.

Enjoy the chapter :)))

Also follow on my other account thatpakistanigirl add forbidden love in your libraries because that's gonna be golden 2.0

Haya.

The dinner was over and while everyone sat and chatted, she had noticed her brother had walked over to her and sat by her side. It had been more than fifteen minutes since Yusuf had sat on the same sofa as Haya, and she hadn't even spared him a single glance.

She had a neutral expression on her face, but there was an entire turmoil going within her. The thoughts that came into her head were disastrous and shocking, and for once she wanted to be wrong in her life.

On the other hand, the Crown Prince had been feeling guilty throughout the dinner. He hadn't meant to yell at his sister and he had really not meant to act the way that he did but she was not letting it go and she really needed to.

He knew all of his siblings were protective but Haya was fiercely protective when it came to family. It was a reactionary feeling because she was the most loved and the most cherished child of the family.

He was thirty five years old, almost a decade older than Haya. He had been there when she was born and he still remembered the kind of happiness which was on his father's face on that very day.

Haya was spoiled and stubborn at times, but that didn't make anyone love her any less.

Infact, he was the one who always instructed Illyas to not cross a certain line with their sister and today he had been the one to do that.

There was a difference between argument and insult. He felt like he had insulted his sister by yelling at her, and he had also acted ungrateful for her care.

He was just so fucking frustrated, he said everything that came into his mouth at the time.

"So you will not even talk to me?" He finally asked, voice low as he kept a fake smile on his face and looked at everyone's cheerful faces.

"No." Haya replied, still keeping the same blank expression on her face.

She was quiet, she had hardly spoken to anyone throughout the night once dinner commenced and honestly, people were noticing now.

Thankfully, his mother had kept her in laws distracted. The Maraaishi Royal family was here for the first time after Haya's wedding. He didn't want anything wrong to go during their stay.

"So you'll keep on pretending that your brother is not sitting by your side?" He asked next, earning another one word answer.

"Yes."

"What if your brother says that he is sorry?"

This time, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and gave him a stare, before turning away.

"It's not any of my business what my brother says." She replied, coolly.

Yusuf let out a sigh, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to ask Haya to act alright. When she was in a mood, she made sure to let everyone know that she was in a fucking mood.

He was honestly surprised that she had even shown up at the dinner, and even conversated with people.

"Sometimes, we are frustrated and we take out our frustration on the people that we love. We just hope that they can understand." His words were sincere and pure.

Haya knew his heart was pure and he was genuinely feeling bad for yelling at her but she didn't want to forgive him so easily. She was only trying to care for him.

"Yes, sometimes." She murmured.

Her mind was impacted by the way her husband had tried to explain things to her. She understood that Yusuf was frustrated and under pressure. She knew that she couldn't go and complain to her father about anything. She hadn't even rambled it out angrily to her own mother.

But that didn't mean that she could just forget it all. Besides, she needed to know the reality about everything that had been going on.

She wasn't willing to let it go, despite her earlier mindset of doing just that.

"I already said that I am sorry. What do you need from me?" Yusuf enquired, not willing to drag this matter anymore.

"The truth." Haya answered, no hesitation coating her voice.

"What truth?"

"The one that is none of my business but the one I want to know anyway." She taunted, glancing at him and then looking at Sara who was talking to Shahid.

She didn't even remember Yusuf holding Sara's hand even once throughout the night. How could he pretend that he was fine?

"Haya." He was exhausted. His tone made sure to convey that.

The Princess let out an exhale, swallowing before she spoke up.

"Sometimes, we have to interfere in personal matters of the people that we love because we can't see them getting hurt." She stated, looking at him as he let out a slow nod.

"Okay. I will admit that there are things which are bothering me but it's nothing that I can't handle." He tried to put her at ease but his words weren't convincing at all.

"You know I am observant. You know that I see things and I come up with conclusions. I don't want to conclude what I saw without you telling me what's going on."

He didn't know what she meant by coming to conclusion on her own. The last thing he expected was someone telling her what had happened. Besides, even Aaliyah didn't know the truth.

"And there is no way that you can let it go?"

"No." She denied, seeing his facial expression harden at her once again.

She sensed the anger that was threatening to come out one more time.

"You already apologized for yelling at me once. Do it again and the reaction is going to be very different." She said, before he could even get a word out of his mouth.

She was still bitter over the way he had yelled at her. He clicked his tongue, shrugging at his sister.

"I'm sorry that I yelled at you." He apologised, almost defeated.

"Now you sound just like Amir."

She joked, since there had hardly been any apologies between them as siblings.

She wanted to push him for answers but then it clicked to her. He wasn't the only one with answers. He wasn't the only one who looked unhappy and unsure. He wasn't the only one who looked hurt. He wasn't the only one involved.

There was another person and instead of pushing him to put everything out in the open, she could easily do that to another person.

She looked at Sara, who had just stood up along with the entire family. They were ready to leave.

"You know what, you are right." Haya said, quickly standing up as well.

Yusuf stood up too, looking at his sister with a rushed gaze as everyone expected him to do his duty now.

"Whatever you do, it should not be my business. I'm here if you need to talk and if you need to figure out things on your own, that's fine too." Haya held her brother's arm and smiled, walking along with him.

"See. Not so hard to be mature, right?"

He murmured, smiling as he bid his goodbye to everyone.

All Haya needed to do now was corner Sara. It wouldn't be too hard to do anyway.

"Sara," Haya's voice captured everyone's attention as she looked at her future sister in law, smiling sweetly as the woman stared back with a smile on her face too.

"Yes, Haya?"

Haya could see the confused frown on her brother's face, as if he was scared of what Haya was going to ask his fiance.

"I got you a pre wedding present. I couldn't be there at your bridal shower but I wanted to get you something still."

She hadn't really bothered to get anything, she just needed the woman to be alone with her for a few minutes and it had to happen now.

"You didn't have to,"

"I wanted to. It's back in my room so maybe you can come with me?"

"Sara's leaving right now, Haya. The gift can wait, can't it?" Yusuf piped up.

"Yusuf, you're always complaining that I don't spend enough time with your fiance and now you're not even letting us girls bond?"

His sister said, gesturing Sara to come along.

"Besides, we all know you're going to be the one to see Sara off anyway." She further added, earning chuckles from everyone around.

Her mother looked at her, pleased that she was making an effort to like Sara. Illyas shook his head, already knowing that she was scheming.

He turned to look at his older brother, who motioned him to go with Haya.

Illyas nodded.

"if this is the gift that you spend hours on, I'd really like to see it too." He played along with Haya's lie, because he didn't want his sister to screw anything up.

Haya frowned but didn't say anything and let Illyas follow. Once they entered the Palace, Haya didn't really care enough to go to her own room. She entered the nearest room and got the doors closed, staring at Sara with arms crossed above her chest.

"Haya." Illyas already knew that she was just about to start asking the many many questions she held within herself.

He came forward and shook his head at her.

She narrowed her eyes and asked him to shut it.

"This isn't your room, Haya."

Sara murmured, confused as to why she was here in a confined space.

"It's not. My room is my personal space and I don't want to ruin it's vibe by calling liars and cheats in."

She replied, eyes staying at the woman as she tried to intimidate Sara. It was clearly working too, since her gaze started to shift.

"I don't understand what you're trying to imply, Haya."

Sara said, but her gaze held the fear and dread. Haya could sense it and see it.

"Drop the act, Sara."

She snapped.

Illyas put his hand on his head, scowling at his sister.

"Haya, Yusuf asked you to stay out of it." He mumbled to his sister. She hoped he wouldn't say more.

"And you think I'll listen to him?" Haya questioned back, leaning near her brother's ear.

"Just please play along." She whispered, he didn't look like he would agree.

Yusuf had asked him to handle it. This wasn't handling it.

"No, Haya. Our brother told us not to meddle in this." He said out loud, Haya scowled hard.

"Our brother also told us the truth!" She exclaimed, lying her ass off.

Before Illyas could say anything, she glared at him one more time and turned to stare at Sara again.

"Yes, Sara." The woman's eyes were wide enough and her face fell pale.

"Yusuf told us everything. He told us the reality and I'll admit that it wasn't easy to get it out of him, but eventually he gave up." She lied, continuing with a hope that Sara would speak.

Sara stood there, still.

"He told me not to utter a word but how can I not? How could you do this to him?"

She bluffed.

God, if Sara hadn't screwed up and there was no truth like that..she'd be so dead. Her mother wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

"There was a reason why I never felt like I could trust you. You proved me right by showing your true colors."

Illyas held his sister's arm, ready to drag her out.

Sara was a good person and while he understood Sara and Yusuf were going through some shit, it wasn't his place to meddle. It wasn't Haya's either. Yusuf had made it perfectly clear. His sister was just too stubborn at times.

"You have made him miserable! Are you happy now? You got what you wanted?"

Haya dreaded using the next words because she didn't want them to ever be true. They would cause too much hurt. They would break too much.

"How could you both do this to him?" Her own voice cracked a little bit because she was fucking scared.

This time, a gasp finally left Sara's mouth. It felt like she finally believed that Haya knew everything.

For a moment, the entire room was only filled with silence. Illyas squeezed his sister's arm and Haya winced, ready to snap when she heard Sara's voice.

"I'm sorry."

She felt her brother's hand leave her arm, saw the way he stiffened and turned around to stare at Sara.

"I never meant to hurt Yusuf. I never wanted to." She admitted, a quiver leaving her lips.

Haya shot Illyas a look, and he swallowed.

"It was a mistake, we made a mistake."

Haya walked towards her, and she backed away.

"If I could go back and change it, I would. I really would."

She added, voice shaking and tears threatening to come out of her eyes.

"He didn't want to do it, Haya. You have to know that he felt so guilty after, he really did."

Haya's own heart beat fast against her chest.

Family first.

Family first.

Family first.

But what happens when your friends are also your family?

"It's Yaman, isn't it? My Yaman." Haya asked, Illyas couldn't help himself.

He was horrified himself but he knew he needed to call Yusuf here right now. He quickly sent an urgent text, asking him to come as soon as possible.

He knew Haya. He knew her anger.

Infact, he felt like he could light the entire place on fire and he hadn't even known the truth yet.

When Sara looked at Haya with confusion, the Princess couldn't help herself.

"I was bluffing. I simply needed to know the truth and my brother didn't want to tell us."

She explained, continuing.

"I put two and two together because I'm not stupid, Sara. I just needed you to confirm it and you did."

Sara was about to speak but Haya lifted her hand up and stopped her.

"The next words that come out of your mouth should be the entire truth. If you say anything else, you'll see a Haya you have never seen before." She threatened, eyes glaring at her.

"And don't you dare think anyone will protect you. Even my brothers know better than to stop me when I'm angry."

"Speak!" Haya yelled this time and Sara flinched, quickly nodding her head.

"I was at a friend's party. Yaman and his fiance got into a fight. He broke off the engagement in anger. We all know each other, yeah? I walked upto him and asked if he was alright. He said that he was. He said everything would be fine."

She knew Yaman and Sara had met up a few times. Yaman wasn't just her closest friend. He was also a family friend. He was a commander. He was supposed to be more disciplined than this.

"We got to talking and he asked me about marriage. Haya, Yusuf is perfect. He is everything I ever wanted but he was always so busy. I was lonely."

Lonely? She fucked another because she was lonely?

"There's no excuse, I know there isn't but..it only happened one night. It happened and I've regretted it ever since. It's the biggest mistake I've ever made."

Haya didn't even know what to say or how to react. How could Yaman do this? How could they do this to Yusuf? No wonder her brother looked miserable and torn all the time.

"Yusuf found out two weeks ago. I had to tell him the truth, even though I knew it would risk everything." Her voice was coated with shame and guilt but Haya truly didn't give a fuck.

Had Yusuf simply forgiven her? Was he going along with the wedding even after finding out what a cheat his fiance was?

"All this time, I tried to like you but I'm so glad that I didn't truly like you. You're an evil wench, that's what you are."

She was still processing everything that Sara had told her, really not understanding how it had all happened even. What would she even do? What would she say to Yaman? Will she never talk to him again? Why was Yusuf getting married? Why the fuck was he doing this when he wasn't even happy?

She felt the door open and she already knew who it was. She turned around to look at Yusuf, who walked towards Illyas.

Illyas put his hand on his brother's shoulder, frowning.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He asked from his own brother, who just let out a sigh in return.

"Haya found it out anyway." He stated, looking at his sister.

The heartbroken look on Yusuf's face, it was enough to break his sister's heart too.

"You can't possibly forgive her." She murmured, Sara simply stood there and watched as they talked about her.

Her one mistake had ruined everything.

"Go, Sara. We'll talk later." Yusuf gestured her to leave but Haya shook her head.

"No! She isn't leaving. You do not get to sneak out after all the shit you've done." Haya said, but Sara was already on the way to leave.

"Haya. Let her go." Haya held her by the arm, almost dragging her to stop her from leaving.

"No. I will not."

"Haya, leave me." Sara said herself, flinching at the tight grip.

"Leave her be, sister." Illyas tried but in reality, he was enjoying the pain that his sister was inflicting on his brother's fiance.

"You're acting like a street woman, Haya. Stop it."

"You want me to act like a Princess? I'll call guards from outside and have her tied up instead. Would you like that?"

So his sister was mad as hell. It was quite clear.

"I'm their Crown Prince. They won't listen to you."

"Then I'll call the ones who don't answer to you." She remarked, referring to the fact that her husband was a Crown Prince too.

"You can't act this way with me, Haya. Stop it already." Sara tried to get out of the grip as she said that.

"I will smack your stupid face if you say another word. You cheating, lying, manipulative bitch." Haya seethed, Sara's eyes widened.

She looked at Yusuf, who was already coming towards them.

He made Haya leave her arm and Sara rubbed it as Yusuf tried to talk to his sister.

"You won't hit her, you won't even touch her. Okay?"

Haya scowled out loud.

"Why? Because you're still in love with the woman who betrayed you?! She asked, not understanding how he was still being so gentle towards her.

Yusuf shook his head.

He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to say anything.

"No."

"Then why, Yusuf?"

"Because she's pregnant, Haya."

She felt like everything was falling apart in her family. Her best friend had managed to impregnate her brother's fiance. Sara was carrying Yaman's child and despite that, The Crown Prince wanted to marry her.

She could understand the bullshit about sacrifice and reputation but she didn't think he would go to this extent. She didn't think he would forsake his own happiness for the sake of the family name.

"So you are ready to marry a woman who is not even carrying your child? Are you crazy?"

They had been here for an hour now. He had told them everything. He had also repeatedly asked them not to tell anyone but if needed, she would tell everyone.

"Do I have another choice? The wedding is in three days. Everyone is here!" Yusuf replied, pissed himself.

"Yusuf, why does it matter? We can tell Dad the truth and call everything off." She tried.

She knew that their father would understand. He wouldn't want them to do anything against their personal choice and happiness. He wouldn't get about reputation and stuff like that. He would get more about his son's well-being.

"No. I won't give anyone the reason to laugh at me, at us."

Yusus responded.

Haya could understand but she couldn't really understand. Yes, their father was more than perfect. But he was also a king. He was a good father but he was a perfect King. He wouldn't want his own Crown Prince to tarnish the family name. In fact, Yusuf was sure that his father would ask him to marry Sara for now and they would deal with the matter in a month or two.

Haya obviously couldn't understand that. She thought that father was the same with everyone. He wasn't.

He was more firm with his sons.

"You're being stupid. Illyas, tell him."

Haya asked her brother for help, who let out a sigh. While he wanted more than anything for Yusuf to get out of this marriage, he weighed in the facts and knew what was right for now.

"He's right, Haya. Imagine what Dad will say, everyone's here. Prince Amir is arriving tomorrow. Jordan and UAE's Royal families are also arriving soon, our friends from England will be here tomorrow. Not to mention the many ambassadors, ministers, and even global leaders that are arriving day after."

Yusuf was not thinking like a man who loved a woman and got betrayed. He was thinking like a Crown Prince and a son. He was thinking like the future leader of Buredaan. Illyas couldn't disagree with anything here.

"So because important people are coming, he's supposed to marry the one who is not even carrying his child? For fucks sake."

Haya cursed.

"So that's your grand plan? What's next? You're gonna say it's your own baby? You'll make another man's child your heir?"

She asked, turning to look at both her brothers who were sat on the bed while she paced around the room.

"No. I'll divorce her after the wedding. Just a month or so."

"As far as I know, pregnant women can't be divorced." She mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Enough, Haya. I've made my decision. The wedding has to happen."

Yusuf stood up as well.

"I refuse to believe that."

"I don't care." As he walked towards her, She put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Yusuf, please. Don't do this. There will only be pain. You will never feel content." She tried, the idea of the marriage sounded absolutely disgusting to her now.

"I'm already feeling all of that. I need to do this anyway." He replied, giving a soft smile.

"If we send a message that the wedding got cancelled due to personal issues, no one will arrive. There's still time."

"I'm not cancelling the fucking wedding!" He yelled this time.

Haya didn't even have it in herself to yell back at him. She understood his dilemma too well now.

"We can say the bride died. We can like lock Sara up somewhere." She said, more to Illyas than to Yusuf.

"Haya." Illyas cracked a smile at the effort, but shook his head.

"What? I'm serious. Illyas! Do something. Yusuf is acting like a sacrificial lamb over here."

Illyas hummed and stood up. He knew he had to think of something but he also knew that the wedding had to happen.

"We can't cancel the wedding, but how about changing the bride?" He offered, a scowl formed on both Haya and Yusuf's face.

"What?"

"One call from mother or father and many will happily give away their daughters. Why don't you go for an arranged marriage instead?" He asked, looking at Yusuf.

"Are you mad? You've both gone crazy." He denied but Illyas was far too gone.

"Didn't you say Aaliyah used to like him, Haya? I wouldn't oppose to that. Besides, everyone knows her in and out."

Her eyes raised in surprise.

Aaliyah?

"Uncle Hammad is looking for marriage prospects for her anyway. She can make a good wife for him."

She could. She had always wanted Aaliyah to marry someone worthy, to be with someone who was genuinely kind and loving. Yusuf was all of that and more. They would even look good together.

"Haya." Illyas shook her.

She was conflicted though. The timing wasn't right and Aaliyah already looked like she was set to kill herself anytime now.

"I don't know." Haya mumbled out loud, staring at both of them.

"Why not?"

"It was a long time ago. I'm not sure if Aaliyah would agree." Haya said, swallowing.

How had things got so complicated?

"Go and ask. I'm pretty sure she won't say no. She's not dating anyone, is she?"

As far as Haya knew, she was not seeing anyone.

"She isn't."

"Lovely."

"Yusuf, got any problem with that?"

"And if she agrees, then what? You do realise that everyone knows who Sara is? What story will we twist around?" Yusuf enquired.

If there was any way to not marry Sara in the first place and marry someone worthy of their family, he wouldn't mind. Sure, love mattered but love had simply managed to hurt him. Maybe, it was time to be practical now.

"That's something we'll have to discuss in length with everyone involved. For now, we need to know if Aaliyah will accept it or not." Illyas decided, nodding at both of them.

"I think I need a drink." Yusuf groaned, earning a chuckle from his brother.

"Come on. Haya, you go and talk to her. Yusuf and I are in the bar room."

Haya nodded, a little numb as she walked out and took a huge breath, hoping that Aaliyah wouldn't say no.

"I'm too shocked to process any of this." Aaliyah said, still in disbelief as Haya narrated her the entire tale.

At some points, Haya genuinely looked like she would just start crying. The fact that Yusuf had been hiding so much, it was maddening.

And if Haya hadn't meddled, hadn't interfered, he would have literally kept it all within him. He would be fighting this hurt all alone. Her brother was too good, she had realised.

"Me too. I can't believe Yaman would do this." Haya murmured, earning a nod from Aaliyah.

She didn't even know what to think of Yaman, what to say. Things had changed forever because of one simple mistake.

"I get it, I get that people make mistakes but he really screwed up that bad? Did he not know that no one will be able to come back from this?"

"I'm too occupied to think about how much he hurt me by doing this. Right now, what matters is Yusuf. He can't sacrifice himself for that evil bitch."

Haya shot back, since she knew that her brother's insane plan was to do exactly that. He would fall into an even more complicated circle. Besides, this was Yaman's child. He should be the one to take responsibility.

No wonder he looked like shit tonight.

"And he shouldn't." Aaliyah affirmed, totally against the marriage too.

Haya looked at her cousin and swallowed. It had always been so easy to talk to Aaliyah but she was hesitant tonight.

"There is another way." She slowly said, continuing when Aaliyah asked her to go on.

"If there is someone else who could marry him, we could spin the entire story around and the wedding will still happen."

"Haya, there are three days left for the wedding. I know that we are Royals but it's hard to get things done so quick even for us." Aaliyah argued, knowing that it wouldn't be easy at all.

"But Yusuf is a good man, he's a Crown Prince." She defended, looking for some sort of positive response from her cousin.

"I feel so bad for him, you know? even if you put the whole Prince aspect at a side and the fact that he will be king one day, he is still such a great guy."

Aaliyah murmured, continuing when Haya only stared at her.

"I always felt like Sara was so lucky to have someone as loving as him but she couldn't cherish it. It's so sad."

"Yeah."

"And you know, I always think that he is the best out of all of you. He has the most responsibility and he is the oldest but he is so stable and so clear with everything he does. And he has a golden heart."

She pointed out, Haya smiled.

"You are bound to get corrupted when you have so much shit going on but I don't remember reading a single bad headline about his character or anything."

"You know my brother well, it's nice to hear."

"Of course. I've spend my entire life with you all. He's my cousin." Aaliyah replied.

Her brothers were always against the idea of marrying Aaliyah even though Haya had tried to push them in her direction. Now? Aaliyah was the one they were looking towards. Life was crazy.

"A cousin you used to be very fond of if I remember right. I also remember how upset you were when he got engaged." Haya mentioned, Aaliyah chuckled a little.

"Well, you know I used to have a crush on him." The Princess nodded.

"You know mom always wanted you to be her daughter in law."

"Aunty knows that if she could handle you, she could very well handle me too."

Even after the many hints, Haya could easily detect that Aaliyah wasn't getting her point. She wasn't understanding the indirect words.

She decided to stop playing around and just say what she had to.

"Okay, I just want to tell you that even if you don't agree and even if you think I am being crazy, I will not hold it against you. No one will say a word to you after this. I promise."

She started off, leaning close to her friend.

Aaliyah frowned, letting out a slow nod.

"Okay? What's going on?" She was still confused but she also had a little idea of what Haya was about to say.

"Would it be too crazy if I ask you to marry my brother?"

She didn't beat around the bush and straight up asked her. Aaliyah felt the warmth coating her cheeks and the way her heart started to pace up, too shocked.

"Haya." She gulped, the Princess shrugged with a small smile.

"What?" Haya put her hand on Aaliyah's lap, trying to give her some sort of assurance.

"When we were talking, Illyas said that if there was someone who could get us all out of this trouble and would fit right into our family, it was you. He wanted me to ask you if you were open to the idea of marrying Yusuf." She explained, the idea suddenly sounding not too crazy in her head.

"Oh My God." Aaliyah was too surprised to say anything else.

"I know. I know it's a lot to take, the wedding is in three days but I just had to ask you."

"Okay." She was too numb to say anything else.

"Okay?" Haya repeated, frowning at her friend.

"Like, it's a lot to take. You know? I don't, I never thought, I mean-" She was rambling, because she really didn't know what to say or how to feel.

Things were extremely complicated in her life too. Haya only knew half of them. She couldn't share anything either.

"We didn't want to tell mom and dad before getting your opinion. Because I know, Uncle Hammad would never say no. But you can always say no and we won't even discuss it, hmm?"

She wanted Aaliyah to understand that there was no pressure, but who was she kidding? The pressure was fucking immense.

"So? Say something." Haya nudged her arm.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Aaliyah only shook her head because what the hell was even supposed to say?

"You are not in a relationship with anyone, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And there is no one else that you are interested in?"

When she remained silent, Haya knew that there was someone in her heart.

"Are you interested in Khalifah then? Aaliyah, he's married. I talked to him, he said he's only loyal to his wife and yeah, I don't think that can happen." She tried.

Besides, marrying Yusuf would be great for Aaliyah too. She would be able to get rid of the crush she had on Khalifah or whatever it was. He was married. He could marry another but he made it clear that he wasn't interested.

Aaliyah nodded, because Haya was right. Khalifah wouldn't let go of the woman he loved.

"I know, I know. It's complicated." She affirmed, taking a deep breath.

After a few more seconds, she turned her head towards Haya.

"The thing is, I'm confused. Okay? I don't know what to say or what to not say right now. Can you give me some time atleast?"

"Time is what we don't have." Haya mumbled, shrugging.

"As my friend and not as his sister, tell me what do you think?"

Now that was a long fucking debate.

Every bone in her body wanted Aaliyah and Yusuf to marry. But another part of her was scared that her friend's heart wouldn't be in it. She didn't think Yusuf was ready to accept someone in his life either, not the way he had accepted Sara. But they were in a shitty situation.

"I think that you will not get a man better than him. He's a Crown Prince, it means you'll be Queen one day and I know he doesn't love you right now but he will, I am sure if that." She started off, looking at her friend.

"But, if love is extremely important to you..if you think there is someone who can love you and cherish you and if you really don't give a shit about anything else.. then you can definitely make a choice and say no if you want." She completed.

She wouldn't hold it against Aaliyah if she said no. Not at all. She would just have to find another way because there was no way in hell that she would let that wench marry her brother.

"But you'd want me to say yes?" Haya let out a nod.

"Yes."

"And you know how hard it is to say no to you, right?"

The Princess knew that Aaliyah usually managed to listen to her, it was just a friendship thing. But this was a big decision.

"You're the only one who can say no and get away with it." Haya replied.

"Your Prince might disagree." She laughed, thinking about Amir.

For once, she wished she wouldn't have to deal with all this drama. Thankfully, he was coming tomorrow. She missed his smell.

"Give me some time, okay? Let's talk tomorrow. It's quite late already." Aaliyah finally said and stood up, biting her lip.

"Okay."

"I want to go home tonight. I'll come back tomorrow, I promise."

"The Palace is quite big if you're looking for a place to hide." Haya murmured but Aaliyah didn't want to stay here right now.

She needed to go. She needed to breathe. She needed to talk to him.

"No, I just need to go home tonight." She said, Haya didn't try to convince her to stay.

"Okay."

__

There was too much going on for me to fit in Amir ughhh.

Next chapter, very amir centric so no worries.

Anyway huffffff this was soooo long but I had to write. What do you think is gonna happen next??