"It was nice of you to arrange this dinner," Yasir smiled as he looked towards Anisa.

Anisa nodded her head and returned a smile in response. Because this dinner was strictly family, no guards were inside the dining room. Rather, they were all outside like Tahir directed them to be.

While the royal family had their dinner in the main dining room, Tahir and Saif had their dinner served in their own rooms. Currently, they were eating in Tahir's room, the room specially reserved for the head of security. Not all guards got this sort of treatment. But, this was Anisa's way of showing her gratitude.

"Why didn't you sit with her as she asked you to?" Saif asked.

"I'm not a part of that family. Plus, she needs some time with them," He said, taking a bite into his bread.

"You know, these past few days, I noticed something," Saif began, "I noticed how distant you've been from her."

Tahir scrunched his brows and avoided Saif's gaze. At the same time, he also didn't know what he was trying to say.

"What do you mean?"

Saif sighed, "You're keeping a lot more information from her than you usually would. Normally, if the information was about her, you'd inform her in some other form. But, you haven't even told her that the woman she was threatened with wasn't her real mother."

Tahir had to think for a couple of seconds before taking the last few forkfuls of his plate. Then, he finally said, "It's because her mental health isn't the same it used to be. She shivers when someone touches her. Even when Reem is trying to help her up the stairs, she is hesitant to give her hand. Imagine if I told her that. Imagine the state she'd be in."

"Those are excuses. Have you not known the princess this whole time you've been undercover?" Saif shook his head.

"I know how strong she is. But, she's not ready to handle the truth," Tahir said.

"You know that you're only going to make her hate you even more. When the time comes and you have to tell her about your true identity, you're only adding more lies you never told, but avoided," Saif's disappointed tone was imminent in every word.

"You don't think that that's what keeps me up at night? I can't sleep because of the nightmares my head goes through on its own, thinking of every possible reaction that'll come out of her when she finds out I was originally sent as a spy," Tahir snapped back.

"Anisa's been honest with you this whole time! Even when she was looking for Mr. Amin, she told you every plan, every motive when she only knew you for a month! How do you think you were able to gather so much information in such a short amount of time? It's all thanks to her."

Saif couldn't help but raise his voice. The whole situation was getting worse. He hated seeing Tahir struggle. Especially when he didn't even speak to anyone about his problems. He would suffer silently. But, Saif saw through him. He saw every pain he was going through and he wanted to help him.

"Ya akhi, the solution is simple. It's as simple as going up to her and being honest. Why won't you just end your suffering, her suffering, and explain," Saif asked

Tahir finally looked up at him with an intimidating gaze. It was always like that and his blue orbs weren't helping. But, Saif couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't keep any secret from Tahir. He needed to tell him.

"Because Anisa is going to suffer more," Saif began

"What are you talking about? Saif, what do you know?" Tahir questioned. His muscles tensed up and his full attention was on Saif.

Before responding, Saif ran his fingers through his hair, "Anisa had been living a lie her whole life. A lie that no one but three people knew of."

For some reason, it was difficult to tell Tahir. But, Saif needed him to know because he wasn't going to be the one to tell Anisa. It was better coming from Tahir.

"Anisa is adopted. King Salman wasn't her true father. And, the late queen wasn't her true mother..."

Time passed as Saif explained everything to Tahir. Through every word that was said, Tahir couldn't believe everything. He couldn't contain his expression and even placed his hand over his mouth while frowning.

"This was all from Mr. Hakim?" Tahir asked to make sure.

Saif nodded, "He's been undercover, far more than we ever have. He knows everyone and has seen more than we ever will. It's the one secret he chose to save for this moment."

"How was a child who was only a day old able to be adopted?" Tahir couldn't wrap the situation around his head. Many questions were left unanswered.

"Mr. Hakim only knows what the king told him. No matter the attempts he made to find more information, Anisa's records were ancient history. In fact, he could hardly find anything about her. At least, anything genuine. There were no records indicating her adoption," Saif explained.

Tahir parked the car in front of the garage and got out to open the door for Anisa. She beat him to it and opened it herself.

"You don't have to open the door for me, Tahir," Anisa told him with a disappointed chuckle, "I can get it myself."

"It's the least I can do for you," He held out his hand for her to grab. She pulled one leg out of the car and stood up on both of her feet once she got out. But, her heels hurt from wearing higher heeled shoes. She hadn't worn them in a while.

Tahir closed the door and walked ahead of her to unlock the door and keep it open for her to walk through.

They finally came home. Anisa let out a sigh and said, "Alhamdulillah."

Tahir couldn't help but smile at her tired state. She was worn out. Even as she removed her shoes. He saw her struggle with the straps and knelt down to help her. Of course, Anisa flinched from the sudden gesture. She even had to hold onto the wall to help her balance.

"Tahir, I could've done it myself," She said.

There was no response from him. As usual...

Once Tahir took off her left heel, he moved onto the other. Anisa felt his fingers brush through the bare skin on her ankle. It sent a tingling feeling throughout her body and she couldn't contain herself. Her face held a wide smile, even as she watched him get back up on his feet to look at her.

He scoffed after seeing her and said, "What are you staring at?"

"I'm just wondering how lucky I am to have someone like you," She replied.

Tahir's expression went blank and he didn't know how to respond to that. But, he took a step forward, lessening the space between them, and told her, "No, I'm lucky to have someone like you."

He placed his arms around her waist and brought her closer in which her hands naturally held onto his chest. Her heart began to accelerate at a faster rate and her cheeks flushed a crimson red, wondering if he was able to hear how loud it was. He felt muscular and seeing the veins that were dominant throughout his arm made her feel secure.

"Why are your cheeks red? Did you put extra makeup on?" Tahir asked while raising a brow, slightly.

Anisa hid her face in his chest. Tahir couldn't help but laugh at her embarrassment. He let her stay like that and brought her closer by tightening his embrace around her.

"It's all because of you!" Anisa snapped back at him.

He laughed and picked her up to take her to the living room. He noticed how her foot had blisters so he wanted to treat those first. As he gently placed her on the sofa, she looked at him, utterly curious since he turned around afterward and headed to the kitchen.

There, he found a first aid kit in one of the cabinets and brought it over to where Anisa sat. He found an ointment there, as well as some band-aids to help with the blister on the back of her heel.

Anisa grew extremely shy and hid her feet under her dress. Tahir looked up at her to give her a glare and Anisa pouted for mercy from him. Of course, Tahir never gave in so she slowly brought them back from underneath her dress while he began to softly rub the cream over the blistered areas.

"I also could've done this myself," she told him.

He looked up at her with an intense stare and said, "I'm responsible for your body. You forget I'm your bodyguard."

Anisa felt her heart beating rapidly once again. It always did every time Tahir managed to say a couple of words.

"You know, while we're at it, what's one place you get hurt the most?" Anisa asked

Tahir closed the cap of the ointment and threw the swab in the trash at the corner of the room.

"What do you mean?" He replied

"I'm pretty sure I wasn't your first client. You must've had other situations that involved danger," she implied.

Tahir paused for a few seconds. He finally stood up and slowly lifted his shirt to reveal multiple scars near his torso and Anisa gasped. She covered her mouth with her hands and couldn't take her eyes off the scars that were so imminent.

"Tahir..." she was at a loss for words.

"This one," Tahir pointed to the lower scar, "happened when I was dealing with a human trafficker.

Anisa frowned but mostly, she felt apologetic for something she hadn't even done.

"This one," he pointed to the scar just above the other in the opposite direction, "happened when Saif and I had a client who was an ex-marine for the states and came here as a spy."

Anisa slowly reached for the scar on his upper torso, following its outline. Tahir couldn't take his eyes off of her. Watching her expression made him realize how much she cared for him. He hadn't seen that look on anyone but his family.

"It must've hurt," tears formed in her eyes out of her sympathy.

But, Tahir shook his head, prompting her to look up and question him.

"This is nothing. Nothing hurt more to me than losing you," he stared into her eyes.

Anisa got up slowly while she was still held in a trance by his eyes. The creatures in her stomach returned. She couldn't help place her arms at the beginning of his shoulders. Tahir looked down and couldn't help but stare at her lips. He resisted and held himself back. When it felt unbearable, he brought her closer to his chest for an embrace, resting his head on top of hers.

Then, he kissed her forehead, sending a strong feeling of warmth and content towards Anisa. She tightened her grasp and felt the safest she had ever felt.

"Don't worry. These scars don't have meaning. They're just proof of my resistance to come to where I am now - beside you," he told her.

"Trust me, I've never wanted anyone by my side more than I have wanted you," Anisa replied, "You're my source of hope. I feel that as long as I have you with me, I'm able to be whom I desire and do things I desire."

Tahir scoffed and smiled at her, cupping her cheek. She was so delicate and fragile in his eyes. Yet, she held a flame inside her. One that was able to give her such strength and resilience.

"If anything, I should be grateful that Allah has given me the chance to meet you," Tahir said, "You don't even realize how much of a blessing you are. Not just to me, but to everyone who crosses paths with you."

A/N:

Hi everyone. Thought I would give a sweet ending to this chapter. What do you think will happen to Tahir and Anisa's relationship. Will they see an end? Or is this just the beginning?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to leave a comment wherever you'd like and hit that star button to show this book some love.

Also, I've got a new book out. It is a sub-series to Accidentally Met an Arab Prince which is titled "Harper & Hamdan." Go check it out as its been a highly requested story ☺️