Omar stared out the window of the black Mercedes as it made its way through the streets of Jeddah, heading to the Sheikh's mansion. Frustration was evident on his face and anger was boiling in him towards his father who happened to be riding in the same car and chose to remain silent throughout the journey. Omar did the same, not uttering a single word, his mind went to Megan who rode in the car behind theirs along side Taheem.
The fact that she was in the same car with Taheem made him uneasy and he wondered what was going on in there. What conversation were they having if at all they were having any. He was sure they weren't, Taheem wasn't one to indulge freely in conversations, most especially if it happened to be with a stranger, much less someone he was to hate.
Omar had agreed to marry Mariam in exchange for Megan's safety and now he wasn't sure he should blindly trust his father, the man was unpredictable and had so many secrets surrounding him. Although the tinted windows made it a bit hard to see out the car, most especially with the sun gone from the sky, Omar still glanced back every now and then to ensure that the car was still behind and following them.
The car he rode in with his father was the first to pull up into the compound and stopped for them to get down. Omar, whose mind had been on Megan all through the journey, opened the door by his side to get down, he needed to make sure she hadn't been tortured on the way here.
"Omar," his father called as soon as he had one foot on the ground. Omar paused but didn't turn to him. "We will go visit the king and the princess tomorrow so you should go now and rest. You should get your mind prepared."
"I am not doing this for your sake."
"For who so ever sake you are doing this is not any concern of mine, as long as you will go through with it and without falter."
"Yes." Omar smirked. "All you want is for me to just go through with it, isn't it?"
"It is not so difficult Omar, you just need to calm down and see things the way that I do."
"I may be your son but we are different and I can not see things the way that you do. We do not look from the same perspective."
"You would have to look from mine."
"You really don't care, do you Sheikh Khalid?"
Khalid looked at his son closely. "I care for the choices you make. Your choices affect not just you. Your choices..."
"My choices..!" Omar raised his voice, interrupting him. "That is it exactly, they are my choices! So I should be the one to decide what is good for me and what is not!"
Sheikh Khalid sighed, it would be pointless for him to continue engaging Omar like this. "You should rest. Tomorrow we will go see the King and princess, get your mind prepared. That is all."
Omar shut his eyes tight and fisted his palm, sitting still to calm down. He heard the door to other side of the car click open and felt the weight lift off the car before the door clicked shut again and he released a deep sigh to calm himself. Yes, he needed to get his mind prepared and that rest was much needed.
The car Megan was in continued to drive past, heading towards the back of the mansion. Omar stood up from the car, watching it as it disappeared around the corner and in anger and frustration, he kicked the car's tyre before storming into the house, making his way upstairs to his room.
The door held when Omar slammed it shut but the force caused the chandelier to vibrate. He paced the large room, raking one hand through his hair as scattered thoughts flew through his mind. In eight days he was set to get married to his father's choice so he had less than eight days to come up with a counter plan.
He had to get Megan out of this mess and then he would sort himself, but then here wasn't like the desert that was open and less secured, the mansion was crawling with guards, men on every post. He yelled, upturning the center table and shattering the glass, he had no clue as to where Megan was being kept and he knew he had to find out soon. A guard ran in after hearing the noise caused by the shattered glass, afraid that something must have happened to his master's son. It made Omar furious.
"What is it?"
"I heard the shattering glass and ran in here to check on you. Are you alright?" He kept his head lowered.
"Fine. Get out."
"But my..."
"Get out! Now!" Okay boiled.
The guard hesitated a bit before turning and walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Groaning, Omar threw himself on the bed, still in his clothes and shoes. He resigned to sleep this night, to gather strength and plan for both his and Megan's escape but when his body touched the soft rich foam, sleep left him. He wondered if Megan was also on a soft rich bed or on a cold dungeon floor, he sprung up and rushed out of the room, he had to find his father and know about the welfare of Megan.
His father's room was down the hall, left of his room and it didn't take long for him to reach the doors. He didn't bother knocking but pushed the door in. Khaild glanced at him once and continued on the phone.
"...ahh yes, it has been planed as per your wishes, down to the very last detail. The girl would be twenty and at the marriageable age......"
"His Highness King Jaan's wishes for her to get married at that age...."
"Yes, he is also going to go through with it....."
"Hahaha, he's my son after all. Or what do you think....?"
"We will speak more about this tomorrow...."
"Peace be with you too."
The Sheikh flipped the phone down on the bed and turned to face his son who had just rudely barged in. He smiled and walked over to the portrait of Aabish, his late wife and Omar's mother, who looked splendid in the colourful cloth which adorned her as befitting the fifth daughter of the Rais.
"It's all coming together..." He whispered.
"Father."
"Not even a knock?"
"I am sorry, I couldn't wait."
"What is it that you want?"
"I have agreed to marry the woman you chose, 🤴 Mariam on the condition of Megan's safety..."
Khalid turned to him now. "...And I assure you that she is safe."
"Then you wouldn't mind me confirming that, or would you?"
"Confirming?" Khalid focused on his son and tilted his head. "You have lost the trust you had in your father? I never thought I'd see the day."
"I just want to confirm and see her, that is all I ask."
He turned away from him and sat at the edge of the over sized bed.
"What do you want to confirm?"
"I want to know that she is being properly taken care of and not that she is safely kept away in a dungeon." Omar was firm. He would have to confirm it himself.
Khalid sighed. "You brought this upon yourself Omar Why would you bring her in the first place? Have I given you so much freedom that you can do as you please?"
"I have the freedom to choose with whom I want to be with, freedom to choose whom I love."
"You are to marry the princess Mariam. She will..."
"But I don't love her!"
"Love," he scoffed. "You might not need to eventually."
"I cannot see myself getting married to someone with whom I have no feelings for. You have to understand. How would we live together?"
"And I cannot see you get tangled up in a worthless affair."
"It is not worthless and it is not an affair!"
"You dare raise your voice?!"
Omar breathed out, hewas tired of the back to back banter. He had come here for one thing only. "Where are you keeping Megan?"
Khalid studied his son, the man was too grown so for now he would allow it, for today he would let them, he needed Omar in a good mood for tomorrow's visit. It was important.
"She is in the last room on this floor, I forbid you to do anything more than to confirm. You may leave."
Immediately, hope riled in his heart and he turned, out of the room to find her.
"Keep this in mind Omar." Khalid spoke, stopping Omar at the door. "You will get married to the princess Mariam."
The car she was in felt tight and stuffy because she had to ride with Taheem. His presence made her feel vulnerable, made her feel like a prey caught by a hunter's trap and left out in the open for the predators picking, so when the car continued driving past the car Omar was in, heading to the back of the mansion, she panicked."Get down." Taheem had said when the car came to a stop as he himself got down, but Megan who had been thinking up the different ways they could butcher and hide her body, hadn't heard him at first.They would let me live for Omar's sake. I can't...no, can't be killed. The Sheikh had promised. I'm not.... where is Omar!Her mind swam wildly and her heart beat was so loud she felt she would have a heart attack. She panicked, she needed to breathe and there was no air in the car, her hand came to the window as she struggled to find the handle.Taheem, who had stepped out since and was already heading for the back door, stopped when he n
The day came too fast and Omar was up and ready even before his father was but he remained in his room. Today he would be going to the palace with his father, to be introduced to his bride to be. He was to behave sensibly and maturely to get the approval of the king to be his daughter's groom. He could not help but feel like a ram being led into the market to be sold, and honestly that was what it was. He was literally being sold off and this marriage was the payment.The only person gaining from this was his father, the Sheikh and Omar couldn't help but feel that there was more to this. He knew that his father was a greedy person and his greed had always been for power and he was hard to satisfy. The man always craved for more and his marriage to the princess was that more that the Sheikh had been yearning for.Omar wondered for how long his father had nursed this in his heart, for how long he had planned for him to get married to the princess. The plan was
Mariam was dressed exceptionally heavy in anticipation of her would be groom and father in law. She knew nothing about them asides from the fact that the man she was to marry was Omar bin Khalid, the only son of the Sheikh, his father Khalid bin Aaban. Omar, as she was told by Parvina who had gathered information from the rumors circulating, had lived most of his life abroad, getting his Masters degree, bachelor's degree and Ph.D, but the rumors that went round boasted more of his fine looks and physique than of his intelligence.She scoffed, such people were bound to be proud and arrogant. She knew that because he would not be the first of his kind to come for her hand in marriage, each one was prouder than the last man before him and absolutely none of them had impressed the King. Absolutely none of them had impressed her.Being the only Saudi princess to His Highness King Jaan, it was of utmost importance that the man impressed the King and not just by the amoun
Omar had been to the palace on several occasions and mostly in the company of his father but this was just the second time he would be seeing the King. He sat on the soft cushioned sofa, leaning on an elbow which dug into the arm rest and with his legs crossed. Khalid sat upright with his back straight, his focus towards the stair way which the King with emerge from."Omar, sit properly!" Khalid cautioned."I am sitting comfortably."Khalid turned to his son. "I've gone this far for you, it's up to you to...""I do not know why you bother when the marriage has already been finalized, or hasn't it?" Omar cut him off.Khalid frowned and he glared at Omar. This boy. "Omar, you will need the...""Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Royal Highness King Jaan bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia." The messenger's announcement interrupted Khalid's talk. The two men rose to greet the King."Assalaam 'alaikum your highness." Kh
It had not been long since Mariam had been excused from the discussion between her father the King, Omar and the Sheikh, she had returned back to her room in anger and just plopped herself down on the bed. The men would still be downstairs talking of the marriage and what not, she didn't want to be stuck in a marriage with the proud and pompous Omar bin Khalid bin Aaban, only son of the Sheikh.She laid down on her bed staring up at the ceiling and not paying any attention to the chattering of Saadiya and Parvina. They had been talking non stop of Omar, most especially Parvina who had made her intentions crystal clear about him; if the marriage didn't work out between him and Mariam, she would convince her mother to talk to her father about the matter. She was after all the daughter of the Queen's step brother, so she stood with just enough chance of getting him as Mariam."So Mariam, what happened? How did it go?" Parvina asked excitedly."Went well." Mariam kept
Megan paced the room, she had been in here for two days without stepping out and was bored already, she really just wanted to leave not just this room but the house as well and possibly leave Saudi Arabia. Was she really going to be locked in here until after Omar's marriage to the princess was completed? The wedding was now only seven days away. She wondered if Omar was really going to marry her? What if he refused and didn't go through with it, what would the Sheikh do to him? More still, what would he do to her?What could he do anyway, being an American citizen had its perks, but she still could not help the fear that claimed her heart whenever the Sheikh was near. She held her chest to feel her heart beat and knew that just by thinking of the Sheikh, it had accelerated a bit. She managed to smile weakly and crashed on the bed tiredly.She just wished Omar would come and assure her that all was well and that he would never leave her. Call her clingy or whatever
Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban was a man of relatively calm nature, and being a Sheikh wasn't a position for the weak. He wasn't weak, he knew that. He was like the calm just before the storm. He was patient and he was understanding, but only when he needed to be and at the same time he was strict and he was brutal but still he believed in tampering justice with mercy until mercy was exhausted. And his mercies didn't usually last long, he never let them to. He relished the fear in people's eyes for him when he was around or when his name was mentioned, it made him feel powerful and powerful was all he wanted to feel.This time, his mercy towards the simple American was wearing thin but still he was calm, having not done anything drastic towards her. At some point he began to wonder if he was softening up. He felt he was giving her and most especially his son too much freedom that they did as they pleased and he knew he had to do something about it. He would do something about it.
Since her last meeting with Omar, Mariam had been unable to keep him out of her thoughts. And she hated it. She hated thinking about him, she hated the sound of his voice revibrating in her thoughts, she hated his image constantly flashing in her memories whenever she closed her eyes. And right now, she hated the fact that she wished to see him. Yes she hated him, at least that was what she told herself and she wanted to believe that. She chose to.The man was witful, handsome and his sense of pride was not actually all that annoying now that she thought of it. It was kind of impressive to have someone praise himself so daringly and without fear. Some of the other suitors before him had either been quite timid before her or they boasted of what they had, what they could acquire and the number of women they had or could get, but Omar hadn't.With his looks and intelligence, Mariam knew for a definite fact that he was well sorted after, she knew that he was aware of that f