Yasin waited for her response and the longer she took to answer him, the more irritated and impatient he got.

"Is she, or is she not!?" He asked once more.

"She doesn't know of any of this. And I don't either. You're blaming me without evidence. How could you possibly suspect me to do something like that?" She was offended from her tone but Yasin wasn't the type to be easily fooled.

"The sleeping pills you personally gave Anisa in front of Baba, I took them to the lab and guess what? There's Arsenic in them. I was surprised you even lent a helping hand towards her in the first place," he said.

"Son, I can explain, it's not how it seems —"

He cut her off and told her, "To think I called you mother."

As she took a step to get closer to Yasin, he lifted his hand, motioning her to stop.

"Don't bother coming any closer. There's no explanation that can cover up your attempt in murder. Anisa was born with royal blood. We only took inheritance once you married baba. So, don't try to stop me and tell me there's a reason," he growled

Yasin went back into his car and sped out of the garage. This would be considered getting confirmation and evidence. He even recorded the conversation. But, what was he going to do with all this?

"Why of course this project will only take a matter of time but that's only if you're willing to sacrifice hard work and effort. The only goal of this project is to create sustainability for the people, without much of the charge so everyone has an equal chance at getting their hands on the resources needed," the man explained.

Anisa was currently sitting at the chair on the very front of the table, surrounded by many other businessmen and women. Tahir, of course, stood just behind her, towards a wall.

Normally, meetings like this would forbid bodyguards, but because she's a royal, and not just any businesswoman, those rules don't apply.

"My people and I are willing to put in the effort, but, are yours willing to solely provide this project for the people?" Anisa asked them, "I don't want you guys to use this project as a chance to brag about the collaboration and partnership with a princess, rather I'd like for the people to see the benefits."

One man stood up and he happened to be the chairman of the very company's meeting room that everyone gathered on.

"I can assure you that our only purpose as a company is to serve the people and tend to their needs. With this project, we'll bring smiles to their faces and guarantee a comfortable lifestyle," he assured everyone.

After analyzing the truth behind his words and expression, Anisa smiled and told everyone, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we've got ourselves a partnership."

There was an applause followed by every individual standing up from their chairs and shaking each other's hands.

This marked the end of the meeting and Tahir escorted Anisa outside of the room.

"What now," Tahir said as they exited the building.

Suddenly, Anisa felt dizzy. She saw everything shake and multiply from her vision and had to hold on to the nearest thing. More like, the nearest person.

Tahir caught her in his hands and instantly grew worried. She slept well last night, so it can't be because of fatigue.

As she lost her balance, she tightened her grip on his muscular arms that were exposed and felt his muscles tighten with veins present in every angle.

"Anisa," Tahir called her, making sure she was alright.

"Tahir," her breath hitched, "I can't feel my legs!"

As soon as she said that, he brought her closer to his chest with his arm snaking itself around her waist to hold her up for support.

"Hold on," he told her.

He slowly assisted her with walking and once they made it to a bench, he slowly placed her down and sat her up.

He knelt down and tried to perform a medical procedure on her by tapping the front of her leg.

"Can you feel this?" He asked, looking up at her.

Anisa shook her head and took heavy breaths from panic. Her heart was racing out of control and she despised the feeling of being weak.

All she wanted was to be able to feel her legs again but for some reason, they gave up and felt numb.

"Anisa, I need you to stay calm, ok?" Tahir reassured her.

"Tahir, I can't walk, I can't even feel your hands on them!"

"Just calm down. Look at me," he said, "Look into my eyes,"

She directed her attention to his blue orbs and felt herself unable to let go. She watched them as he spoke, "Take deep breaths. Slowly."

She did just that. One deep breath in and a deep breath out. She felt her breathing come to normal and her heart rate slowly began to drop.

Tahir took notice and told her, "That's good. Now think of something you want. Whatever it is, just don't think of your legs."

Anisa closed her eyes shut and thought of something she wanted. It was something she hadn't told anyone. But, no matter her riches and status, she wasn't able to get it.

Then, she felt his hand just at the side of her legs as he applied pressure on them. The feeling came slowly, but surely and she opened her eyes again.

As soon as she did, she was greeted to the short distance Tahir had created between them. They were only inches apart.

Her heart slowly started racing again and she hoped he couldn't hear it. Her face felt hot and slowly burned up.

While he had this effect on her, she was jealous of how he was able to maintain a solid expression, one that didn't give away any sort of feeling other than acceptance.

"Can you feel them now?" He asked once more.

Slowly, she nodded and watched him sigh of relief and stand up. He ran his hand through his hair and started pacing back and forth.

Then, he finally dared to ask, "Is there a condition you have that no one knows about? That hasn't been documented and that you haven't told anyone about?"

She watched him in disbelief and he continued to say, "Because if so, tell me now so next time, I won't be off guard!"

Watching him scold her brought back a feeling she had missed. Only Mr. Amin could scold her like this while showing care through his words. How was Tahir able to do the same?

"No. If I had a health condition, I'd never conceal it. Especially when I need to live in order to carry out this investigation," she said.

"Anisa, I'm asking for your honesty here!" Tahir raised his voice which took her by surprise.

Instead of snapping back at him as she normally would during any argument, she stood up and told him,

"I thought I gained your trust, but it turns out that I haven't even gained any of it."

With that she walked off and headed towards the car, leaving Tahir to pause and think back to his actions. He cursed under his breath and wasn't even angry at Anisa. Rather, he was disappointed in himself.

Out of all the missions he's had to carry, this was the most difficult by far.

Layla dropped her bag in the maid's hands and walked towards the kitchen. Saif followed her and was startled to find Nadia with the queen in the kitchen.

"Mama, what for dinner today?" Layla asked, taking a seat on the stool just in front of the large island.

"I told them to keep it simple. It seems as though your father doesn't have much of an appetite. Neither do I," Humeyra explained.

"Why? It's rare for you not to have an appetite," Layla asked.

"Well, I just don't feel well. There's so much going on, especially since it's the last few days of the month," she lied.

She was concealing the real reason. The one in which Yasin interrogated her and made her question her next move.

"What about Yasin? I haven't seen him around all day," she looked around just in case Yasin was nearby. But, he wasn't.

"Yasin decided to leave and stay at his apartment for a while," Humeyra told her.

Layla furrowed her brows and said, "Is it a coincidence that both him and Anisa moved out? What's gotten into those two?"

As Saif watched and listened in on their conversation, he sensed something was off about this.

Being a spy for years has given him the ability to sense when a conversation isn't genuine between people and so far, the only one being genuine was Layla.

"Anyway, I don't care about those two. Where's Baba? Has he been in his office all day?" She asked, grabbing a piece of fruit from the plate across from her.

"He's been signing paperwork and preparing for the next event. He's heightened security all over the place even a week before it's supposed to start," Humeyra explained.

Saif already knew about the heightened security. All security guards were multiplied from the amount there usually is around the castle. And, Tahir made sure he had every corner of it being supervised before he left.

"Makes sense if he did that," Layla commented.

Just then, both Nadia and Saif were paged on their earpiece and it was Tahir's voice. This meant he was communicating with all security guards of the palace.

"Head of security. Tonight, there's going to be a visitor at the palace, make sure he's checked before entrance. Keep at least eight guards around the royals and more at the entrance of any door. I'll ask for detailed reports once I head back."

"Yes, sir," They both said into their earpiece, quiet enough to prevent any suspicion as Humeyra and Layla continued their conversation.

The air was filled with silence which filled Tahir with discomfort. Ever since the incident earlier, Anisa didn't speak a word to him and kept avoiding him.

Currently, she sat behind the desk in the hotel room, going through papers that were given upon the new collaboration of the project.

She didn't need to read every detail, but she was only doing this to avoid speaking to Tahir.

Of course, the silence only lasted so long as Tahir made the first move and said, "It was wrong of me."

Anisa still wasn't phased and didn't bother looking up to hold eye contact.

"Something like that just doesn't happen without a reason and I know that there's a possibility that not everything gets recorded into the documents I read before becoming your bodyguard," he explained.

She still didn't look up which prompted him to get up and walk towards her. He sat just on the edge of the desk and said, "Listen, I grew up trusting my parents, my family, only to have it shattered by the circumstances that came upon me."

Anisa slowly started to ease up. He was finally opening up to her. But, she wanted to listen more and didn't move.

"I was taught not to trust anyone so it's hard for me to put trust into a relationship where it's strictly business. You say it yourself. I'm just a bodyguard at the end of the day. I'm only here to serve you as your protector. There's nothing more to it," Tahir continued.

"Earlier, when you couldn't feel your legs, it only brought back my memories of my family and it irritated me because had I known that you had a condition, I'd be able to do something for you. But I was mad that it was sudden and I didn't want to live through another circumstance that involved someone's health."

Finally, she looked up and was taken by surprise at his confession. She was greeted to his eyes filled with sincerity and pain. But as always, he hid it from her with his facial expressions.

Nonetheless, his eyes held most of his emotions. Those that he couldn't display physically. Not until someone looked into his eyes.

"This is why I asked for your trust," Anisa said, "So I can understand you. Without communication, we won't know what to do with each other."

She slowly stood up from her chair and did the bravest act she's ever done in years. She placed her hand on top of his as she told him,

"Trust me when I say you're not alone."

A/N:

Hi guys, here's another update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Don't forget to show this book some love by sharing it with anyone you know on this platform, hitting that star button, and commenting wherever you'd like ☺️

Thank you ~