She returned before she could think.
His mansion was chaos.
Blood on the stairs.
Guards everywhere.
When she reached his room, he was pale, wounded, furious.
The second he saw her, his expression cracked.
"You left."
His voice was raw.
Ayesha's eyes filled with tears. "You lied."
He frowned.
"The woman. The pregnancy. You told her no one could know."
For one long second… he stared.
Then, despite the pain, he laughed.
Actually laughed.
Ayesha glared. "This is funny to you?"
"That woman," he said, wincing, "is my cousin Zara."
She blinked.
"She was undercover in our enemy's circle. The pregnancy was fake. We spread the rumor so they'd lower their guard and believe she was leaving the country."
Ayesha's face drained of color.
"I thought…"
"You thought I belonged to someone else?"
Her silence was answer enough.
Rayan's eyes darkened—not with anger, but hurt.
"You could have asked me."
"I was scared."
"I would have burned the world before betraying you."
That broke her.
She cried then—really cried.
And Rayan, wounded and exhausted, pulled her into his arms anyway.
"I can survive bullets, Ayesha," he whispered into her hair.
"But not you leaving."