Hello, there.
Let me start by giving my apologies to everyone who is waiting for my next book.
His Captive Princess is currently undergoing revisions and will be out soon.
In the meantime, here is a teaser from the opening chapter. Enjoy.
CHAPTER ONE - Part One
“I can’t believe you finally said yes to marriage.”
Isha Saene’s throat hurt, and she swallowed with difficulty at the mention of the ‘m’ word.
“So, I did,” she replied with a blasé lift of shoulders. Feigning nonchalance at her friend’s teasing but correct words, she tipped the liquid content of the flute into her mouth.
The sharp flavour of champagne—almonds, orange zest and white cherry—bubbled on her tongue, washing the sour dread away.
Wedlock had been an impending certainty from the moment she became an adult.
As the first daughter of King Ibrahim Saene, sovereign ruler of the Kingdom of Bagumi, royal blood flowed in her veins. She was a proud member of the Royal House of Saene, loyal to her lineage and duty-bound to her country.
Through the centuries, her regal ancestors had maintained their dominance in the region through matrimonial alliances with other powerful nations, each prince or princess matched with a counterpart from a neighbouring kingdom.
Those traditions remained important, even in this century.
As the First Princess, everyone expected her to comply and select a dignified suitor from a pre-approved list of noble candidates.
After years of postponing the inevitable and focusing on her career as a lawyer and corporate negotiator, she had accepted a wedding proposal.
In celebration of her upcoming nuptials, her friends Amara and Joya had organised this pre-bachelorette party in Lagos. Her weeklong business trip to Nigeria had been extended to include the weekend of partying.
Her fiancé was on his way and should be arriving soon.
The ballroom of an exclusive hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean glittered. Most of Lagos’s high society—including the First Lady of the State—gravitated in her direction to extend their well wishes.
Cold air blasted from the air conditioners, swirling around her bare shoulders and down her body covered in crimson silk and chiffon from bodice to toes.
The wide, open windows showed the spotlighted, green grassy vista of the lawn, the starry cobalt skies, and indigo waves crashing against white sands.
Amara shifted forward in her gold and burgundy padded seat. She was one of Isha’s oldest friends. An encounter in preparatory school had bonded them for life. She looked beatific in the sugar-cookie coloured satin dress contrasting against her flawless chocolate skin.
She lifted Isha’s hand with soft, slender digits. “People will kill for these rocks.”
Light refracted off the heavy diamond ring on her finger scattering prisms and rainbows across her vision. The oval-shaped stone at the centre of the intricately designed and breath-taking platinum ring was flanked by dazzling trapezoid diamonds and surrounded by a brilliant pavé halo.
“Kweku is sparing no expense,” Joya, another friend and later addition to the group, said. She wore an ivory halter-neck wide-leg jumpsuit, blending with the colour theme.
Her friends had insisted on a strict dress code for invitees. As the celebrant Isha wore red, which happened to be her favourite colour, while every other attendee dressed in various shades of cream.
“I wish he would spare the expense,” Isha replied with a grimace.
As the son of the Head of State of Wanai, Kweku Doona had the position equivalent to Crown Prince and had recently been announced as his father’s successor. He proclaimed his prestige in the luxurious items he owned, from fast cars to racehorses. In the years that they had courted, he had taken her on trips around the world from Monte Carlo to New York. There would be no doubt that he could keep her in the lap of luxury although she had her own immense income.
She had never been naturally lavish, much to her mother’s chagrin, who always referred to the various charities founded by the family. However, she subscribed to the Chinese proverb which said, “Teach a man to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime.”
As patron to a foundation that sponsored various education and works programmes, she would rather sink her personal income into projects that supported the less privileged than splash out on gaudy jewellery.
However, being a princess came with certain perks she couldn’t avoid.
Did you enjoy it? Leave me a comment.
Want more? Come back next time.
So we starting over again. Isha
do not want to get married. So why is she. Is she lonely or waiting on a special someone. Good start
Thank you, Roli!
Great start. I want more!