* Recap *

Around them was a whole room filled with necessities for a security team. In the background, there were a total of eight men.

But, the one thing that triggered such a reaction was the man in front of them.

As Tahir was speechless, Saif managed to utter the words in shock,

"Mr. Amin...?"

Tahir reacted by taking a step back and lowering his gun.

Mr. Amin smiled at both of them and said, "Why the long faces gentlemen?"

Saif lowered his gun and took a step forward to get a closer look, just in case this was a hallucination. Mr. Amin already predicted what he was doing and told him, "Don't worry, it really is me. I'm alive."

Saif sighed and Mr. Amin held his arms open to give Saif an embrace. As soon as they pulled apart, Mr. Amin turned to look at Tahir who was avoiding his gaze.

"Tahir, come here," he said.

He took slow steps before standing in front of his father. No one was able to tell what he was feeling. No one but himself.

He wanted to punch him in the face, he wanted to hug the life out of him, but he also grew confused. This wasn't a part of his analysis.

"I can't tell what you're thinking, but I promise I'm back for good, it's alright," Mr. Amin assured him.

Tahir looked up to take a quick glance at him only to hold eye contact and lose himself in the moment. He tried to think of every scenario that could've gone wrong or every scenario that led to his survival.

He should've checked for his corpse. He should've made sure that whoever was buried was his father before making himself go through hell and back with months of mourning his loss in silence.

Unlike everyone else, he kept his emotions bottled inside. He only felt comfortable with himself up until he met Anisa.

Now that he stood in front of his father who was once dead, he had no choice but to walk up to him and look down on the floor.

Mr. Amin sighed and brought Tahir closer, engulfing him in a hug that was tight and even patted his back with such force. Mr. Amin had a lot to tell him as well. But for now, it was best to let Tahir process everything one by one.

"No, check for any ticket purchases, dig into his flight details and personal account. There's something else that's not adding up," Mr. Latif questioned

The agent nodded and knew that it was best to just agree to everything. Questioning Mr. Latif meant you'd have to listen to all the analysis going on in his mind and no one had the time for that.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of his office and he kept his eyes on the papers in front of him as he said, "Come in."

Mr. Latif looked up briefly and back down but realization hit him as he Saif, Tahir, and Mr. Amin walk through the door, prompting him to stand up quickly.

"Sir, it's been a long time," Mr. Latif simply said.

Tahir expected that Mr. Latif was a part of this so his response didn't come as a surprise to him. However, Saif began to question if he even knew these gentleman anymore.

"Indeed, it has," Mr. Amin took a seat just across from the desk while Saif and Tahir sat across from him.

Mr. Latif also sat beside Mr. Amin and each of them looked at each other with doubts and minds filled with many questions.

"First off, I'd like to say that it's not the first time I've faked my death. As you might know, I've done it a few times and it's all part of protocol with the agency. It's a test to see who I can trust in my absence and the capabilities of agents like you two, " Mr. Amin began

"I know how corrupted the royal family has become. In fact, as part of head of security, I had eyes on every location they relocated to. Even the palace they've moved to just a couple of days ago. But I did all of this to distance myself from a personal bond that grew and was forbidden by myself," he sighed as he looked down at his palm.

Tahir knew where he was going with this but he wanted to hear his father say it himself.

"The princess felt like a daughter to me and while trying to fulfill my duties as an agent on a mission, I felt that I violated the code of trust and personal relations. So, I had to give myself distance," he explained, "I only had two people that knew of this plan and it was Mr. Latif and your mother" he looked at Tahir.

"This doesn't count as a reason for disappearing at a time where you were needed most," Tahir said.

Mr. Amin nodded, "You're right, it doesn't. But you have to understand that I must uphold certain duties all for the sake of the future. This country is run by the same bloodline. All of which causes havoc and threat. They can't even agree amongst themselves and we've always got to make sure it never falls in the hands of the wrong person."

"We've seen how the family is and if the public had a true perspective on it, no one would want them to govern the country anymore. Every year, they begin to lose trust," Mr. Latif added

Mr. Amin nodded," Which is why I founded this agency. I believe that despite the bloodline being the same, some of them are born with genuine leadership."

"We got that part but how did you manage to fake your death. Everyone saw the explosion happen and who's body did they bury if not yours?" Saif asked, interrupting the sudden change of topic

"Half of my security team were agents. They timed their entrance into the castle just a minute before I went in using an excuse to save someone and turned on the switch to activate the bomb. I planted it where damage wouldn't be done to half of the palace."

"And you stood on the other half and when authorities came in, you hid right here where they wouldn't think to look," Tahir put the pieces together prompting his father to nod.

"Exactly. Since the authorities weren't issued a warrant by the princess as instructed, they never found my body. They only assumed I was dead after my disappearance. Basically, they buried an empty coffin," Mr. Amin finished the last piece.

"Anisa, I'm coming in," Abbas said before turning the handle of the door and revealing himself behind it.

Anisa didn't look up. She wasn't interested in his presence. Nor, did she care enough to acknowledge him. Her whole world was about to turn upside down and just tomorrow, she was going to be announcing her marriage with him on live television.

"I brought you clothes. You've got to look presentable for tomorrow," he said as he placed a bag on top of the coffee table.

"I'm not wearing anything you give me," she simply said.

"Oh, but you will. You're forgetting that your mother's life is on the line." He reminded.

Anisa only knew her mother for seven years before she disappeared. Or, more appropriately, before she left. She was still grieving for her father. She wished she had done so much and said better words to him before he left forever.

But then again, everyone kept leaving. All her loved ones would disappear one by one.

While she was deep in her thoughts, Abbas took notice and decided to get her attention by setting out some expectations for her live appearance tomorrow.

"The moment you go on that stage, you're going to hold a smile on your face. Journalists can tell when someone was forced to do something," he said, "Also, don't attempt to say anything different besides our marriage. If I even sense a change in your speech, I will have my men pull the trigger and you'll have murdered your mother."

Anisa snapped and stood up, inches away from him to say, "I'm aware of what needs to be done and I don't need any more reminders. You're wasting your time. I'm not a child. You forget that you're the person you are because of me!"

Abbas was taken back by her sudden aggression towards him. Somehow, she was able to make his blood coil yet also create amusement.

"I like this side of you," he smirked

Anisa turned around as she frowned. Everything that was happening wasn't making sense to her. Why was she saving her mother of whom she barely met yesterday? How did she decide to show up in her life today? Why did she even agree to marry this man?

Saif entered Tahir's room to find him sitting behind the coffee table, in deep thought. Another night was passing and they weren't getting closer to finding Anisa's whereabouts.

"What are you thinking about?" Saif took the seat right next to Tahir.

"I have this feeling that something's off. Something's bad about to happen. But, I don't exactly know what it is," he said in a deep voice.

"What kind of bad? For the country or for you?" Saif asked.

"I think it's going to be both. I tried and thought of every scenario possible. One thing isn't adding up. There's a missing variable that we don't know about and unless we find out, it's going to be too late," he replied.

"Forget about your gut feeling. How are you?" Saif interrupted his thoughts and caught his attention, prompting him to look up.

"What do you mean?" Tahir asked.

"Don't play dumb with me. I've known since we were children. You and Anisa don't have a normal relationship. It's clear that you value her more than just a client," Saif told him.

Tahir looked away into the distance but Saif wasn't going to accept this response.

"I know that as agents, we're not allowed to break the code of personal relations with clients but Anisa has changed you. Don't you realize that?" Saif looked straight into Tahir's gaze, "You're cold, you build a wall and keep adding bricks to it. There's no expression whatsoever. If I didn't know you, I'd think that you're almost a robot with no feelings. But, she seems to have broke some of the bricks of that wall and you're dying inside, knowing that she could be hurt, or worse, dead."

"Saif, I don't want to talk about this. If you wanted me to congratulate you on your observation skills, just say so. But right now, it's not the right time. Especially when I'm on the verge of punching anything in my sight," Tahir replied.

"Oh please. If anything, I can dodge you. But, what I'm trying to say is that forget the code. Forget everyone and everything else. You deserve someone like her. She brings out something we don't normally see in you," Saif explained while leaning back on the chair.

"The code never mattered to me," Tahir said, "I never cared about it because I never felt a certain way for all the people I've met during missions. Up until Anisa came into my life, that's when the code bothered me. I thought and questioned myself for days. I even blamed myself for letting something like this happen. Then I realized that the more I let it happen, the more it bothered me. The more closer I wanted to get."

Tahir stood up from his seat and walked around as he continued to tell Saif, "I can't explain it. I've never felt anything like it. There's not a second she's off my mind. Not a second goes without wondering if she's ok, if she's hurt, if she's..." his words trailed off. Tahir had a lump in his throat from becoming emotional but he felt helpless.

It was as though he was going through this all on his own. Little did he know that Anisa was barely holding on...

A/N:

Hi Guys. I'm aware that this update took FOREVER. I totally understand. But, starting another semester of University does things to a writer 😅. I can't say that I know how my updating schedule will look like from here on out but I hope you guys continue to show support for this book.

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