An Inconvenient Marriage (Married to a Prince) by Kat Attalla Read Free Book Online Page B

stylish in light of that article in the paper?”
    “What article?” Delilah asked.
    “Reem,” the other staff member chided. “We are not to mention it.”
    “Mention what?”
    “We are doing her a favor, Mariam. Otherwise she will continue embarrassing the royal family.” The woman handed her a copy of the morning paper with a series of photographs of her and Sami taken throughout the city. She didn’t need to understand the language to guess the story was as unflattering as the pictures.
    A suffocating ache settled over her chest. An embarrassment? Was that how Sami viewed her or had the saleswoman’s words lost something in translation? She sucked in several deep breaths. Salty tears burned in her eyes but she refused to cry.
    “Now why don’t you try these on?” Reem pushed two red dresses in her face.
    Delilah had never enjoyed shopping but she could say now with absolute certainty that she hated it. And her feelings for her husband? Well she was too much of a lady to say. She believed their understanding involved mutual respect.
    She plastered on a rigid smile and tried a line of designer clothes in a rainbow of colors. But inside a burning rage spread through her and she clenched every body part to stop from shaking. She didn’t look at them. She didn’t care. If it fit, she put it in a pile. Since it was so damned important to Sami, that he felt humiliating her an acceptable practice, he could choose what she would be seen in when they appeared in public. And she would make sure that would not be often.
     
    * * * *
     
    Sami checked his watch. How long did it take to try on clothes? He had been gone over an hour.  Why hadn’t he listened to his mother and sent Delilah with her maid. Another 10 minutes passed before two clerks appeared from the changing area.
    He glanced at the pieces of ladies’ apparel hanging on a rack. He wasn’t sure why he was called over, but if it signified the end, he’d play.
    “Where is my wife?”
    The shop manager, Reem pushed in front of the other clerk. “In the bathroom. Upset stomach I think. She should be out soon.”
    “And we’re all done here?”
    “I guess so, for now. If you can just let me know which you want and I will box them up and put it on the palace account.”
    “What I want?” Now he knew why he never went shopping in the past and why he would never go again.
    “Well I took out all the pieces she favored. A few others might require alterations. We haven’t even begun yet on evening wear. It really depends on the kind of look she wants to present as your wife.”
    He glanced between the two women at the cash register. One had a greedy glint in her eyes. As commissioned workers they stood to gain a lot today. So why did the other clerk remain silent and glare at him as if he were the Prince of Darkness?
    “What is your opinion, Miss …?”
    “Mariam, Your Highness, and I have no opinion.”
    Nadiarians seldom spoke their minds to him. Even his college friends rarely put him in his place. So he respected anyone who told him the truth, weather he liked it or not. “I am sure you do. And I want to hear it.”
    Her colleague shot her a cold glare. She didn’t answer at first, as if weighing her options.
    “She is new here,” Reem said.
    “She still has an opinion.”
    Conflicting emotions played out on Mariam’s face.  With a what the heck shrug she said, “My opinion is that your wife is not in the bathroom with an upset stomach. She is in the dressing room, hurt and humiliated. Someone should have told her about the newspaper before coming here today. And I really couldn’t tell you what she would prefer because the only thing she said is to let you choose because her clothes are obviously more important to you than they are to her.”
    “Who told her about the article?” he asked but he knew. Miss Dollar Signs had obviously thought to play on the insecurities of a client to increase her sales. Funny how men got blamed for keeping