Megan hugged her self as she walked down the halls towards the sheik's room, she had been summoned. She felt sad and broken...and lost and lonely, she just wanted to return to America, to have her sense of sanity back, to be in a familiar environment, to be able to step out whenever she wanted than to be cooped up in a room in another man's land, a strange land. She relished the feeling that came with waking up on her bed, in her comfortable apartment, the fresh aroma of the rich brewing coffee, now thinking about it she wondered when last she had tasted coffee.
Omar was understanding, he had taken their relationship seriously when he had brought her home to see his father, he couldn't have gotten married without his consent and she had thought he would be like most American dad's with the, "oh hello daughter in law" attitude. She sighed, she knew she loved Omar and he loved her just as much, but she was suffering here and she wondered if he was suffering to, afterall he is the one being forced to marry someone he doesn't want to, they were both pawns in the hands of the sheik, if she left then the burden on Omar to marry might reduce but then would he actually let her. She was a US citizen for crying out loud and what the sheik was doing by keeping her against her will was kidnap.
The guard leading her to the sheik totally ignored her, not for once looking back like he knew she was actually following him, she was expected to follow, they were all pawns for the sheik, whether you were paid to be a pawn like the guards or you were blackmailed into being a pawn, nothing changes. She watched him, he walked like he calculated his steps, his back straight and head up, his hands swung lightly by his side and his palms were in a fist ready to throw a punch.
They came to a stop in front of a room near the end of the long hall way and the guard knocked lightly on the door, announcing that he had brought her as demanded, he waited a while for a command to open before opening the door for her to enter, she shook a little as stepped in and he closed the door behind her, it was just her now and the sheik in the room.
"Megan," his voice was calm but held an edge of hostility, "I'll get straight to the point, Omar is to get married to the princess and somehow I see you as a threat to that so what do we do about that?" The question was rhetorical she knew but then it presented itself as an opportunity for her to voice out. She cleared her throat to get his attention.
"You have something to say?"
"I would..hmm!" She cleared her throat again. "I want to return back to America."
The sheik narrowed his eyes at her. "You want to return?" He smirked, "Omar told you to?"
"Omar doesn't know...yet. I'm not sure I want him to. I just want to go back to normal, I know Omar will have to marry her...err... princess, it would be useless and hurtful on my part to stay back. I don't want to stay, I don't..."
"And Omar?" He watched her but she didn't meet his gaze, he could see from the corner of her eyes that she was already tearing up, she fought hard to blink back the tears but it was of no use, they fell from her lashes onto her cheek which she quickly wiped away, suppressing a sniff.
"Funny how only a few days can change your heart away from Omar whom you claim to love so much."
Megan knew the sheik was teasing her, but it made her feel terrible because in all he wasn't far from the truth, she had gotten tired, not of Omar but of the situation they were in, she felt suffocated and she desperately needed to breathe, she kept her head lowered and couldn't stop the tears now, she knew somehow she would have to let go of Omar, she had faith in him before when he told her he would come up with an escape plan but that was then, now three days to the marriage she had lost all hope.
"You and Samir were once together." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact because he knew. Megan's head shot up and the look in her eyes confirmed it.
"So that's why you want to leave, to get back together with him." He sighed. "I knew most American women were loose and I expected nothing more from you but then I might have been impressed just a little if you had proven me wrong."
"I'm not getting back together with Samir!" She didn't mean to shout.
"That's the only way you'll leave here," he turned to face her, "if Samir takes you out, or I might have to believe that this is a plot by you and Omar to get you out and stop him from marrying the princess. I'm a smart man you see."
Megan froze, she looked at the sheik in awe, what kind of man was this? How could he force her to... Then she thought about it, if all it takes for her to leave was if Samir would take himself then she would do it, not like he could then force her to marry him, he just had to take her out of the house and out of the country back to America then she was free, she would never get back together with Samir even if things didn't work out between she and Omar. She would never. She decided to play along.
"You want me with Samir or you don't want me with Omar?"
"Frankly I don't care who you end up with, Samir or with any other Arabian man, seeing that they catch your fancy, but Omar is my son, and I would not be alive to see him ruin his chances by ending up with... you know...a loose woman."
Megan gritted her teeth in anger, she wasn't loose. "You don't value his happiness, do you?"
"I don't value this conversation. You will go with Samir if you want to leave, Omar will know you're done with him."
"No!" She breathed. "I don't want Omar to know I'm going or he might come find me."
"Smart." He smirked. "But he will know and you will tell him you're getting back together with Samir. Return to your room."
That was basically blackmail and that's such a terrible shiek. The heck is gonna happen to poor megan who's just emotionally drained