Mariam laid down on her bed staring up at the ceiling and not paying any attention to the chattering of Saadiya and Parvina, they had been talking non stop of Omar, especially Parvina who had made her intentions crystal clear about him; if the marriage didn't work out between Mariam and him, she would convince her mother to talk to her father about the matter. She was after all the daughter of the King's cousin so she stood with just as much chance of getting him as Mariam.
"Mariam, what did you to talk about when he took you away?"
"Did you really tell him you were not interested in the marriage?" Parvina chipped in impatiently.
But Mariam wasn't listening, she was thinking of Omar, the man was proud and she would love nothing more than to hurt his pride dangerously. She thought of what he had said earlier and her anger rose.
*
*
"Take it off, I want to see what you look like."
She had given him a death stare to warn him of the implications of what he requested, she was not supposed to expose her face in the presence of any man except her father and husband, but the man was adamant and he tapped his foot impatiently, looking straight into her bewildered eyes.
"I am the daughter of the King, I can't show my face to just anyone." She tipped her head higher in pride. He would not be having his way with her just yet.
He chuckled. "Just anyone? I am the man set to marry you, the first and might I add, the only son of the sheik and probably or most definitely the man you would dream of tonight, should I go on... princess?"
He had pronounced "princess" in a mocking tone, it made her boil, how dare he! She would never give him the honor of grazing upon her extraordinarily beautiful face, not until he apologized and flung his prideful attitude out the window. She turned away.
"If you're not so beautiful, it's nothing to be shy of, except if you're as ugly..."
Mariam spun towards him, ripping off the cloth that covered the lower part of her face, she charged at him.
"There! Look! And be satisfied because you'll never be this privileged ever again!"
The girl had an attitude to match her beauty, Omar was impressed, her large eyes were perfectly curved under her long lashes, fitting into her small oval face, her lips which was pouted in annoyance was just full enough and coloured in a dangerous red. He smiled, the girl amused him, she was beautiful but he was not just about to admit it. Megan was still more appealing.
"Hmmm...not bad." With that he walked out, leaving her annoyed and alone in the room. Her face was flushed red in anger and embarrassment. Not bad? Not bad?! She fixed her abaaya and remained in the room, too angry to step out, they wouldn't be requesting for her presence anymore, whatever needed to be discussed would be amongst the men.
*
*
"Mariam!" Parvina yelled, bringing her attention back to room, "where is your mind?"
"Huh? What?"
"See, I told you she'd fall for him, just look at how she was daydreaming of him." Saadiya cooed. Mariam turned red in the face.
"I was not!"
"Well... Did you tell him your opinion about the marriage?" Parvina jumped on the bed to sit beside her.
"That man is as proud as a peacock! Prouder! Ugh!" She sighed, "he likes someone else but he said he'll have to marry me for her sake."
"What?? No...!" Parvina was pained. "Who does he like? Is she also a princess?"
"I didn't ask, I didn't bother to care about that. I don't want to know!" She said, burying her face into a pillow, right now she was still pretty upset.
Megan paced the room, she was bored already and really just wanted to leave. Was she going to be locked in here till after Omar's marriage to the princess? Seven days now? Wass Omar really going to marry her? If he refused and didn't go through with it, what would the sheik do to her? She crashed on the bed tiredly and just wished Omar would come and assure her that all was well and that he would never leave her. If he married the princess, she would have to return to America with a broken heart. Although he could marry as many wives as he wished but she would never agree to a polygamous marriage.
The noise outside prompted her to walk to the window. Looking down, she saw Omar and his father walking into the court yard, they were both arguing but managed to keep their voices relatively low, Omar was visibly angry when he walked out on father who turned to look up at her direction, her heart beat accelerated and she quick shrunk back into the room not wanting to be seen by him. Were they arguing about her? It relieved her that Omar hadn't forgotten her in here but it also made her uneasy that she was the cause of their argument. She just wanted to love somebody's son and get love back without any qualms, she hadn't expected this kind of violent turbulence.
When Omar barged into the room it made Megan jump in fright, then she calmed down when he smiled and ran into his embrace.
"I've missed you." She breathed into his chest, absorbing his scent, he hugged her tighter, he had missed her equally.
"She's very pretty you know?" He suddenly said, Megan broke away from the hug but still kept her hands wrapped around his torso, she looked up at him.
"What...?"
"The princess, she's very pretty."
She loosed her hold on him and folded her hands across her chest, a frown appearing on her face.
"And so..?" She was annoyed, here she was, trapped and thinking only of him and he was out admiring another woman's beauty. Omar burst out laughing, his deep baritone voice echoing throughout the room, he reached out for her but she shook his hands off.
"Ohh, you should look at your self right now, hahaha," he kept laughing. "Come here." He grabbed her and pulled her to him, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"She's very pretty, but there was someone prettier on my mind. A girl called Megan, you know her?" She slapped his chest and smiled. She loved this man so much. Leaning on his chest, she listened to his heart beat she sighed, wishing to be with him like this forever.
@Ozzyy and @Hanzell this story is going quite smoothly 😁 right now I'm not even sure who Omar will end up with. But let's keep moving!
...and you will also help the author collect more tips.
What should I say?.. To be honest I am not a fan of Omar's "joke". It's time to leave.