LITMIR.BIZ

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a surgeon without their help, and becoming a surgeon had been hard even with their help.

      Still, there were things Syman would never know about Kalyana. Things she’d experienced that he’d never get to, like playing on the sand of a pearl-pink beach or swimming in a turquoise sea. Running through her father’s vanilla fields or climbing a palm tree to stare out over the Indian Ocean.

      Canada had been a good home for them and Syman loved his life there, even with the ice and snow that Jeena had never gotten used to. That she didn’t miss.

       If you’d stayed in Kalyana, Syman wouldn’t even be interested in hockey.

      Kalyana was near the Seychelles and was very traditional. Hockey wasn’t one of the sports played in Kalyana. If she had raised Syman here, he would probably be into cricket.

       Or polo?

      Jeena shook that thought away. She didn’t want to think about Syman’s father and how she had met him during a divot stomp at a match she should’ve never been at. She had only gone because her friend had dragged her along and during the divot stomp she’d lost her footing and been rescued by the man of her dreams.

      Well, she hadn’t been completely sure when she’d first met him. Maazin had been a known playboy and she’d known she should keep away, but when he had been with her, he hadn’t been the bad boy that everyone had said he was. He had been different.

      So kind and caring.

      And the more time they’d spent together, the more she’d truly believed he’d loved her.

      Her heart skipped a beat just thinking about him. She’d been a fool. Young and naive.

       Don’t think about him.

      Only it was hard not to. He was never really far from her thoughts. The older Syman got, the more he looked like his father, the more she saw the only man she had ever loved. Syman was all the good parts of his father. He was kind and caring. Also driven and stubborn.

      Her heart may have been broken, but she loved Syman and she was grateful that her time with Maazin had given her her son.

      “You’ll see Syman soon. And I’m sure his team will win the tourney,” Teresa said brightly, interrupting her thoughts of Syman’s father.

      Jeena chuckled. “They’d better or he’ll be lamenting it until next hockey season.”

      Teresa laughed and went back to her book.

      Jeena glanced at the reading material she’d brought for the long flight from Dubai, which was just one of the flights she’d been on since they departed from Vancouver. She really didn’t know which way was up and given that there was a significant time zone difference, she couldn’t help but wonder if Syman had actually won his tournament. Maybe he’d already played?

       I should be there.

      Only this was her job and her father had taught her and given her a work ethic she stood by. Kalyana needed her and her new country, Canada, needed her to represent them in the best possible light. She understood the customs. She knew the terrain and the people.

      Even if it meant facing something that she wasn’t sure that she was ready to face.

      And when she closed her eyes she could still feel Maazin’s arms around her, but then she was reminded of the pain when he’d turned his back on her, when Lady Meleena had told her he’d chosen his duty over her. When Lady Meleena had told her father that Syman would be an outcast. That Jeena would be an outcast because he would not marry her, even though he knew she was pregnant.

      Then, a few years later, it had been announced that Prince Maazin had chosen his bride. None other than Jeena’s supposed savior, Lady Meleena.

      She shouldn’t care, but it made her angry. Jeena knew her family had been manipulated.

       Don’t worry about it. Maazin isn’t part of your life.

      And she had to keep remembering that.

      He hadn’t been there for her when she’d had Syman. Neither had he been there when she’d scrimped and saved, worked odd jobs while attending medical school. That had been all her. She didn’t need him. She was better off without him.

      Syman was better off without him.

       Are you sure?

      “We’re making our final descent into Huban. Please buckle up. It’s a bit windy and there has been some damage to the airstrip from the cyclone so it might be a rough landing,” the pilot said over the speaker.

      “Here we go,” Teresa said, setting down her book and buckling up her seatbelt.

      Jeena nodded and pulled her seatbelt tighter. She kept her eyes focused on Kalyana as it got closer and closer. She could see the damage. Trees ripped from their roots, buildings along the coast destroyed, but there on the main terminal still flew the blue, green and gold flag of Kalyana. Untouched and fluttering in the strong winds in a clear blue sky. A sight she’d thought she’d never see again.

      It helped tame the erratic beat of her heart.

      She was home.

      * * *

      Maazin waited on the edge of the tarmac in a van to help transport medical supplies to the makeshift hospital that he and Farhan had set up between Huban and the southeast district, which had been the hardest hit when Cyclone Blandine had ripped through Kalyana.

      Kavan, the bodyguard who also acted as chauffer-pilot, had seemed keen to accompany Maazin, but he’d eventually agreed it was best he stay with Farhan, Maazin’s older brother, Sara, and her grandfather, Mr. Raj. Ever since the cyclone had hit, Farhan had been jumpy, fussing and fuming over his new bride.

      Not that Maazin could blame him.

       If he had someone he loved...

      Maybe if he still had the one woman he’d once loved he would’ve felt the same way that Farhan did, but he didn’t have anyone.

      He didn’t deserve anyone. Not even the arranged marriage his father had set up three years ago. Not that he’d really cared for Lady Meleena. It had just been expected and since Maazin had lost the only woman he’d loved when she’d left in the middle of the night, he had settled for the bride his father had chosen. Or eventually settled. After everything that had happened when Jeena had left, he’d spent some time doing what good he could.

      He’d served in the Royal Guard and earned his doctorate as a surgeon in the guard. It gave his life meaning, after all his past actions had caused so much pain. His service was the least he could do.

      Which was why he’d agreed to marry Meleena. His father had guilted him into it and he had been tired of the nagging to find a wife. He’d had no interest in Meleena, so had had very little to do with her.

      Of course, Meleena hadn’t liked it too much when he’d devoted his life to healing others, to serving his country, and had ignored her. She’d left him, but no one knew about that yet and that’s the way his father wanted it. There were diplomatic policies and contracts at play and his father wanted to wait until it could be properly addressed after Kalyana recovered from the devastation of Blandine.

      So he had no one.

      No one to worry about. No one to care.

      Which was what he deserved.

      It was best that he handle this. He was just as capable a doctor as Farhan and Sara were. This was what he lived for. This was all that had mattered since Jeena had left and his brother Ali had died trying to help him. The last thing he wanted to do was put Farhan or Sara in danger.

      His mother had already suffered enough because of him. He wasn’t going to put Farhan in harm’s way when he had military training and could manage this kind of disaster situation with ease. Not that they were in much danger now. The cyclone was

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