"Wha...what did you say?"

Tahir didn't want to repeat it. But, he was able to tell that she was in denial. She didn't want to believe it.

"He...passed away"

There was silence that followed his statement. She stared blankly at her hands and Tahir wasn't able to see her expression.

Suddenly, in just a few seconds, Anisa detached the machine connected to her arm and every other needle they had her hooked up to. Tahir stood up quickly as she ran towards the door to leave, but he blocked her and pinned himself to the wall.

She ran into his hard chest and commanded, "Tahir, move out of my way!"

She tried going for the handle of the door, but Tahir grabbed both of her hands and brought them together.

She still resisted while crying and begging him to let her go.

"Let me go, please!"

"Anisa, look at me!" He raised his voice.

She ignored him. In fact, she didn't want to listen.

"Tahir, let me go!"

In defense, she started hitting his chest from despair and anger. She lost control of herself and seeing her this way only made it harder for Tahir to look at her.

She cried and yelled with every remaining strength she had in her body.

"Tahir, I have to go! He wants me there!"

"Anisa, he's dead!"

She paused to look at him with teary eyes as soon as he yelled that statement to get her attention. He looked at her with such sympathy and was breathing heavily from his efforts of calming her.

"He's dead. There's nothing more you can do for him," he sighed as he slowly moved his hands down to her waist.

"You're wrong," she shook her head, "I can get him here. You said you trusted this place. We can cure him here."

Tahir couldn't bear it anymore. He closed his eyes tightly and looked back up into her eyes.

"Anisa, I felt his pulse. He's gone."

As her tears continued to fall, so did her body. She slowly slid to the ground with her knees, losing her balance and her will to stand up.

Tahir did the same as he helped her, only he knelt down on his foot, wiping her tears with his hand.

"He wasn't supposed to go like this," she said in a low voice, "He was supposed to take care of me. He was supposed to make up for his mistakes. How could he leave me like this?"

Tahir brought her into his chest as he embraced her in his arms. She sobbed and held his shirt tightly, as though she'd lose him too.

"He did the same thing my mother did. He left me! All it took was his presence and his care. Yet, he wasn't strong enough. Neither was my mother!" She cried

Until the moment her eyes held no more tears, Tahir embraced her, never letting go. He gently patted her back and rocked her, side to side, providing comfort.

When he no longer heard her sobbing, he slowly looked down to see her eyes shut. She had fallen asleep.

Her body was weaker than before. Not because of her health. But, because of her sorrow.

She took this worse than he had expected. He was surprised to see how much she cared for him even though she wasn't comfortable around him.

Tahir knew King Salman had a genuine love for Anisa. He just wanted Anisa to see that for herself. And Anisa knew how much Mr. Amin cared for Tahir, but they both were late to realize the meaning of love. Until they met each other.

The sun rose above the horizon, marking the beginning of a new day.

Tahir didn't sleep the whole night, afraid that Anisa would run away or do something she'd regret.

She sobbed herself to sleep the whole night and woke up, constantly calling, "Baba."

He really despised the situation she was put in. Losing two people within months was difficult. Losing one person alone could leave a scar on you.

After getting up from the sofa in the hospital room and fixed her blanket to prevent her from getting cold. Once he finished, there was a small knock on the door and Dr. Maryam came in.

"How was the first night of her mourning?" She asked in complete sympathy.

"It wasn't easy," he simply replied.

Dr. Maryam walked over to Anisa's right side where the machine was hooked to record her vitals and analyze them. Tahir prepared himself a coffee in the process.

As it was brewing, Dr. Maryam decided to tell him, "She's stable, health-wise. There's nothing drastic with her vitals. Luckily, when she pulled out the needles, the poison had already left her system."

Tahir poured the coffee into a mug and turned around, "What else?"

"I don't know the princess on a personal level, but I do know that you're on a mission," she said, "I'm also aware you're not supposed to develop personal feelings during that mission."

Tahir's eyes shot up to direct his attention to her. He stayed calm, but he grew alert.

"But, I disagree with that rule. I can tell she reciprocates those feelings. Just yesterday, as you slept, she woke up before you and told me to check her vitals later, just so I wouldn't awake you," Dr. Maryam smiled while looking at Anisa who continued to be in her slumber.

Tahir scoffed lightly in amusement and turned his head to look back at Anisa.

"Either way, rules are there for you to break them. Don't let it get in between the two of you. Other than my words of wisdom, you're discharged and she can go home today."

Dr. Maryam saw Tahir nod and left afterwards. She made sure to close the door slowly while Tahir finished his coffee.

Then, he suddenly got a call from Mr. Latif and checked the room one more time before stepping out.

"Yes, sir," he answered

"Tahir, the world is going crazy about the king's death. I need an explanation as to why and who caused this," Mr. Latif commanded.

"The queen had also been poisoning him. It took all these years for it to stop his heart. So, I took the princess to our medical center. They removed the arsenic in her system before it got worse." Tahir explained.

He heard Mr. Latif sigh on the other end of the line.

"Well, we know it's the queen. But, she's working for someone,"

Tahir furrowed his brows, "You think so?"

"I know so. The evidence of the bullet helps to explain that she isn't alone. I expect you at the facility tonight. This time, I'll do the briefing," he told him.

Tahir simply replied, "Yes, sir."

He hung up and turned around to go back into the room. As soon as he lifted his head up, once entering, he saw Anisa had woken up.

She stared outside, into the distance at the large window just across from her. He slot made his way over to sit beside her.

"How are you?" He asked in a low voice.

She simply blinked a couple times, allowing for silence before she said, "How do I look?"

Tahir scoffed, "You want me to be honest with you?"

She nodded.

Then, he told her, "You look horrible."

She frowned at him and punched the side of his arm with the only strength she had remaining. Tahir looked at her expression closely, only to realize that she wasn't in the mood to joke.

He knew what she was going through, but, he only wanted to distract her from the situation. Even if it meant a couple seconds.

Seeing how silent she was, he brought the chair closer and stared into her eyes. Diverting her attention from the window, he gently cupped her cheeks and startled her.

"You know, one thing that made me fall for you was your strength," he said, "You were capable of making a whole crowd shake in fear, just with your presence. You also fight for what's right. You fight for a good reason."

"There's no more strength left in me," she interrupted.

"Sssh," he placed his index finger on her lips while he continued to cup her face with one hand. "Strength lives in you. You create it and I know just how capable you are of doing that."

She felt her face heat up and grew embarrassed. He was giving her support, emotionally and she was able to sense how genuine his words were.

"I have fought, only to see my father fall, just like Mr. Amin did. Who's left for me to fight for?"

Tahir released his hands from her face as soon as she said that. Instead, he got a hold of her hands and told her, "You're fighting for your country this time. It's a bigger task and responsibility. So, it will come with hardship. But, I'm right here beside you. I'm not going anywhere."

"Why didn't you tell me!" Layla slapped Yasin across the face from anger. She was frustrated to a point she was losing her mind.

Yasin clenched his fist in response and gritted his teeth with a heavy sigh. She provoked him and she always resonated with violence everytime she was mad.

"You were busy destroying the royal administration. How could I tell you," he growled.

"If mother did something like this, I could've talked her out of it," she cried as she paced around the new palace.

"It was too late. She killed baba and she almost killed Anisa. Now, she's running like a coward, away from all that she did," Yasin shook his head.

Layla sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

Both of them waited for Tahir and Anisa to arrive. There was no one else in charge. The rest of the family was also present. They were outside in the main living room. All their aunts and uncles gather the family to discuss what happens to the throne.

Shortly, after Yasin and Layla's little argument, the guards announced Anisa's arrival into the castle.

Last night, her and Tahir reviewed the file her father gave to her, with his will inside. Along with other documentation that exposed the rest of the royals.

Her lawyer was also present and carried a briefcase regarding to what she was about to do.

When she finally reached the main living room, she saw that they had all gathered, filling up each of the hundred seats.

Layla and Yasin followed as soon as they heard she arrived and took a seat themselves.

"With the unfortunate passing of my father, excuse me if I'm unable to speak properly," Anisa began, "But certain things have come to my attention after the queen, or shall I say, former queen," Anisa looked towards Yasin and Layla, "committed murder towards my father and attempted murder with me."

They all looked amongst each other, whispering their reactions and thoughts. But, that didn't phase Anisa.

"My father left his will with me. Inside, it details every procedure he wishes to be done, including the removal of a good amount of you sitting before me," she said, "And to be honest, I was quite impressed with what some of you were capable of committing."

Tahir kept watch of the entire perimeter with the rest of his team, ready to react. Today, many people were going to be removed of their royal status as they had neglected their rightful duties.

"A number of you will be leaving. I can't tolerate anymore traitors within the royal family. Whatever you've done, it's gone too far to the point the country is in chaos of who's going to rule next," Anisa explained.

While she gave her speech, Tahir spoke into his earpiece and made sure he said it quiet enough so that no one in this room would hear.

"Teams B and D, be prepared to target Mr. Hakim. He's our first traitor..."

A/N:

Hey guys! What did you think of Anisa's reaction to her father's death?🥺. Also, hope this chapter was worth the little wait:)

Don't forget to show this book some love by commenting wherever you'd like and hitting that star button.

Thank you~