Written in Arabic characters and roughly translated to English,
“Among my children, you are worthy above all.”
It was the ring passed on from one Al Khalifa King to his chosen successor. A Regency Council only existed to elect a King when the previous King was not able to choose an heir. It was a failsafe mechanism to avoid any internal disputes. Since the King gave Isa the ring in full control of his capacities, the ring represented the King’s absolute command. Isa was right, forming a Council was unnecessary and since everybody voted that the throne is vacant, the son, chosen above all others is the natural successor.
Hasan’s knees became weak and he sank down to his chair. All other relatives became silent, except for the Queen, who protested. However, everyone knew, even Hasan and the Queen that the decision has been made. The King already made the decision for them.
Each member approached Isa, bowed deeply and asked for his blessing. Isa laid his hands on their heads, whispered a short prayer. Hasan and the Queen left the room without paying respect to Isa. Other members left too, except for the uncles, who notified the ministers waiting outside of their agreement. It will take a few months before the details will be polished but for all intents and purposes, Isa was now the de facto head of the Al Khalifa family and sole Regent of the Kingdom.
Now alone in the assembly room, Isa took his phone and saw the time. It was already 3am, he thought that maybe Tricia was already sleeping but he called anyway. Thankfully, she was not.
“Isa? Where are you? Aren’t you going here tonight?”
“I am. I will be there shortly.”
“Isa is everything alright? You sound worried.”
“No Tricia, I think I made the biggest mistake in my life.”
“Why? What’s wrong?!”
“I made myself King.”
“I don’t understand Isa, come home here. Just go here. We can talk about it okay. I’ll wait for you.”
“I will Tricia, wait up for me.”
“I will.”
Isa hang up and called for a car to bring him to Tricia.
As soon as Isa hanged up, Tricia’s phone rang again. She answered and she heard a familiar voice,
“Did he call?”
“Yes he did, just like you said.”
“Good, we have him right where we want him to be. Right?”
Tricia did not reply. The voice asked again,
“Right Tricia?”
“Yes just as you said, Ahmed.”
Chapter 8: Caught in Love
“The Kingdom of Bahrain mourns. Tonight, Prince Hasan made a public announcement that his father, the King has died of heart attack during his sleep. The Royal Family and the citizenry are stunned, only weeks ago has it been announced that the King was already recovering from a fall. But now, the King is dead and while the entire nation mourns, they do so with anticipation. Historically, it has always been the eldest son who inherits the throne, despite a Regency Council that determines the next King. But today, the Palace has been puzzlingly quiet on who the next King will be. Stay tuned as we show you photos and videos of the full life that the King has lived.”
Isa and Tricia snuggled close together on their bed while watching the news. Every channel in Bahrain and almost all international news outlets ran stories about the life of the late King. Every so often, they will show pictures of Hasan, assuming that he is next in line. There were only brief scenes with Isa on them but they were mostly shown in reference to him being the black sheep of the family.
“That’s so unfair Isa,” complained Tricia.
“It is nothing Tricia, they have every reason to think so. The entire country knows about my past but I will show how much I have changed and how I will lead Bahrain into the future.” answered Isa.
“Tell me again, how soon will it be official?”
“The Palace is still ironing out the details for the announcement but Parliament has already been notified and has given their support.”
“Not that you need their approval right?”
“Since when has my Texan cowgirl been so knowledgeable with Bahraini politics?”
“What do you think I do every day? Wear my fancy jewelry and spend your money?”
“I thought you rode my horses, Tricia those are for my polo matches not for herding cow.”
“I knew that! Even your horses are fancy here!”
They giggled and then Tricia’s face suddenly became serious.
“What is the matter?” asked Isa.
“I’m scared Isa, what will happen to me? To us?”
“We will cross the bridge when we get there. In the meantime, let us enjoy what we have now and what we have tonight.”
“Tonight? What do we have tonight?”
“Each other,” with that Isa kissed her on the lips. It was soft first and then the kisses went deeper and more passionate. Tricia opened her mouth and let Isa explore her lips with his tongue. Soon, they took off each other’s clothes. Tricia stood up and walked towards the bathroom while Isa followed her.
Tricia turned the shower on and poured a few drops of lavender scented liquid soap to her palms. With Isa now standing with her, Tricia proceeded to lather the soap to his body. Starting from his neck, then to his chest and then to his arms and pits and his hands. While she washed him, Isa also took a few drops and soaped Tricia. She then showed him her back and Isa gently shampooed her hair and then kneaded her back. Isa pressed his chest and torso against Tricia’s back and his waist, groin and thighs against Tricia’s round buttocks. Before they can get carried away, they turned off the shower, wiped themselves dry and proceeded to the bed.
Tricia lay on her back and Isa sat on his knees and stared at her naked body. Tricia also stared back and even after more than a year together, she was still mesmerized with Isa. The dim light of the room made Isa’s chest seem to shine. His thick chest and his rippling arms and abdomen were covered with light hair. She raised her hand and caressed Isa’s taut body. As Tricia traced the bulging veins that lined Isa’s waist, Isa cupped her breasts and lowered his face to kiss them.
Tricia moaned and with each moan, she instinctually raised her waist higher and higher, inviting Isa to meet her halfway. Isa responded and thrust himself into Tricia, together they matched their all too familiar rhythm. As Isa thrust, Tricia wrapped her legs around Isa’s thighs. As Isa clutched her tender breasts, Tricia pulled him closer while holding his head.
After what seemed like hours of waves of pleasure coursing through both of their bodies, Tricia knew it was time to switch places. She lay on her right side and Isa spooned her. He continued to thrust and Tricia grabbed and kissed his left arm that was now wrapped on her two hands. They changed to a few more positions, once with Tricia on top, then another with both of them standing while Tricia was pinned against a wall and finally back to Isa on top while lying on the bed for the final thrust that brought them together to climax.
Isa, as vigorous as he was, soon fell to sleep, the everyday stresses of his father’s funeral and his impending coronation were already taking its toll on him. Tricia nudged him to check if he was deeply asleep. He was. Just to be sure, Tricia asked if he was still awake. Isa only answered with his heavy breathing.
Chapter 9: Confrontation & Confusion
A furious Isa walked past the assistants and guards of his brother, Hasan. Despite Hasan giving instructions not to let anyone in during his meeting, neither Hasan’s staff nor any other person in the Palace had the courage to protest against Isa. Hasan maybe the eldest Prince, but if the rumors are true, Isa is the future King. Without asking permission to enter Hasan’s office, Isa pushed the double doors and let himself in.
“You did this Hasan!” Isa shouted. Hasan did not seem surprised; he was not even in a meeting but sat alone in his desk, probably gloating all day.
“What did I do brother?”
“Do not play me for a fool. You have no right to put cameras on our room! What kind of perversity do
you have? I demand you give me the recordings!”
“Calm down brother. I have no idea what you are saying but I do know that cameras are in place everywhere we are, especially our place of residence. For our security of course.”
“Security? That was an invasion of privacy!”
“Privacy? You are a Prince of Bahrain and the future King, you have many powers and privileges brother, the right to privacy is not among them.”
“Keep the cameras then, but give me the recordings!”
“Which recordings?”
“You know what I mean”
“Honestly Isa, I have no idea. If you can give me the date and time of the recordings that you want, I can petition Parliament to access them, review the recording and assess the merits of your request. The recordings are the property of the government and you know how our Family has always been under scrutiny.”
Isa hesitated. He has been away of the Kingdom for so long. Sure he has kept himself updated with the current events of Bahrain but the inner working of the politics, he has no information. He knows that there is increasing pressure to abolish or reduce the power of the monarchy as part of an effort to modernize Bahrain but the support of the common people, keeps them on their Palaces. But if the recordings do indeed go public, it may tip the balance away from royals’ favor.
“Isa? Can you tell me the date and time of the recordings please? I am sure I can sway Parliament to grant the request of the future King.”
“What do you want Hasan?”
“The date and time of the recordings so I can help you brother.”
“Stop lying Hasan, I know that you have them and I know that you want something in exchange for them.”
“Come with me brother.” Isa was about to refuse but Hasan with his eyes pointed towards the chandelier hanging on the ceiling. Isa looked at the direction of Hasan’s gaze and notice the unmistakable black lens of a security camera. Isa followed his brother toward a door behind Hasan’s desk.
Inside was a small room, with a leather couch, a coffee table and a large television mounted on the wall. There was also a minibar and as Isa noticed, no security cameras overhead.
“This was a storage room for the office. I had it converted to this mini theater room just for relaxation, you know from the stress of keeping the entire Kingdom together. This is a clean room, no recordings whatsoever. The room is soundproof too so no chance of anyone eavesdropping.”
“A year of standing for Father does not take that much toll; you have been groomed for it all your life.”
“A year? You think that I have only taken over Father’s duties when he had the heart attack? You know nothing Isa! Call it exile but you lived a life free from the responsibilities of our position but that does not give you the right to ignore what is happening to our country!”
“What do you mean?”
“Listen to me brother and listen well. You are in danger.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“We can’t stay here for long. They will notice that we have been in here and they will suspect.”
“Who?”
“Listen, I know all about the recording and the camera. I had those installed the moment you brought Tricia at the hotel, not to blackmail you but to monitor her.”
“Tricia? Why her?”
“We do security checks for everyone who gets close and intimate with our family, especially us who are in line to the throne. Tricia and her background, they don’t add up. We have been tailing her, tapping into her calls and other surveillance done. Tell me how you met her.”
“In the hospital, the night that Father was rushed to RBH. In the chapel, she was alone, we talked, had a cup of coffee.”
“What did she say about herself?”
“She is from the U.S., Texas I think. Her parents died on a hostage crisis somewhere in the Philippines. I donated a small hospital in the district where her parents were doing missionary work. Her friends, I don’t remember their names but they were traveling the world with her just to help her from her grief.”
“Ivy and Ross?”
“Yes, those are the girls.”
“Did you talk to them?”
“Just briefly, why?”
“We managed to reach them in the US to ask about Tricia. They know her but only when they met her here in Bahrain. Tricia was not traveling with them; they were not even high school friends.”
“What?”
“There is more, her parents? They were not doctors in Asia but somewhere in Iran. There were hostage taking situations in the Philippines but those were not his parents. Her parents are yet to be discovered. We believe she is traveling to Iran via Bahrain to investigate on her own. This is why we installed the cameras. Tell me how did you know about the recording?”
“She showed me a memory card that she said she found on the floor, possibly slid through the door.”
“Look at this.” With that Hasan played the recording in the television on the room. Isa and Tricia’s lovemaking were now playing but with a different angle than what Isa already saw.
“You don’t need to show this to me. I saw all of it already.”
“It ended with both of you sleeping right?”
“Yes and the recording stopped.”
“Look at this,” with that Hasan fast forwarded until a few seconds into the time where Isa and Tricia were sleeping. Instead of being cut, it went on. Isa was shocked at what he saw.
Tricia stood up from the bed. She did not even bother to open the lights. She crept quietly and walked towards the bathroom. She tiptoed and removed a hollowed canister the size of a finger that was attached to the shower head. She opened the canister and removed a black camera. She held on two both and then moved towards the bookcase facing their bed. She reached into a narrow space in between two books and took out another miniature camera. She then hid the cameras inside her purse and then moved back in bed with the oblivious Isa.
“She knew…” Isa said, now sitting in the couch, his legs became weak after what he saw.
“No, those cameras are not ours. She put them there herself. Why, I don’t know, probably to blackmail you and ruin the family. What we do know, those cameras are the type that can directly store the recordings in the device itself. With that storage capacity and size, those are cameras you cannot just buy anywhere.”
“Then why did you let me stay with her all this time? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Would you have listened to me? This recording is the only concrete proof I have that something is not right with Tricia. You would have countermanded any order I made to question or detain her.”
“What do we do now? Do you want me to confront her?”
“No. As much as I hate to say this but you have to continue to play along. Maybe along the way, she will slip and reveal her real identity or purpose and who she is working for. We are monitoring both of you 24/7, we can go to you at anytime in case something happens.”
“So you want me as bait?”
“I want to preserve the monarchy and our honor and if that means finding out why is Tricia conspiring against you while using you as bait then so be it. This is your first lesson as the future King, sacrifices.”
“Tell me what you want me to do Hasan.”
Chapter 10: Confessions
Tricia paced back and forth on their room. The wheels are turning and though she was the one that started it, she is not sure if she can stop them. She knows the kind of distress that she caused on Isa and perhaps even the entire monarchy. Wracked with guilt, she waited for the call from the mastermind of it all, what is she to do next? Does she wait for Isa to act? Does she leak the video herself?
She received no other further instructions, except that she was told that to expect another call. She held on to the cameras that had the video. She gave the memory cards that also had the video to Isa, as instructed, but she kept the cameras, she did not know why but she just did. Were there other copies? She was not sure
. Will Isa find out? She was not sure either. She has so many questions and none can answer.
She has one question though that she can answer, will she do everything that Ahmed orders her? There was simply no other options in the matter, she will do everything, travel to Bahrain, seduce the Prince, make a sex video, release it even if it meant her naked body made public and do anything else, as long as the deal she made is completed. She had no choice, except during the year that she was with Isa, something changed.
From what was told of her, Isa was a notorious playboy, an alcoholic, a drug addict and an out of control spoiled brat. She thought it was easy to play her part in the game but it was not. The person she met in the hospital chapel was very different from the person she was told about. Isa did not see the black sheep of the Royal Family but a man in pain, longing for his Father and seeking a friend. He was not gaunt, his eyes were not sunken and his skin was not pale, instead he was beautiful, a postcard Prince of the East. It was the combination of his apparent sensuality and his personality that finally made her truly fall in love him.
Billionaire Romance: The Billionaire's Secrets (Alpha Billionaire Romance Book 1) Page 4
