She walked just at the beginning of the table and everyone followed with their eyes. There was never a moment she looked so intimidating than now.

Tahir found this situation amusing and smirked as he leaned against the wall.

Anisa's eyes landed on Layla who happened to be at the other end of the table.

"My requirements were simple. Mostly, clear," she said, "Yet, you still violated them."

Layla sighed in anger. As if her cousins and other related brothers weren't already publicizing the situation.

Anisa turned to look at her cousin, Prince Karim, who sat next to where she stood.

"Explain the full situation. What damage was done?"

"The person she hired was female. Her name is Mona and seemed to have given access to national security intel to other organizations."

Anisa's eyes widened slightly. But, this was not the time to expose her emotions that weren't related to anger.

Tahir found the situation interesting and as he was fully attending to the conversation between the royal members, Saif walked up to him and stood by his side.

"Why do I feel that this is partially my fault?" He lightly spoke leaning towards Tahir's ear.

"Why?"

Saif sighed and explained, "She called a woman one day and told me to leave the room. Her name was Mona because I heard Layla say that. But I thought she was already part of the association. Not some outsider."

Tahir placed his arm on Saif's shoulder and told him, "We're not all perfect. It's a reason why we're human. Besides, this just got us another clue closer to the mission."

Saif nodded.

Both men stood among other bodyguards, watching over the royals. As Tahir kept his eyes on Anisa, the rest of the people in the room were blurred and muted. The way she spoke and the impact of her presence lightened the room.

But what he had trouble understanding was as to why there were only 5 women in this room, dominated by 30 men.

"I don't know about you, but the number of men in this room is troubling to understand," he told Saif.

"You know I thought the same thing. Until I asked another guard," Saif said, "He said that most princesses don't get their way into the association despite their royal status. It takes a level of knowledge and will to be admitted."

"Are you saying they're incapable?" Tahir asked

Saif nodded, "It appears so. Anisa was the first princess that was granted admittance. Why do you think she's so work-driven? She's been doing this for as long as eight years."

Tahir was impressed. In a male-dominated field, she proved herself worthy of her capabilities.

"With this conclusion, I'm submitting an official declaration of her removal from the association," Anisa concluded.

"You can't just do that! You haven't seen what I'm actually capable of doing," Layla defended herself.

Prince Qadir spoke up and told her, "I think we saw just enough of what you're capable of. You're lucky that you're only being let off with a removal. Otherwise, the punishment would be more severe."

"He's right," Anisa said, "This is us being lenient towards a problem that could be worse than just entrance into information. If it gets in the wrong hands, you realize you'll be endangering countless lives?"

"How do you think the queen is going to handle her daughter's removal? You think my mother will just stand and watch me go down?" Layla directed her statement to Anisa with a slight smirk.

This angered her more. But, she held her emotions long enough, and holding them a bit longer wasn't going to hurt anyone.

"The queen has no authority over the association. All she has ever done to contribute to the royal family is to provide children for the king," Prince Walid stated.

Yasin stood up in response, angered at the fact Prince Walid indirectly called his mother a wh*re.

"You watch your tongue before I do something about it. You think your mother is any different?" Yasin asked.

"I get that my statement might've bothered you brother, but we're all aware of what all the queens have done for the royal family. It's not just your mother that's in the equation," Walid replied.

Yasin scoffed and stormed out of the room. But before he left, he told everyone,

"You've all lost a sense of family. None of you realize their worth until they're gone."

Anisa felt bad for him. What Walid had said was uncalled for. If that statement was directed towards her late mother, she wouldn't let his face off without a bruise. But, it'd be inappropriate to call him out when this wasn't the subject at matter.

"I think this meeting is dismissed. Whether Layla accepts her removal or not, it's going to happen. I promise it."

Anisa walked off and Tahir followed behind her. She needed to see Yasin. But, Tahir had no sympathy for the queen so he didn't take Prince Walid's statement personally.

"If this is how family meetings go, they've got more drama than a show can offer you," Tahir said while opening the door for her.

"It's only because there are more people than a show can ever bring together," she responded.

"What next?" He asked

"I've got to speak to him. With the anger he left with, he's not going to take it well," she made a left turn into the hallway where his room is.

She stopped in front of his door and knocked on it, only to find out he wasn't there. If Yasin wasn't in his room, then he'd be outside in the backyard.

As soon as she went out there, she spotted him by the fountain, looking into the distance.

Before walking up to him, she turned to Tahir and told him, "Just stay here. This is personal so he won't like it if you're there."

He nodded.

Once Anisa stood beside, touching Yasin's shoulder with hers, she asked, "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright, Anisa?" He asked her.

She took a look at the expression on his face, but it was enough to tell that he was lacking sleep and proper care.

"No," she answered, "You look terrible."

"I am," he said, "There's only so much I can handle. So much I can keep silent about. It's like something is eating me up from the inside and it won't leave me alone."

"What's bothering you? Are you sure this is just about your mom?" She tried to make sure as she put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"It's all about her. Everything. It's not fair to me. She's not fair to me. It's killing me. I don't know what to do," he angrily raked his fingers through his hair

Anisa furrowed her brows and wanted to know details.

"What has she done?"

There was a moment of silence because Yasin paused. His breathing was heavy at first, but it suddenly stopped and she wasn't able to hear it.

Yasin looked up but he faced Tahir and caught his gaze from a far distance. Somehow, he grew convinced of what Tahir had threatened him with earlier. Either way, even after Anisa found out, his mother was going to be removed. With or without Tahir announcing her removal.

"The pills you asked me to investigate...turns out, there's Arsenic in them," he said, "If consumed in large amounts over time, it slowly starts to kill your body."

In response, Anisa gasped. Every pain she was feeling up until this moment came together like missing pieces of a puzzle. But she was shocked as to what she consumed. Even better, her brother only told her now.

"Why...why didn't you say so in the first place?" She asked

"I couldn't. I wanted to. But you don't understand. This was my mother. Someone who raised me, taught me, fed me, and she turned out to have attempted murder?" He said, "Do you realize how hard that is to comprehend?"

Anisa looked away from him in disappointment.

"I know that you didn't grow up with a mother. But, if you had, you'd understand my pain and why I couldn't say anything in the first place," he explained.

She stood up and didn't look back at him. She couldn't. Every muscle in her body wanted to punch him in the face and her tears had formed out of anger. Anger, due to how helpless she was. Anger, because no matter how much she wanted to hurt him at this moment, she couldn't.

Tahir realized the situation from afar and started walking to Anisa, aggressively. He already analyzed the situation from where he was standing. All he needed to do was get her away from him before she did something she'd regret.

"Come here," he placed both of his hands on her shoulder from behind and assisted her with walking. She didn't even look up even as he held her.

"You knew, didn't you?" She asked

She caught him off guard but he continued walking until they got to the car. He opened the passenger seat for her and watched her sit down.

Then, he leaned into buckled her seatbelt. Anisa still wasn't phased despite how close Tahir was. Once he was done, he rushed to the driver's seat and started the car.

"What made you think I knew?" He asked her.

"Earlier, you asked to step out. You never do it unless it's your phone. And even when you do, you make sure there's another guard beside me," she monotonously said, "But that wasn't the case. You did it earlier, right after Yasin left my office."

Tahir only figured that he underestimated her abilities. She was smart. She knew what was going on around her.

"I only found out that day he called you. I was told that the same day, Yasin left the palace, and to me, it seemed like a pattern where you royals only leave the main palace when there's a problem," he told her.

"That was still the same day he lied to me," she exclaimed.

"I wasn't sure that day," he talked back, "I only went with my assumptions. It wasn't until I saw his expression earlier at your office that I confirmed them."

Anisa let out a light scoff, "You were right. Trust is something that's hard to find. At this point, I don't know who to trust. The one-man I did, turned out to have more secrets than he'd ever tell me."

He turned to look at her expression and saw the thing he hated to see on her - tears.

He saw it slide down her cheek and looked back to the road. When he felt he was able to make a turn, he did so and stopped the car in a random parking lot.

He got out of the car, startling Anisa. She watched him walk over to her side and open her door. He knelt down and said, "What should I tell you for you to believe me? You said you trusted me. Where is that trust now?"

Tahir was annoyed. One, she was crying, and he hated to see her cry. Two, she was confusing him. Three, she made him worry to the point he'd lose his mind. He needed answers and he wasn't going anywhere till he got them.

"I don't know," that was all Anisa was able to say.

He sighed in annoyance and grabbed her hand. She got out of the car and he was now walking her towards the sidewalk.

Anisa looked around to see that they had stopped in front of a beach. But then she met his gaze and it was filled with determination.

"Does your breathing get heavy when I touch you?" He held her hand, "and when I stand this close?" He took two steps, creating less proximity, "and when I meet your eyes like this?"

He looked into her eyes and she was met with a different emotion. He was content, he was fearless, but he was also confused.

Her heart started racing and she didn't know how to respond. But, she didn't need to because he confessed,

"Because my breathing does and you're the first person to have this effect on me. You created this effect."

Guys, forget the A/N title but I am squealing after writing this. I just think they're SO meant for each other. I don't think I have written a better confession 😶

Also, Surprise! It's a double update! I don't think I've done one of those in a while.

But, don't forget to show this book some love and hit that star button. Tahir needs it as encouragement! ( Especially after that confession) 😂 And of course, you may comment wherever your heart desires.

Thank you~