Acting Royal #Wattys2017

Chapter 40

ZAYN

He woke up the next morning and knew exactly what he was meant to do. It was clear. Nothing had ever been so clear before. All he wanted to do was fly back to South Africa and be with her, but that was not an option and it certainly wasn't safe for Jenny either.

He got dressed, shaved, cleaned himself up and walked out. He first went to Rafiq's room and knocked on the door. Rafiq answered in a set of plaid pajama's that Zayn had given him.

Rafiq wiped his sleepy face, "This is early for you." He said looking at his watch. "I don't think you've woken up at this time since 2007."

Zayn smiled, "Nice pajama's."

Rafiq looked at him and gestured for him to come in, Zayn did and made a move for the couch in the room. "So, do you know whether she got home safely?"

Rafiq sat on his bed opposite Zayn, "I had one of my men follow her, she boarded a bus yesterday and arrived at her hometown in the afternoon, she... she..." Rafiq stopped.

"What? Is something wrong?"

Rafiq shook his head and looked like he was trying to dismiss it. "Nothing. She's fine."

"Did she take the money?"

"No."

"How are you going to fix that?" Zayn asked. "I don't want her living like she was. I don't want her to ever want for anything again."

"I'll figure something out," he said.

"Good. Good." Zayn said, but his heart was breaking. "Will you keep an eye on her?"

"It would probably be better if we had no contact whatsoever, we don't want Amir figuring out that she actually means anything to you."

"I'd feel better if I knew how she was doing."

"I'll send someone to check up on her from time to time. I'll figure out a way to keep tabs discreetly."

"Amir could find her in a minute if he wanted to." Zayn said feeling panicked.

"But that's why you need to make him believe she is nothing to you. So don't do anything stupid like contact her, or go onto your Facebook or whatever."

Zayn nodded, he knew Rafiq was right. Like he said, he was always right and this time he was going to listen to him, no matter how hard it would be.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked.

Zayn crossed his legs and folded his arms tightly, the thought made him stiff with anxiety. "I'm going to tell my father that I'll marry the dutchess."

"You are aware that that puts a bulls eye on your back, and Sophia's."

"Yes. And what are we going to do about that?"

Rafiq got up and walked across the room. He turned and walked back like he was pacing, this unsettled Zayn.

"Just get into your father's good books, get this scandal behind you, give him a big royal wedding and the you might stand a chance of convincing him of Amir. In the meantime, I'm going to hire someone to dig into Amir, and we need to watch him closely."

Suddenly a loud banging and screaming ripped through the air, Zayn and Rafiq jumped and ran outside to find Rana in hysterics. "It's dad, there's something wrong with him. He's collapsed."

"What!" Zayn and Rafiq followed Rana as she tore down the corridor and into their fathers study. When they arrived, Amir and his mother were lifting him back into a chair. His father looked pale and the whites of his eyes looked yellow.

"Father." Zayn ran up to his father but Amir placed his arm out to stop him. Amir turned.

"Give him some room, he's trying to catch his breath."

Zayn stopped and stared at his father. He felt so removed from this as he watched his mother and Amir fuss over him. He heard the whirr of a helicopter outside and within minutes paramedics and the royal physician where there. They hoisted him up on a stretcher and as he went, Amir and his mother ran with him. As his father disappeared out the room, he saw him reach u and take Amir's hand. Zayn's blood boiled.