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last update تاريخ النشر: 2026-09-16 00:27:41

Ghalia walked toward her father’s shop at a leisurely pace, carrying a food container in her hands.

The voices of street vendors rose all around her, mingling with the laughter and shouts of children running around and playing happily.

She was accustomed to the constant noise of the streets around her. That was simply how the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood was—never quiet, never still.

As she approached her father’s shop, owned by Haj Helmy, the largest fabric merchant in the entire Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood, she suddenly screamed in alarm when something hard struck her head.

She immediately put a hand against her forehead, rubbing the sore spot as she glared around in anger, searching for whoever had thrown the ball at her.

She grabbed the ball and decided to teach its owner a lesson—and keep the ball as punishment.

Her eyes narrowed angrily when she saw Ali, the eleven-year-old son of Haj Moneim, the fruit merchant, approaching her.

“We’re sorry, Miss Ghalia! We didn’t mean to hit you!”

She walked toward him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

“You little brat! Every time I go out into the street, I have to get hit by that stupid ball of yours! Should I cut it up right now so you can finally leave me alone? And stop playing in the street all day like a bunch of beggars! Have some mercy on yourselves!”

Ali hurried to apologize, terrified that she might actually cut up his ball.

“I swear it’s the last time, Miss Ghalia! Next time we’ll play in the field. Please, don’t cut it! Me and the boys all chipped in to buy it. We don’t have another one to play with!”

His pleading words softened her.

She sighed helplessly and held the ball out to him.

“Here, you broke my heart. I almost cried. But stop calling me ‘Miss Ghalia,’ or I really will cut it up!”

He took the ball and ran away happily.

Before leaving, however, he stuck out his tongue at her mischievously.

“Okay! I’ll call you Auntie Ghalia… or Grandma! Bye, Grandma!”

She stomped her foot in frustration as she watched him run away.

“Fine, Ali! Just wait until I catch you! I’ll make you pay for every little thing! He called me Auntie… or Grandma! The nerve of that brat!”

She then headed into her father’s shop, which was only a short distance away.

As soon as she entered, a playful smile appeared on her face.

She approached her father, who was sitting behind his desk.

The moment he saw her, he teased her,

“I knew it! As soon as I heard all that noise outside, I knew Ghalia had arrived. You always bring a whole trail of trouble behind you. Not once do you come here without getting into an argument with one of the neighborhood kids. Are you ever going to grow up?”

She sat down in the chair opposite his desk, pretending to be innocent.

“Me, Dad? I cause trouble? I’m completely innocent! Ali, Moneim’s son, is the one who throws his stupid ball at me every time he sees me walking down the street. What am I supposed to do about that?”

Her father burst out laughing at her childish complaint.

Anyone who saw her whining to her father about the boy who had annoyed her would never believe she was twenty years old. She sounded more like a little girl who hadn’t even turned ten.

“All right, Miss Innocent. Now tell me, what brings you here? It’s not exactly like you to come all the way to the shop.”

She smiled lovingly at him, pulling out the container she had brought and placing it on his desk.

“I heard from Mom that you left in a hurry this morning without even having breakfast. So I thought I’d bring breakfast myself and eat with my favorite dad… since I haven’t had breakfast either.”

Haj Helmy narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

He didn’t believe his daughter for a second.

She must want something.

It was like feeding a chicken before slaughtering it.

“I don’t know why, but I smell a lie. It’s not like you to bring me food all the way here. I’ve skipped breakfast plenty of times. You definitely want something today. Come on, tell me what it is.”

She laughed brightly.

“You always see right through me, Dad. Fine, no more beating around the bush…”

“Exactly. I like it when you get straight to the point. What do you want?”

“I want to buy a little cage with a bird. You know how much I love birds. I told you about the cage and the bird before, but you ignored me…”

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  • He Was an Orphan, Then He Became My Lover   12

    With long strides that were almost a run, Samar approached her uncle Haj Helmy’s fabric shop, where her brother Waleed worked as an accountant. As soon as she reached the shop, she found numerous people coming and going. The place was crowded. The store was one of the largest and most important fabric shops in all of Sayyida Zeinab. She walked directly toward the front of the shop. There she spotted her blue car parked a few meters away. That meant Waleed was still inside and hadn’t gone anywhere with her car. Her phone began ringing. It rang several times, but she couldn’t hear it because of the noise surrounding her. She finally noticed it and started rummaging through her handbag to find it. It kept ringing without stopping. It was probably her friend Lamia, calling to hurry her up. A loud scream escaped Samar the moment she collided with something solid she hadn’t seen because she was busy searching for her phone and because of the crowd around her. Before she knew i

  • He Was an Orphan, Then He Became My Lover   11

    : Why had the groom abandoned his bride on their wedding night? Ghalia remembered how she had remained confined to the house for no less than seven months. She saw no one, and no one saw her. She was terrified of what people would say about her. They would certainly say cruel things. Things that would wound her already broken heart. So she refused to leave the house and chose to remain behind its walls. But little by little, she decided to free herself from the prison she had willingly locked herself inside. She went out as though nothing had happened. She decided she would no longer care about the gossip surrounding her. She reassured herself that it was only a phase. A phase that would pass. Eventually, everyone would forget once they found another juicy piece of gossip to chew on. She pretended that everything was normal again. She pretended that life had returned to the way it had been. And now she lived, laughed, and joked in front of everyone. But no one saw wha

  • He Was an Orphan, Then He Became My Lover   10

    Her heart danced with happiness that day.Yet no matter how much time passed, she would never forget the reproachful look her father had given her.It was as though his eyes were saying,You have disappointed me.He had asked her what she thought about the marriage, even though he already knew her answer.Perhaps a tiny part of him had still hoped she would refuse.“What do you think, Ghalia?”Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she answered in a soft, shy voice,“I agree…”Her mother immediately began ululating with joy.The engagement was completed, and everything went smoothly.And here she was now, standing in the white dress she had dreamed of for so long.She finally returned from her memories, a huge smile decorating her face.But the voice of her cousin Samar broke through the happiness surrounding her.“Ghalia, where’s Khaled? It’s nine-thirty already, and all the guests are waiting at the hall. Khaled’s phone is switched off, and no one knows where he is!”For a moment, Ghal

  • He Was an Orphan, Then He Became My Lover   9

    The young beautician placed a sparkling white tiara on Ghalia’s head after finally finishing her hijab, which framed her round, fair face and made her look like a beautiful fairy with her soft, serene features. Ghalia stood after the beautician had finished applying the final touches to her makeup. She stared at her reflection in the large mirror before her, overwhelmed with happiness. And why wouldn’t she be? In just a few short hours, she would finally become his wife. Her name would be tied to his. She would be Khaled’s wife in front of everyone. Khaled—the man she had always dreamed would be the knight of her dreams. She had endured so much to reach this moment, standing in her white dress and waiting for her dream man, the owner of her heart. The journey had been incredibly difficult. It had begun with her father’s refusal to let her marry Khaled and ended with the accident Khaled had suffered several months before the wedding. The ending had not been nearly as diffic

  • He Was an Orphan, Then He Became My Lover   8

    Whenever Youssef found an opportunity to belittle his son, he took it without the slightest guilt, never even considering that Omar was his only son. “You’re kidding yourself, Salwa,” Nadia said bitterly. “Your brother has been gone for a week. I’m certain your father said something that hurt him. I know my son. Omar is sensitive, and every time he fought with Youssef, he wanted to leave the house. I was always the one who stopped him, begged him not to go, and he listened to me because he didn’t want to hurt me.” She continued, “Why didn’t you look for him? Fine, we all know your father is heartless, but you didn’t even look for your own brother, Salwa! At the very least, you could have called me and told me.” Salwa answered sadly, guilt weighing heavily on her. “I’m sorry, Mom. I swear I was worried about you. And I didn’t just sit around doing nothing. Hassam and I searched everywhere. We went to every relative we thought he might have gone to and contacted every friend we kn

  • He Was an Orphan, Then He Became My Lover   7

    ❈-❈-❈Sereen sat in the large living room, waiting for her older sister, Salwa, to arrive.She had called her more than half an hour ago, telling her that their mother had found out that Omar had left home and asking her to come immediately.She suddenly jumped to her feet when the sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the house.She immediately knew it had to be her sister.The maid was about to go open the door, but Sereen stopped her.“Wait, Wafaa. I’ll open it. Go finish your work.”She went to open the door herself.Salwa stepped inside, holding her young daughter, Layan.The moment she entered, she asked anxiously,“How’s Mom, Sereen?”Sereen answered sadly and quietly,“She hasn’t stopped crying since she came back. After she argued with Dad, she locked herself in Omar’s room. I’m really worried about her.”Salwa’s expression filled with sadness and concern as she prepared to go upstairs.“She argued with Dad too?! All right, watch Layan for me while I go check on her. I just

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