It was natural for a smile to be etched onto the duke's face as he walked to the apartment with a spring in his step.

"Honey, I'm home!" Daman yelled out in every sense of being cheesy. He set the contents down on the dining table next to Hera's scattered mess of paperwork and contracts from work. He looked around for Hera seeing that she didn't respond to his cheesy call.

It was a rough morning when he left earlier as Hera's phone was bombarded with texts and calls from her family. It was now something for them to finally be proud of since she was engaged to a duke. The news had done the Uzayr's well as they saw it as an opportunity to add prestige to their already reputable name. Now none of them wasted any time in flaunting that their sister was a soon to be duchess.

Youssef, however was ecstatic and Daman knew precisely that would be his reaction. He'd congratulated Hera and Daman and wished them well over the phone before heading back to enjoying his wife on honeymoon but he promised Daman a call later in the week to discuss this.

Out on the balcony, he saw Hera sitting on the deck with her shoulders slumped down and her body rigid hugging herself protectively.

Quickly he shuffled through the doors and went to her. "What's the matter?" he asked tenderly and placed an arm around her as he kneeled. What he was not expecting was for her to shove his arm of and push him away as she stood up. He could feel the fury radiating of her.

Hera stood a good few feet away from him to calm herself. "Honestly Daman, you had no right to go and talk to Mikael. That too without even consulting me."

Daman, who was still butt down on the floor, stood up and dusted of his trousers. Right. She wasn't supposed to know about this either. Apart from Mikael being a cheater, it seemed he was also a tattletale. Couldn't even give it 2 hours before he was complaining to Hera.

"I didn't mean any harm. I only wanted to make sure that he got his facts straight. I can't have him lurking around you," Daman explained calmly.

Hera wasn't having it. He meddled in her business, he messaged Mikael from her phone so sneakily. Mikael was a sore topic for her and she needed to deal with it by herself.

"You weren't supposed to do that Daman. I am so pissed with you right now. Mikael wasn't any of your concern. You're really acting like a pompous ass."

Hearing that, Daman licked his lips and evaluated his thoughts. She was defending Mikael and not even caring to understand his point of things. "I'm a duke, Hera. I have a reputation that sets it tone for a whole damn country and I can't have my duchess fraternizing with her lover on the side."

"Fraternizing?!" Hera bellowed out in disbelief. "I haven't met him in months!"

"Then why is he still texting you? Why do you still have his number saved? Why haven't you blocked him as yet? You're still hoping right? Still hoping that he'll call out for you? You'd happily run back into his arms right?"

Hera gritted her teeth as she glared at Daman. It was her healing process, one that he had no right to dictate. She'd do everything in her own time. "You have no right to be acting like a jealous boyfriend. This here," Hera said and signaled to the both of them, "is fake. Completely fake! You needed a trophy to show off and I needed a damn job. That's all it is."

Frustrated, Hera walked inside into the living room and stood behind the sofa as Daman was hot on her tail. She needed some time out from all this.

Hera couldn't help the hot tears of exasperation that surfaced. She placed her clammy hand on the sides of her yellow dress and took a deep breath in. Honestly she was confused, scared and acting out. Being with Daman was becoming her reality these past few days and she was highly unprepared for all that it encompassed.

'Fake. Completely fake,' Daman thought bitterly. What was this mess that they were in now? Had Daman read Hera completely wrong? Did she really think this was completely fake? He surely didn't. Granted he had ulterior motives but his feelings were real. He liked her more than he anticipated but did she?

"Fine. Fine," Daman gritted out angrily and held his hands out in surrender. "I agree. This is completely fake. So you know what? Run back to that ex of yours. Fuck it if I care now," he said in an unpleasant tone and began walking away.

Daman picked up his jacket from the barstool and slipped it on. Just then, the doorbell rang but he paid it no heed as he tried composing himself from his newly acquired rage. "You can walk out of this mess if you'd like. Let's end it. Keep the apartment. Keep the job. Keep whatever you want. I'll be out of here soon," Daman said scathingly not caring to spare a glance at Hera who stood there crumbling.

Hera stood a complete mess behind the sofa. Her feet were plastered to the very same spot and she couldn't compartmentalize what was ringing in her head. Mikael was a closed book for her. She had no intention of ever seeing him again. She stood there questioning herself about everything. It had taken a lot from her to realise that she was intentionally pushing Daman away. Why am I like this? she cried out internally. Daman wasn't like Mikael. He wouldn't hurt her. Hera knew deep down that Daman was a gem of a person in every sense.

Daman stopped the door and yanked it open to make his way out, but the surprise that awaited him was more of an overwhelming shocker.

His grandmother stood first with a stoic expression. "Are you not going to invite me in?" the queen asked politely seemingly angered by her wait at the door.

Immediately Daman stepped aside and allowed her to walk through. He looked at his grandmother's arrival in confusion. She didn't even care to inform him that she was arriving. He hadn't prepared one bit. He was even more alarmed when he saw the porter wheel in various luggage bags.

"Maaf, jadati," Daman spoke tenderly in Arabic apologizing to his grandmother for his rudeness. "I wasn't informed of your arrival." (Sorry, grandma)

Nevertheless, the queen gave Daman a genuine smile. She missed her grandson seeing that he wasn't visiting the Doulah islands as often as he should when he was in Kuwait. "I missed your presence. Hence I decided to take some leave from my duties and come up to London. Haven't been her in a while."

The queen then turned to Hera and her eyes raked over the unkept girl. Well Daman and her had just had a fight with yelling and tears, how else would one expect her to look?

Be that as it may Hera still greeted the queen and forced a smile.

A look of terror washed through Hera and she and Daman locked eyes both panicked momentarily forgetting their fight. What perfect timing, Daman thought as Hera hastily wiped her face some more easing the blotchiness.

"Can't forget me now. I'm here too," a sultry voice drawled out and Amaani stepped inside as if she owned the place. Amaani leaned up and tried placing a kiss onto the duke's lips, however Daman was quick to turn his face that her lips firmly planted on his jaw.

The princess made it a point to leave her red lipstick imprint on him.

It was one thing having the queen of the Doulah visiting but to have a princess as well? How was Hera going to survive?

It didn't help that the 2 seconds of seeing Princess Amaani Zara in person led Hera to the conclusion that she was a difficult person. Amaani was absolutely gorgeous, but Hera could sense that she wasn't as gorgeous as she seemed on the inside.

"Why are you here?" Daman asked Amaani bluntly.

Amaani giggled like a little school girl and swatted the duke playfully on his shoulder. "aunt Donia told me she was coming I couldn't refuse a little getaway! I'm so happy to be here with you." She squealed the last bit and hugged Daman as if her life depended on it.

Safe to say Hera looked at the duke with a sour taste in her mouth.

Once the queen had finished looking around the penthouse and assessing Daman's new investment, she took a seat on the sofa and called out for everybody to join her.

Amaani was like an eager frog leaping to be next to the duke, shoving Hera way in the process. Hera scoffed at the princess' tactics and wanted to cuss her out.

Daman didn't bother to make an effort to be next to Hera because he was still mad at her therefore he didn't protest when Amaani practically draped herself over him. He was annoyed but let it slide.

"It has come to my attention that you and Hera are living together."

Daman looked at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. He knew protocol. He knew it was not allowed. He didn't want his grandmother to find out and he believed that she wouldn't as his title wasn't as popular in London as it was in Kuwait or the islands. But alas, nobody escape the queen. Sometimes the rules and regulations that were attached to his title frustrated him up until no end.

"Yes we are," he said respectfully and honestly.

Donia looked over the duo who had some obvious tension between them. She could sense the unpleasant atmosphere, not to mention Hera's red puffy eyes and tear stains. "You know it is not permitted to live together before marriage. Even if you stay in separate rooms... which I am hoping that you are?"

Damn nodded. "We are."

It honestly made no difference to the queen. Who knew what happened behind closed doors. It would be such a scandal amongst their country to learn of the duke's doing. She didn't want the people to think of Daman like his father.

"Seeing that you are living together, of which I do not approve," she said strongly and pointedly glared at Hera, "The wedding will take place in 10 days."