Altair - Marian Tee Page 0,51

constant.

His love was the kind that would last.

And most importantly of all, his love for the princess, even in the times he had been blinded by fear - his love had always put Safiya first, and for a girl who had been abandoned and neglected by her father for her entire life -

That was the love that would mean the world to the princess, and the thought had Urwa's voice turning thick with emotion when he started speaking again.

"The girl knows how to love, alshaykh, but she knows nothing of love. She has experienced so little of it that her understanding of it is still that of a child."

Altair could only clench and unclench his fists as Urwa's words sank in, and he found himself remembering having come home after meeting Mahmud for the first time...and not understanding why she wouldn't ask him a single thing about it. He remembered thinking her actions were proof of guilt, but now he knew it was just as Urwa said.

She had not realized that her actions could be misunderstood. She had assumed, just like a child, that there was only one conclusion for him to draw, and that his conclusion would be something good.

But it hadn't been.

Because he was not and never had been the guardian angel she insisted on seeing him as.

All he had been was a man who had hurt her. Distrusted her. Deceived her.

And now...

Even now...

All he could be was a man who loved her.

Even if she were never to come back to his side—-

Urwa looked away when he saw the sheikh's shoulders began to shake.

"All I need is to know she's safe. Dear God, just keep her safe. It's all I ask."

Chapter Twenty-Two

A month went by. The kingdom, along with most parts of the world, remained fixated on Tamara's ongoing trial, which the judge was expected to come to a decision about in a few days. Everyone in the royal family, Tarif most especially, found the whole process bitterly anticlimactic, but all of them also knew this was for the best.

In the meantime, however, an emergency meeting also took place. More and more people were asking about Safiya's whereabouts, and the palace knew it had to answer such questions sooner or later. Also discussed were other ways to further expand the search, and although the meeting lasted for over half a day, not once had the possibility that the princess had suffered a misfortune was brought up. It was clear in everyone's faces that everyone wanted to believe Safiya remained safe and alive, even if it did feel that they kept hitting the same brick wall the longer the search went on.

From the very first day the princess went missing, Altair had been completely truthful with the assortment of agents, detectives, and even bounty hunters that had been made to sign a disclosure contract before being assigned to the case. He had let everyone know why the princess had left in the first place, thinking that this would make the search easier and quicker.

And indeed, everyone was in unanimous agreement that this was the optimal strategy to take. When searching for an individual, one had to place one's self in that person's shoes. And in the princess' case, the question was simple: where would a young woman go if she did not want a royal sheikh to find her?

It was a good question to ask, and in most cases, it was a question that made a lot of sense to ask. But in the princess' case, this question was also the sole reason behind everyone's inability to find a single clue about Safiya's whereabouts.

Over and over they searched places they believed the princess would find ideal for hiding, but in reality not a single one of these places had even crossed Safiya's mind. With Tamara already in trial and their betrothal broken, the princess believed the sheikh no longer had a reason to pretend to love her. As such, she also believed that the sheikh had no reason to search for her, and it was how she inadvertently ended up hiding in plain sight.

Safiya had planned to leave a quiet life far away from the city, and hopefully it would also be far enough that she would never have to endure the pain of seeing Altair...and knowing he had never loved her. But as days passed, she found herself being consumed by a single thought. Or rather...one person, and today, after what seemed like an eternity...

She had finally found