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 difficult as the beginning.

Her father’s rejection of Khaled had been the hardest thing she had ever gone through.

After more than two years of secretly loving each other and sharing a deep relationship, Khaled had finally decided that their relationship should become official.

He wanted to ask for her hand.

No one could imagine the amount of happiness that had overwhelmed her at that moment.

She finally understood the true meaning of the expression floating with happiness.

That night, she felt as though she could sit on the rooftop because the room was simply too small for her wings.

But it seemed as though everything was determined to go against her.

Her happiness did not last long.

Her father came and erased every trace of joy from her heart when he firmly rejected Khaled’s proposal.

He told her that Khaled was not suitable for her, that he was a young man with no future, and that she would never be happy with him.

Her father’s rejection struck her like lightning.

At that moment, she felt as though the entire world had stopped.

She cried.

She cried endlessly.

She refused to eat for several days and remained locked inside her room, leaving only to use the bathroom.

She became terribly ill from the lack of food and sleep.

She spent entire nights crying and cursing her terrible luck.

She didn’t even realize what was happening when her body finally gave out and she collapsed.

When she woke up, she found herself in a hospital.

Her mother was beside her, crying hysterically in fear for her.

Her father stood nearby, utterly defeated, his heart broken over his daughter.

She was his only child—the light that had illuminated his life after fifteen years of darkness.

Ghalia barely understood what was happening around her.

Everything was blurred.

She could only hear a few faint words.

As she gradually regained consciousness, she heard her mother speaking to her father in a tearful voice, blaming him for everything.

“You’re the reason, Haj. You’re the reason! The girl nearly died because of you! Why?! Why did you reject him and break her heart when you know she loves him?! Why, Helmy?! Are you happy with what you’ve done to herself? I can’t lose my daughter, Helmy!”

She also heard her father answer in an extremely sorrowful voice, completely surrendering.

“Fine. I’ve agreed to him. Let him come again on Friday to propose, but this time, he has to bring his family with him.”

He said those words before leaving the room entirely, as though his departure was his way of showing how strongly he disapproved of what he had just agreed to.

Suddenly, the colors of life returned to her eyes.

Her father had agreed.

And within less than half an hour, she felt completely recovered, as though nothing had ever happened.

She left the hospital overflowing with happiness.

She immediately told Khaled that her father had agreed.

He came again to ask for her hand in marriage, but this time he brought his mother and his uncle with him.

His father had passed away, may he rest in peace.