Altair - Marian Tee Page 0,27

and it hurt.

It hurt so, so much—-

"What did I do wrong, alshaykh?"

Altair had just closed the door to his study when he heard the princess speak—-

What did I do wrong, alshaykh?

The way her voice broke had him turning white, and then he was turning around, fucking running towards her—-

She was pale and shaking, her skin icy cold as he hauled her into his arms.

"You did nothing wrong," he said savagely, "and I'm sorry...maehdina, hamira...I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I'm the one who fucked up—-"

"Please don't lie—-"

He pulled away so she could see the truth in his eyes. "You were perfect. Too perfect. And it scared me. Have you never wondered why I have never made you mine—-"

The princess was already shaking her head even before he had finished speaking. "I thought you only wanted to do the honorable thing."

A humorless laugh escaped him. "If I'm half as honorable as you think, I would've stayed far away—-" He saw the confusion in her eyes, and Altair breathed hard, knowing that the time had come to tell her the truth.

He could feel his chest tightening as he forced himself to meet his gaze, and his fists clenched involuntarily as the first words spilled past his lips. He told her why he blamed himself for his father's death, and he held nothing back as he told her of his fears over history repeating itself...if she ended up betraying him.

"I thought I could keep you at a distance, but I was wrong. I can no longer picture a life without you, hamira, so if you tell me now...if you tell me that I can trust you, then I will. Just say the word—-"

His voice broke off as the princess suddenly threw herself in his arms, and before he could ask her what was wrong, she had already raised herself on her toes to whisper just two words in Altair's ear.

Trust me.

Chapter Twelve

Dear Mama,

I can see how much he wants to trust me. He thinks I don't know it, but I can feel his struggle every moment we're together. And I know, Mama. I know the day will come when he'll trust me and love me. But until then, I won't lose hope.

A NEW CHAPTER BEGAN in Altair and Safiya's entwined lives, and in the first few weeks, a part of Altair had just been waiting for the princess to make him suffer. To hurt him the way he had hurt her. And if she had done that, he would not have thought any less of her for it.

But she did not.

If his fault was being too cynical, hers was being too nice. He remembered a conversation he had with Yara once, and after pointlessly groping for something more eloquent, his cousin had finally decided to stick with something painfully basic.

Safiya is nice, alshaykh.

At that time, he had thought the word inadequate. Prosaic even, and dubious. But now he knew. Now he understood exactly what Yara meant.

Safiya was nice.

So nice, in fact, that the moment he had apologized, she had forgiven him, and went out of her way to make him feel that the past was completely forgotten, and they were now working with a clean slate. Since he had admitted to having difficulty trusting her, Safiya had been the one to insist moving in to Ramil's military base.

Since it's next to impossible for me to make mischief here, the princess had explained, you might now find it easier to trust me.

She was that nice.

So damn nice she had taken his distrust in stride and proactively worked to help him get past it.

So fucking nice...that it tore at him.

Because even with everything that the princess was doing, the loss of Hadwin haunted him still, and so a small part of him remained out of her reach.

And that part...

That part of him was like a fucking demon that infested the back of his mind. Just lurking in the shadows and biding its time until it was time to rear its ugly head and rip Altair apart.

WEEKS TURNED INTO MONTHS, and Altair found himself struggling with a new problem which, in hindsight, he should've expected from the start.

Back when Safiya still lived in Mushriq, it had been easier for the sheikh to curb his sexual desires and keep himself from claiming her virginity. Since there was still a part of him that did not completely trust the princess, it also made him unable to feel he had the right to possess her body.

But now