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 amount of wealth and affulence he controlled. Many had failed in such feat, bragging mostly of how much they owned and how many women they controlled. Mariam had felt disgusted at that, none of the men had the brains to impress, but if the rumors of Omar being as intelligent as he was handsome was true, she saw him excelling in that aspect. Then she would have to marry him. She cringed inwardly at the thought.
Despite the beautiful ornaments and make up she had on, she still had to put on the purple abaaya when coming into the presence of the men and she wondered what was the essence of the extra work, she felt they were just over doing it. Afterall, Omar and his father were not the one to be impressed, the King was. Her father was just as proud of her as she was proud of herself, her beauty came in second to her wits.
She eyed the purple abaaya which hung by the dressing mirror, the cloth would cover her head and the most part of her face, leaving only her eyes open. Saadiya had told her that she had charming eyes, one that would drown any man into a sea of lustful desires. She smirked at the thought of drowning this so called Omar in the largest sea of lustful desires with a single seductive glance, oh it would swell her pride. Thinking so, applied more kajal to the bottom of her eye lid.
"He's here Mariam! He's here!" Parvina ran into her room, too excited to slow down. Mariam and Saadiya turned to her direction, watching her race non stop all the way to the window.
"Who is here?" Saadiya asked, seemingly uninterested at first.
Parvina leaped over the dresses which laid scattered on the floor due to Mariam's multiple selection and lack of choice and made for the window to look at the tall handsome man who had just stepped out of the sleek black Mercedes with an older man who stepped out from the other side.
"Come see Saadiya! It's the grrom, it's Omar!" Parvina called and made room by the window so Saadiya could join her. Saadiya ran excitedly to the window to take a look at the man set to marry her friend and whose looks had sparked off a train of rumors.
"I see three cars in the compound but they both stepped out from just one." Saadiya pointed out.
"Why did they choose to both ride in one though?" Parvina asked no one in particular still looking out the window.
"Where is he? Omar, where is he?" Saadiya asked.
"There. Lean out more, the handsome one wearing the dark suit. Isn't he sparkling Saadiya?"
Saadiya leaned out more to get a better look at Omar and immediately she squealed and started praising Omar's facial looks and body features.
"Mariam! What a lucky child you are!"
Mariam turned her full attention to Saadiya, eyes wide open. "What? What is it? What?!"
"The man! The Sheikh's son, Omar!"
"Omar?" Mariam scoffed and turned back to the mirror. "What about him?"
Saadiya continued.
"The rumors are not entirely false but they did no justice in perfectly describing him. The man is handsome! No, not that. The Man is a beauty to behold, oh Mariam he would give you a run for your money!" She giggled. "Or a run for your beauty."
To Saadiya, describing Omar as being beautiful was an understatement. Her wild description made Mariam want to stand up and rush to the window to see the person who had both her friends fixed to the spot but she held herself and her brows knitted into a frown.
"Maybe they have gifts in the other cars, what do you think Saadiya?" Parvina chipped in.
"It has to be, he is the Sheikh's son after all, the only son and Mariam is a princess. Who would come visiting her empty handed? And this isn't just any random visit. This is a wedding preparation."
"Ohh gifts! Imagine what would be in it!" Parvina grabbed Saadiya's hand.
"Lots of jewelries of course! With dresses and makeup maybe. Something for the King too but more jewelries!"
"Before the wedding, you would be sure to receive a room full of gifts!" Parvina squealed, her focus still on Omar who was just entering the palace with his father after being received by a messenger who would usher them into the King's presence.
"You should prepare Mariam." Saadiya said, stepping away from the window.
"Prepare? Why? I'm already prepared." Mariam said pointing to her face. "What is the use anyway, they still won't behold this untainted beauty." She replied sarcastically grabbing her cheek with both hands and rolling her eyes.
"Again with the attitude. Mariam be positive and calm this time, please." Saadiya bent to pick up the dresses and threw them on the bed. The servants would arrange and put them in their rightful positions later.
"Oh, and after this wedding you would be every woman's envy. Just look, you should have seen how handsome he is!" Parvina held on to Mariam's hand, jumping up and down.
"I would be every woman's envy?!" Mariam rolled her eyes and yanked her hand free. "He would be the envy of every man! He is the one getting married to me, the princess Mariam of Saudi Arabia."
"Yes, you spoilt little princess. Yes you are, now wear the abaaya and wear it properly!" Saadiya joined.
"I will not marry him!"
"Do you think you have a say in such matters princess?" Saadiya asked.
"If you won't marry him, I will!" Parvina twirled to which Saadiya shot her a sharp glance.
"And I would gladly give him to you Parvina. I don't want to get married! Especially not to him!"
"And why not?" Saadiya returned to her seat beside Mariam.
"Well..." Mariam searched for the right words. "He is.... proud and arrogant and..."
"And how do you know all these things about him? You just jump into conclusions Mariam."
"He is not the first of his kind, they all are!"
"Stop it!" Saadiya scolded. They were all of the same age but sometimes she felt she was older, especially when the two girl behaved like spoilt children.
"I will never love him I promise you!" Mariam half yelled. "I will never!"
"Ohh Mariam." Saadiya cooed and Drew her seat closer beside her, patting her back and rubbing her head in her attempt to calm her down.
"Saadiya, I don't want to..." Mariam grumbled, tears pooling up in her eyes.
"Shhhh, don't cry now or you will ruin the make up, it took hours to perfect." She winked, tilting Mariam's head backwards a bit so the tears wouldn't roll down.
Mariam frowned and crossed her hands. "You are only worried about the make up?!"
Saadiya laughed. "Ok Mariam, let us do this. You will go down stairs when you are called for and meet him, get to see him and actually know what he is like. Then you can make your judgement about him. How is that?"
Mariam reasoned what Saadiya said and thought it wasn't a bad idea but...
"I will meet with him and tell him what I feel about this marriage."
"You will tell him of your lack of interest?"
"Indeed I will." She had made up her mind and had to get this over with.
"What if..." Saadiya started.
"I support you fully Mariam!" Parvina interrupted.
"Shut it Parvina. You just want him for yourself." Saadiya cautioned.
She giggled. "I won't deny that fact." Mariam laughed and tapped her lightly on the head.
"Silly."
"Listen." Saadiya turned to Mariam. "What if you fall for him?"
"Fall for him? I would never! I do not love him, I would not." She looked away, her frown deepened.
Saadiya smiled and took a hold of Mariam's hand. "You will Mariam, I can promise you that."
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
Samir Watr-il-Dharah stood on the balcony of the second floor, leaning over the railing and gazing out over the perfectly mowed garden with both hands shoved deep into his pockets. He listened though a pair of bluetooth earpiece to the person on the other end of the line and he smiled a little."I wouldn't want to stress you so much Mr. Hung." He began to pace. "You only entered the country yesterday."As much as Samir wanted to get this project finalized and kicked off soonest, he really didn't want to put others in a position where they felt pressured. Pressure was not exactly good for business, pressure made it easy to make mistakes and he didn't want any mistakes with this project."If you are fully rested then it is no problem, where is your hotel? I will come meet you at the restaurant there so it will be easier for you and we can talk."If he could wrap this up within the week, it would get the burden off him for a while. The funding Mr. Hung would be
Omar wasn't home, Sheikh Khalid knew. So this would be the best time to move the American away, he would take her to another house and deal with Omar's questions later when he returned. Nothing could go wrong with the wedding plans. He would allow absolutely nothing to disrupt his long term plan."You have be summoned by the Sheikh." Megan trembled when Taheem came into the room to call her and she wondered if she had done something which she shouldn't."Can I know why?" She asked, shaken with fear."Only The Sheikh knows why, you would know soon.""Is Omar home?"The rigid man paused then shook his head negatively. Megan swallowed, she feared the Sheikh, which was a wise decision on her part. The man had threatened her life, something she still loved to hold on to. Gathering herself together she left the room and allowed Taheem lead the way.He sat calmly downstairs, his eyes to the front door until he noticed her presence, he smiled at her
Over the sleeping city of Riyadh, the cold dark night settled in, stretching dark grey clouds across the bare sky. Save for the moon which illuminated the empty streets like a bright white bulb hanging freely, there was nothing else in the sky as it was bare of stars. The moon shone like an awakening call to the whisperers and men of the night, bringing within its dark clutches the greed of power and recognition and the ultimate secrecy of royalty; the lost Prince and son of King Faad, the outcast brother to His Highness King Jaan of Saudi Arabia and the man for whom these gatherings has been of top priority for the past years. The hidden man Aazim.Prince Aazim.His place was at the head of the table and seated around were his faithful followers, his powerful men of loyalty who wouldn't hesitate to kill for his cause, and that was what they were to do - kill and eliminate every obstacle in the way of Prince Aazim ascending to the throne as the King of Saudi Arabia