Her Seductive Enemy, page 16
And the truth was...they all just wanted the damn man to have his chance at happiness.
They might not have had a chance to help their brother against Tamara, but they sure as hell had a chance now in helping Tarif make things work with the woman he loved. And because they knew the way Tarif’s mind worked, they had simply pretended not to see the woods for the trees and jested about the matter like Tarif’s interest in Anisah was but a temporary sexual obsession.
Tarif had to see for himself that what he felt for Anisah was more than that, and Khalil and the others believed it truly was so, if the couple’s behavior in the recent weeks was anything to go by. To test the waters, they had even started mixing dreadful words such as “love” and “feelings” in their taunts – words that even the married Al-Atassi sheikhs normally avoided like the plague.
The old Tarif would have bolted out of his chair the moment he heard of such words, would probably have even broke things off with Anisah if only to prove to himself that those words did not apply to him.
But the Tarif in this room was a changed man.
Malik had used the dreaded R-word – relationship – and although it had made Tarif swear, it had not made the other sheikh leave. Rayyan had taken things one level further by using the dreaded L-word next – love – but this hadn’t even made Tarif flinch.
Instead, the other sheikh had stunned all of them by giving Rayyan a direct answer...and even speaking of his own mother, which Tarif had not done so for years.
And the fact that he did so now—-
The king chose his next words with great care, knowing that the slightest show of sympathy would alienate Tarif for good. “I won’t lie and say that I have not noticed certain similarities between your fiancée and your mother, but do you not think their differences are just as evident? Your mother’s obsession with the kingdom was unhealthy—-”
Tarif snorted. “And Anisah, with the way she hasn’t missed a single flag-raising ceremony, isn’t unhealthy?”
Khalil winced. “You have a point.”
“I don’t think Anisah’s love for Ramil is unhealthy,” Malik interjected in hopes of salvaging the conversation and painting Anisah in a good light. “Rather, I think her patriotism is quite, err, cute.”
Tarif threw his younger cousin a disgusted glance. Did Malik really think Tarif couldn’t see through him?
Malik turned to his other cousin in a silent demand for backup. “You think so, too, don’t you, Rayyan?”
Tarif couldn’t help bristling at the question. Even though he truly believed Anisah when she told him she hadn’t meant to compare him to his brothers, he still didn’t like it when his cousins concerned themselves with Anisah in any way.
“Err, yes, I think it’s cute,” Rayyan said finally, thinking he was obliged to say so since Anisah was Hyacinth’s half-sister.
Tarif’s gaze narrowed. “While I appreciate your vote of confidence for my fiancée—-”
Khalil and Malik exchanged looks at the distinct note of possessiveness in Tarif’s tone. It was a familiar sound, one that was remarkably similar to how they spoke of their wives.
“I would rather none of you saw my woman cute in any way.”
Altair shook his head. “Are you aware of how unreasonably jealous you sound, brother?”
The doors to the security room opened, and Tarif was relieved to see the palace’s technician walk in, thus saving him from replying.
After bowing and apologizing profusely for making the king and his vassals wait, Andy quickly loaded the USB into the system and right away played the first video for the royal family’s perusal.
Tarif frowned when he saw that the video was of Anisah entering the royal library. “What the hell?”
“If you would just wait, Your Highness,” Andy began nervously.
“I pray you have a good explanation for this,” the king said coldly.
“I do, Your Majesty, I promise.”
“This is goddamn stupid—-” But the rest of Tarif’s words died when the video showed Anisah deliberately disabling the security cameras in the library. The screen went black and resumed a moment later, with the timestamp showing that about thirty minutes had been unaccounted for.
“It does not prove anything,” Altair said finally.
“That is true, Your Highness.” Andy was quick to agree. “But it must also be noted that...” He swallowed hard. “Lady Anisah has done this seventeen times in the past month—-”
Rayyan was visibly incredulous. “Seventeen times?” He glanced sharply at Tarif. “Do you have any idea why she would do this?”
Tarif slowly shook his head. “No.” He did not. But...he was starting to see that the reason might not matter at all.
Andy moved on to the next video. “This is the newest footage that we have acquired, Your Majesty, Your Highness. The timestamp for this video shows that it took place several minutes before the attack. As for the location—-”
Khalil caught a glimpse of the palace’s outer gatehouse peeking at the edge of the video, and his lips tightened in understanding. “You are going to show us who is responsible for providing access to the palace, nem?”
Andy confirmed the king’s words with a vigorous nod. “Yes, Your Majesty.” And now came the hard part.
The five sheikhs tensed when the palace’s outer gates slowly swung open, and the mob came rushing in like an unstoppable flood of violence. A moment later, the doors of the gatehouse opened, and the sheikhs tensed even more, knowing that whoever would come out was likely involved in the plot of forcing Khalil to give up the throne.
Finally, a woman came running out –
Tarif whitened.
And she was wearing a silver niqab.
Chapter Nineteen
“Professor? I think there are soldiers waiting outside our room.” The words, spoken with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, came from the student who had arrived fifteen minutes after the start of the class.
Wondering if this was just the student’s ploy to distract Anisah from giving her a tardy slip, she stood up reluctantly while gesturing for Vicky to take her seat.
Her students started chattering as she opened the door and poked her head out, and to Anisah’s surprise there was indeed a small number of soldiers stiffly lined up in the hallway, five of them in total, and the man who appeared to be their leader immediately stepped forward upon seeing her.
“Professor Kahveci?”
Anisah was startled at hearing the soldier speak her name.
How did this man know –
Her face paled. What if...something had happened to Tarif, and these men had been tasked to take her to wherever the sheikh was?
Clearing her throat, she tried to keep her voice even as she answered them. “Yes, I’m Professor Anisah Kahveci.”
“We have been asked to escort you to the palace as soon as possible, Professor.”
It was like having her worst misgivings confirmed, and Anisah felt herself going faint. “Is it Tarif?” she whispered. “Did something happen to him?”
“We are not at liberty to discuss, Professor...”
Anisah didn’t hear the rest of the soldier’s words. All she knew was that the man was stalling – and it reminded her of the way nurses and doctors tended to avoid answering a terminally ill patient’s question about his chances of survival.
“Please come with us peacefully, Professor.”
“Yes, of course.” Did the soldier think she was the type to fall into hysterics at the first sign of bad news? “I just need to ask the faculty for a temp to take over my class. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes—-” She stopped speaking when an alarming thought suddenly occurred to her. What if she didn’t have a few minutes to spare? What if Tarif needed her now?
“Forget I said that,” she heard herself say. “Just give me five seconds.” Rushing back inside, Anisah started stuffing her things back into her bag while informing the students of her emergency. “Therefore, I’m dismissing you early. If you have any questions about today’s lecture, please refer them to Professor Thorne—-”
Hands suddenly shot up in the air while those who were unable to restrain themselves simply started asking her questions.
Has something happened at the palace?
Was it Sheikh Tarif?
Could they do anything to help?
Although her students’ curiosity was palpable, so was the genuine concern in their eyes, and her eyes stung as she sought to reassure them. “Thank you for your concern, but there is no need to worry. I promise to keep everyone posted,” she said gruffly.
Anisah was whisked into a waiting vehicle outside the university as soon as she left the classroom, and the ride back to the palace was spent in silence. Anisah closed her eyes and started to pray. Heavenly One. Please. Let him be fine.
Anisah expected the soldiers to take her straight to the palace’s in-house health clinic or the sheikh’s private chamber, but instead she found herself escorted all the way to the security room. There, she found all five sheikhs waiting – all of them looking handsome and powerful – but the truth was, she only had eyes for one man.
She rushed unthinkingly to Tarif as he rose to his feet. “I t-thought something happened to you.”
The sheikh only pulled a chair out for her in answer. “Please take a seat, anisdi.” His tone was cold, his gaze inscrutable, and confusion swirled around her even as she found herself doing as he bid.
“Tarif?”
The sheikh’s jaw clenched, but he did not even look at her as he reclaimed the seat next to Anisah.
“Thank you for joining us, Lady Anisah.” The king’s words gave her an excuse to look away, and she seized it gratefully, turning to Khalil while her body grew rigid in her struggle to keep her emotions in check. Why wouldn’t he look at her? Why couldn’t she stop feeling something was wrong? Why?
“We have invited you here to clarify certain matters.” It was the kingdom’s army commander who spoke this time, and Anisah forced herself to concentrate on Altair’s words. “Our technician will be playing several videos, and we would appreciate if you could answer a few of our questions afterwards. Do you agree?”
“Yes, of course.” Her fingers laced with each other on her lap. She still didn’t know what this was all about. The only thing she knew was that Tarif was not looking at her.
A technician stood up to play the first video, which showed Anisah fighting against those who tried to attack the queen.
“Is this you, anisdi?”
“Nem, alshaykh.”
The second footage showed the palace’s outer gates swinging open and thus allowing the mob entry to the royal family’s residence. The person taking the video suddenly swung his camera towards one side, and this time she saw the gatehouse’s doors bursting open.
Whoever came out that door, she thought faintly, was likely involved in the plot to destabilize the kingdom’s government –
A woman finally came running out of the gatehouse, her body covered completely, her hair concealed from sight. She made a completely nondescript figure...except for that silver niqab.
Horror rose inside of her as she realized how that one piece of clothing could implicate her.
“Is that you, Lady Anisah?”
“N-no.”
Beside her, she heard Tarif hiss in disbelief, and the sound made her feel violently sick. She clumsily rose to her feet, and the sheikh lunged to his full height as well. “Tarif—-” She tried to reach for him, but then she saw the look on his beautiful face, and her arm fell to her side.
He was looking at her...like she had turned into the same monster as his mother was.
“I k-know how bad things look,” she whispered, “but please believe me when I say I have nothing to do with the attack. The woman you all saw in the second video was my friend, Joanna. I bumped into her later on, and I b-borrowed her headdress to hide my identity. I didn’t want myself recognized, in c-case anything happened. I didn’t want Hyacinth to be affected—-” Her voice trailed off.
Tarif still hadn’t spoken a single word.
“You believe me, don’t you?”
“There are also videos that show you disabling the security cameras in the royal library for a total of seventeen times in the past month alone.”
Anisah paled.
“Do you have an explanation for this?”
“I c-can’t—-”
Tarif’s voice hardened. “What do you mean you fucking can’t?”
She looked at Andy. “I don’t want him to hear—-”
“For fuck’s sake – right now I trust him more than I trust you.” A stricken look crossed her face at his words, but Tarif steeled himself against it. “Tell us what you were doing in the library, anisdi.”
She slowly shook her head.
“Goddammit—-”
“Enough, Tarif.” The king issued the command grimly, knowing that only his interference could put an end, albeit temporary, to Tarif’s questioning. Looking at the pale, trembling woman before them, he said quietly, “It is imperative you answer the question, anisdi. What is your reason for disabling the cameras in the royal library?”
But still Anisah shook her head. “I cannot, Your M-Majesty—-”
“I command you to speak the truth, Anisah.”
Her tears started to fall, and she furiously wiped them away. “I was in the library, reading the other palace historians’ accounts of the sheikh’s childhood. I wanted to know more about it. I wanted to understand it so I would n-never hurt the sheikh by doing anything that could remind him about her.”
She turned to face Tarif, hating herself for wanting to beg for his trust but even so – it was still what she ended up doing anyway. “Please believe me. That’s all I was doing.”
“And the security cameras?” he demanded harshly. “What purpose could you have for disabling them—-”
“I didn’t want anyone to see what I was doing—-” Tarif swore, and she realized how her words had only made things sound so much worse. “No, you misunderstand,” she cried out.
“You just fucking admitted—-”
“I admit to nothing except that I love you!”
And as soon as the words were out, it was only then –
Only when she was about to lose him –
Only then did Anisah realize painfully that there was no ‘might’ about it, after all.
She was in love with Tarif Al-Atassi.
“P-Please.” Her voice threatened to break, and her heart along with it, but still she struggled to speak, needing this man she loved to believe her. “Listen to me, please. I did it for you, sheikh. I disabled the cameras because I knew there was a possibility my constant visits to the history vault could make the wrong person curious, and if that happened, stories about your childhood could surface and be used against you and the palace.”
She took a step towards him. “Please believe me—-” She reached for his hands, but the sheikh only caught her wrists, and his fingers curled around her – no longer like a bond of protection this time. Instead, his fingers held her like one would cuff a criminal.
Something inside of her started to crack.
“Let her go, Tarif.” The king’s voice held a note of warning.
“There is no need to make any rash judgment, brother.” The gravity of Altair’s voice held a similar tone, cautioning Tarif from doing anything he might regret.
“We can have her detained while we search for evidence to refute or prove her claims,” Rayyan said curtly. “But until then, we must not treat her like a criminal—-”
Tarif’s lip curled. “The way the whole kingdom didn’t treat my mother like a criminal until it was too late?”
A cry of hurt escaped Anisah. “I am not like your mother—-”
“Are you not?” he asked bitterly. “You have always been a staunch defender of the traditional regime, anisdi. How do we know if all of this is not part of a grander scheme to bring down the palace and have our king overthrown?”
Understanding came to her in a painful flash, and her heart ached when she realized where the sheikh was finally coming from. “Oh, s-sheikh.”
The sheikh’s fingers loosened in an instant, his whole body turning rigid at the sound of her voice and the countless words in it that he knew she only meant for him to hear.
My love is real.
My love is true.
My love is yours.
“Tarif—-”
“I don’t want to fucking hear a thing you say,” he snarled. All signs pointed to her betrayal. Did she not see that? Every fucking sign pointed to her making a goddamn fool of him, and still she dared to ask him to believe her?
The palace’s enemies demanded for a full-blooded Ramilian on the throne. Tarif was the only who fit the fucking description, and how fucking big a coincidence it was that he also happened to be the man she now claimed to love?
What if all those times she had resisted him were a mere ploy to keep his interest, and all along she had been planning to use him as a pawn – the way his own mother had?
“Tarif, believe me please—-”
Her eyes told him that he had the power to kill or save her, but to believe that, he might as well as kill himself.
“I love you.”
To believe her would be to enslave himself under a woman who only wanted him for what he could give—-
“Please...”
And so he chose...not to save her.
“How can I trust you,” he heard himself ask, “when you are your father’s daughter?”
Chapter Twenty
Tarif could not sleep.
He lay awake, minutes turning into hours, and no matter what he did, he could not get her silence – her goddamn silence – out of his mind.
Something in her had died the moment he had said those words, and after that it was as if she no longer saw or heard anything. She had sat down on her chair, tears falling down her face, and she didn’t even seem to be aware that she was crying.
