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Kyria’s words returned to his mind.

Do you think I didn’t try?

It was one of my most important goals in the past two years, Malik.

But just the thought alone of going out on a date with another guy made my skin crawl—-

Malik stiffened.

Altair spoke again, his voice firmer. “What did she say, Malik?”

Malik couldn’t speak.

“May I make a guess then?” his brother asked quietly. “Perhaps, in not so many words, she had told you that she hadn’t been the slightest bit interested in dating anyone else. Despite not having any reason to be faithful to you, despite not having any awareness of how you felt about her, she had still stayed faithful, had she not? And I know some may say that was only a matter of circumstance, that perhaps it was only because she hadn’t met the right person yet, but everyone at this table knows that isn’t true.”

Malik whitened.

“Kyria had already met the right one, and in those two years, she was already in love with you. She might not have known it, but she was already in love with you, just as a part of you knew...even when she was a child. You already found the right one for you.”

“Cheesy.” Harper’s whispered word cut the silence in the room. “That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard you say, Altair—-” She choked back a sob. “So why the hell am I crying?” Her words ended with a wail and tearful sniffle. The sound broke the tension in the room, and Malik’s cousins laughed while a grinning Khalil drew his queen into his lap so she could cry on his chest.

“I hate you, Altair.” Vanna’s tone was waspish and shaky at the same time. “Didn’t I tell you I hate crying?” She turned to her younger son with red-rimmed eyes. “And you! Do you—-” The older woman broke off.

Malik’s eyes were too darn bright.

Too, too bright for the kind of man he was.

And as was her wont, even after all these years, Vanna found herself helplessly calling out to her husband the moment she encountered something she didn’t know how to handle.Hadwin, help me.She was used to seeing Malik angry or aloof, used to having her younger son needle her to death. But she didn’t think she could ever get used to seeing her younger son this vulnerable.Tell me what I must do.

And as always, her beloved did not fail her.My love, just do what you always do.

Well then—-

If that was what he believed she should do, then so be it.

Vanna stood up, marched to where Malik was seated, and as soon as his head lifted up, she gave him a good hard whack to his head the way she used to often do, back when he was a precocious child doing his best to flirt with all the women in the palace.

The whacking sound echoed in the vast dining hall, leaving everyone in the room stunned.

“What the hell, Mother?”

“Exactly,” she snapped. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, just sitting there and acting like there’s no Contini prince that can steal Kyria away?” Her voice shook, but she forced herself to continue. “You get it now, don’t you?” Vanna yelled. “You lied to yourself. You lied to her. You lied about whom these two years are for, and it’s not for Kyria! She’s already proven in thepast two yearsher love won’t waver. These two years were for you, and it’s time you grow a pair of balls—-”

Harper choked.

“—-and accept that.” Vanna angrily planted her hands on her hips. “So once again, I’m asking you – what the hell do you think you’re doing, just—-” She let out a shriek of surprise when Malik suddenly shot to his feet and swept her up in a bear hug, high enough for her feet to dangle in the air.

“You hateful boy!”

Malik laughed, but the sound was hoarse and raw. He let her down, but his arms only tightened around his mother, and when he spoke, his quiet words were just for her. “Thank you, Mama.”

And then he was walking away, her beautiful, kind, selfless son—-

A man who had wanted these two more years because he only wanted more for Kyria, and he could not believe that what he offered the girl he loved would ever be enough—-

This time, Vanna could no longer stop the tears.We did good, didn’t we, Hadwin?

Yes we did, my love.