The sun rose over the horizon, beginning a new day. Tahir had stayed up all night and had just put himself to rest. He was leaning against the wall, asleep.

Mr. Amin walked through the door to check on him a few minutes later.

He sighed while grabbing the blanket on his bed and putting it over him. Tahir was raised to survive any circumstances that would occur in his life. He wasn't treated with the kind of sympathy or love that a normal man would. Just looking at him made Mr. Amin blame himself for raising him without proper care.

Just then, Saif walked up to the door that was open and Mr. Amin turned to signal him not to make a sound.

"Sssh" he said as he placed his index finger on his lips

Saif nodded and watched Mr. Amin get back up to stand. He gave Tahir one last look before leaving with Saif.

"How many nights did he pull off?" Mr. Amin asked Saif.

"I think it's already been almost a week," he responded

"That's just torture. He's not equipped to escape sleep," Mr. Amin shook his head from worry for his son.

"Which is what I always tell him," Saif sighed.

"Well, any news on the current situation?" Mr. Amin changed the topic

"Actually that's why I came into Tahir's room. I was going to inform that Abbas was seen coming out of a building. He had someone else with him but they left just 30 minutes ago in a black Bentley to an unknown location. We're still tracking them as they move." Saif explained

"That's good news. It gives us a chance to make our move,"

Mr. Amin turned right from the hallway with Saif still following him. He walked into the main security room where a black Bentley was displayed on the screen, in the middle of the highway.

"Do we have eyes on the guest he's bringing with him," Mr. Amin asked the agents in the room.

"Not exactly but the figure appears to be a woman. It's highly possible that it could be the princess," an agent responded

"Oh dear," Mr. Amin continued to look at the live footage.

"It appears that he's also being accompanied by five other cars filled with his security. I'm thinking he's going to be public if he's making such a scene. He won't be in hiding after this for sure," Mr. Latif walked up to stand next to Mr. Amin.

"Don't you think we should inform Tahir?" Saif asked

"Let him rest. He needs it before he can handle what's about to happen," Mr. Amin replied.

"Anisa, remember what I said," Abbas reminded her while they sat in the back of the car.

Hearing his voice made her blood coil. She was restless and had been falling asleep on the floor without realizing it. It wasn't easy staying awake. Nor, was it easy to keep her eyes open. Every second they were, it was torture.

"Do you hear me?" Abbas asked.

"Do you ever get sick of your own voice?" Anisa snapped back.

Abbas smirked and said, "No. But I keep wanting to hear yours."

Anisa made a disgusted expression before looking back out the window. It was as though they had been in this car for hours when it really had been 20 minutes.

Where they were going, she had no clue. But one thing was for certain. Today, not only was she going to destroy her own life but break the hearts of others.

Eventually, she felt the car slow down and it made a turn before parking in a lot. She looked up to realize that this was her own hotel.

She got out of the car without waiting for the anyone to open it for her and hadn't realized how something she built would make her have such trauma and fear built inside.

"Why here of all places?" Anisa angrily asked

"Well, it's technically where I made, I would say, my unique proposal. So, why not?" Abbas shrugged.

Anisa took a deep breath while closing her eyes, containing the rage that kept building inside her.

Abbas grabbed her by the elbow and she tried getting out of his grip.

"Let me go," she growled.

"At least make it seem like we're together. The paparazzi are here," he whispered in her ear.

She stopped and feared the life of her mother before she made a move that would cause Abbas to signal anything.

They walked in to the building and made their way to the courtyard where a venue was already prepared with a podium and speaker. Not to mention the gaint crowd of reporters that flooded the area.

Abbas walked her up the steps but every step Anisa took, she grew weaker. She began to feel herself shake and couldn't stop herself.

He took notice of this and held her arm with his other hand while he said, "Anisa, you're shaking. This is not how we planned out the announcement."

"Let me go and maybe it'll be somewhat part of the plan," she snapped back.

After a few seconds, he finally let her arm go and she felt as though she could finally move. But, it became difficult to breathe and she had to hold on to the stand in front of her. There were so many journalists and flashes in front of them.

They wouldn't stop and cameras were filming from every corner of the room. Everything was all a blur she wasn't aware that they had already began filming live. Anisa didn't know how to begin this announcement. She didn't feel as though the words she was instructed to memorize were genuine and couldn't put any emotions into it.

"Poor girl, she can't even pull herself together," Mr. Latif said as they watched the live broadcast.

The entire agency was ready on standby, waiting for their chance to take action. Since the announcement was happening at the Royal Hotel, JSS agents were already there, patrolling the area in case Anisa ever showed up and there she was.

"What do you think she's up to?" Saif questioned.

Mr. Amin tried to put the situation together in his mind but even he was clueless as to what Anisa was about to do. She'd never cease to surprise him. Almost every action she took was unexpected. But, this didn't seem like her. She looked pale than usual and her expressions were being forced.

Just then, Tahir appeared through the door, alerting everyone of his presence. Saif knew this wasn't good. He wasn't in a good mood and seeing them all lined up in the main hall, watching the live broadcast, only made him question them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tahir asked

"We don't know. Everything is under control. We've got agents in their perimeter in case anything happens. But, the princess hasn't said anything yet,"

Just as Mr. Amin finished explaining the situation to Tahir, Anisa's voice was heard through the screen. Tahir moved to get a better angle and his heart fell as soon as he saw her condition. It was obvious to someone who studied the face.

In order to contain control, he held on to the table he was leaning against with a tight grip from his hands while he listened to Anisa.

"Hello everyone. I'm sure that in a time like this, you're all aware that the Royal Family is in mourning and we're still coping with everything that's been going on," Anisa began, "I'm always here whenever you need someone to look up to or when lost. It wasn't east for me to experience these last few days and I'm sure it all has impacted you in one way or another."

Tahir shook his head from disappointment. None of this sounded like Anisa. She'd never start her statements so selfishly. Especially advocating the royal family.

"But, I've made a big decision. It was a decision that was in the works and something that we were going to address before my father passed away. I decided not to wait any longer because the throne is in need of a king now, more than ever."

As soon as Tahir heard her finish that sentence he stood up in disbelief.

"So, today I announce that I, Anisa Hassan is the next in line for the throne, personally requested by my father and Abbas and I will be getting married in two days time."

Tahir stormed out of the room. Saif ran behind him and Mr. Latif and Mr. Amin both grew concerned.

The entire office was in shock. They just couldn't find the words to express it and stood in silence.

But, Tahir wasn't going to waste time. He didn't care about protocol anymore and he needed to do something. This wasn't her. This wasn't Anisa.

"Tahir! Wait! You can't just go there!" Saif rushed up to him.

"Get out of my way Saif. Anisa needs me more than ever and I'm not just going to sit around and wait for some stupid miracle to happen," Tahir growled as he opened the door to the car and went in.

Saif did the same and once he sat on the passenger side, he looked at Tahir and told him, "Then I'm going with you."

After announcing her marriage with Abbas, the entire assembly of people surrounding them, turned excited and there was an even an applause. But, Anisa was only able to fake a smile for so long and decided to look away so she didn't give anything away.

She excused herself and Abbas took over the rest of the announcement. It didn't matter to her about anything he said at this point. She felt the world shaking and her focus had been lost. Anisa began to lose her balance once again and needed something to hold onto.

Feeling helpless, she began shedding tears again. Her vision was blurred and she couldn't feel her legs. It was as though the world was turning against her and the last piece of hope she was holding onto was distancing itself.

At some point, she slowly made it inside where she was surrounded by her own staff. They noticed her condition and the ladies at the reception rushed towards her. Of course, Abba's men followed her but they were given strict orders not to touch her.

"Your highness! Are you alright?"

"I...I can't tell," Anisa muttered from the remaining strength she had.

"Get her water!" One of the ladies told the other, "It's alright your highness, we're going to call for emergency."

As Anisa was being tended to, inside, Abbas was taking advantage of the moment and going on with the details of his plan. His urge to quicken the process of his way to the throne grew inside and spread like poison which distracted him from everything else.

"Now, as you may all know, there were rumors about us becoming a couple in the last few years. We just were so busy with work that we hadn't realized, what better time to come together and become husband and wife when the country is in dire need of our support to continue after the tragic passing of the late king," he said.

While he was carried away with his speech, Tahir and Saif pulled up to the entrance of the hotel. They recognized some of their own agents standing at the entrance and nodded in compliance with entry into the building.

"Anisa isn't on the live, it's just Abbas. I'll take care of the courtyard," Saif proposed.

Tahir nodded while scanning the main entrance. He looked at every individual and tried to gather a plan in case things went south. After failing to see who he came for, he walked towards the hallways.

Staff were rushing and moving from every direction which caught his attention. But, there was one woman in particular who seemed to be in a rush, even as she held a glass of water. He decided to run up to her and asked, "Who is this for?"

"I'm sorry, but, I need to get this to them now," she continued to rush down the hallway and Tahir decided to follow her. After making a left turn and walking up to the corner of the reception, she gave the water to another receptionist who held someone he hadn't seen in so long.

Everything else was muted and he wasn't able to take his eyes off her in disbelief.

"Anisa..."

A/N:

Would this be considered a cliff hanger? 🤔 You guys let me know 🤗

But, how do you like the recent updates so far? I hope you're enjoying them because we're at the climax of the story so far (even though there are multiple because I love surprising you guys with plot twists😌).

Anyways, don't forget to show this book some love by commenting anywhere you'd like and hitting that star button.

Thank you~