Desert Heat

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: CONSPIRACY

Two weeks later,

Even after two weeks, Lily could not get her mind off the document that she had stored deep in her cupboard, inside her box. Her husband, King Aziz, was feeling better than before, but she still had to attend to some of his royal duties.

She had not spoken to Tom ever since the day that they met at the restaurant, and neither had they spoken to each other over the phone. She had warned him never to call her, all this to avoid any suspicions about them.

Lily had come from another yet tiring meeting with the women's organization of Hamidin. She listened to the women and heard their cries for equality in the kingdom. Her heart broke for these women, but still, she could not help but notice their expensive jewelry and expensive clothing. They were still more privileged than the women and men that she had met at the run-own restaurant with Tom.

Now that her driver was taking her to the orphanage rather than the palace, she needed to speak to Tom just so that she could get some clarity on this conspiracy.

The car came to a halt, and the door was unlocked for her as she excited the car. Without waiting for her guards, she headed into the building. It was quiet, and it seemed as though the only person there was the security guard at the door. The man was old, but every time that Lily would visit under the pretense of visiting the children, he would stand up from his chair and bow to her.

Today was no different, because the old man stood up from his chair, walked up towards her, and bowed down.

"Greetings, my queen," he greeted her, and not once since she had known him did the smile waver from his face.

''Greetings, sir. I would like to know where the children are because it seems quiet." Lily asked, smiling so that she did not look suspicious.

"My queen, they have all left for a field trip, but only little Seri is here with one of the nurses," The old man answered. This was not the answer that Lily wanted to hear, not in the least bit; therefore, she had to come up with another plan.

"Is Tom around?" She blurted it out and regretted it soon, but to her surprise, the old man smiled at her.

"Tom is in his home, right at the back of the orphanage," he responded. Lily smiled at the old man and proceeded to walk into the building. She went behind the orphanage and made sure that she left her guards behind and that no one else saw her. She knocked on Tom's door, but no one came out.

Strange. Every time that she snuck into the orphanage and came to Tom's place, he always played classical music, but today there was no music coming from his house. Lily pushed his door, and just like that, it opened, and she entered. His living room looked untouched, as though he had not been there for days.

"Tom, Tom!" She called out to him, but there was no answer. She wanted to go further into his room, but her phone in her pocket rang, and when she saw the caller ID, she realized that it was her husband calling, so she picked it up.

Stay calm. Do not panic. She mentally told herself that the last thing she wanted was for her husband to suspect her motives for coming here.

''Yes, my love." She answered the phone, making sure to keep her voice neutral at all times.

"I missed hearing your voice," She heard her husband tell her over the phone, and Lily could not help but smile at her husband's words.

"I missed you too; the meeting with the women is just about done, and I will be back soon." She informed her husband, telling him a half-truth and a half-lie.

''Sure, I will be awaiting your call," King Aziz informed his wife, but Lily could not help but feel that something was wrong with her husband.

"I'm sorry, my love, but something is wrong with you. What is it?" She asked, trying not to reveal her level of concern.

"It is nothing, my dear; I'm just coughing, that's all. Besides, I had already taken some medications to ease the pain.'' King Aziz answered.

''Okay, at least you took something for the cough, but I'll be home as soon as I'm done." She said her goodbyes to her husband and then proceeded to enter Tom's room, but there was no one in there; his bed was made as though he had left earlier and not returned.

Lily turned on her heel and walked out of Tom's house. Today she would be reading what was in the file, and she had to do it as soon as possible.

After nearly an hour of driving, Lily arrived at the palace, but the energy had been off. As soon as she got out of the car, she could feel and see that something was different. Worry clouded everyone's faces, and she could not help but think that it had something to do with her.

She walked into the palace like the queen that she was, confident in her every step, until she stopped one of her female servants, whose eyes were swollen.

"What is going on here?" Lily asked, but the young woman did not answer immediately, and this only made Lily feel a bit more anxious.

"The king," the young girl mentioned, but stopped halfway into her sentence. Lily's nerves shot up, and her instinct kicked in—something was wrong with her husband. Without thinking, Lily grabbed onto the young woman's shoulder and shook her violently.

"I will not ask you again, what happened to my husband?" Lily yelled at the young servant. She wanted to cry, but she had to hold it in because the last thing that she needed was to cry in front of her servants.

"The king is in his room and being tended to by a doctor; he's been poisoned." Lily's eyes widened as she let go of the young servant. Her heart pounded in her chest so loudly that she heard it, or was it her head pounding against her skull?

Lily did not know when she began running, but what she knew was that she felt tears stinging in her eyes, but the more she tried to hold them in as she ran, the more the tears ran down her face.

A million thoughts ran through her mind, and she could not help but think that her husband could be dead. Then it hit her that indeed, the conspiracy could have been true. She got to the entrance of her chamber, and there stood her stepmother-in-law and Amaan, standing at the door. Amaan looked calm, whereas her mother-in-law was in tears, her hands over her mouth as she tried to stop herself from crying.

Her stepmother-in-law turned her head, and their eyes met, and she began sobbing. Lily dragged her legs towards her mother-in-law as she prayed that nothing bad happened. Her mother-in-law wrapped her arms around Lily, and for the first time in her life, she felt loved by her stepmother-in-law. After letting go of Lily, her stepmother-in-law looked into her tearful eyes, and the tears flowed out of Lily's eyes.

"Is my husband okay?" She asked her stepmother-in-law, who tried her best to put up a smile.

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