Chapter 22

The air in the courtyard grew thick as Yusuf Saleh stepped forward, his presence casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the light. Tariq Mansour stood his ground, his gaze shifting to Layla Al-Farsi. She was pale, her fingers trembling as she reached out toward him. The sight caused a flicker of genuine surprise to cross Tariq's face. For years, he had lived under the assumption that Layla viewed him as nothing more than a stain on her reputation, an indifferent ghost in her life. Seeing the...