Altair - Marian Tee Page 0,23

was not the kind of man to fall in love with a girl just because of her looks alone. While Agent 53 had also heard about the rumors of the sheikh falling hard and fast for his betrothed, she firmly believed all of that was still part of the sheikh's plan.

If what she overheard was true, and Agent 53 had every reason to believe it was so, then the sheikh gifting his betrothed with a fake locket could only mean one thing: Safiya Tannous was still the enemy in Altair Al-Atassi's eyes.

Chapter Ten

Dear Mama,

I must have done something wrong, Mama. I must have.

SAFIYA WAS NOT QUITE sure what happened. One day everything was alright, and then it was not. Even though nothing had changed on the surface, she knew what she felt was true, and her heart was telling her something was wrong.

Even though the sheikh still came to visit her several times a week, even though the sheikh's kisses drugged her like no wine ever could...even though her heart still pounded like it never did whenever she saw him—-

She knew what she knew.

She would never have lived this long, would never have made it this far if she hadn't listened to her guts.

And right now, her instincts were telling her that her worst fear had come true.

An eternity in the sheikh's arms had never been in the cards from her.

IF SAFIYA HAD ONLY cared to voice her worries, she would have known that she was not the only one thinking along the same lines. If pressed to put their feelings into words, Ella and Aurora would not have been able to explain the uneasy stirring inside their hearts. They, too, only knew what they knew, and at that moment, it was something painfully simple: something had changed between Sheikh Altair and the princess...and there was nothing they could do about it.

The wedding of Sheikh Malik Al-Atassi and Kyria Markides came and went, and not one of them ever talked about it. Sheikh Altair himself had explained the reasoning behind the need for Safiya's absence, and even though his words had sounded perfectly valid, it didn't change a thing. Aurora and Ella saw what they saw, and it hurt. Something had changed between the two, and now...other people were also starting to notice the same thing.

Safiya's long line of admirers was back with a vengeance, and although Aurora knew she was being unfair, but she saw the princess' suitors as something no different from a pack of vultures. Like Aurora and Ella, they, too, had sensed the change in the air; but instead of wanting to fix things, they were circling around Safiya in hopes that she would shatter...and it would be one of them that could put the pieces of her back together.

As soon as the sheikh was seen leaving, the boys would line up, and they would confess to the princess, one after another. It had been cute at first, but when their numbers grew to a point that Safiya no longer had time to spare for a single bite during lunch—-

Just reject the lot of them in one go, Ella had once urged their friend, but Safiya had been adamant, saying that to do so would be dishonorable. The princess' integrity was admirable really, but if Safiya kept this up, the other girl could easily end up starving herself.

This was all the sheikh's fault, Aurora thought furiously. Wasn't the man supposed to be Ramil's greatest modern-day hero? So why the hell did that man keep playing with Safiya's heart like it was nothing but a toy he had every right to break again and again?

PAPERS SHUFFLED EVERY so often inside the war room, in which the king and his four most trusted vassals had once again convened. The team investigating the mob-led riot from over a year ago had recently submitted their latest progress report, and it was for this Khalil had swiftly requested his cousins' immediate presence.

The evidence against Sheikh Mahmud Tannous had always been damning, but with today's report there could no longer be even the smallest of doubt. Mahmud had definitely known about the revolt before it even happened, but as for the mastermind behind the plot to overthrow Khalil—-

"The evidence is clear," Rayyan said flatly. "Mahmud wanted to get rid of Harper and have his daughter crowned as queen. That's all he wanted."

"I agree," Malik said curtly. "It's someone else entirely who's out to steal the throne from Khalil."

The king glanced at Tarif,