The night definitely did not play out according to Daman's hopes. He'd wanted to spend time with Hera, get to know her more, see what she was all about and then perhaps try and coax her into liking him some more.

Yet here he was, escorting a very high Hera to her hotel room who was blabbering everything under the sun.

Daman let out a sigh of relief as he'd managed to retrieve the room card from Hera's clutch and open the door.

He'd planned to have her gulp down some water, tuck her into bed and then get back to the business lounge and finish off some emails.

However, it was revealed that High Hera is actually Hazardous Hera. It was her first time ever touching marijuana and the first for anything usually has the strongest effect.

Shocked was an understatement for how he had felt when Hera very boldly pushed him down on the couch and straddled him. Daman dropped the glass of water he had poured for her all over his pants and stared at the Indian beauty agape.

Hera's hand slowly took their time tracing over Daman's chest and she had pushed his suit jacket off.

"Hera, you are not in your senses. You need to get off me," he softly said as if he was convincing a child.

Daman placed the empty glass on the side table and stilled as he was stunned when Hera paid him no heed and began to loosen his tie.

"Hera...stop." Daman rarely used such a harsh tone, but he had to. Hera was deserving of his respect and he had to treat her right during this unguarded and defenseless moment of hers which he had caused.

The water was seeping through his trousers and undoubtedly if someone saw him, they'd think that the mighty Duke of Doulah had peed himself. He had to be careful, especially on this floor which was reserved for the Uzayr siblings.

Hera's face had dropped from the previous playfulness it had embraced and now, looking closely at her in their very compromising position, Daman had noticed a look of hurt wash over.

He was now frustrated. He wanted a taste of this woman. He was like a bitch in heat craving for her juices to be all over his face. But he was better than his lustful desires.

It wouldn't be right to take advantage of her in this state he had thought to himself rationally. It was entirely his fault. If only he had been more observant...

Looking at her face, he placed his fingers on her cheek and stared into her eyes. "I'm sorry for snapping, but you're not in the right mind," he said tenderly.

Hera had made no move to get off his lap and Daman sank lower into the couch to create the millimeter distance between them. He had now placed his palms flat against the side of his thighs to stop him from touching her while she was intoxicated.

"You're so... You're so perfect," Hera had began with her slurred monologue. "Everybody loves you. They adore you. You're handsome and sexy and big and hairy an-and... you don't make fun of my belly like Mikael."

Daman had taken note of her features as she uttered that name. That man had really left an impact on her.

"You make me drink nice green tea, not icky green tea. And you match ties with my dresses. You don't make fun of me for not having many friends. And you don't call me out for being a hairy girl, or having saggy boobs and you don't say anything about my dark underarms and the hyperpigma... the hyperta-"

The duke was surely amused with the way she was acting. How could anybody hurt such a being? She was so precious slurring over the long words like that. "Hyperpigmentation," he softly helped her out.

"I want to touch you. But you're a royal. I'm poor but at least I'm a pretty girl. I know I'm pretty. Everybody tells me. But sometimes I'm ugly too. And I want to see how big you are, how long you are. I want to taste you. A-And I want you to-"

"Okay, that's enough now, qiTa." Daman successfully cut Hera off before she narrated his fantasy to him because he was sure that he wouldn't be strong enough to keep it in his pants. The boldness was a result of her high state but he could not help but enjoy it. She was completely out of her senses.

Hera had taken her sweet time sitting on the duke not caring that he was rather uncomfortable all soaked in his nether regions. However Daman wasn't one to protest now. He allowed her to mindlessly touch him over his clothes, letting her fingers trace over his chest, neck and shoulders as she hummed a tune.

As long there wasn't anything occurring to compromise either of their self-respect at this vulnerable moment, Hera was free to do as she pleased.

Looking intently, he was contemplating whether to use her intoxicated state as an advantage. He wanted to ask her one simple question that he knew she would answer wholeheartedly in this state.

The only problem was whether or not to ask.

He had plans for Hera, and asking questions now would provide him with some leverage going forward. A little bit of a cheat in the game, but time was tight. Daman released a soft breath and gingerly placed his hands on Hera's waist.

"What's your biggest fear, my darling?"

Hera's fingers stopped their pattern on the duke's pecs and stilled. She looked up at him with beautiful, big brown eyes. Daman knew that asking such a question would display her vulnerability but he knew that if anybody could be trusted with this, it was him.

Hera's faced had a myriad of vulnerability that the duke was prepared for. He welcomed it, Hera was now his to console.

"Please tell me," he whispered ever so gently.

"Children."

One word left her mouth that accounted for endless possible theories.

"Children?" The duke had repeated. She really always surprised him. "Elaborate for me." He really didn't expect that. He was hoping for something a little more... useful.

Hera licked her lips and thought about it as clearly as she could in all of her fogginess.

"They are a risk. They can turn out horrible sometimes and be mean like Almas and Aazad and I'll be binding myself to a man. He'll have endless opportunities to hurt me. I don't like men, Daman. Men always have something nasty to say to me. But I like you. You're nice to me..." Hera trailed off and played with the loose curls at the back of Daman's head.

Daman had thought about her answer and based the latter on how her older brothers treated her. However for the former, his mind had worked it's way to the situation with her ex and his pregnant girlfriend and how she was now bound to him with the child.

He'd notice the silence that had taken over and her humming had stopped.

Hera was now glum. Her cheerfulness had dissolved. "But children and I are like never going to happen. It's because of that stupid PCOS thing. I want to sleep now, Daman. I'm tired and this dress is itchy."

"Off course. Come, let's get you to bed." Daman had lightly pushed Hera to stand up and she did so without protest. He went to her suitcase and found a nightdress thrown on the top. Daman did his best to not think about how skimpy it was and how sexy she'd she'd look in it.

"Do you want to shower?"

Hera shook her head no. She just wanted to sleep and dream of him doing nasty things to her. She wasn't feeling all that great now. She was a sappy high it seemed. Emotions took priority.

He guided her to the bathroom and handed her the nightwear. Whilst she was at her business, Daman had taken the initiative to phone the reception from the landline in the room and schedule a wakeup call for the morning. He had a feeling she'd oversleep and he didn't want to overstep his boundaries and come and check on her more than he already did.

He'd leave her be for the time being because he had a lot to think about now. Hera was actually delicate, she was fragile and he had to tread carefully.

Back in the business lounge, Daman had ordered himself a glass of scotch and sat forward with his arms leaned on his knees.

Checking the time it was 2:26am which meant that it was 12:26 am back in London.

Quickly Daman took out his cell phone and sent a text to his best mate for life who worked within a reputable law firm. Daman continued to text back and forth with Adam Meskin for a good 30 minutes before bidding him farewell.

They've known each other since university however only met up during the holidays considering the distance between them.

Then, the duke had taken out his laptop and opened to the Google tab. After searching Hera's word of PCOS, Daman had continued to do extensive research on the condition.

He had then sat in the lounge until after 5am reflecting on his time with Hera.

There was only a month left for his ultimatum and he was failing. The institution of Doulah would now win. His grandmother would win, Amaani would win. Daman bitterly laughed at that realisation.

He had accepted what he had to do. He'd throw away his plan away. He'd leave his intentions at the door and move on with his loss. He could not hurt Hera therefore the time they had spent together during these last 72 hours would be it.

Additionally, another thought randomly crossed his mind - thinking back to an encounter with Youssef in his office all those months ago. Truly, Daman didn't even know he had such a beautiful daughter. Undoubtedly she was the most beautiful of them all.

Seemingly the duke had problems and 1 solution - that being Hera.

But his conscience wouldn't allow him to be cruel. He couldn't hurt Hera. She was already down as it was.

No more, no more Hera and no more interactions. A weak excuse of a little holiday fling is what he had decided to call their connection.

*

*

*

And so the wedding had occurred. Youssef as usual looked dashing in his white suit that symbolised purity which was ironic in every sense. Evangeline was adorned in a lush wedding gown that embodied intricate lace appliques with the naked dress effect on the top. It was gorgeous as it flowed smoothly from her waist in one go.

The nikah along with the civil marriage was done and the couple were married. It was a joyous occasion with the Duke and Hera on opposite sides of the venue. They had both avoided each other as if they had a contagious disease. There was no eye contact, no smiles and no acknowledgement.

Daman's reason was clear - he didn't want to hurt her more than she had already been. He'd wanted to toy with her, experiment with her and then decide if she was worthy of commitment considering his ultimatum and his plans. But he knew that it would not go well with her.

Whereas Hera's reason was much more surface level. She was simply embarrassed of her behaviour the previous night and that was it. She remembered what had happened and she acknowledged that she was high yet she felt so silly for the things she had said and done.

: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a hormonal disorder common among women of reproductive age. Women with PCOS may have infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods or excess male hormone levels. The ovaries may develop numerous small collections of fluid and fail to regularly release eggs. Symptoms include menstrual irregularity, excess hair growth, acne, hyperpigmentation on the neck and underarms and weight gain.

A religious ceremony for a Muslim couple to be legally wed under Islamic law.