Chapter 7

Izzy's POV

I was suspicious of the boy ever since they arrived last night. 

He could not look at me in the eye and he continued to cover his face despite being inside the tent. When I asked his age and name, he would not respond. Omar did not mention that the boy was deaf or mute. 

Though I pitied him last night being so weak and tired, crawled in the corner of the tent and instantly went to sleep without eating dinner. He was so pale and skinny. 

Omar said that the boy was new in the palace. The boy volunteered when he needed someone to travel with him across the desert. He brought more food and water because he was thinking of staying longer. But it turned out he left at dawn without even saying goodbye. The worse part, leaving this boy with me. 

I continued my bath outside trying to come up a decision on what to do with this boy. I could not let him stay here with me. Damn Omar. This could be his wicked idea... or my father's. Leaving the boy here so I wouldn't have a choice but to take him back to the palace. 

But my mission here was done. I got what I came here for. The promise I made on my brother's grave to explore the desert and hunt for the greatest treasure that our ancestors failed to retrieve. The Black Heart diamond that was stolen from us centuries ago by a rival family. 

The hunt was not easy, too many obstacles I took before I got hold of the Black Heart Diamond. It was a secret mission in order not to awaken any political and personal interest from anyone within and outside the country.

Ali and I planned the expedition, and sadly, he was gone and I was alone to do it. 

His death crippled me. 

I took it so badly because he was really a good person-- my brother, motivator, who encouraged me not to lose hope when I was so sick. He told be to strong and believed in miracle when I was in so much pain. He was also my best friend. I could talk to him freely about anything. My dreams, hopes and plans. I confided to him all my problems, worries and disappointments. He would listen to anything, even to all my nonsense stuff. 

Why him? Why not me? 

Ali was the good person and I was the bad one. I had many vices, while Ali hadn't any. I got so sick and that was a wakeup call for me, to reform and change my bad ways. Ali, like a good samaritan helped me renewed my life. 

I almost lost my mind when I saw my brother covered with blood on the scene of the accident. It was like a nightmare that kept on haunting me. I promised to him that I would get the Black Heart Diamond because it mattered to him the most. 

Now that I got hold of it, I kept it for safety. Buried in the ground under the rugs, with the books, scrolls and documents above it. Who would ever thought that this boy found it! He must have some sort of sorcery to be able to locate where I hid it.

I was enraged with extreme anger when I saw him about to take the Black Heart Diamond. 

What the hell! 

As expected, he was an expert in martial arts. He defended my punches easily and got back at me in smooth moves. But when I got hold of him, I was surprised. I felt his soft body against mine. My suspicion was right when I grabbed his head cover and there, his black hair fell down softly in waves on his back.

He was a woman.

More surprises came up when finally I captured her. I imprisoned her with my arms and body pinning her on the mattress.

I could not contain my emotions. I exploded in intense anger when I saw who it was lying under me, with her satin hair spread beautifully on the pillow. Except that now it was black, not the golden hair that I used to enjoy stroking. 

"What the hell are you doing here!"

Her chest was heaving fast as she continued to hold my eyes. 

"I could have killed you." I said emphasizing each word. "Do you hear me? I could have killed you!" 

The thought brought a chill feeling inside me. I could have easily broke her neck or any of her fragile bones. 

"Well, I'm still alive." 

I exhaled heavily looking down at her. "Why are you here? Who brought you here?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, eyeing me with dislike. "Wait... wait. If you think that I'm in a mission her, you're wrong. No one sent me here and I'm  I'm not interested in that black stone either. I don't know what that is and I don't give a damn. I'm only here to talk to you."

I loosened my hand around her neck and lifted my body's weight off her. I chuckled sarcastically and said. "That was my line a year ago and you refused to talk to me. Why would I give you a chance now?"

I moved to get off her but her hand grabbed the collar of my tunic bringing my back flat against the mattress. She was sitting on top of me now with her small hands grasping both of my big wrists above my head. 

It was so easy to get her off me but I just let her do whatever she pleased. Let her manhandled me -- let her believed that she was in control.

"Sorry mister, either you like it or not, you have to listen to me now." She demanded.

"This talk must be really something huh? That you risk your life travelling all the way from England and crossed the hottest desert? I thought you're a sensible smart woman. You could have been killed by those bandits!"

"As you can see, they did not. Besides, I can take care of myself."

"Don't be too confident." I got rid of her hands on my wrists easily and transferred my hands on her hips. "I did not know that you're good in martial arts."

"You did not ask."

"Do I have to ask every information about you?"

"You won't be interested."

There we go again, putting words into my mouth. She always thought that I was not interested in her life.

"You dyed your hair." I diverted our conversation to another topic.

She raked her hair with her fingers. It was fascinating to look at her cheeks that instantly turned crimson.  "Omar suggested to dye my hair black, so it won't attract the... the men."

My anger came back at the thought of her crossing the desert with Omar. It was not safe for her to travel. What was wrong with her? And Omar. Why did he allow her to travel with him. It was so risky.

I sat up and lifted her out of my way. I had to know what she was up to. What was so important that she could not wait to tell me. She could have sent a message to the palace and had that message delivered to me. I cringed at the thought of her risking her life. For heaven's sake, it was about six hours travel riding a camel in the hot desert. 

I turned to her, facing her squarely. "Tell me London, what is it that you can't wait to talk about. You have to give me a good reason why you risked your life coming here. And don't you ever tell me that you're here because you missed me because I'm not gonna believe it."

She looked down, rubbing her arm with her hand. She was comforting herself. There was a hint of nervousness in her voice as she said.

"I... I'm here because... because I want to talk to you about... about Vincent."

The mention of a man's name suddenly brought jealousy inside me. I was furious that I wanted to explode. 

"Vincent? Why do you have to tell me about this guy. Are you in love with him?"

"Yes. I love him with all my heart. He's everything to me."

I felt the pain in my chest, like my heart was torn into pieces. My hands were shaking as I glared at her. "You travelled a long way to get here just to tell me about your undying love with this guy named Vincent? Why? What is your purpose? You want to hurt my feelings?"

"No! Of course not. I want you to accept Vincent."

I was confused for a second as I stared at her. "You're not making sense. Why would I accept him?"

"He's our son."

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