Page 1 of Tall, Royal Hater
Prologue
Mariyah
Never in my life had I thought I’d one day find myself spying on a princess while she was on a date at some fancy-arse restaurant.
I’d also never been more ready in my life to throw handswithher date when the words, “He’s fucking touching her,” rumbled out the mouth of the princess’s bodyguard.
My fingers clenched around silver cutlery as I twisted in my velvet chair in the direction of the princess. I braced to shoot up and launch an attack on her assailant, but when I saw whatwas actually happening, my shoulders lost their tight hitch, and I locked my teeth together in utter burning frustration.
I thought he’d fucking meant her date was touching her inappropriately or something. The boy was bloody holding her hand on top of the table!
The slow-motion turn and stare down I gave the man opposite me would have made any other person question their own level of intelligence. But, of course, not him.
Not Shehryar Timur.
Crown Princess Esmeralda Ayla of Jahandar’s bodyguard and private secretary.
My best friend. Her. Not him.
But then again, the six-foot-five hunk of a man, blindly stabbing at his venison, wasn’t even looking at me to know what kind of judgement I was showering on him. He was glaring at Esmeralda’s date like he wanted to wrap his jaw around the poor boy’s neck and rip his head from his body.
I supposed that was part of his job, but the anger at such a simple touch was to the extreme. That was exactly the reason she’d begged me to come along as well. I was the shield defending her fun from his overprotective behaviour, ensuring he didn’t ruin anything with his hovering.
I’d agreed, being the good best friend I was. But I’d had a selfish reason to tag along too.
That selfish reason was Shehryar.
The very reason I’d dolled up in a dress that clung to my curves and curled my blonde hair with hope and anticipation pounding through my chest as if I were the one going on a date.
Except, in the hour and a half we’d been at the restaurant, he’d only spared me two glances.
Four years older than me and Esmeralda, he oozed the kind of dark, protective aura that made every woman’s soft, feminine side sigh in utter bliss.
I’d fallen into the same trap from the very first time I met him three months ago during the first week of lectures at university. As first year economics students, Esmeralda and I hit it off by the end of the second day after I’d coincidentally sat next to her for three consecutive lectures.
I wished I could say the same thing about Shehryar. But the only thing that had taken a hit was my hope of him reciprocating the stuttering excitement in my chest whenever I was around him. I could never tell if the stern looks he constantly gave me were a part of his role as Esmeralda’s bodyguard or solely for me.
Basically, Shehryar Timur could not care less about my presence. His existence revolved solely around protecting and supporting Esmeralda. I couldn’t fault him for that, but it sucked that every time I’d tried to make conversation, he’d killed my attempts with one-word replies.
Fuck.Maybe it was all the disappointment from how rubbish the past two hours had been for me, but my patience was wearing thin. And I had a lack of patience to begin with.
“They’re on a date,” I said, a slight clip escaping into my tone. “Of course he’s going to touch her. That’s normally what happens on a date.”You might know if you took me on one.
He finally turned his glare on me. “Esm—Her Highness isn’tnormal.”
“Yeah, I know that. She knows that. Everyone knows that.” I gestured to him with my fork. “But don’t you think she’s still allowed to enjoy herself for a few hours without someone controlling every little thing around her? You, most of all, should understand that considering your role in all of it.”
Instead of looking remotely chastened, his piercing stare narrowed even more.
“Look,” I said, setting my cutlery down. “This is her first ever date, Shehryar, and probably her first feel of being a normal girl without the weight of a title on her head—which you know morethan I do, exhausts her sometimes. But she isn’t going to be able to experience any relief when you’re glaring daggers at her date because she’s enjoying herself with him.”
Shehryar’s fists settled atop the table as the crease between his brows softened. He glanced past me to Esmeralda. It took a while, but he let out a long, slow exhale through his nose.
“I don’t enjoy the frustration or disappointment she feels when I can’t let her do what she wants or because I have to linger and scrutinise everything,” he said before shifting his focus to me. “But I can’t keep her safe when I don’t know exactly what, how, and when something is going on. I need to know all of that to protect her, and to protect her, I have to be around her. And I would rather her be annoyed with my presence than know she was hurt because I turned my back.”
The unwavering sentiment in his expression wrapped around my heart and squeezed, and for the first time, I felt a little bad for growing annoyed with his obsessive concern for Esmeralda. But that didn’t mean my opinion had changed.
“I respect that,” I said. “But you pretty much planned their date. You can’t say you don’t know the ins and outs of what’s going on.” I scoffed a light laugh. “You handed Esmeralda and Kyle a schedule the moment he arrived outside the house.”
