Chapter Ten

NOORIA

The car pulls up to the familiar iron gates of my family home, and my stomach twists into a knot so tight I can barely breathe. The driver — one of Valentino’s silent shadows — doesn’t say a word as I step out. He just nods once and waits, engine idling, like he knows I won’t be long.

I walk up the marble steps on shaky legs. The front door is already cracked open, light spilling onto the porch like a warning. I push it wider and step inside.

The slap comes before I can even close the door behind me.

My father’s hand cracks across my cheek so hard my head snaps sideways. Pain explodes across my face, sharp and hot, joining the bruises Valentino left on my neck and the soreness still lingering between my thighs from last night.

“You ungrateful little whore!” Baba roars, chest heaving. “You married that criminal? That murderer? After everything we taught you? After everything we sacrificed for this family’s honor?”

I stumble back, hand flying to my stinging cheek. My mother rushes forward from the living room, eyes wide with panic.

“Ahmed, stop! She’s our daughter…”

“She stopped being our daughter the moment she spread her legs for Valentino Delucca!” he shouts, ignoring her completely. His face is twisted with rage, veins bulging in his neck. “The whole city is laughing at us! Our mosque group is exploding with messages. Our business partners are pulling out. And you … you chose him over the sultan’s son? Over the future I arranged to save us?”

Great! Welcome to another day in my life as Ahmed Al-Fariz’s daughter. These beatings didn't seem strange to me anymore. I grew up bearing evidence of my father's anger all over my body.

One of the reasons I always wore ankle length and long sleeved dresses was to hide the marks and bruises on my skin that were as a reason of my father's abuse.

I taste blood where my lip split against my teeth. The pain only fuels the fire that’s been building since the slap in this exact foyer yesterday.

I'm done being his fucking punching bag.

“You should be thanking me,” I snap, voice cracking but loud enough to cut through his shouting.

The room goes dead silent.

My father stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. My mother freezes mid-step. Even Faiza, hovering in the doorway with wide eyes, looks shocked.

I take a shaky breath and keep going. “You should be on your knees thanking Allah that I married Valentino. Because if I hadn’t, he would have killed you, Baba. He would have put a bullet in your head right here on this rug while you were still bleeding from the shoulder. He told me so himself. I saved this family. I saved all of us by becoming his wife. I put my fucking life on the line for you when all you do hit and abuse me, the slightest chance you get. Everyone knows Valentino is a psycho. What if he kills me or hurts me? Do you think I wanted this?”

I'm yelling now. I don't want to, but fuck I can't help it. I'm so fucking enraged right now I can't even breathe properly.

Faiza makes a small, choked sound.

My mother’s hand flies to her mouth. “Nooria… what are you saying?”

I turn on Faiza, the words spilling out before I can stop them. “And you…you drugged me. You sent me to his room on purpose. You knew exactly what would happen. You used me to escape the marriage you were too scared to refuse yourself.”

Faiza’s eyes fill with tears instantly. “I… I couldn’t marry him, Nooria. You don’t understand. He’s a monster. Cold, and cruel. I was terrified…”

“You were terrified?” I laugh, but it sounds broken. “So you drugged your own sister and threw her to him instead? You let the press catch us naked in bed. You let the whole world see me like that. And now you’re crying?”

My father’s head whips toward Faiza. “You did what?”

Faiza shrinks back. “Baba, I…I was desperate. I begged you to cancel the engagement but you wouldn’t listen. I thought if he took someone else… if the scandal happened… he’d reject the whole arrangement. I never meant for it to go this far. I swear I…”

“You tricked your sister into his bed?” my father bellows, turning on her now. “You drugged her? You destroyed her reputation on purpose? After everything we’ve done for you?”

The yelling escalates instantly — Baba roaring at Faiza, my mother trying to pull him back, Faiza sobbing and defending herself in a high, panicked voice. The three of them descend into a storm of accusations and tears right there in the foyer.

I stand in the middle of it for three long seconds, watching the family I sacrificed everything for tear itself apart.

Then I turn and walk out.

No one tries to stop me. I'm not even sure they notice me leaving amidst their drama.

The driver is still waiting. I slide into the back seat without a word. The mansion feels like the only safe place left, even though it’s a cage.

At least he hasn't hurt me. Yet.

I sneak in through the side entrance, heart hammering the whole way up the stairs. The house is quiet. Valentino must still be in his office. I just need to slip into bed, pretend I never left, pretend none of tonight happened.

I reach the master bedroom door, push it open, and step inside. I turn on the lights, breathing a sigh of relief as the soft glow fills the room.

“Where were you?”