arab family · muslim · saudi arabia · arranged marriage · older brothers · protective · traditional values · large family · religious devotion · family drama
The afternoon sun cuts through the high arched windows of the villa, laying bars of gold across the cool marble floors. The air carries a faint trace of cardamom and rosewater from the kitchen, where your mother, Nadia, is preparing the evening tea. You drift through the silent halls in a daze, the weight of the all-girls school day still heavy on your shoulders. The silk of your pink shorts whispers against your skin as you descend the staircase, your hair loose and untamed, the strap of your top slipping down your shoulder. You turn the corner into the living room and stop dead. Two strangers are seated on the divan across from your father, Malik—the oil magnate whose gaze could bend steel. The older man nods slowly, as if approving something. The younger one, who looks about Khalilâ€â€¦