The Sultan's son

6. The yacht (part three)

“Not now," said the Sultan, leaving her a bit on edge. "We have almost reached the Fishermen's Bay, let's go to the shore. It is nearly deserted today, so we can relax, swim, and chat. If you like, you can follow Bernard, our chief of staff, he will escort you to your rooms and you can change for the beach."

The butler, an elegant man in his forties, with jet-black and impeccably combed hair, gave a bow and said in a slight French accent: “Follow me, ladies and gentlemen, we have arranged three rooms, one for the parents and one each for the children. This way, please."

They were led into three adjacent bedrooms. Each had a large window, a luxurious king-size bed, and its own bathroom. The furnishings were exquisite, with the parents' room in shades of white and beige, Leone's room in beige and brown, and the girl's room in white, beige, and gold.

The butler explained to them, “Each room has an intercom and a list of useful numbers. Do not hesitate to call me for anything you need, my number is at the top of the list. You have a bathrobe and slippers in the bathroom, as well as a minibar with drinks. Would you like me to arrange anything for you now? A swimsuit? Any particular music? Beauty products?"

"No, thank you, Mr. Bernard, everything is fine!" her father said.

The butler bowed. “Please, sirs and madam, make yourselves comfortable. I just need to show the young lady something." And he gestured for Regina to enter her room, then followed her. “I know there was a little mishap with your dress, and I’ve been asked to bring you a replacement dress. I hope you like red; otherwise, let me know, and I'll bring you something else," he said, opening the wardrobe and indicating a stunning dress with a V-neck.

"I do like red, but it doesn’t seem appropriate..."

"Why not? Go ahead, change, and give me the damaged suit, I'll take it to our tailor, don't worry, he'll arrange it superbly!"

She caressed the soft fabric. It was a branded dress; she had never owned anything so elegant. It was new and the tag said it was from Valentino. Wow! It must have cost a fortune! What if she ruined it? No, she couldn't wear it. And she wouldn't give her wet rag to a tailor accustomed to designer clothes. Besides, she had been careful to wash it thoroughly, but what if she missed something? She imagined the classy tailor wrinkling his nose at smelling the stench.

“Look, Mr. Bernard, thank you so much for your generosity but could you be so kind as to bring me a needle and thread? I would like to try to make my dress presentable by myself, there is no need to bother your tailor. "

After some insistence, the butler brought her a sewing kit. She took off her dress to repair it, but could not resist the temptation to try on the red dress.

Incredibly, it fit her perfectly, it left her cleavage too uncovered for her tastes, but it suited her, she also seemed a little slimmer. Maybe it was a tad too long; for Charmant the hem that flared out at the bottom would have been above the knee, while for her it ended below the knee, however the cut suited her. With a sigh, she put it back in place.

The dress was certainly an offer from the Prince. She couldn't trust him. That man exasperated her and frightened her. She was deeply depressed by his reactions, no one had ever treated her like this, not even the rare quarrelsome customers at the place where she worked. He had established that she was a criminal and was determined to make her pay for it. She couldn't do anything about it, so she might as well give up and make the best of a bad situation. And as much as she wanted to avoid him she couldn't, because it was he who watched her every move and interpreted them in the worst way. At least, when he confronted her, she managed not to cry because anger overpowered her discouragement. If she had cried in front of him she was sure it would have made the situation worse, he would have had more reasons to attack her. But she hadn't done anything wrong, it was deeply unfair. She let out a nervous sob but then felt the boat come to a stop. She gathered her courage and washed her face, determined not to let anyone see how upset she was.

They reached the beach in two motorboats, one led by the Sultan with his guests and the other by Quarin with his girlfriend, Joridey, and his mother Naisha. The butler accompanied them.

Bernard planted three umbrellas in the sand and placed towels around them. The De Stefano couple sat with the Sultan and his wife to chat, while Leone invited Charmant and Quarin to play a game of beach volleyball, Charmant agreed, while Quarin sat to observe all of them in silence.

Regina was dragged into the water by Joridey, who wanted to show off his swimming skills, so she gave up her usual long swim offshore and played with the boy. She also enjoyed herself a little, but she couldn’t relax because she felt the disapproving gaze of tha Prince fixed on her. The few times she dared to glance at him, he was looking at her with his usual frown. Exasperating. Nerve-wracking. And rude as well. He didn't seem to care at all about Charmant, who was laughing and joking with Leone, maybe he wasn't the jealous type. Obviously, he was so sure of himself that he didn't think his girlfriend would be interested in anyone else. However, his girlfriend, in her opinion, was better than him. She seemed to have accepted their presence and treated her brother in a normal way, even a bit flirtatious, but maybe she was used to men’s attention, given her dazzling beauty. She didn't appear as haughty as Regina had thought the first time she saw her. Well, maybe a little. Her brother seemed fascinated by her, bringing out his cocky side, that, she had to admit, worked with girls. Everyone considered Leone quite handsome, with his swimmer's physique and symmetrical face, not to mention his strikingly green eyes with a feline shape, similar to hers. 'Let's hope that irresponsible brother of mine doesn't get out of his lane,' she thought.

Lunchtime arrived, and they returned to the boat and changed out of their swimsuits.

Regina arrived on the deck where lunch was being served and Quarin stood in front of her.

Oh Lord, what anxiety! What did he want now? She tried to pass him by moving to the side, hoping he'd leave her alone. But he shifted to block her path

“Didn't you find a suit in your room? Why didn't you put it on? I would have sworn it was your size."

"You know how it is, I would never want someone to accuse me of trying to steal a branded garment that doesn't belong to me."

“You can keep it. It's compensation for your torn dress ... "

"No, but thank you for the thought." She didn't want anything from him, but she always tried to be polite with everyone. With him, of course, it was practically impossible.

“Take it away, what's right is right. I ... ruined yours."

"It's nothing, I’ve sewn it up, see?" she turned, and lifted her hair showing her neck.

He looked at her neckline and passed a finger under the hairline of the dress. She wasn't expecting any physical contact and shivered, mostly because she realized with dismay that she liked the contact. But she mustn’t read anything more on it than a slight sense of guilt. She had to remind herself that he couldn't stand her and that she was far from his world. She turned quickly.

“Besides, I have no opportunity to wear a dress like that. It is too elegant. I never even wear this one! I bought it for a wedding reception ..." she said with an embarrassed smile, then fell silent. The nervousness made her talk too much. As if the Prince cared about where and why she took that dress!

"Well, do as you please. You can also give the suit to our tailor, he will fix it as new for you, not like that strange ugly tweaking you made."

She regretted showing him the repair. Every opportunity was good to say something unpleasant to her. "Under my hair, it's not visible," she retorted, and walked over to her parents, who had appeared at the back of the dining room. Better to distance herself as much as possible from that individual.

She saw that the Sultan was inviting his guests to sit at the table, and as she approached, she heard the sovereign speaking in a hushed tone with her father. From the movement of the Sultan's lips, she understood that he was mentioning her name, more than once. Intrigued and a bit anxious, Regina tried to catch their words, but they fell silent as soon as they noticed her presence. What secret were they keeping from her?