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Um.
Okaaaay.
A part of me is tempted to laugh while another part of me wants to question myself for falling in love with such a man. While most guys would've objected to being compared to a murderer, my gorgeous sheikh here is apparently more offended by the fact that I dared think he could be so inept at killing.
Then again...
Saif does come from an exotic kingdom whose borders had been closed to the outside world for half a century, and one that had to go through a bloody civil war in order to overthrow its previous ruler.
Violencehadbeen a way of life not just for Saif but for all of his brothers, and having grown up in a culture where only the strongest and most cunning survived, I suppose it's, um, understandable why the sheikh sees his ability to efficiently take lives as some sort of asset?
"What are you thinking now?" Saif questions.
"I'm just thinking about the kind of life you and your brothers were born to..."
"It was not an easy life," Saif acknowledges, "but..." His lips press together in a straight line. "Of the four of us, it is Khadem who likely had it the toughest."
Mm.I know this is going to make me sound like I'm obsessed, but there was a time that I had a very valid reason to dig up every article I could find on the Internet about Saif. Some of those articles also talked about his family, and if I remember correctly, Khadem is Saif's youngest brother at thirty-one, and the only one who hasn't inherited the Al-Masri's trademark gold eyes.
"Khadem is our half-brother," Saif says, and the words make me mentally go'oh'.So that's why the articles described the youngest Al-Masri sheikh as having eyes that were as "blue as the tranquil waters of an oasis".
"In the years that Huzna was still under my father's predecessor, illegitimacy had still been considered taboo, and Khadem was frequently bullied because of it."
I can't help bristling at the thought of a young boy being bullied for his parents' decisions.Shitheads!
"Bullying in those times was not a crime, and sons from wealthy families could get away with practically anything. In his first two years in high school, there was not a day that our youngest brother did not come home all bloodied and beaten up," Saif recalls grimly. "But because Khadem forbade any of us to interfere, and we understood how much his pride mattered to him, we forced ourselves to do nothing even as he suffered beating after beating."
"There has to be a happy ending to all of this...right?"
"Of course."
Hearing this should've made me feel glad, but the glint in Saif's eyes make me feel rather wary instead.
"Our little brother eventually learned to fight back," the sheikh drawls, "and once he did, everyone who used to bully him ended up in a hospital."
I. Knew. It.
This is Saif, after all. I should've expected his definition of a happy ending would be anything but normal.
"Not only that," Saif continues, "but he has also become the most proficient among us in battle."
"How, um, wonderful."
"I remember there was this incident when Khadem was in his late teens, and one of the assholes who used to make his life hell tried to ambush my brother with the help of his friends. They would've killed Khadem if they could, but their plans completely backfired. Two of them ended up with brain trauma while the other two have no chances of ever walking again."
Saif glances at me as if expecting a reaction, and since the pride in his voice when talking about Khadem is unmistakable, all I can do is smile weakly in response even as I make a mental note to myself.
Never make the mistake of getting on Khadem's bad side. Like, ever!
"Do you have any other questions about my brothers?"
I shake my head.
"Good."
And without any other warning, the sheikh grasps my hips to lift me up—-
Oh God.
