The Start Of A War
Aracha advanced through the shadows of the palace. She knew the place perfectly, as it was one of her favorite places as a child. She knew both palaces like the back of her hand, dreaming of growing up and marrying the Sheikh. Now, because of that woman, she couldn’t do it.
She arrived at the door of Aisha’s room, and since it was unlocked, she could enter. She heard noise coming from the bathroom; Aisha was bathing at that moment.
She sat in front of the vanity where the Sheikha kept her makeup and perfumes, and she opened one of them, inhaling its scent.
“Delicious. All of this will be mine once I’m done with you. You came here to take my place, but I’ll fix that right now.”
The deranged woman smiled strangely as she gazed at the tip of the knife, touching it with the tip of her finger, and a little blood flowed. She brought her finger to her mouth and licked it.
Then she took some makeup and began to apply it to her face. When Aisha came out of the bathroom, she was met with that eerie scene, surprised and feeling a shiver running down her spine.
“What are you doing here, Aracha? Get out of my room immediately,” Aisha said. Aracha turned, finally revealing her face to the Sheikha, and Aisha noticed how disturbed she seemed. It was clear that something was not right with that woman.
“Get out? Hahaha, I don’t think so. All of this belongs to me.”
She approached the Sheikha, hiding the knife among her clothes. Aisha could sense that something was terribly wrong with her, and the way she looked at her was anything but normal.
“Let’s see, first, I’ll cut off all that beautiful hair, and then I’ll make some beautiful designs on that pretty face,” she said, pulling out the knife. Aisha was petrified as she placed it against her face. “Ahmed will never look at you again. He will finally realize that I am much more beautiful than you.”
Aracha slid the knife towards Aisha’s belly, and she froze in terror. “This child will not be born; I’ll take it out right now and throw it in the mud where it belongs.”
“Aracha, you have to calm down. Think carefully about what you’re going to do. Ahmed doesn’t love you. If you harm me, especially if you harm his child, he will hate you,” Aisha pleaded desperately.
“His child? That bastard is not his child. I will bear his children, many of them.”
Aracha grabbed Aisha by her hair and started pulling; the Sheikha tried to defend herself, and they struggled. Aisha felt her arm burning, and blood started to flow when she moved it to try to defend herself. Both her clothes and Aracha’s got stained.
“Look at what you’ve done, you idiot! You’ve made me dirty,” Aracha exclaimed furiously.
She put the knife to Aisha’s face, and feeling the cold blade, the Sheikha remained still.
“Now get ready, because I’m going to mark your perfect face.”
Ahmed entered the room at that moment, horrified by what he saw. Seeing Aisha’s clothes stained with blood, he feared the worst.
“Let her go, Aracha,” he said, trying to remain calm.
“No, now she’s going to die. You belong to me,” Aracha replied, clearly having lost her sanity.
“You’re right, I belong to you. Let her go so we can be together.”
“No, she must die. Only then will we be happy, and that bastard she carries in her womb-I’ll take it out so it won’t grow anymore.”
Ahmed felt a surge of anger at her words about his child. “Aracha, come to me. I want to embrace you.”
“If I go, this woman will escape, and I won’t allow that,” she said with a pout.
“I assure you I won’t let her go. Come here, I want to embrace you. Then I’ll take care of her myself.”
“Do you promise?” she asked, making a pouty face.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.
“Promise.”
Aracha moved away from Aisha and approached Ahmed, still holding the knife. She lifted her hand and caressed his lips with her fingers, then kissed him. Ahmed felt repulsion; he hoped that by gaining her trust, he could take the knife away from her.
Aisha closed her eyes; she couldn’t bear to watch Ahmed kissing that deranged woman. Suddenly, she heard a scream.
Ahmed had managed to take the knife from her, and Aracha screamed furiously. She lunged at him, trying to take the knife back, but ended up hurting her hands, which immediately started to bleed.
“Aracha, let go of the knife. You’re hurting yourself,” Ahmed pleaded.
“Give me the damn knife! I’ll kill both of you. You don’t deserve to be happy,” she exclaimed, completely out of control.
In their struggle, the knife accidentally plunged into her own abdomen. Aracha’s eyes widened in agony; she felt herself falling and clung to Ahmed for support.
“Why are you doing this to me? I loved you my whole life. My father won’t forgive you; he will destroy you,” she said, her breath becoming labored.
“Aisha, find Zafir. Ask him to call an ambulance, hurry!” Ahmed ordered.
The Sheikha rushed to do as he said while he applied pressure to Aracha’s wound with a cloth, trying to stop the bleeding. Aracha was breathing heavily, her eyes still fixed on Ahmed. She reached out, caressing his face.
“I love you,” she said, then gasped for breath and passed away. Her gaze remained empty, her large eyes open, fixated on Ahmed.
“Aracha, no, no, wake up, wake up,” Ahmed pleaded desperately.
The doctors entered the room just then, and upon examining Aracha, they informed Ahmed that she had passed away.
Zafir observed the scene; he knew that this was the beginning of a war. The Amin family would never forgive what had happened, no matter the circumstances.
The doctors checked on Aisha, and they had to take her to the hospital to stitch up her wound.
Ahmed held her in his arms throughout, thanking Allah that he arrived in time to save her life.
“I’m glad you’re okay, my love, but at the same time, I can’t shake this feeling of guilt. Aracha loved me her whole life, but I just couldn’t love her back. I tried at some point before Lyna, but you can’t force feelings in your heart,” Ahmed expressed his conflicted emotions.
“It wasn’t your fault. She created a life in her mind that didn’t belong to her,” Aisha reassured him.
“Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
“I’m fine; I feel okay. The doctor said the wound isn’t deep; I bled a lot due to the tension of the moment and because the knife grazed a vein.”
“If I had been five minutes late, I can’t imagine what that woman would have done to you.”
“Shh, look at me, I’m fine. Don’t torment yourself with that.”
Zafir had the difficult task of informing Aracha’s father about what had happened. The man lost his temper, and if it hadn’t been for Zafir’s accompanying men, he would have killed him right there.
“Tell your boss that today the war begins. He took away the most precious thing I had-my daughter. Cursed be the Assads forever,” he yelled while feeling like he couldn’t bear the news; his wife would die when he told her.
Arkham arrived in a fit of rage and tried to hit Ahmed, who did nothing to defend himself. Zafir, who returned at that moment, didn’t allow it.
“Years ago, you took Lyna away from me, and now you killed my wife. Tell me, do you enjoy hurting me?” Arkham raged.
“Brother, it’s not like you say,” Ahmed replied.
“Brother? Don’t call me brother, you damn bastard! You’ve taken everything from me in life. From today, consider me your worst enemy. I’ll join the Amin family, and I won’t rest until I see you ruined.”
He stormed off, and Ahmed collapsed into a chair, feeling the weight of everything that had happened.
Aisha came in as soon as Arkham left, sitting beside Ahmed and hugging him silently.
“I have to get you out of Dubai without them noticing. They know you’re the most important thing to me, and they’ll try to hurt you; I’m sure of it,” Ahmed said.
“Ahmed, breathe, breathe,” Aisha said, noticing that he was holding his breath.
“I won’t go anywhere; I’ll stay by your side. There’s no discussion about that.”
“I spoke with Campbell and Ibrahim. They, too, and my sisters are in danger. I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“Zafir said he’s bringing in an elite Russian commando. He instructed Campbell on what they should do to protect themselves. Everything will be fine, my love.”
Ahmed hugged her while caressing her belly, realizing the difficult times that awaited his child. He needed to resolve everything before the baby’s birth; he wouldn’t allow his child to be born into a nightmare.
Meanwhile, Carlo, who had already placed spies inside the palace, was informed of everything. He smiled, convinced that aligning with the Amin family would give him an advantage over the Sheikh, making him pay dearly for what he did.
He was also devising a plan to eliminate Vinizzio; his daughter would be very useful to achieve his goal.
Caroline was oblivious to everything and was happy with her father. She felt he genuinely cared for her. Vinizzio, having spent most of his time with her, had neglected his enemy. This was dangerous; Carlo was treacherous, and Vinizzio couldn’t trust that he hadn’t taken any action, especially now that he was a man filled with pain, wanting to destroy everything in his path.