The Rightful Queen

Thirty-two: Zain

I made the worst mistake of my life. It wasn't easy for me to tell her to leave. It felt like I was ripping my heart into a million pieces. The look in her eyes would haunt me for the rest of my life. I hurt the woman I loved the most and I was starting to think if I made the right decision or not. I wanted her to be secure. I desired nothing but to protect her. I didn't want her to live her life in danger. She didn't deserve this life.

    "I'm sincerely hoping that Nuriya got it all wrong." I had been hiding, but Feras still managed to find me. I was in my mother's chambers. I needed her at that time. I needed her to tell me if I acted stupidly. I wanted her advice. I wanted her to tell me if I was letting go of the best thing I could have ever found in my entire life.

    "It's for the best," I muttered, not looking at him. I was standing by the window, giving my back to my best friend.

    "How would it ever be for the best? How would letting go of the only woman you felt something for is for the best?" I understood where he was coming from. "What happened at Carbilia?"

    "I almost died," I said. "She saved me," I added.

    "So... what drove you to end things with her?" By that moment, he was standing beside me, leaning against the frame of the window.

    "I saw the life I would be giving her, Feras. If I marry her, I will be sentencing her to a life of danger. Would you want that for the woman you love?" I finally looked at him.

    "I wouldn't want that, but you can protect her. What makes you think her life without you would be safe?" he exclaimed.

    "I almost died, Feras. Had it not been for her, I would have been dead. She saw the servant putting the poison in my food. I watched how she would get treated if anything happened to me. Did she tell you how her hand got hurt?" It was so hard to breathe. In a matter of two days, Nuriya wouldn't be here. I wouldn't see her beautiful face again.

    "She didn't tell me anything," he replied, shaking his head.

    "She told me to act like I ate the food, then she told me to scream in pain. They walked inside and found her beside me. They wanted to frame her. I watched as Nasir tied her hands behind her back and he twisted it. I wanted to stop acting, but she glared at me, silently telling me to continue the act. She wanted us to wait until we got a confession out of them. They wanted to make it seem like she poisoned me and there was no antidote." I had to stop to catch my breath.

    "Nuriya is so smart," Feras muttered.

    I couldn't imagine any man worthy of such a great woman like her.

    "The way he threw her on the ground made my blood boil and I just... I keep thinking about it all. Can you imagine what might happen to her if I got killed? Nuriya may even get kidnapped because my enemies will know that she's my weakness. I don't want that for her. I love her so much to see her hurt, Feras," I could feel my voice cracking. I lost her. I lost the woman I loved.

    "I understand everything, Zain. I get it all. But we can protect her. I will assign the best guards for her. I will always make sure that she's safe. Don't you trust me? I can assure you that she'll always be safe. Don't do that to yourself or her," he said, but I shook my head. I was dangerous for her. I wasn't the right one for her.

    "I'm not the one she deserves. She deserves better." Saying those words out loud hurt a lot.

    "The Duke of Sarqoya would be ecstatic when he finds out you're no longer dating her," Feras commented, causing me to look at him with a deep frown.

    No. Not that man. He was sleazy and stingy.

    "Or Lord Sofian. You didn't see how he looked at her at the ball. He was ready to do anything to dance with her," Feras continued talking. My blood was boiling. The idea of seeing her with another man killed me. "We are talking about men from Vinadra. I bet once she's back in Elendra, suitors will be lining outside her house."