The Rightful Queen

Thirty-eight

    I walked inside Zain's office once the guard informed him that I wanted to see him. My face was stained with tears and my lip was visibly cut. His smile fell upon seeing the state I was in and he immediately got up from his seat.

    "What happened to you?" His voice was full of concern. He quickly made his way towards me and cupped my cheeks with his hands and I winced. My cheek did hurt. I wasn't lying.

    "My f-father," I stuttered. Showing Zain how afraid of Laith I was wasn't a lie, but not everything I was about to tell Zain was the truth. I hated lying to him. "May you please transfer me to another chamber? I don't want to be close to him, please." I sniffed and he nodded.

    "Yes, sure. I will do that, but what happened? What did he do? Did he hit you?" There was a hint of anger in his voice when he mention him hitting me. I stayed quiet for a moment, then nodded. I looked at him and saw him clenching his jaw. He was really angry.

    "Why did he do that?" he calmly asked me even though I could see that he was doing his best to contain his anger.

    "He... he doesn't want me to marry you," I cried, wrapping my arms around him. Again, I wasn't exactly lying, but there was indeed a hidden part I kept away from him. "He says he doesn't trust you and he doesn't want me to be in danger," I whimpered and he tightened his hold on me.

    "Is it because of what happened in Carbilia and what I did afterwards? I promise this will never happen again. I will protect you and I will never kick you out like that ever again," Zain told me. He looked pained as he spoke to me. It was crystal clear how much he regretted his actions.

    "I know, but I don't know what's wrong with him," I cried, looking down.

    "Nuriya, I need you to be honest with me, okay?" I slowly nodded. Tears were still falling down my cheeks and the surprising part was, I wasn't acting. I was actually scared and upset. I didn't want to leave Zain and the mere idea made my heart shatter. I didn't want to see him hurt either and I was aware that Laith was keen on killing him. "Does he usually lay his hands on you?" he asked me.

    I stayed silent for a few seconds before eventually saying, "Yes."

    "I know what I've done is enough to give you a lot of doubts, but Nuriya, I will never leave you and surely, I would never lay a finger on you. I will marry you right now if this will make you trust me—"

    "I trust you," I blurted, stopping him. "I trust you with my life."

    "Do you want to go back to Elendra with him?" he asked me and I shook my head.

    "I want to be with you. I don't want to leave you," I sobbed and again, he held me in his arms.

    "Then stay with me. Don't go back with him. I will take care of you, I promise," he said, looking into my eyes when we pulled apart.

    I was about to say something, but a knock on the door interrupted us. The guard walked and announced that Laith wanted to have a word with the king. What did he want? Surely, he wasn't going to out me, right? Outing me meant outing himself.

    "Let him in," Zain told the guard, then he looked at me and said, "No matter what, he won't hurt you ever again." How I wish that was true.

    I took in a deep breath and literally glued myself to Zain. It felt oddly comforting to be close to him, to know that he was ready to defend me before my uncle.

    "Your Majesty." Laith bowed once he entered the room. His eyes met mine and I looked away. "I see that my daughter is already here."

    "She is and I see that you hurt her," Zain spoke. His tone was livid and full of fury.

    "She is my daughter and I shall discipline her the way I see fit," Laith replied.

    "Not under my roof," Zain snapped, that I practically jumped in my place. Not once had I seen him this angry before. "She told me that you didn't want her to marry me because you think she won't be safe with me."

    I gulped when he said that.

    "Indeed, I said that and we shall pack our belongings," Laith said. He had to go with my lie, because there was no way he would say anything else. It would not be good for his own sake.

    "As far as I know, Nuriya wants to stay," Zain told him.

    "She will do what her father wishes," Laith spoke back. No, I wouldn't do that.

    "Nuriya," Zain turned to me, "do you want to stay or go?" he asked me.

    "You know I want to stay. I don't want to leave you," I answered, making sure my voice was loud for Laith to hear.

    "If you go against my wishes, I will disown you," Laith snapped at me. I knew what he meant. He didn't mean disown. He wanted to tell me that I would be his enemy, that he would hunt me down until I was dead.

    "I shall bear the consequences," I said with confidence.

    "I can keep her safe and sound. She will be my queen," Zain spoke in a challenging tone. He didn't know. He didn't know what I was getting myself into. He didn't know that by doing what I had done, I was gambling with my life. The man in front of me was no longer Laith Al-Jazi, he was Hood Orman.

    When my uncle left, Zain turned to me and again, he took me in his arms. His embrace was warm and it made me feel safe. I could feel his heart beating in his chest and I silently prayed that I would never get deprived of hearing that sound.

    "I will never make you regret choosing me, Nuriya. I promise," he whispered and kissed my head. I knew that I would never regret choosing him, but I couldn't help but wonder if he would ever regret choosing me.
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I'm sincerely hoping that you're having run while reading this book💞
What do you think will happen next?
Published on September 3rd, 2022
Sara