For Duty's Sake (Mills & Boon Modern) [Paperback]

Angele has been betrothed to Zahir since she was thirteen and he twenty three. Ever since then she has been in love with him, over the years they have met at official functions and each and every time Angele's love for her crowned prince increased. When she was eighteen she even tried to get him to kiss her, but he would not, sighting her age as too young! Nevertheless she has kept herself pure never having a boyfriend or going on even casual dates, she did not even go to her own prom. Now ten years later she has received some photos of Zahir with a woman named Elsa, apparently Zahir has had a long term relationship with this woman. Angele is brokenhearted she always believed that Zahir would hold himself pure only for her, as she had done for him.
So while attending Zahir's brothers wedding she decides to confront him about their betrothal and to let him know that she will not marry a man who does not love her, she would never end up like her Mother married to a serial adulterer. Angele believes that Zahir must love this woman so she feels to break their betrothal will leave him free to follow his heart.
This book started with real promise, but after her confrontation with Zahir about his affair, every conversation between them was like reading two people at a business meeting. The story was completely emotionless, and at no time even up until the end did I as the reader ever believe that Zahir felt anything like love for Angele. This book was a bit of a disappointment for me, the title of this story was very apt because it seemed that everything Zahir did with Angele was only for duty!

This is a very engaging, suspenseful and well written book. LM crafted a beautiful heart warming story that was so compelling that one had to read it in a single sitting. Have you ever trusted someone with your love and your life and kept them on a pedestal only to discover that your Knight in Shining armour has feet of clay, the devastation that follows such failed expectations is usually heart rending. This is why the saying `Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed' may have been coined. Our heroine may well have benefitted from this saying.

When at the age of 13, Angeles bin Cemal al Jawhar was betrothed to the Crown Prince Zahir of Zohra aged twenty four then, she thought howbeit naively that they would both saved themselves for each other. At eighteen he thought she was still a child and would not even kiss her. Now twenty three she has not so much heard from him nor received a romantic gesture from him. She was more deeply in love than ever, but their engagement has never been made public. While she has lived her life in the knowledge of one day marrying the Crown Sheikh, she has never for one day done anything that will disparage her or dishonour the royal family. Her fairy tale castles and dreamworld came crashing down when she was exposed to some compromising pictures of her Prince and hero with a blonde German model, Elsa Botch. The pictures showed the prince to be happy and possibly in love with this woman. What was worse whoever took the picture knew enough about their secret betrothal and was blackmailing Angeles. Angeles was no shrinking violet, her parent's marriage thought her an indelible lesson that only mutual love between two people should form the basis of any union she enters, irrespective of duty and crown. So she set about her plan to break the marriage agreement/contract and set the Crown Sheikh free to find his one true love since obviously he did not lover her. She will set him free on one condition that he gives her the wedding night she would have had. Just one night with the Sheikh, for a lifetime of freedom. Will the prince take her threat to break their secret contract/ understanding seriously or will he think she is just apprehensive about their compatibility in the bedroom and the fact that he has not paid her much attention?

This was a most intriguing love story and very engaging too. LM once again wrote a beautiful story with two well matched characters, both have the same cultural background and grew up in Royal palaces. Angeles though American educated and now an American citizen still retained love for her native country of Jawhar and Zohra . The marriage between her, the niece of the King of Jawhar and the Crown Prince of Zohra was an expectation that had been sealed in stone from when she was a babe in the cradle. As the King of Jawhar, her uncle once put it , a look at Angeles face alone told the world that she was in love with the Prince so what could have gone wrong? It is really interesting to see how easily we can neglect something we have or take it for granted because we think it will always be there. This was really an unusual story with everything happening in a backwards fashion. A thoroughly enjoyable read, with lots of expose on human emotions and vulnerabilities even for those with privileged background. I note that LM once again wove into it a medical condition and gave some good practical advice on how women thus afflicted could overcome it. Don't miss out on this beautifully crafted, compelling and heart warming tale of true love and sacrifices.

Angele bin Cemal and Sheikh Zahir bin Faruq al Zohra had been promised to each other since she had been a young girl. Zahir had been photographed with a German actress Elsa Bosch. In fact, the photos had been sent to her residence in the United States. What a cruel thing for someone to do. It made me wonder if it was Elsa herself. In the end, it was a blackmailer. Angele had always cared for Zahir from afar and wondered if she should just give him up so that he could be with the beautiful and curvy actress and find happiness. Because in the photographs they looked very intimate and happy. Maybe she and Zahir wouldn't wed but she would ask him to share one intimate night together before she gave him up!

Since Angele had been eighteen, she had been in love with Zahir. She had not cared if people understood or believed that such a young innocent girl was capable of that emotion. She'd just known what she felt and it was not a crush. As each year passed, it had grown deeper. In fact at a state dinner they had attended tohgether, while strolling in the gardens she had asked him to kiss her. Instead of doing so, he had told her she was too young and had kissed her on the forehead. Talk about awkward. On top of that, there was the fact that her father was not faithful to her mother. It was an embarrassment to her family and to their country. Therefore, as she sat looking at the pictures of Zahir and Elsa "lip locked", she knew deep in her heart that she could not allow Zahir to be held to the contract. The contract which had been brokered by men who had never given love between the two people involved even a thought. His lack of love for her demanded his freedom. Personally, I thought what a lovely and noble gift she was giving him.

Angele had been treated as the favored niece by the King of Jawhar. Now they were both, along with the wedding guests, attending his brother Amir's and Grace's wedding. A marriage which was based on love. Both of his brothers had found love with women not all together suitable. However, it was not the same for him. His bride had been set by an agreement between Zohra and Jawhar and he honored his duty and the contract. Angele had refused the request to be apart of both weddings and Zahir assumed it was her way of demanding he formalize the engagement between them. It was obvious she was tired of waiting and he realized the time had come to do his duty. On top of that Zahir had spoken to Angele's father and told him he would not marry a woman whose farther appeared in the tabloids, Her father patched things up with her mother and had not been featured in the press for five years. Thus proving he took his daughter's future seriously. Zahir vowed he would never be unfaithful even though his marriage would be a loveless one on his part. His future bride's stubbornness gave him hope for their future together and he realized so did her love for him as well..

Angele slipped away from the wedding and approached Zahir in his private office. She blurted out that she knew about Elsa. In fact, it was then revealed to the reader, that twice she had paid the blackmailer in order to avoid a scandal for Zahir. This fact he was unaware of because he thought it was Angele who had seen the pictures in the tabloids. However, during their discussions Zahir told her his five year relationship with Elsa was over and assured he was not like her father. He also assured her he did not consider himself "stuck" and he had been a young adult when the agreement had been made and that he chose his future. Because Angele loved Zahir so much, she wanted him find happiness like his brother's, he deserved to have it. She could do no less for the man she loved with her entire heart.

Angele and Zahir continued to argue about duty, honor, responsibility and a marriage that should take place, a marriage their families agreed to but this stubborn young woman held firm. She actually asked him if he had loved Elsa. The answer to the question was he refused to discuss it. Then she told him she wanted the wedding night she would never have and he realized she loved him. Back and forth they argued and then he agreed after all of his brother's marriage celebrations were over he would give her that one night and he sent to her room the dress that his grandmother wore on her wedding day. That was a huge surprise and I wondered why he would do such a sentimental thing like that for a woman he wasn't going to end up marrying?

Zahir was furious, with Angele, because after an evening of making love, which he enjoyed immensely, he was sure she would agree to their royal engagement and future wedding. How could she have left him like this, putting out press releases, giving letters of explanation to the Kings, calling her father? How could she after all they shared? Damn her for doing this to him. He was shocked and so angry with her. After hours of explanation to his father, her father, and the Kings, he came up with a plan. One that had me laughing so hard because in the end, I was sure this proud sheikh would fall hard. He wanted his father to put out a "royal" press release stating that he Zahir, future King would "woo his future wife". His father laughed at him and his answer back was "you doubt my ability to woo one innocent woman after witnessing his skills at negotiations with world leaders?" Angele's father died laughing and his response was "a woman is not a world power." With that Zahir said, "no, but one day your daughter will be married to one." I thought, good luck with the wooing, Zahir. lol

For Duty's Sake, clearly showed Lucy Monroe's sense of humor and I couldn't wait to continue along with Zahir's and Angele's journey at finding happiness. After he found the blackmail pictures she left behind for him, he knew Elsa had not only betrayed him with a lover, now these picture and the lengths that Angele would go to protect him, proved to him how much she loved him. First, he would deal with the blackmail and then the courtship, because Angele would take her place as his Queen by his side because she truly loved him. She was honorable, stubborn and would make him a perfect queen. From a distance, the courtship began with gifts and flowers and all the while, he thought of her. Finally, he personally came to see her and was shocked at her appearance. He was even more shocked when she agreed to marry him because she was carrying his heir. Could this get anymore complicated? She had conditions for their marriage. After I read them I realized they reflected back on both of their childhoods convcerning fidelity and how their children would be raised. It made complete sense to me.

In the end, they were both full of surprises. Zahir's feelings about her love for him and how it would be positive for their marriage. Her thoughts on her pregnancy and how Zahir' negotiated everything. Moreover, of course, their upcoming "quickie" wedding. However, it all worked out in the end with both mother's doing the wedding planning. There was also the fact that world leaders would soon be attending a summit in Zohra. Which meant their wedding would take place in two months time and would be a "political" event. The surprises continued to come with her future husband continuing the courtship. I began to wonder could he possibly be falling in love with her?

The ending chapters were amazing and Lucy Monroe made sure that anyone reading For Duty Sake would realize Angele was Zahir's treasure. There was also the fact that he was an old fashion man. Because on the fateful night when they first made love, he had actually considered her his wife. In the end, their lovemaking changed and I understood why because Zahir needed his future wife to trust him. To me it seemed like they had a real chance for a successful and happy marriage. That was until he took her on a business trip with him to Europe. Could their love survive the fact that she saw him having lunch with a female instead of attending the meeting her told her about on his schdule?

Love is about trust and Angele trusted her future husband and in the end realized, he cherished her. Oh, I cannot begin to convey how much I've loved this Royal Brides series and this book was no exception. How Zahir discovered his love was amazing to read and so was their beautiful royual wedding. It was just the perfect ending, to a perfect royal romance thanks to the brilliant Lucy Monroe.