The Sultan's Daughter (Princesses Uncovered #5)

Chapter 53: No Easy Task

Forgiveness.

Moving on.

Letting go.

None of them were easy.

None of them were tasks that Yaz would have wished on anyone. Especially having to forgive, move on, and let go of the things that had happened to her.

She sat in the small wooden chair beside Cemal’s bed in the infirmary, hoping he would open his eyes for the first time in a week. He had woken up before, in truth, but she hadn’t been there. So it would be the first time in a week for her.

And she missed him. She needed him.

She had to have him in order to get through all of this. People from court kept telling her how brave she was, but she wasn’t. She was barely hanging on, and she needed Cemal to weather the tide. Without him, she would be swept away for sure.

And she couldn’t take it alone anymore.

Yes, she could talk to Akila, but for some reason, talking to Akila was awkward, and she couldn’t bring herself to burden the older woman with such things.

Not to mention that Akila had let slip that she and Fath were planning to announce their engagement.

She couldn’t take away from their joy in each other. It wouldn’t be fair of her after all the help they’d given her.

So she kept silent, burying it deep within her heart and hiding all the pain until she could deal with it. She still found herself thinking that she was drawing closer to the date when she would finally get to see the baby. Only to remember that she’d lost her baby.

And as that thought reverberated through her mind for what had to be the fiftieth time that day, she buried her head in Cemal’s chest, her tears soaking into the white sheets covering him.

Seconds later, someone’s weak, but steady touch settled onto her head, stroking through her hair with thin, but nimble fingers. “Hey…” Cemal croaked.

Yaz sat up, staring at him wide-eyed, her tears still dripping down her cheeks and off her chin. “Cemal?” She whispered, eyes filling with her tears. “Cemal, you’re… You’re awake…”

He opened his arms to hug her. “Yes… I’m awake…”

“I thought you would die… Your fever broke a week ago, they said… But you were never awake when I came to visit. Your cuts are starting to look better though…” She babbled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

He smiled quietly. “Still fighting…”

She accepted his embrace, putting her arms around his neck, careful of his scabs. Her tears wet his neck, and his soft voice whispered soothing words in her ears, scratchy, but reassuring.

After she stopped crying, she moved back, sniffling. “Do you want some water?”

He nodded.

She grabbed the cup beside her and handed it to him.

He took slow sips, smiling at her in thanks. When he had finished, he continued to hold it, watching her with those golden-brown eyes. “So… How is the baby?” He murmured. “I heard that your rebels won and that Hashim and Gafar both died…”

She nodded to the latter part, but tears began threading their way down her cheeks again at the thought of the baby. She shook her head, mute suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Yaz?” Cemal whispered, eyes roaming over her face, her tears, then up to her pain-filled eyes. “What happened?”

“I… I lost the baby, Cemal.”