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I don’t think you’ll make it in time.
There you go again, not trusting me.
Just like you didn’t trust me?
You got me there.
And oh, oh, oh...it was almost she really did hear the sheikh chuckle in her mind.
A knee-jerk reaction, Tory – that was all it was. I am very sorry to say that not everyone, least of all my humble self – is as perfect as you.
Humble? Ha!
What I’m saying is not all of us can have your strength, with the way you can believe in something so unwaveringly. I love you so damn much that when I thought you had betrayed me, and you were no different from my mother – I lashed out.
That was more than lashing out.
I know, my sweet. But if you want me to make up for it – you must hold on for me.
I don’t think it’s possible. But I’m glad we got to talk and we got to clear the air –
Don’t sleep, Anisah!
I love you, Tarif.
****
Every day, they would ask her if she wished to see the sheikh. He was outside her room, morning till night, and every day she would tell them, not just yet. Anisah knew that all of them – the entire hospital staff, the king and the other Al-Atassi sheikhs, Harper, Kyria, even her own sister – believed she was doing this to punish Tarif Al-Atassi for believing she was a traitor to the crown.
But they were wrong.
Almost a week had passed since she had been rescued from the palace’s secret tunnels. Tarif himself had been the first one to find her, unconscious but alive, and it was said that the sight of the sheikh carrying her in his arms, hoarsely shouting for help, had everyone who saw him weeping.
They told her that what saved her from certain death was the engagement ring he had given her, which contained a secret antidote. The longer she wore his ring, the stronger her body’s immune system grew against the toxic effects of all the deadly gases the palace utilized as a form of defense.
He could have asked for his ring back on the day you’ve been sent in for questioning, the people in the palace pointed out to her, but he had not. It meant that deep inside the sheikh, he still trusted her. And to which Anisah had only nodded without changing her mind.
She knew of course that this made them think she was being too cruel and unforgiving, but they were wrong about this, too.
Hyacinth often liked to recount how Tarif had come bursting into their apartment, hoping to beg for Anisah’s forgiveness for distrusting her, only to find out she had been abducted. Doesn’t that count for something, Nis, her sister would then ask her entreatingly. Can’t you forgive him?
And oh, how her sister was wrong about that, too.
Every night, Anisah would cry herself to sleep, begging the heavens for courage, but whenever morning came, she still had the same terror lodged in her throat, and she was still unable to take the risk of seeing him.
Chapter Twenty-One
On the day she was discharged from the hospital, Hyacinth surprised her by making arrangements for her sister to move to an apartment in the city. And Anisah accepted the offer without any questions; she didn't want to risk asking anything that had answers which would further break her still-shattered heart.
Hyacinth insisted on fussing over her, and Anisah, seeing the fear that still lingered in the younger girl's gaze, allowed her sister to do so...for a week. But after that, Anisah insisted with gentle firmness for Hyacinth to continue with her plans to fly back to America.
Life had to move on, for all of them.
A nearby career aid center was looking for volunteers to fill up various teaching positions, and Anisah had signed up for back-to-back shifts to keep her occupied. By the time she came back to her apartment, it was already half past eight, and she only had time to whip up something simple for dinner, have a quick hot shower, and as soon as her head hit the pillows, Anisah's exhaustion had her falling asleep in a blink.
She had been living on her own for about a month when someone knocked on her door, and she was so used to her routine that Anisah thought nothing of this. She answered the door, thinking it was the delivery guy with parcels to drop off, but instead it was...him.
A cry escaped her, and for one second, her whole world threatened to turn completely black.
