The Bound Princess (Dark Romance)

Chapter 20

Eva

I settled on the stool in front of the dresser and removed my jewelry.  Taimur entered our bedroom and locked the door. Our eyes met in the mirror and I turned my face away in resentment. I heard him sigh and then footsteps sounded as I sensed heat at my back. 

"You were looking beautiful," he removed the tiara from my hair and untied the bun making my hair cascade on my shoulders. He leaned over to kiss me and I slipped down from the stool with a jerk. 

Taimur's brow arched in question while his jade green eyes remained fixed on my face. His expression changed from gentle to displeasure. 

"How could you force our daughter into a marriage she didn't want?" The words burst out of my mouth in fury. 

"What gave you an indication that she didn't want this union?" He questioned in a flat voice. 

"How can you not see how the glint in her eyes has dimmed. How couldn't you notice her unhappiness?" 

"She should have thought all this before she dragged the Al Jahaan name through the dirt," he growled. 

"Is the Al Jahaan name more important than the happiness of your daughter?" I questioned him back. 

I couldn't understand how he could force Emma into this marriage. He had not only married her without informing me or without taking my opinion in this regard but had also forbidden me from discussing this topic with Emma. 

I was feeling like a prisoner in my own house. I couldn't meet my daughter without the presence of guards. I had asked Mohammed to talk to her and ask what she wanted but Emma had refused to discuss anything with him. 

Taimur was the last person I thought would force a decision on his children given what he had gone through at the hands of his father. I should have known he held the same Al Jahaan blood in his veins and he won't be any different when it comes to their legacy. 

"Always," he emphasized, "the nation, my people, and the Al Jahaan name will always come before anything else in my life. I have sworn to prioritize them and I would never break my vow," he replied in a cold voice. 

"She is your daughter Taimur, not a goat you can slaughter," I was shocked beyond belief.

How could he act so cold toward his flesh and blood? Why couldn't he see how unhappy Emma was?  

"Emma should have known the consequences of her actions. I won't have cared if she did something like this behind closed doors, but I won't forgive her for dragging our family name through the dirt," he hissed. 

"You," I gaped in shock, " Taimur you are the one saying this? When you had a child out of wedlock?" I was going hysterical. 

I couldn't forget how my baby girl had been hurting since the day she had come back and the irony was that I was not even allowed to comfort her. 

"I did have a child out of wedlock but I didn't abandon my child. I owned up to my mistake and apologized for it. Emma did the same minus the apology, I don't understand why are you acting like this?" Taimur's features hardened. 

"You loved me, she doesn't love Dawood. A loveless marriage will haunt her as it did to you. You could never love Alia the way you were supposed to," I snapped. 

"Emma is a child, she doesn't know what is good for her. Dawood is the best choice for her and you will realize it soon. If she didn't love him, pray what she was doing with Dawood in the back alley of that dance club?" He raked his hair with his fingers. 

"I would have told you if you would have let me ask her about it," I huffed. 

Taimur started pacing in the bedroom, he had not changed much and had only gotten more graceful with age. Only a few lines got added to his features and a few silver hairs on his temples.