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He turned toward Haidar He was blocking the door of Rashid’s suite in Az preparations were being lance answered Haidar’s black scowl as he passed him on his way out of the room “Schedule a duel with Ahed in Haidar’s grip “Isaround to face Haidar, snarling “She has nothing to do with any of that”
“So ill you have me believe?” Haidar hissed “That you fell in love with her and that’s why you’reabout what you believe Will you see yourself out, or do you need help?”
Haidar blocked his way again, furious, urgent, entreating “Whatever it is you think you have against me and Jalal, do whatever you want to us We can take it But Laylah has always loved you, and if you’re using her, it will destroy her”
“You think I need to use anyone to trounce you?”
“Then is this about the throne? If you’re trying to coh her, I’ll save you the trouble I’ll make the battle unnecessary I’ll withdraw from the race I can make Jalal do the same Just don’t do this to her”
So snapped inside him He hefted Haidar off the floor, sla from his depths “I will say this once, Haidar I have alanted Laylah, but now I find no reason and no way to exist without her I would rather die, or worse, than hurt her So if you dare insinuate otherwise, I won’t fight you any into his hands hard enough to penetrate his red haze of aggression, extricating hie Rashid’s sincerity
See all Coht be no line you wouldn’t cross I also thought you’d never fall in love B’Ellahi, the only girlfriend we ever heard about turned out to be fictional For years you e to be near said girlfriend, not because it hat you could afford And then, Laylah kept trying to get you to notice her, and you never showed any indication you even saw her”
“Just as I couldn’t afford a better college, I couldn’t afford to look at her” His heart convulsed “I still can’t believe I have her now”
Exasperation filled Haidar’s face “This pride of yours—this pathologically huge sense of honor—it stopped you fro that was yours Our support, Laylah’s love And it uardian’s debts, so that you derailed your whole life to pay them off, without help from anyone”
“But when I really needed help, and it clashed with your best interests, you didn’t care if I lived or died” At Haidar’s bewildered glance, he plowed on “So don’t think I will spare you now because you’re Laylah’s cousin”
Still looking confused, Haidar smirked “Not even if she asks you to? If you love her as much as you claim, you’ll do whatever she wants Like I would, for Roxanne”
“I am bound to obey her, even if it ht tell her the truth about you She would withdraw her intervention if she knehat you did”
Haidar exploded “And what the hell did I do, damn you?”
“You damned me”