Free A Bride For The Sheikh by Katheryn Lane

off a set of perfect, if slightly large, white teeth.
    When she offered Angelina a glass, Angelina declined. “I think I’ve had enough already.”
    “The party’s just starting.” Chrystal placed a champagne flute in front of her. “I insist. I have a very special announcement to make and everyone needs to have a glass to toast me with.”
    Angelina nodded in assent and picked up her glass. She took a sip and felt the bubbles go down her throat. It then mixed with chilli that she’d eaten and made her feel a bit sick. She put the champagne back down on the table.
    As soon as everyone had a glass, Chrystal stood up at the front of the room and tapped on the side of hers. The chatter around the room gradually came to a halt and everyone turned to look at their hostess.
    “First, ladies, I would so like to thank you all for coming this evening,” she began. A few of the women thanked her in return. Chrystal smiled at them. “I’ve invited you all here this evening because it’s always wonderful to catch up with old friends who’ve moved away and now only come back to Bezira to visit.” She raised her glass in Carla’s direction and Carla raised hers back. “And it’s always interesting to meet new people.” Angelina felt Chrystal’s cold blue eyes bore into her own. “However, I’ve also invited you all here tonight as I have a very special announcement to make. As you all know, my father and I have made Bezira our home and we’ve taken on many local customs and ideas.”
    “I can’t see any evidence of how she’s adapted to Arabic culture,” Angelina whispered to Sarah, who sat next to her.
    “Being rich, having a big house, lots of flash cars. She’s taken on a lot of local customs.” Sarah giggled.
    Chrystal stared at the pair of them, and a woman on the other side of Angelina told her to hush.
    “As I was saying, my father and I have embraced this country as our own and as a result, we have found ourselves not averse to the local custom of arranged marriages. In fact, my father has arranged for me to be married.”
    “Chrystal!” one of the women standing next to her blurted.
    “An arranged marriage? No!” another one said.
    Chrystal waited a minute for the general commotion and whispering to die down. “As my father has only ever had my best interests at heart, he’s arranged a marriage that he knows will not be unwelcomed by me; one that I am in fact overjoyed to announce this evening.”
    “Who is it?” someone called out.
    “I’m just coming to that,” Chrystal said, looking irritated by the interruption. “The official announcement will be made soon, but I wanted to share my good news with my closest friends first. It is my joy to tell you all that I am engaged to marry Sheikh Rashid bin Jafari Al Abid, the sultan’s son.”
    The audible gasp rippled across the room. Angelina looked at Chrystal in shock, only to see that Chrystal was looking directly back at her, grinning.
    “To Chrystal and Sheikh Rashid!” the woman next to Chrystal announced. Everyone lifted their glasses and called out, “To Chrystal and Sheikh Rashid!” Everyone except Angelina, who sat frozen to the spot, too stunned to move.
    “Are you okay?” Sarah asked. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea that Chrystal was engaged to the sheikh. I would never have brought you along if I’d known.”
    Angelina took several deep breaths. “I’m fine, thank you. I just need to go to the bathroom.” She excused herself and left the room.
    She had no idea where the bathroom was and didn’t really care. She just needed to get away from everyone and let the news sink in. After wandering around the cavernous house for a few minutes, she found a door that led to an outside terrace. She breathed in the hot desert air. It seemed to weigh down on her. Even at night, the heat was horrendous.
    She couldn’t believe that Rashid was engaged. Why hadn’t he told her? she asked herself, but then there were many things that he