Hannah watched the sun throw dark lines across the lawn as the palm fronds glistened in the early morning light. She looked back wistfully at the majestic palace she had called home for six weeks as it disappeared from view behind the trees.
Naasir drove the short distance to the airport in silence; he knew better than to press Hannah for details. When they arrived, he opened the door for her and helped her out of the car. As he walked her through the terminal, through check-in, and towards the jet, he patted her hand as it rested loosely on his arm.
Naasir stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned to look at her. “This is as far as I go, ma’am.”
Hannah looked up at the jet and nodded. “I know,” she said. She looked at Naasir’s face and could see the concern he felt for her. “Thank you,” she said, not sure what else to say.
“No,” Naasir said, taking her hands in his. “Thank you, miss.”
Hannah looked confused. “What do you mean?”
Naasir sighed and thought carefully about his words before he spoke. “Miss Green,” he started slowly. “Thank you for bringing your amazing voice to our country, your laughter to our palace and your smile to our lives.”
Fresh tears fell down Hannah’s face as she listened to Naasir continue.
“Most importantly, thank you for bringing joy back to our home. I have known His Highness for his entire life, and never have I seen him as happy as he has been for the past six weeks.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “He sure has a funny way of showing it,” she said, wiping away her tears.
Naasir laughed. “Yes, he does. But trust me when I say that you’ve made him very happy.”
Thoughts of her last night with Sadiq filled Hannah’s mind. She was happy, but at the same time she felt so awful, so confused, so conflicted. If this was what happiness brought, she wasn’t sure she wanted it.
“Thank you,” she said. “Not just for what you said, but for treating me so kindly throughout my time here. I have truly enjoyed getting to know you, Naasir.”
“As have I, you.” Naasir smiled and then bowed slightly.
Hannah narrowed her eyes at him and grinned. “Oh no, you don’t get off that easily,” she said, pulling him in close for a tight hug.
Finally, she let him go, then turned and ran up the stairs, unable to look back for fear she might lose her resolve.
SEVENTEEN
The jet took off shortly after sunrise, and Hannah spent most of the flight lost in thought. She wondered what Sadiq was doing; did he try to look for her when he got up? Did he regret telling her how he felt? Did he think last night was a mistake as well? She wondered if he was even thinking about her at all.
Hannah tried not to focus too much on Sadiq, his country and the wonderful people she had met there. She distracted herself by listening to music, attempting to sleep and, when that didn’t work, watching the world pass by through the windows of the jet. When she arrived in New York, just over twelve hours later, she was utterly exhausted.
Even though she had turned down the money from Sadiq, Hannah had no choice but to splurge on a cab from the airport—there was no way she was going to get all of her bags on the subway. She made the short ride to Brooklyn and arrived at her apartment just after midnight. She rang for Chloe before she remembered that her friend had told her she was going to be out of town for a few days. Hannah dug around for her key and let herself into the building.
When the doors locked behind her, she began dragging her bags, one-by-one, up the two flights of stairs to her apartment. After several trips, she had all her belongings inside and flopped down onto the sofa, exhausted. She realized in that moment just how spoiled she had been in the last six weeks. Thoughts of the palace and the staff brought her mind right back to Sadiq and she shook her head, trying to clear it.
No you don’t, she said to herself. She wouldn’t allow herself to go there. She figured she better text Chloe to let her know she was back in town and pulled out her phone. That’s when she saw the voicemails. She hadn’t been able to get service from her carrier in El-Shakanish, but now that she was back in the States, all of the voicemails she’d received while she was gone were ready and waiting for her.
Hannah looked at the phone, unsure whether she wanted to hear them or not. What if they were from Sadiq? She hesitated and then finally pressed the button and held the phone up to her ear.
Seconds later, Hannah heard Harvey’s raised voice punch through the phone.
“Where are you? You can’t quit on me! I’ve got you lined up for another show! You better get your butt in here, Hannah!”
She deleted it and waited anxiously for the next one.
Harvey’s voice ranted again, “You can’t quit! I told you, I’m the boss and I make the decisions here! I’m gonna give you one more chance, and you better be grateful for that. But if you’re not here tonight!”
She listened as the messages continued, but the fifth was the final straw. “That’s it! You think you can just blow me off? You think you can stand me up? Who do you think you are, royalty? Hah! I’ll tell you what you are: FIRED! Don’t even think about showing your lousy face in my club again!”
Hannah deleted the remaining messages and threw her phone down. She pulled her feet up and curled up into a ball, grabbing the blanket from the back of the sofa and draping it down over herself. Tears of anger, rage and hurt burned the corners of her eyes and she closed her eyes to keep them at bay, trying her best to put Harvey, El-Shakanish and Sadiq out of her mind once and for all.