Saif was frustrated. He couldn't believe the series of events that had occurred just an hour ago. Abbas was officially put down with his men. The woman was safely escorted back to JSS headquarters but Anisa didn't know of that. She was only informed that her presumed mother was in safe hands.

Then, there was Tahir who was fighting for his life...

Anisa continued to cry just across from where he stood. She sat with her head bent down, unable to face anyone. Reem was brought for her moral support so she sat just beside her, comforting her.

Saif didn't inform Mr. Latif or Mr. Amin. All they were told was that Tahir was busy. It was best that they didn't know for the moment. Otherwise, they wouldn't think twice about appearing right now and exposing everything Tahir fought for. It was also not the best time to re-introduce Mr. Amin to Anisa. She'd crumble at his sight and one tragic event was enough for her at the moment.

"Anisa, please, get a hold of yourself. Tahir will be fine," Reem tried consoling her.

Anisa shook her head, "He's in this state because of me. I was the reason he ended up like this. He knew this was going to happen. It's like he knew but let it happen anyway."

Hours passed. Long hours that Anisa had never felt. Every minute of it was torture. His surgery had now been going on for 7 hours since their arrival at the hospital. Reem tried to get Anisa to eat but she wouldn't even place a crumb in her mouth.

It felt as though the world was out to get her. What could she possibly have done to deserve all of this? So many things occurred in the past few months ever since Mr. Amin's death. It all went downhill from there.

While they were all in their thoughts, the sliding doors suddenly opened across from them and a few doctors and nurses made their exit. Anisa quickly reacted by standing up and asking the doctor, "How is he? Is he alright?"

"We got the bullet out, but the next few hours are critical for him. We did our part. But, the rest is up to him and how his body reacts to the healing process," The doctor replied.

"Do you think he'll be able to make it?" Saif asked

The doctor looked towards him and answered, "Given his age and his previous medical history, I can't say I'm entirely expecting positive results. But, we're going to do our best to make sure he gets through this process. We'll be monitoring him every twenty minutes."

"Can I please see him?" Anisa pleaded.

The doctor saw how desperate the emotions in her eyes were. He hadn't seen such emotion in a long time and was able to tell that Anisa expressed true love for him. Seeing her sincere emotions, he sighed and gave in to her request, "You may, but I'm only allowing one person to go in there."

Anisa looked at Saif and he gave her acceptance to go alone.

The heart monitor was constant and filled the room as the only sound present. Anisa slowly walked up and gasped as she saw him in this state. Once she took her seat on the chair beside the bed, she looked down at his hands.

He was hooked to a lot of wires and machines. It was hard for her to look at all this. But, she stopped to see his eyes that were shut. Despite that, they still seemed to hold an emotion she had never seen before. He seemed at peace. He was calmer than she had ever seen him which only brought more tears to her eyes.

"You weren't supposed to stand in front of the bullet..." She began, "I was supposed to take the hit. I was supposed to protect you in return for the times you protected me."

The only response was the beeping of the heart monitor.

"I failed to protect you. You said I gave you purpose to enjoy life but how could you put yourself in a position where your life is threatened? Especially because of me. I don't deserve this sort of gesture from you. I was stupid enough to give in to the deal despite your warning. I deserve to be laying in this bed. I deserve to take that bullet," She sobbed.

Anisa slowly began to intertwine her fingers with his. She caressed the palm of his hand, feeling the trail of veins on them. His hands were soft yet they were cold. So, she held onto them in hopes of warming them up with both of her hands.

"But, despite how much I should've been the one to take the bullet, you can't leave me. I know how far your strength takes you. I've seen it first-hand. I need you in order to continue. You don't understand the things I'll do if I lose you," She said, "I would never forgive myself. The feeling that you've always got my back, the feeling that you're always beside me, I miss it so much."

Her heart ached as she continued to speak. But, she needed to pour her heart out whether he was able to hear it or not.

"I miss the way you scolded me every time I did something without your permission. No one ever scolded me, not even my father. He'd barely ever speak to me, aside from business. But, that's how much you cared for me," She kissed the top of his hand slowly, closing her eyes.

"I love you..."

"Your highness...your highness..."

Anisa slowly began to open her eyes as she felt someone tapping her shoulders. Once she lifted her head up, she saw a nurse beside her.

"I apologize, but we need to perform a few procedures on the patient. If I may kindly ask you to leave?"

Anisa nodded and looked at Tahir's unconscious state one last time before taking her leave. She said a small dua before closing the door and found Saif standing outside.

"How is he?" Saif asked her

"He still hasn't woken up," She said in dismay

Saif watched her take a seat on the chairs across from Tahir's door. But, he felt that he needed to do something. Something Tahir would want him to do if ever something like this happened where his life was on the line.

He took the second chair, keeping a distance while he told her, "There's something I must tell you."

Anisa turned to look at him. Saif took that as a sign to continue, "Tahir isn't a bodyguard. That's what he wanted your father to think. Neither am I. I'm not a bodyguard either."

Anisa grew confused as Saif continued to explain. "What are you talking about?"

Saif sighed and looked down at his hands.

"Tahir is an agent. He and I work for the private sector of an organization called JSS. It was founded by Mr. Amin, your previous bodyguard before Tahir. He built the foundation in his earlier days of life. Before he ever met you and before he was ever known to be your bodyguard. You see, we're all agents. We're the ones there to make sure the Royal family contains absolute justice towards the country and within themselves."

"How come I've never heard of this organization?" she asked.

"It's private for a reason. If the royals knew we existed, we wouldn't be able to see their genuine nature, now would we?" Saif explained, "Not all the bodyguards at the palace belong to JSS. Just three of us. Tahir, me, and Nadia. But, we only came recently to be undercover after Mr. Amin's death. Before his death, Mr. Hakim was the only agent present inside the palace to inform us of everything."

Anisa felt as though she was struck by a lightning bolt of realization.

"At first, we thought you could've possibly been the reason for Mr. Amin's death since you were the closest to him. We just needed to figure out your motif and that's what Tahir was sent to do. He was sent to receive information about you." Saif confessed.

"But I'd never -" Anisa was cut off.

"We know. Tahir realized that as he continued to spend time with you. He informed us that you were nothing close to the murderer of Mr. Amin. While the rest of us doubted that, he believed your innocence before he even had the evidence. He saw something different in you. Just as Mr. Amin did. He knew you weren't the same as the other members of the royal family." Saif told her, looking up to face the door across from them.

"One of the rules put in place for JSS agents like us is that we must not perform any personal relationships or bonds with our clients. In Tahir's case, you'd be his client. But, he chose to break that rule the moment he figured your difference. Somehow, you broke down the walls he had built over time," Saif informed her, "He didn't care about the consequences. He chose to follow his instinct. It all led to you. He was willing to kill Abbas for you. That's not a solution Tahir ever wishes upon anyone. But, sometimes as an agent, you're given orders to put people down."

Anisa slowly turned to look at the door that concealed Tahir. Then, she finally said, "He warned me that he's not someone I should get close to - that he was dangerous. I guess this was what he meant."

Saif looked down in defeat, signaling that she was correct.

"He told me the story of how he killed his sister."

Saif widened his eyes and quickly turned his head in disbelief.

"It was also what he meant by getting hurt if I were to be with him. But, he wasn't the one to pull the trigger. She did. She sacrificed herself. Now, I believe that he finally understands why his sister did so." Anisa explained.

Saif couldn't believe she knew about his sister. The fact that she knew of his mother was already hard for him to understand. But, the more he listened to Anisa, the more he figured out why Tahir cherished her.

"He just did the same thing. He took my bullet. I'm always going to blame myself for that. I'll always tell myself that this all happened because of me. So, now I've come to understand why he blamed himself. Because when the people we love chose to die for love..." Anisa took a deep breath as tears threatened their way out, "It places blame on the one that was loved."

"If it'll make you feel any better, this isn't Tahir's first time getting shot by a bullet. He's been through much worse. So, the best thing we can do is pray he'll be just as stronger in recovering from this one," Saif advised.

Anisa nodded, "It's just that everything feels like it's falling apart without him."

Her voice came out as a whisper and she was wiping her tears away. Just then, Reem appeared with cups of water and handed the one on her left hand to Saif. He thanked her before grabbing it and Reem gave him a slight smile.

Then, she turned towards Anisa and pulled out the cup of water for her to drink.

"Please Anisa. At least drink water. At least take care of yourself for Tahir. He wouldn't want to wake up and find out you've been doing this," Reem was begging at this point. It's already been a full day at the hospital and she hadn't eaten or drank anything.

Saif and Reem looked at each other, hoping for Anisa to open up and give in. To their luck, she did after she said, "Just water."

Reem smiled and happily handed her the cup. The water felt like an ounce of relief for Anisa. But for her to be entirely relieved, she needed Tahir to wake up...

A/N:

You guys asked and I served a quick update 😌😊👍🏼

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always, don't forget to leave a comment anywhere you'd like and hit that star button.

Thank you ~