Arwa looked at Kyle with a gaze full of confusion and questions, but her eyes were burning with suppressed anger. Kyle,
the man who always appeared with confidence and strength, had lost those traits. Arwa knew that this person was suffering internally, despite his continuous efforts to hide it.
He seemed to be trying to calm himself, but the anger seeped into his voice, as if he was facing an internal battle he couldn't escape from.
Kyle said, trying to control his emotions: "Look,
Miss Arwa, don't expect me to return the same feelings
. The age gap between us is huge, and I don't see you as a life partner, ever. I will never see you as a woman, as you imagine."
He laughed bitterly, that laugh filled with deep disappointment, then added, "Come in quickly, let's not waste time."
Arwa absorbed every word of those sentences.
She felt something strange in her chest, not hatred,
but a kind of sadness that couldn't be explained. "I never expected to see someone suffering because of an old love they couldn't get over, a love they never moved past," she thought to herself,
and the feeling began to seep into her heart as though she were feeling what Kyle felt, albeit indirectly.
Her eyes drowned in deep thought as she observed Kyle with eyes reflecting everything that was incomprehensible.
But suddenly, without warning, he moved closer. He came closer as if something invisible was drawing him toward her,
until he touched the ring that adorned her finger. Her heart raced, as if the entire moment had stopped. He was so close,
closer than ever before. She felt something strange pulse inside her chest, as if her heart was about to burst at that moment.
Then, in a voice filled with authority, he whispered,
"Look, when you return to your home, take off that ridiculous ring from your finger." His tone was harsh,
but he hid behind a veil of sadness, his eyes lost in something Arwa dared not ask about.
Arwa, controlling herself, replied calmly: "
Look, Kyle, I don't return the same feelings.
I don't see you as one of my dreams. But I'm bound by that family rule that imposes itself on me. I didn't choose you in the end. And I,
too, am bound by this play with you."
Her hand moved gently as she turned her body toward the path,
burdened with words that were more like words of farewell she hadn't yet spoken. "But, fine
, when the engagement period ends, I will break this engagement." Arwa said those words in a cold voice
, as if speaking them to convince herself first, but the truth was she was lying. She dared to tell a lie her heart hadn't been convinced of yet.
The truth of her feelings was something else,
feelings revolving around another person, a third person, named Kyle Strathmore.
But her determination was stronger than anything, even stronger than love itself. Her dignity was above everything.
And no matter how she felt, she was ready to hide everything in her heart, even if it meant hiding love itself.
Eyes followed her, but Arwa didn't stop.
And as she moved toward the unknown, she knew that there was something bigger than just fleeting emotions
, and that her destiny was tied to something larger than an old love or a family constraint.
But on the horizon, there was something looming, something mysterious hovering around them all, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.
The moon cast its faint silver light on the palace floor, and the atmosphere was filled with whispers and moans,
as if history itself were screaming from the echo of the generations that had passed over this place,
where souls still moved between the ancient walls. In this old palace, where fates meet and destinies intertwine
, we find Osman Valiska, the Duke of Faz, the man who had fought many wars in his youth and achieved tremendous victories that made him the commander of the revolutionary guard in his kingdom.
Osman Valiska
Osman possessed an undeniable charisma, tall with a distinct presence in his eyes that sparkled as though they knew the secrets of the world
. Despite all his victories, his heart was occupied with other matters that were no less important than the honor of battles,
perhaps even surpassing them. He was the father of Arwa, the girl whose fate was tied to a story where he was more than just a hero and less than just a man.
One day, Osman sat in his office, surrounded by endless papers.
Between their pages, he found some comfort.
Arwa had gone out to search for herself somewhere,
in a world that exceeded expectations, a world of men. But an important conversation was about to take place,
and the protagonist of this conversation was Denis Strathmore.
Denis Strathmore
Denis was the older brother of the emperor,
but unlike what everyone expected,
he did not aspire to the throne. In fact
, he chose to relinquish it to his younger brother,
believing that politics were not for him,
and leaving it to those who excelled at the affairs of governance. However, he possessed extraordinary political power and had a significant influence on the course of events from behind the scenes.
Denis settled in the town of Doumas, a small village that was almost hidden from the eyes of everyone, where he could play his roles more quietly. He was the Duke of the South, ruling over the coasts of Doumas,
an arrangement that made him wealthier than even the emperor himself. He also had the second-largest treasury in the kingdom, meaning his word carried weight, even in the larger political deliberations.
One day, Osman and Denis met in his office,
where the discussion was about the future of the family. There was something Osman had not expected, and it took him by surprise.
"I think the children are having a good time here,
" Osman said, as if expressing an idea that had just crossed his mind, but Denis had a different opinion.
"You are right, my friend, but there is still plenty of time, and you know the children are enjoying their time here,
" Denis replied with a calm smile, as if he were testing something in Osman's mind.
Then Denis began to present his suggestion
, as if the idea had been forming in his mind for a long time, "We have plenty of time before our children marry, don't we? I have an idea, what do you think about Arwa staying here for a while,
so Kyle can get used to her presence?"
Osman raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "
But Kyle rejects any commitment, he completely rejects the idea. How can I force him to do that?"
Denis's wife, Sara, entered the conversation.
She was a woman with a strong personality, and her influence over Denis was as great as his influence on others. She said in a calm yet decisive voice, "Mr. Valiska, I appreciate your efforts with us,
but I have a suggestion. According to our customs, we will make Arwa agree to this, as some aristocratic traditions require that the young lady spends some time with her fiancé before marriage."
Sara's words had an impact, and Osman fell silent, reflecting on the matter. How would he face this challenge? Would Arwa agree? And what about Kyle?
Elsewhere
Elsewhere, Arwa was walking down the palace corridor,
lost in her thoughts, like a small child feeling deep anger she could not control. Her sadness was evident
, and her eyes shimmered with bitterness.
She had failed to convince someone of something, and now she was paying the price for that failure. She muttered to herself:
"Oh my God, that bastard with his stubborn head... He's ugly."
The words that escaped her mouth were not merely complaints, but an expression of a mixture of anger and disappointment,
as if she were complaining to the heavens about the injustice that had befallen her. She said angrily: "
How can anyone believe what is said about the characters in novels? Everyone here lives in an unrealistic world, thinking that everything is possible, while the truth is entirely different."
While Arwa vented her anger in the palace corridors, she felt as if she were in a place that didn't belong to her
where there was always someone deciding for her, always someone controlling the course of her life, without her having the right to choose.