UNDER HIS PROTECTION

- Chapter 15 -

"Trust me when I say that you're not alone."

Anisa looked straight into his eyes while trying to maintain her heart from going crazy. Their close proximity made her have the usual reaction, only this time, she was the one that made the first move.

Eventually, she took her hands off of his and walked towards the bed to start placing some blankets on the ground.

Tahir wasn't able to utter a word. But he felt touched that she had comforted him. No one ever made the attempt to do so, given that he had a cold, aggressive aura.

The air grew silent again but this time, it was peaceful. No one was forcing any words. They both were making their beds on opposite sides.

"I appreciate it," Tahir was finally able to say.

Anisa smiled as she finished making her bed, "You're good."

Just then, Tahir's phone rang and he looked at the caller ID to see that it was Saif. He walked over to the nightstand and excused himself to step out of the room before answering.

"Saif? I thought you'd only call if it was an emergency,"

"I've got some Intel but I wanted to go through you before discussing this with Mr. Latif," he said.

Tahir started taking a walk around the hallway as he listened to what Saif had to say.

"Something seems odd about the queen. Earlier today, Yasin met up with her and hasn't returned ever since. Turns out, he decided to leave to his apartment," he explained.

Tahir raised a brow and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, the queen confirmed it. But she seemed to be hiding something. She even stated not having an appetite. I'm not sure if anything adds up to you though."

Saif's observation seemed to connect to the phone call that she had with Yasin just yesterday, upon their arrival. But Yasin had told her that everything was fine.

"Yeah, things add up but I'll explain once I get back. What else did you gather?"

"The guest that you alerted us about never came and Humeyra even told the maids to prepare something simple before your announcement,"

Saif's tone sounded puzzled and already, after two days of their absence, the palace had become a toxic place, filled with possible evidence.

As Tahir kept talking on the phone with Saif, Anisa was getting curious as to what was taking him so long. She lifted her head up and right as she was about to fully stand up on her feet, loud bangs were heard.

Anisa quickly ducked down and heard the window shatter. Multiple bullets went through it as if it was nothing and continued for a good minute.

Her heart raced as though she'd never see tomorrow. She silently prayed as she covered her ears and cried out of fear. Her breathing became uneasy and she felt the loneliest she's ever felt in years.

Stuck in this situation, she couldn't do anything but pray and be grateful that she was on the ground. Had she stood up to walk towards the door, she wouldn't have made it out alive.

Once the bullets stopped, she paused and tried to focus and analyze the silence. She couldn't decipher whether the gunshots actually paused or whether they'd start again so she stayed on the ground, hopeless.

She wept tears and continued to pray. But, she even prepared for death at this moment. The event not only caused her fear but also brought back trauma from her childhood.

As she stood down, she heard the door open and Tahir grew alert upon seeing the shattered window.

Quickly, he turned to look for Anisa. He walked a couple of steps into the room and found her on the ground, kneeling.