Bound to the Ruthless Prince

Chapter 11 Ceremony

The entire ceremony was a blur to her, and before she knew it, their union was now blessed, and they were now officially man and wife. So many things were revealed to Lily, and it blew her mind away. It turns out that her new family extends further than just the king and his stepmother.

Her late father-in-law had been a polygamist who had married twelve wives in total; he had many children, and Prince Aziz was not the first son of the late king. All the cheering from the family members drowned out all her thoughts. She turned her head, and her eyes caught her husband's eyes.

Lily did not know what their future held for them, but what she did know was that from today on, her status would change and responsibilities would pile up on her like a pile of bricks. Prince Aziz reached for his newlywed bride's hand, and as soon as he entwined his hand in hers, he felt the warmth of her hand as they both walked out of the throne room.

Lily was lost for words, mainly because there was no interpreter to interpret what was being said to her throughout the entire ceremony. The entire time she walked next to her husband and held his hand, her heart pounded against her ribcage. She had no idea where the two of them were headed, but Lily knew that she had never been to this part of the palace; the guards had long left the two of them alone.

They both came to a standstill in front of a door. Prince Aziz let go of his wife's hand and unlocked the door, revealing his room. He turned to his wife and smiled at her.

"Welcome to my chambers, habibata." The prince welcomed her into his chambers, but Lily stood frozen on the same spot, afraid to enter his chambers.

"What does habibata mean?" Lily asked her husband, and she patiently awaited his answer. To her surprise, her stern husband, who almost never smiles, actually smiled at her.

"It means my love." The prince answered her question, and the heat ran throughout Lily's body. She was embarrassed that the prince could even call her that.

"I ask that you do not call me that."

"Why not? After all, you are my wife, aren't you?" The prince teased her, and Lily did not find it funny, not in the least bit.

"I am your wife on paper, and we both know that this marriage was forced upon me," Lily exclaimed.

"Might I remind you, my love, that you were not forced into this marriage? I believe I gave you the option of marrying me."

"Or be sent to death; that is not really much of a choice if you consider the circumstances," Lily spat out. Prince Aziz knew that his wife was right, and there was no doubt about that, but he would never admit it—not in front of Lily, that is. He flashed a smile at her, an action that he has been trying to avoid ever since they became husband and wife.

He tried to open his mouth and argue, but he quickly shut it. He looked into her eyes, and he realized that his wife had lighter brown eyes than he initially thought, and her lips were full, and he wished he could press his lips on them.

"Are you going to look at me like that the entire day?" Lily asked him, and Prince Aziz was thankful for this; otherwise, he would have pressed his lips on hers, but even he knew that their marriage was not as simple as everyone else thought it to be.

"No, I would not be staring at you the entire day; now I do want you to enter my chambers so that we could get done with things," Prince Aziz informed his wife, and her eyes grew wider, and soon Prince Aziz caught up to what his wife was thinking.

"I am—"

"I am not inviting you into my chambers to sleep with you; we have to change and prepare ourselves for the reception, and you have to meet your people," Prince Aziz explained to his wife, who still seemed confused.

"What do you mean by 'my people'?" Lily questioned her husband, who smiled back at her, a wicked smile that Lily did not appreciate.

Well, my beautiful wife, you are married to me, the future king of Hamidin, and my people will become your people." The prince informed her, and it was only now that reality began to hit her. Lily was overwhelmed by the thought of her co-ruling the country with her husband.

"Now please enter my chambers; we do not have the entire day." Prince Aziz advised Lily, and with one nod of her head, she agreed.

**

Lily's breathing became unstable, and her heart was pounding against her chest. Her white dress changed into a red formal dress, fully covering most of her body, and her jewelry matched her new dress. Both Lily and Prince Aziz had met up with the family, and they were making their way towards the balcony.

Prince Aziz held his wife's hand in his, and she pressed his hand; he could feel that she was under pressure. He turned to face her, and their eyes met.

"You will be okay; I am here," Prince Aziz mouthed to his wife, and for some reason she believed every word that he said to her. The family stepped back into the room and allowed both husband and wife to take a step onto the balcony. As soon as the pair came into view, the crowd lost their minds and cheered for them.

The amount of love coming from the crowd blew Lily's mind away, and she could not help but tear up. She turned to face her husband, and he seemed unmoved. His face held no emotion, and not once did he smile at the crowd. Lily hated thinking that she knew Prince Aziz very well; his lack of emotion or his appreciation for his people's affection towards him made Lily second guess their marriage.

Prince Aziz looked at the crowd, and not once did he smile or wave at them. He had been away from his country for the last ten years, and he had to admit that he did not trust even his own people. He could not help but feel a sense of power as his people worshiped him, but he made sure to keep himself grounded. It was power like this that had driven his father crazy with power.

From his peripheral vision, he could see that his wife was looking at him; she seemed concerned, and he saw that she was crying. After nearly five minutes of standing on the balcony, both Prince Aziz and Lily left the balcony and headed for the reception.

The party was in full swing as both Prince Aziz and Lily sat at the podium, their table lined with cultural foods that Lily had no knowledge of but loved the taste of. The traditional dance performance performed by the young women of Hamidin was truly spectacular, and when it ended, they bowed down to both Prince Aziz and Lily as a sign of respect.

The crowd, the royal family, and some diplomats continued their conversation, whereas both Prince Aziz and Lily sat at their table in silence. Lily played with her food, hoping that this would distract her from all that was happening around her.

"I suggest that you refrain from what you did earlier," Prince Aziz warned his wife, who stared at him, confused as to what it was that her husband was saying.

"What did I do this time?" Lily asked her husband, even though she did not care what it was that he was complaining about this time.

"On the balcony, I do not want you smiling at those peasants or waving at them," He warned her, and this left Lily staring at him in disbelief.

"Please tell me that you are kidding me, right? I am being nice and don't you dare call my people peasants" Lily raised her voice at him but low enough for only the prince to hear what he was saying. He smiled at her, and she could not understand his sudden mood change.

"I am sure you are wondering why it is that I am smiling."

"Yes, I am."

"It is because you called my people your people; see, already you have warmed up to them," Prince Aziz pointed out to her, and she realized that the prince was right.

"As I should."

''Well, you should be careful; they might just take your kindness for weakness, and I refuse the idea of my wife being a weakling." Prince Aziz spat, and Lily hated this.

"I am not weak, and you know that, and lastly, who hurt you so badly that you don't trust people?" Lily challenged her husband, and the look in Prince Aziz's eyes suggested that she had hit a nerve.

"It is because I was hurt that I am now wiser, and it would be best if you took my advice. Hurry up, we will be leaving in a bit," Prince Aziz informed his wife.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked her husband.

"We are headed to the desert for our honeymoon, so to speak."

"Wait, isn't the desert hot? We might die of dehydration," Lily pointed out to him, and Prince Aziz smiled back at her.

"You Americans surprise me sometimes," Prince Aziz joked, and Lily took this as an insult.

"What do you mean by we Americans?" Lily asked her husband, but he simply smiled at her and stood up from his seat.

"Get ready, we are leaving now," Prince Aziz informed his wife and without waiting for her to respond, he walked away, leaving Lily seated on her chair.

Now angry and irritated at her husband, Lily stood up from her chair and followed her husband, who was in deep conversation with some of his guards. His back faced her, and it seemed as though the prince was unaware of her presence. She tapped on his shoulder, and Prince Aziz turned to face her, his face lacking emotion.

"I believe I told you to wait for me," he told Lily, his voice filled with arrogance.

''No, you did not tell me that," She reminded her husband, who seemed less than pleased that she had responded.

"Well then, next time I hope you remember that you have to sit put until I tell you otherwise." Prince Aziz told his wife, and Lily could not help but stare at the man who was supposed to be her husband, yet he was belittling her in front of his guards. He turned and faced his guards again. They continued their conversations in Arabic, and she could not understand a word that they were saying to each other.

**

The ride to the desert was a quiet one; neither Lily nor the prince spoke to one another, but the prince and his personal bodyguard Fahd were having their conversations undisturbed. For years, Lily had learned the art of reading people and understanding them, but she could not read Prince Aziz, the man who was now her husband.

She would have fought to get herself out of this messy situation, but she knew that it was almost impossible; she was in a foreign land, and she was unaware of her rights here. They had been riding for more than two hours, and even though Lily hated admitting it, she was scared.

Being a reporter, she had covered stories of hostages and young women who were murdered, but now she felt as though she was next in line. The sun was beginning to set, and this made her stomach churn as fear took over her body.

They were far away from the main city, and she was alone while her husband, the prince, had his personal bodyguard and his convoy. She shut her eyes and prayed that everything would be okay and that she would be okay.