The Defiant Princess Read Online Free

question.”
    â€œYour betrothal to Sabihah will be honoured.” King Hassan was immovable. “It was the wish of the royal family of Rhajia and it’s still my wish to unite our countries through marriage. Your marriage. Not your sister’s.”
    Unease bubbled through Khalid’s veins as he sought an argument that would sway his father against his current plans.
    â€œHazim is no longer Crown Prince, Khalid. This responsibility is yours and yours alone.”
    His father’s words drew guilt to the surface and served as a reminder that he must step up to fulfil the responsibilities that had previously fallen to his brother.
    It would be impossible to dissuade his father from this plan. For now, his best course of action would be to return with Sabihah. Hopefully his father would see that Inaya was the better choice of bride.
    â€œKhalid.” The king’s voice softened. “Are you truly in love with Inaya?”
    Khalid controlled the urge to storm away. Love wasn’t an emotion he believed in. Love was something he thought he’d found once when he was young and naive. It had proved as false as an illusion of an oasis in the desert to a dehydrating man. “We are compatible. Inaya is my choice.”
    â€œLove is not something we choose, Khalid. It just happens. If Inaya is simply a choice and your heart is not involved, then I insist you honour this betrothal arrangement with the Crown Princess of Rhajia.”
    â€œI—”
    The king raised a hand to stop him. “There is no other solution. The only way forward is to have Sabihah return to depose Mustaf. As you point out, the princess will be a complete foreigner in her own country. She will need strong guidance if she’s to rule well. As her husband, you will provide that guidance.”
    A muscle ticked in Khalid’s jaw. “Arranged marriages may be accepted by many as part of our culture, but you can hardly expect her to go along with your plans. She’s bound to have been thoroughly Westernised.”
    â€œKhalid, you have women from all over the world falling at your feet. You shouldn’t have any problem getting her to agree to the marriage.”
    â€œFather—” Khalid started to object.
    â€œYou would rather put us all at risk and have Lalita marry Hamil?”
    Khalid swallowed hard. Duty tasted sour in his mouth and bitter resentment pressed down in the area of his solar plexus. At the moment he had no other option than to go to Australia and convince the Rhajian princess to return. He would lend her the support she would need to overthrow Mustaf, and could help her select a first-rate group of advisors to assist her in restoring Rhajia to its former prosperity—but marrying her would not be necessary.
    King Hassan extended the folder. “All the details are in here. This is your kismet. Forget Inaya. You must do what is best for your country.”

Chapter Two
    â€œYou must leave!”
    The words were desperate.
    Sabrina’s senses switched to full alert as she entered through the back door of the two-bedroom home she shared with her former nanny—the woman she called Aunt Helen.
    She heard agitation pulse through each syllable as Helen pleaded, “Please go before she comes inside.”
    A knot of apprehension balled in Sabrina’s stomach. More reporters? Surely not. It had been a couple of weeks since the accident and the interest in the story of her so-called heroism was dying out.
    A deep, well-modulated male voice responded to Helen’s plea, but Sabrina couldn’t make out the words. Whoever it was didn’t sound threatening.
    â€œI don’t want you here!”
    Definitely time to intervene. There was now a note in Helen’s voice that bordered on hysteria.
    â€œI won’t leave until Sabihah knows the truth.” This time the visitor’s assertive words carried through to the kitchen and stopped Sabrina in her