Kingdom of Secrets ✔

EPILOGUE

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THREE YEARS LATER

9:00 AM JFK, New York

The New York air was wet and cold that November morning. JFK airport was busy as the weather was bad. The New York weather often reminded Amila of home as it was very similar to that of the UK. Amila was sad to see her sister and her friend go but it was due in time, her apartment only had three bedrooms and having her goddaughter Lily and the twins in the same house was starting to give her a headache.

"Can't I just say?" Elena King whined holding two-year-old Safir Royce King in her arms as they sat around waiting. "I just don't want to leave here."

"We've talked about this Elena, Mum and Dad want you to finish University first, then we can talk about all of you moving here." Elena had only one year left of university. She was doing a Computer science and Engineering course at Oxford despite her late start she was doing very well and Amila wasn't going to let her quit at any point.

"Mummy, Mummy look!" Sarai Rose said shouting as she walked back with Iris. Sarai was a lot louder than her twin brother and often got Amila into difficult positions with her stubbornness, the terrible two's were indeed terrible especially as she had two children.

"Sarai please don't shout it's very early and Lily and Safir are sleeping," Amila said sternly at her daughter. Sarai just grinned looking at her cousin and brother before whispering for Amila to look at what her Aunty Iris had gotten her. Amila sent Iris a glare when she got closer before handing sleeping six-year-old Lily to her and scooping Sarai into her arms.

"I thought you took her to the toilet, not to get her presents."

"I can't help it, you know how she is around toys." Iris defended laughing at her friend. Sarai had seen a light-up wand that made noises and had almost cried for Iris to get it for her.

"Between you guys, Aya, Charlie, Oliver, Jo and Nelly she'll never learn," Amila said kissing her daughter's forehead. She was grateful for her friends, they had respected her choice to keep the twins away from Hakeem and the royals and had been there for her whenever she needed them.

"Oh please Amila, you're the worst you buy her all that stuff."

"Yeah because it looks good on her, I can't help but get carried away. It's you guys that go overboard." Amila said placing Sarai in her stroller and then gently taking Safir and putting him in his.

"I love you guys so much." Iris and Elena's flight was in twenty minutes and they would be leaving soon. Amila hugged them goodbye, taking extra care with Lily who was tired before waving them off. She was going back to London for Christmas and would see them again soon.

A lot had changed since her final goodbye to Hakeem. Of course, there had been moments when she wished he was present, especially with the twins but she had managed just fine on her own. Sarai looked a lot like Leyla whereas Safir looked more like her and they both had her eyes with his eye colour.

The twins had asked a few times about their father, but they hadn't understood fully what it meant to have one either. Each time Amila had told them the same story: he was a prince in a faraway Kingdom and he'd come to get them once he returned from his quests, so naturally they hadn't yet been able to distinguish between a fairytale prince and their father.

As Amila pushed the stroller out of the airport she was stopped by a voice calling her name. She stopped and turned around wondering where it was come from when a tall man in a suit approached her. He was charming and wore an easy-going smile she swore she recognised but couldn't put her finger on.