It's 7 AM, and I'm still awake. My baby cried inconsolably throughout the night. I didn't know what was wrong with her. I fed her, changed her diaper, and put her in her crib, but she wouldn't settle down. Then she had a prolonged crying fit; I tried everything to soothe her—rocking, singing lullabies, even offering a pacifier—but nothing worked. Finally, as a last resort, I put on a YouTube video of children's colors, and she miraculously fell asleep watching it. Even after she finally drifted off, I couldn't rest. I tossed and turned, my mind racing. The worst part was replaying my conversation with my mother-in-law and her incredibly hurtful words: "It's just the nature of rich men like them." The casual cruelty of her statement stunned me. I couldn't believe she had endured such blatant disrespect and mistreatment for over thirty years. Part of me felt a deep sorrow for her, a sense of empathy for the pain she'd silently carried. However, that sorrow was quickly overshad
Three months later : The sun was warm against my skin as I lounged on the soft sand, the sound of gentle waves lapping at the shore. Our little girl was napping in the shade, and for the first time in months, Rami and I were completely at ease—no work, no responsibilities, just us. I watched as Rami walked toward me, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I have a surprise for you," he said, his voice low and playful. "A surprise?" I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. He had been acting a little secretive all morning. "Close your eyes," he instructed, grinning. I laughed but obeyed, squeezing my eyes shut. I felt him place something small and cool in my palm. "Okay, open them." When I did, I found a small velvet box resting in my hand. My heart skipped—was this what I thought it was? But when I flipped it open, there was a polished key. I looked up at him, confused. "What’s this for?" His smile widened. "It’s the key to a treasure box." I blinked. "A… treasure box?" "Mmhmm.
Rami’s Diaries: July the third/ sunday Enough is enough.The rumors about me won’t stop. I’m so tired of explaining myself—to the public, to strangers online, and worst of all, to my own family. Every time I see my aunties, it’s the same question: "Rami, when will you settle down?" As if marriage is just some business deal I’ve been neglecting. And then there’s my cousin, who still looks at me with that hopeful glint in her eyes, no matter how many times I tell her, "You’re like a sister to me." It’s pointless. Being young and rich is supposed to be a blessing, right? But Not when the media turns your life into their personal cash cow. Every time I step out with a female friend—just a friend—the next day, there’s a headline painting me as some carefree playboy, flirting my way through the city. They love creating scandals. They love the drama. And worst of all, they love the version of me they’ve created—someone I don’t even recognize. I tried ignoring it, I really did. But how
Tuesday/ the fifth of julyI tossed the resume onto my desk with a frustrated sigh, the thin folder barely making a sound against the polished mahogany.Her name is Dema . She was just just another applicant in a stack of hundreds. But something about her file had caught my attention - or rather, the lack of something. "Top of her class at university," I muttered to myself, scanning the academic records again. "Perfect GPA. Award-winning graduation project on operational efficiency." My finger tapped against the next page. "And... absolutely no work experience. Not even an internship." I leaned back in my chair, the leather creaking under my weight. Outside my floor-to-ceiling windows, the city buzzed below, a living entity of ambition and chaos that I usually felt in sync with. Today, it just reminded me how out of touch this applicant was. My ever-present shadow and assistant, materialized at my elbow. "Problem with the new secretary candidates?" "This one," I said, flicking
Today, my new secretary impressed me. She organized my entire week’s schedule—flawlessly. Every meeting, every call, every deadline was precisely laid out. No mistakes, no overlaps. Finally, someone who actually pays attention to detail. I’ve noticed other improvements too. Her wardrobe, for one. When she first started, her clothes were… questionable. But now she wears proper formal attire. Neat, professional. And her skin—those acne scars have faded. Probably splurged on some decent skincare with her first paycheck. Smart move. She was so quiet at first. Barely spoke unless I asked her something, and even then, her answers were clipped. But lately, she’s been different. Asking questions. Offering suggestions. Not just blindly following orders. My assistant was right—hiring her is a good choice. After today’s meeting, she brought me my usual coffee—black, one sugar, just how I like it—then slipped back to her desk without a word. I scrolled through my phone, and there they were
Today is my wedding day. Not the kind I ever imagined, but the kind I needed. I’ve tried before—I tried to get in a real relationship, and I put so much effort but nothing ever lasted. Either they wanted too much , or the time I had was too little. The press twisted every failure into another scandal, another reason to paint me as the heartless billionaire who couldn’t commit. And the board? They’ve been breathing down my neck for years. "Stability, Rami. Investors need to see stability, and the rumors are hurting the company." Well, now they all will finally shut up. I called my lawyer first thing this morning. There was no room for error. "Draw up the agreement," I told him. "We will get married for only one year. Clean divorce. She'll get four million in the end, and I'll get full confidentiality." He didn’t ask questions—he knows better. By noon, the documents were signed, sealed, and sitting on my desk. A business transaction, nothing more. Then, I called her. My secreta
The moment I pushed open the door and stepped inside, my breath caught in my throat. There she was—Dema—standing by the window, the fading sunlight painting her in gold. The delicate embroidery on her dress shimmered, and the way her fingers lightly traced the edge of her dress, my chest tighten. She looked… breathtaking. Ethereal, even. Like something out of a dream I hadn’t dared to have. For a second, I just stood there, frozen. Words piled up in my mind—You’re stunning. You’re perfect. I don’t deserve this, deserve you. But my tongue felt heavy, my usual confidence slipping. This wasn’t just another negotiation, another deal. This was her. And the way she held herself, so still, so distant—something was wrong. I swallowed hard, forcing myself forward. Now wasn’t the time for poetry. The guests were outside, waiting. The contracts were signed. The alliance was set. “Dema,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “What are you doing? We don’t have time for second thoughts. Everyone’s
When we arrived at my parents' mansion, the grand entrance we made was everything I had expected—flashing cameras, exaggerated cheers, and the heavy weight of judgmental eyes following our every move. The party was already in full swing, the air thick with expensive perfume and roses. To my surprise, Dema handled it all flawlessly. She smiled at the right moments, greeted my relatives with just the right amount of polite warmth, and even managed to charm my notoriously hard-to-please uncle. I watched her from the corner of my eye, half-expecting her to falter, to show even a hint of discomfort—but she didn’t. Then, as if sensing my thoughts, she leaned in slightly, her voice low enough that only I could hear. "They're starting to doubt us," she murmured, her lips barely moving. "Your relatives has been staring at us for the past five minutes. We need to do something."I glanced over and sure enough, my relatives were watching us like hawks, their sharp eyes flickering between
I had planned to take Dema to the commercial event and even picked out a beautiful dress for her as a surprise. I imagined how happy she’d be when she sees it and how lovely she’d look that evening. But when I got home, I found her lying on her back on the couch, exhausted. “I’m too tired,” she said weakly. When I told her about the event, she shook her head. “I can’t go. I’m exhausted—I don’t feel good, and I don’t look good enough to attend.” I left Dema alone at home and went to the event by myself. The evening dragged on—my team handled everything perfectly, leaving me with little to do. That’s when I spotted her.Her name is Jasmine . She's One of our former managers. She’d quit years ago when she got pregnant, choosing to raise her son over climbing the corporate ladder. Now here she was, gliding through the crowd like she’d never left. She smiled when she saw me. “Rami, how are you? It's been a long time.”We fell into easy conversation, reminiscing about her old days at
Last night was one of the longest nights I’ve ever experienced. Dema had been throwing up on and off for hours, her discomfort keeping both of us awake well past midnight. Each time I heard her retching in the bathroom, my chest tightened with worry. I hovered near the door, offering water, a cold towel, anything to ease her nausea. At one point, I even suggested taking her to the emergency room, fearing she might be seriously ill, but she waved me off weakly. "It’s fine, really," she insisted, her voice hoarse from the strain."This is normal—just part of it." I didn’t understand how anything so exhausting could be normal but she assured me it was just her body adjusting. Still, I couldn’t shake the helplessness gnawing at me. Eventually, the vomiting subsided, but sleep remained out of reach for her. Restless and drained, she wandered out to the balcony, seeking the cool night air. I watched from the doorway as she settled into the wicker chair, her silhouette outlined by the p
When Dema told me she was pregnant, I didn’t know what came over me. My chest tightened, my thoughts raced, and for a moment, I couldn’t even form a response. We had talked about having kids many times before—long conversations that stretched late into the night, filled with hopes, fears, and unspoken tensions. Every time, I told her I wasn’t ready, that the timing wasn’t right, that we needed to wait. And every time, she would look at me with those deep, pleading eyes, her voice soft but unwavering as she explained why she wanted this so badly. She had been an orphan, raised in a system that never gave her the warmth of a real family. She told me how she used to watch other children with their parents, aching for something she never had—a home, stability, unconditional love. To her, having a child wasn’t just a desire; it was a need, a way to fill a void that had been hollowed out by years of loneliness. She feared that if we kept dismissing the idea, she might never get the chance
Love is such a strong word, if you ask me. It's a kind of driving force—something deep and complicated for some people, yet so simple and spontaneous for others. I used to believe that people who have more get more love: people who have more money than others, people who have more influence, more beauty. That's why I didn't believe in love, because I believed it was just another term used to justify capitalistic ideals, a cover for people’s lust and greed. And it's true—some people do use love to get what they want, or they just don't know the difference between love and ambition. My whole life, I thought that I deserved love because I had money, status, and looks. I had the whole package; I was at the top of the social pyramid. That's just how our world works—but again, this is ambition, not real love. Real love is loving someone even when they have nothing. Real love is loving someone for the way they treat you. You can truly love someone for a certain quality about them, and
Love is such a complicated matter. It is very mysterious to me, especially identifying love. Identifying your own emotions is the tricky part. Do you really love this person, or do you just like this person? Do you love them despite their flaws? Do you love them as a whole, or do you just love a specific quality about this person ? Would you still love this person if they lost everything? Would you still love them if they changed? These questions have been on my mind my whole life, and I’ve given up on finding answers. I thought I loved Bayan, yet I moved on with my life just fine after she disappeared. I thought I liked Rola, but when she broke our engagement and left, I didn’t feel anything—I didn’t even shed a single tear. But when I realized for the first time that I could lose Dema, it frightened my soul. For the first time, I felt like my entire world would crash. --- I’ve never felt anything like this before with anyone else. Yes, I admit I’ve been with many wo
There were nights when the weight of my father’s expectations pressed down on me until I couldn’t breathe. I’d sit in the dark, wondering if I was an embarrassment to him—if I’d ever be enough. But Dema… she always knew. She’d find me, her hands gentle on my shoulders, her voice steady. "You’re not failing," she’d say. "You’re building something he’ll never understand." And somehow, just her saying it made me believe it. She never let me face anything alone. Every gala, every meeting, every public appearance—she was there, flawless, poised, making me look stronger just by standing beside me. People noticed. They’d whisper about how lucky I was, and they were right. When my mother’s birthday came around, and I was drowning in indecision, Dema took over. She planned everything—the flowers my mother loved, the guests list, even the cake from that little bakery she used to take me to as a child. My mother hugged me that night and said, "it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had."
I stood there, staring at the half-finished rose garden, dirt smeared across my hands, sweat dripping down my forehead. I had never done anything like this before—not with my own hands, at least. My whole life, if I wanted something done, I paid someone to do it. But this… this had to be done by me. Dema had made me that sweater—knitted it herself, stitch by stitch. I still remember the way she smiled when she gave it to me, how soft it felt, how it carried the weight of her effort. I wanted to give her something just as meaningful, something that showed her I cared enough to try. But what could I do? I didn’t know how to knit, or paint, or build. I had no skills like that. Then, as I passed by the flower shop downtown, it hit me Dema loves flowers.I bought every rose they had. Red, pink, white—enough to fill the entire side garden of the mansion. When I got home, I called the gardener over. "I need everything ready—soil, tools, space. I'm doing this myself," I told him. He r
Dema wasn’t just my wife—she was my first real friend, the first person who truly saw me.Before her, no one had ever asked about the things that brought me joy—not out of obligation or strategy, but simple curiosity. She was the one who listened when I rambled about random historical facts, who remembered the names of my childhood pets, who laughed at my terrible jokes not because she had to, but because she genuinely found them funny. With her, I didn’t have to perform or posture. For the first time, I felt like I could just exist and that would be enough. She taught me things I never realized I was missing—small, sacred acts of love I’d never witnessed growing up. She was the first person to cook my favorite meal just because she noticed I’d had a long day. The first to show me how to hold someone’s gaze until the world fades away, how to listen not just to words but to the spaces between them. She showed me how to celebrate the details—the way someone’s nose scrunches when they
My whole life, I’ve known that people liked me—not for who I was, but for where I came from. Growing up, I attended an elite international school, the kind reserved for the children of diplomats, CEOs, and old-money heirs. It was a world of polished hallways and whispered connections, where last names carried more weight than personalities. My parents never let me forget my privilege. "You deserve only the best," they would say, as if excellence were an inheritance rather than something earned. Their words were laced with unspoken rules Only associate with those who match your status. Never lower yourself. Remember who you are.But the irony was suffocating. Even among the privileged, I was treated differently—like some kind of crown prince in a kingdom of lesser nobles. At first, I thought it was because of my family’s wealth, or maybe my father’s influence in certain circles. But the truth was far more transactional. The other children didn’t befriend me; they were assigned to me. T