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Chapter 1
Hot air filled Saja’s nostrils as she stepped off the plane. She didn’t want to be here. Her father had summoned her to Basrat, a country she had never been to or had any intention of visiting. She didn't belong here nor did she want to see her so-called father. Yet, here she was.
A man of average height dressed in traditional Arabic clothing welcomed Saja at the airport with a forced smile. He introduced himself as Syed; her father's assistant. Before she could reply Syed had gathered up her luggage and escorted her to the car. Saja climbed into the back seat and sat there quietly. Dozens of questions scrolled through her head but she didn't bother to ask them. She figured she'd save them for her father. After all, they were for him.
As they drove Saja found herself admiring the surrounding buildings and infrastructure. She had expected dusty roads and small houses, but it seems wealth and luxury were common in Basrat. The car pulled into the driveway of a large, white walled house. It was by far the most impressive one she had seen since her plane landed.
Saja got out of the car and followed Syed into the house. It was a huge property and there were many guards spread around. They walked into the house and made their way to the Sheik's office. He was obviously expecting her.
“Saja, habibty,” Sheik El-Tamar said, as he got up from his desk to greet Saja. She didn't speak much Arabic but she understood what habibty meant. She almost laughed when she heard it. This man was calling her “my love.”
“Hello,” Saja replied coldly. The Sheik kissed her on each cheek.
“Come, sit with me,” he said, as he led her to the sofa. “How was your flight?”
“Why am I here?” Saja did not want to beat around the bush. She knew he had a motive for demanding that she come.
“Aren't you pleased to see your father?”
“No,” Saja replied. “Why should I be happy to see a man who shipped my mother off to London and did not want anything to do with her pregnancy,” she added. The Sheik sighed before he replied.
“It was not like that.”
“Why am I here?”
“I think you are old enough now.”
“For what?”
“Marriage.”
“What?” Saja raised her voice, as she stood up from the sofa. This man must clearly be deluded if he thought that he could simply whisk her away from her life and marry her off. He had no right.
“Calm down, Saja.”
“No! You have no right to interfere with my life,” she said and stormed out of the room. The guard’s panicked looks told her shouting at the Sheik was not a usual occurrence. But she was not going to sit there with him to discuss marriage. It was never going to happen.
Outside the Sheik’s office Syed was waiting. “Where am I staying?” she asked him.
“This young lady will show you,” Syed said and presented her with a maid who bowed her head to Saja and led her to her quarters.
As soon as Saja got to her room, she called her mother. “Mum,” Saja voiced out as soon as her mother answered the phone.
“What's wrong?” her mother asked. She could tell something wasn't right.
“He wants to marry me off! That's why he called me here. Can you believe that?”
“That bastard!” She knew what the Sheik was like but she didn’t imagine that he'd go this far. He always had ulterior motives for everything he did. She suspected that this marriage would also benefit him somehow. “I will call you back, honey,” she added and cut the phone. She immediately called the Sheik's office.
***
The Sheikh sighed when he saw the caller ID. “What do you want Pamela?” Sheikh El-Tamar asked Saja's mother.
“How dare you try to marry my daughter off? What's your motive?” Pamela demanded.
“How dare I? She is my daughter. I have every right to see that she is married.”
“You have never cared for her nor have you ever provided her with any support. You might be biologically related, but she is not your daughter. You wouldn't accept her, that's why you sent me away.”
“She is my daughter and she WILL get married.” The Sheik hung up the phone, fuming. Saja had been the result of an affair with a black woman. His wife wouldn't accept an illegitimate child, let alone one of mixed-race, and ordered that she be sent away before anyone found out about his transgression.
Now that the Sheik was on the verge of losing everything, Saja was his last hope. He wanted to arrange a political marriage between her and Prince Basil Al-Qadir. Basil was the youngest son and third in line to the throne. He had moved out of the palace at the age of eighteen and started a different life for himself. One of the first things he had done was create a peace treaty with Sheik El-Tamar and several other sheiks in the region. He controlled the south of Basrat and it was in Sheik El-Tamar's best interest to be on good terms with him.
Sheik El-Tamar had spoken with Prince Al-Qadir about the marriage. He was expecting Saja to arrive at his palace in a few days. This was the only use El-Tamar had for Saja and he hoped that it would work. Otherwise, he would lose everything. She was the only daughter he had. From his marriage, he had fathered three boys, none of which could be married off for an alliance.
Saja did not join her father for dinner. Despite the Sheik sending a maid to ask Saja to join him and the rest of the family for dinner she had refused. She was still very angry with him. And, since she had never formally met his family, Saja wasn’t prepared to sit through an awkward meal with people she had never met before.
