Chapter 2 The Night That Changed Everyting

• Rania opened her eyes slowly. Soft light filtered through the heavy curtains, illuminating a spacious room she had never visited before. Her body felt stiff and sore, as though a great weight had pressed down on her all night. She realized she lay naked upon a soft bed, with only half her body covered by a silk blanket. In that instant, faint images from the night before rushed back into her mind. A warm embrace, searing kisses, touches that had taken her innocence. It all felt painfully real, yet the man’s face remained blurred and indistinct. Rania sat up sharply, pulling the blanket tight around her trembling body. She was alone. The man had gone, leaving no trace behind.
• Rania put on the change of clothing laid neatly beside the bed, fine fabric that felt unfamiliar against her skin. She scanned the room, finding no note, no name left upon the table or tucked beneath the pillows. Silence hung thick and heavy in the air, as though no one had ever spoken a word there. A large mirror reflected her own image. Faint red marks stained the skin of her neck and shoulders, and her eyes held a tangled mix of lingering wonder and fear. She did not know who had come to her aid, then claimed her completely in one dark, passionate night. Only the memory of a pair of dark eyes, cold as ice yet burning deep into her soul, remained. Rania understood with sudden clarity. She had given the most precious part of herself to a man whose very name she did not know.
• Rania walked slowly out of the room, her legs still weak beneath her. The hotel’s grand hallways felt alien to her, polished marble reflecting back an image of someone fragile and utterly lost. In the lobby, a large screen displaying the morning news caught her eye. There, clear as day, stood Arkan and Isabel smiling side by side. News of their lavish engagement was still the talk of the entire city. But in the background of that very photo stood another man, tall and calm, with a presence that outshone everyone around him. As Rania stared intently at his face, her breath caught in her throat. That strong jawline, those sharp, cold eyes. It was the face of the man who had been with her the night before. This man was Aleksander William. Isabel’s father. The father of the woman who had just become engaged to the man who had once been hers.
• Rania stood frozen in the lobby, as though her entire world had crumbled right where she stood. A sleek black luxury car pulled up before her, shielding her from the eyes of passersby. The window rolled down slowly, revealing the face etched so clearly in her memory. The very face she had seen only moments before on the news. Aleksander looked at her calmly, showing not the slightest hint of surprise or embarrassment, as though what had happened between them was nothing out of the ordinary. He gestured for her to get inside. With legs that felt weak and a mind reeling in chaos, Rania obeyed and climbed into the car. Silence hung heavy between them all the way, yet slowly the truth began to settle. This man was powerful, distant, and impossible to ever truly call her own. Especially for someone like her, who now had nothing at all.
• Rania found the courage to speak, her voice trembling against the sobs fighting to break free.
• “You are Isabel’s father. Her mother is never mentioned in the news, so you must be her father. And Isabel just got engaged to Arkan.”
• Aleksander did not turn to look at her. His gaze remained fixed straight ahead upon the quiet streets. His answer was calm, absolute, as though stating a fact everyone already knew.
• “That is correct.”
• Rania swallowed hard, a bitter taste flooding her mouth. Her world had shattered a second time in less than twenty-four hours. She had given everything to the father of the woman who had stolen her fiancé. Yet even worse, she realized something far more terrifying than any feeling of guilt. Aleksander showed no regret. No hesitation, no shame. Quite the opposite. There was something in his gaze that made her heart race unevenly. That night had not been merely a moment of weakness for him. It had been planned, or at the very least, something he had wanted long before it ever happened.
• The car stopped before the gate of Rania’s modest home. Aleksander did not step out. He simply gestured for her to go inside. Rania stepped out, her steps still heavy, her mind racing too fast to think clearly. She glanced back just before opening the gate. The luxury car pulled slowly away and vanished around the bend, as though it had never been there at all. Moments after the car disappeared from sight, another vehicle pulled up directly before her gate. Arkan had arrived. He stood there breathing hard, yet he was too late. He had not seen who had brought her home.
• Arkan stormed forward, his face a mix of anxiety and sharp demand. He walked with heavy, hurried steps, as though carrying a storm of long-suppressed anger. He blocked her path the moment she opened her front door, stopping her from stepping further inside. His eyes swept over her sharply, from head to toe, filled with unmistakable suspicion.
• “Where were you all night?” he snapped, his voice rising without care for who might hear. “You vanished from the party without a single word. Do you have any idea how hard I looked for you?”
• Rania looked straight back at him, and the pain that had never truly healed flared fresh and stinging.
• “What does it matter to you? You chose her,” Rania replied softly but firmly. “Why bother coming to find me at all?”
• Arkan let out a sharp, mocking laugh, his fingers gripping the doorframe until his knuckles turned white.
• “I already asked your friend Lia where you’d gone. She had no idea. You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You ran away so you wouldn’t have to see me with Isabel. Well then. Where did you go?”
• Rania bowed her head, trying to pull the collar of her clothing higher to cover the faint red marks still visible upon her neck. But that sudden movement only drew Arkan’s attention straight to her. His gaze fell exactly upon the pale skin of her neck, taking in the marks that no amount of fabric could truly hide. His eyes went wide, his breath caught, and then twisted into a cold, furious laugh. He understood fully what had happened. The marks were clear, bright, and impossible to explain away.
• Arkan stepped closer, his face burning with uncontainable rage. He pointed a shaking finger toward her neck, as though the marks were some shameful stain.
• “So this is how it is,” he hissed, his voice dripping with contempt. “You disappear last night and give yourself to whoever happened to be there? You are nothing but cheap and easy. You played the innocent woman with me, yet you give your virtue away so casually, just for a moment of comfort? You are worth less than nothing.”
• Every word cut deeper than a blade. Arkan seemed to forget that he was the one who had cast her aside first. He was the one who had stood beside another woman and broken her heart without mercy. Insult after insult rained down upon her, until her patience finally snapped. Rania lifted her head, eyes glistening with unshed tears yet blazing with resolve. Without stopping to think, she raised her hand and struck him hard across the cheek. The sharp sound echoed through the quiet yard, and Arkan fell silent, stunned.
• Rania met his gaze with fire in her eyes, tears finally spilling down her cold cheeks.
• “Leave me be, Arkan. You never truly knew me at all. And the man you speak of with such disdain...” Rania paused, swallowing hard before continuing, her voice shaking yet unyielding. “...is worth infinitely more than you, you coward.”
• Arkan rubbed his stinging cheek, his gaze turning dark with deep, burning hatred. He opened his mouth to hurl something far more cruel, but the phone in his pocket rang out sharply, cutting through the silence. Arkan answered, his hand still trembling with anger. The moment he heard the voice on the other end, his face drained of all color. He looked at Rania one last time, his eyes suddenly wide with unmistakable fear. Then he turned and hurried away without saying another word.
• Rania stood alone in her doorway, her heart racing wildly. She watched Arkan’s hurried retreat, then slowly lowered her gaze toward the front yard. There, standing just beyond the gate which had not yet been fully closed, stood someone she had never expected to see. Someone who had stood there in silence all this time, listening to every word, watching her with a gaze that stole the breath right out of her chest. A man whose face she had not yet fully come to know, yet whose presence she recognized instantly. The very same presence that had held her close through the night.