24

The way that his hand was brushing against her ear had made her quickly close her legs. The way he was sitting was making her uncomfortable as his hands were heating up her insides. She knew that it would be easy for her to turn his head to hers and taste his open mouth, but she couldn't. "There is so many gaps in information about your family, where you all come from. If you really did take me away to wherever you're from then the case about that will open again. News crews will take submarines to follow you home. I don't want to undermine the security of whatever privacy you have."

"You're forgetting that you were a princess."

"Princess is the courtesy title given to me. I've never even used it. It's gone now as the prince whom it came from." Yuliya remembered how much disdain her in-laws had when the prince's death announcement came out and all the press could focus on was the white woman who was walking next to their beloved son. They had all shouted at the TV when the memorial about their son was interrupted by a gossip segment about his wives. She wished the public could know how little of a wife she had truly been.

Kai ran his fingers through her hair again focusing on where her part was. He dusted off the area where some cotton spores had come onto it and straightened the hair there with focus. He traced the zigzag of the part that she had spent some time making. His finger against her scalp was strange and still made her feel uncomfortable. She was so close to him that she could smell his cologne. Truly though, she was annoyed that she wanted him to be closer to her. "You'll mess up my baby hairs that I spent so much time hairspraying. I don't like seeing pictures of myself where there are odd hairs everywhere."

Kai looked disappointed as he removed his hands and pushed himself back on the sofa as though he didn't really want to have any distance from her. "Was there love in your marriage? Would you say that it was successful? Did you have any happy moments?"

These types of uncomfortable situations were a favorite of Hassan to tease her about when they were alone in their apartment. However, he was no longer on this earth to point at her and give her a little thumbs up to show his undying support for her. Now only she could root for herself. "I was still in love with my husband when he died so I would say our marriage was a smashing success. It was perfect such that there are so many beautiful memories that I had with him while walking hand in hand."

"I know that I could never give you that so it's okay that you're still having someone like that in your heart. If you tried to love me, I'm not sure I can understand all of the emotions required to give you what you need. I don't know how to give love to someone else."