Regardless of the reason behind it, the situation had ended up becoming a blessing in disguise -—or so Altair told himself as he informed his younger brother of his decision.
Any form of press or media was strictly forbidden in Mushriq, and this was the only reason Safiya's name hadn't made it to the headlines of late. But once the princess was back in the limelight, Altair was certain the whole Ramilian Khaleesi obsession would start all over again, and after that?
"Having the press hound Safiya during your wedding is an unnecessary distraction—-"
"Then shouldn't we kick the press out rather than keep your betrothed from attending?"
"There are still people out there who want nothing more but to make it seem your relationship with Kyria is immoral. If you make your wedding private, those people wouldn't hesitate to make it seem that you and Kyria had something to hide. Or worse, they could make it seem that you feel guilt and shame over your decision."
Malik's lips tightened as he was forced to see the truth in his brother's words. But while he did appreciate Altair's desire to protect his bride-to-be from any unpleasantness—-
"What about the princess?" Malik asked finally. "Has she agreed to this?"
"Your wedding also coincides with her finals week. She is not the type to use the royal wedding as an excuse to enjoy special privileges."
Malik was about to remark on how everything seemed to work out a little too neatly to be real, but before he could say another word, their mother had walked inside the living room, and the look on her face immediately had Malik feeling rather wary.
"Just the man I needed to see."
Malik, seeing that their mother was looking at her firstborn, shook his head with feigned disgust. "So that's how it is now?" You're not even going to try hiding the fact that Altair's your favorite?"
Vanna threw her younger son a look of exasperation. "Oh, Malik, stop it. This is serious." Her heels tapped noisily against the marble floor as she quickly walked forward to place a set of photos on the coffee table.
Her two sons leaned forward, and while one appeared bemused, the other's face immediately became expressionless.
"Were the photos taken illegally, is that it?" Malik genuinely couldn't understand what the problem was. All of the photos were of Safiya Tannous, taken during her school days in Mushriq.
Vanna stared at Altair, and her firstborn simply gazed back at her. "You are truly not going to say anything?"
Malik noticed a sudden undercurrent of tension between the two. What the hell? He grabbed one of the photos and took a closer look, feeling like he was missing something—
Ah.
"Is this about the locket?" Malik asked warily. "Altair didn't ask permission or something before taking it out of the family vault?"
"He doesn't have to ask for my permission," Vanna said impatiently. "It's entirely his choice whom he wants to give it to."
Malik frowned. "So..." He tried to think of what else Vanna could find wrong about the whole thing but couldn't. "I give up," he said finally. "I can't see what the problem is—-"
"There is no problem," Altair cut in flatly.
"That's all you're going to say?" Vanna demanded.
Malik could no longer keep up with the conversation. "So do we or do we not have a problem?"
"Yes," Vanna insisted.
"No," Altair denied at the same time.
And then the two were back to staring at each other.
"Stay out of this, Mother," Altair warned.
"Only if you tell me the truth," Vanna shot back.
"Are we still talking about the damn locket?" Malik demanded.
"This has nothing to do with you—-"
"Not another word, Altair Al-Atassi!" Vanna rarely used her I'm-your-mother voice these days, but when she did, it was still enough to silence both her sons. "You are my son, and therefore my loyalty is to you first and foremost. That will never change, but...will you please just explain to me why it is that I found my locket still inside the vault?"
Malik was stunned upon hearing their mother's words. Did that not mean Safiya's locket was nothing but a mere replica?
Vanna stared challengingly at her firstborn. "Well?"
The sound of someone knocking saved Altair from replying to his mother, but his relief was short-lived when he saw the dark-haired woman at the other side of the door. She was taller than the average Ramilian female, more athletic than slim, and her beauty more sensual than ethereal. Born to one of the kingdom's wealthiest families, the woman used to move in the same circles the sheikh had, with both of them attending the same parties and sharing the same friends. All of this changed, however, when she had decided to follow her heart by joining Ramil's secret service. In so doing, she had to give up her identity, and since then Altair, too, had only looked upon her as Agent 53 and nothing else.
"We have a Task FT emergency, alshaykh."
Task FT was the assigned code for all things related to the Tannous family, and Altair gave the agent a curt nod of acknowledgment. "Wait for me outside the palace. I'll be with you in a moment."
"Nem, alshaykh." Yes, sheikh.
Altair made his excuses to Vanna and Malik, and although his mother didn't keep him from leaving, the look she gave Altair also told him their discussion was far from over.
Agent 53 was waiting for him by the palace steps when he stepped out, and at his nod, the woman immediately delivered her report. "We've received word from security posted in Sheikh Mahmud's home. They've intercepted an encrypted message from the sheikh's daughter."
The sheikh's features turned expressionless. "You are absolutely sure of this?"
"We've triple-checked, alshaykh. There is absolutely no doubt it was the princess who sent the message."
"And have you been able to decode it?"
"Our team is still working on it."
"Very well. Keep me posted then."
Agent 53 stared at him, and the sheikh raised a brow. "Is there anything else?"
"She sent her father an encrypted message—-" She broke off upon seeing the sheikh's dark gaze turn chilly.
Lueta. Shit.
She quickly backtracked and bowed her head in apology. "Maehdina, alshaykh. I did not mean to overstep."
Altair didn't bother to answer even though both of them knew she was lying. Agent 53 never did anything impulsively; she had said what she said because she had known she could get away with it. And while Altair had made allowances for her in the past, he had no such plans of doing the same thing when Safiya was involved.
Frustration churned inside of Agent 53 at the sheikh's continued silence. The sheikh used to be more lenient towards her, owing mostly to the fact that they had known each other for decades. While she could only think of one reason for Altair to suddenly change his attitude towards her, that same reason was too preposterous by half!
Altair was not the kind of man to fall in love with a girl just because of her looks alone. While Agent 53 had also heard about the rumors of the sheikh falling hard and fast for his betrothed, she firmly believed all of that was still part of the sheikh's plan.