jeena opened the door and ushered them both inside.
“Mother!” Jeena called out. “We have guests.”
“Oh, no. Not the press again!” Her mother came around the corner and then froze in her tracks when she saw Maazin. She instantly curtseyed. “Your Highness.”
“Please. There is no need to do that, Mrs. Harrak.”
Her mother stood up slowly and then looked at Jeena for an explanation. Jeena shrugged and took off her bulky winter gear. “Mom, will you take Kavan into the kitchen and give him a nice hot cup of coffee?”
Her mother nodded. “Of course. Follow me, Kavan.”
Kavan waited until Maazin nodded and then followed her mother into the kitchen. She finished taking off her winter gear and then stood in front of Maazin, completely shocked that he was here in Canada and standing in her parents’ front hall. It was surreal. Of all the scenarios she’d pictured in her mind of Maazin coming to get her, this had not been one of them. A royal prince of Kalyana, wearing an expensive suit and standing in a tiny front hall that was littered with twenty pairs of wet snow boots, not to mention a bunch of knapsacks.
“It smells a lot like feet here,” he teased, obviously trying to break the tension.
“You’re standing by the shoe rack and there are a lot of sweaty boots there.”
Maazin glanced down. “So I see.”
“What’re you doing here?” she asked, still feeling stunned.
“I came to see you.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Is there a place with more privacy where we can talk?” he asked.
“Sure. Follow me.” Jeena didn’t want to talk with him in the house because Syman might come bursting in after all his friends had been picked up. Attached to the house was her father’s first greenhouse and it was a place where he still grew a small batch of vanilla orchids. It was quiet and warm in there.
She led him into the greenhouse and shut the door behind them.
Maazin looked around. “Your father grows vanilla here as well?”
“Just a small batch. He sells it on the weekends at a local organic market.” She crossed her arms. Her heart was still hammering in her chest and she couldn’t quite believe that Maazin was here, in Canada.
“So, will you finally tell me what you’re doing here?” she asked.
“I came for you.”<
br />
She blinked a couple of times. “Pardon me?”
“Jeena, you know I’m not marrying Lady Meleena. The moment I dropped you off at the Canadian embassy in Huban I went straight to the palace to have it out with my parents. I told them I was tired of hiding the fact I’m not marrying Meleena and I was going to marry you.”
“I thought you couldn’t promise me anything? I thought you didn’t deserve happiness?”
“I was wrong.”
She tried not to let her mouth drop open in shock. Her pulse was thundering in her ears and it was very hard to breathe. “How did your parents react to your news?”
“Not well at first.”
“Of course. I’m the last person they’d want you to marry.”
“No, you need to stop that. It’s because my father didn’t know Syman was mine. Meleena had them all believing you were going to blackmail us. They believed Meleena paid you off and saved the royal family from another one of my scandals. Meleena wanted to marry me, so she hurt us both. She lied to us both.”
Jeena swallowed the hard lump that was forming her throat. “What?”
“My father wants you to know that he would never have forced me to marry Meleena had he known I wanted you. He would’ve been thrilled had he known you were pregnant with my child. My mother is thrilled too, but Meleena had convinced her you weren’t pregnant. In fact, they’re both very happy to have a grandson. They both want to meet him.”
The room began to spin and Jeena didn’t know how to take this information. She sat down on a bench and took a couple of deep breaths.
“I don’t... I don’t know what to say. We have a life here in Canada...”
“I know and if that is what you choose, then I choose it too.”
“You choose it too?” she asked, confused.
Maazin dropped to his knees in front of her and took her hands in his strong ones. “You’re trembling.”
“I’m scared,” she whispered.
“I am too, but if Canada is where you need to be then I will live here. What I can’t do is live without you in my life. I can’t live without Syman in my life. I’ve spent too many years thinking that I didn’t deserve happiness or love because of my actions, but I was wrong. I was wrong about so many things. You were right, but I was scared. Scared to lose you again.”