PRINCESS OF THE EAST. Vida Lagodina

you can throw him away, hide him in the farthest corner or … – he pierced me with his expressive look – leave him and put it on my neck. In general, you will do whatever you want with him. I nodded carefully, pondering his words. In the end, it’s only for one evening. Ali took the pendant out of the box and hesitantly approached me, unfastening the lock on the go. – If you will…

      I looked at his outstretched hands, assessing the situation. Is it worth it to let this person into their personal space? I turned my back to him, threw my hair to the side, took off Lera’s gift and squeezed it in my hand, feeling unbearable homesickness. Ali came so close to me that I felt the heat of his body and the smell of perfume on my back. A bit pungent but refreshing. I swallowed nervously, aware of the tension of the moment. He carefully laid the chain on my neck, touching it with the fingers of my hand holding my hair, which made me sharply pull it back, feeling the strong beat of his heart. Probably the animals, cornered, feel the way I feel now. He fastened the chain and ran his fingers lightly over the open area on my neck, causing a slight trembling in my spine.

      Trying to pretend that his proximity does not bother me at all, I met his gaze in the mirror. Now his excitement gave way to satisfaction, and a faint smile appeared on his face. For a while we stood in complete silence, dissolving in each other’s eyes, until we were interrupted by a knock on the door. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the instant turbidity, and stepped back a few steps from Ali.

      – Sir, – came a dull voice from behind the door, – our Lord has come for supper.

      I was overcome by a panic and looked at Ali, who was thinking about something.

      – May I ask you a favor?

      I took a deep breath and wary.

      – It depends on what exactly you want to ask.

      – We can pretend that all this is real, that is … – he hesitantly looked into my eyes. – That we are really in love?

      For a moment I was in a stupor, but then understanding came.

      – Your father does not know that you bought me as a thing in the market! – He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

      – He knows that you are not here of your own free will, but… I did not tell him the rest, so as not to put you and your family in a difficult position.

      – Wow! How noble of you. – I could not hide the poison that was in my words, and ran a hand over his face. – Well… there is absolutely no turning back.

      – Thank you.

      I did not answer, and together we left my bedroom. I felt a slight excitement. Sheikh Amir, like last time, showed his joy at the meeting. Today he was accompanied by his second wife, Malika, and the youngest son, Damir. Ali introduced me to his family one by one, and then we exchanged greetings, questions about health and progress in business, after which Ali invited everyone to the part of the house reserved for receiving guests (it turns out that there is one). Around the laid round table lay a low red mattress with a huge number of different pillows, and on the walls were chic massive rugs in oriental style.