184 - Hope de Luca

Hope de Luca

Religion forbids us from touching or having intimacy before marriage; it is a law imposed by the Quran, one that I have already made my beautiful prince break. I hear him asking for forgiveness daily, and of course, I also ask for forgiveness. But I would never stop sleeping by his side.

However, the wedding was approaching, and my mother-in-law made us separate a bit to obey the laws, the same ones we had been breaking since our reunion. We hadn't seen each other for a few days already, and we still had the next few days to endure the longing of sharing the same room.

After we met my friend and his father, we spent almost a month in Washington. I wanted to be close to Guilherme, to be his friend as I always had been. Even though there were still some reports about our engagement, I would not stop being by his side.

To ease the whole situation and exposure that Guilherme was going through, my father decided to cancel the marriage proposal that Gui had made. He wrote a note to the press informing that we were going through complicated moments in our relationship, but that everything had been resolved and that we would soon release a statement.

Guilherme, still hospitalized, released a note about his relationship with Pietra, and although he had not been elected as a congressman, his father was elected to be the next president of our nation. I felt proud to know that Gustavo Lira would be the new leader of America. Just like my friend, he is a fair and compassionate man, and I know his government will be excellent.

I had everything ready for the engagement dinner between Mahjub and me. Even though we were already a couple in every way, to the religious priests, we were just betrothed and maintained a certain friendship.

“Are you ready, daughter?” My mother entered my room.

I was standing in front of the mirror, looking at the long-sleeved dress I had chosen for today, along with my hijab that completed my look. I looked at my mother as she entered my room; she was wearing a headscarf and a long-sleeved dress.

I turned back to look at my beige dress with some beading and ran my hand over it, smoothing the impeccably tailored fabric. I took a deep breath a few times, feeling strange.

I felt an unusual anxiety within me; it didn't seem like it had only been two nights since I had last seen Mahjub, and I already missed him terribly. I saw in the reflection my mother approaching, arranging the golden strands of her hair.

Something I didn't inherit from her; my hair color is more a mix of her hair tone and my father's. My mother smiled and showed a box.

“Hope, look what just arrived.” My mother handed me the blue velvet box.

I smiled in anticipation to see how my gift for Mahjub had turned out. I was sure he must be missing this piece terribly.

I opened the box, and there was the same masbaha I had given him when I was still a girl learning the culture of my prince. I was happy to see that the piece was arranged with the same stones as I had ordered the first time.

“It’s a beautiful piece!” my mother said.

“Yes, it is,” I said, closing the case and looking at Alessa de Luca.

“I’m so proud of you, seeing how much you’ve matured and understood that you need to live the process and fight for it, not let others lead your path.” I smiled, feeling tears forming.

“The web where Mahjub’s family is built is very complex, my princess, and I learned from your father that even though we have powerful friends, we must play another game beneath the surface, have hidden cards and pieces without them knowing.” My mother continued talking.

I looked at my mother and tilted my head, not really understanding what she was trying to tell me. After all, I always knew how well she got along with my fiancé’s entire family. Hearing that she manipulated the game was surprising.

“I love each one of them, especially Laís, but throughout your life, I trained and educated you to be a princess and then a queen.” She said, wrapping her arm around mine and leading me to the window.

We saw the gates opening, and I observed the cars of the Alcântara Al-Makki family entering our property, followed by various cars with their security. The car parked in front of the house entrance, and I saw my father-in-law Hassan getting out first, followed by my mother-in-law Carolina.

“Something was missing in you. Seeing your posture after that video and how you treated him, I saw that you were not yet ready to become a woman like her!” My mother pointed to Carolina.

“Carolina is a remarkable woman who created a life under many lies to keep the men she loves alive.” She said, and I was confused.

“What do I have to do with this?” I asked, still watching the Arab entourage getting out of the cars.

“You needed to assert yourself in your relationship, manipulate what was already manipulated, outmaneuver Laís and even me!” I burst into laughter and felt her arm on my shoulder.

“Your future is something beautiful; only you can decide which path to take...” I looked at my mother, who pointed out the window, and saw Mahjub in his traditional clothes with a large box in his hands. “He must be a slave to your desires, the servant that all of us women want.”

“But mom, you have dad the same way at your command!” I said between laughs.

“Yes, I do, and I want the same for you, a man who will do everything to protect you from the world’s evil and who is willing to do anything to see you happy.”

I smiled, understanding the last piece of advice my mother had for me.

“Forgive me for not letting him get close in the last four years; you were not yet ready for each other, and I know now you will be happy by your prince’s side!” my mother said.

I turned towards her and let her dry the tears that welled up amidst her declaration of love. As we hugged, we heard the door opening. Ruslan appeared in the doorway and smiled as he approached me.

“I can't believe I'm marrying off the sister I love the most!” he said, his lips forming a pout.

“I’ll tell Giulia when I go downstairs...” I said as I hugged him. “You can have my room!”

We all burst into laughter and shared a hug from our mother.

“I’m very proud of the people you both have become. I know you’ll raise your children as well as you were raised.” I touched her face and caressed it.

“That’s Hope’s job. I don’t want to be a father anytime soon...” Ruslan said, turning away. I took the chance to tease him a bit before we left for my formal wedding.

“As far as I know, Zara was suspecting she was pregnant!” I said as I walked past him, watching him freeze.

“Hope de Luca Al-Makki, stop right there and tell me this story about me becoming a grandmother,” my mother demanded as we left the room with her questioning me by my side.

I didn’t say anything, knowing he would spend the night chasing after Zara to find out the truth. But as I knew well, she wasn’t pregnant; it was just a false alarm that almost made her pull out all her hair, and it made me realize that they would never truly be a couple.

I left my brother behind, and my mother led me to the living room where everyone was sitting, discussing the inauguration two months from now. I could already see the happiness in Mahjub, who stood up from the couch with a huge smile.

I clasped my hands together and smiled as the officiant approached my father, and I watched the beginning of our wedding ceremony. It was going to be a more intimate affair with just the family, and starting tomorrow, we would all go to Sudan, where our wedding celebrations would begin.

“It is a great pleasure to be here to officiate the wedding and bestow the greatest blessings upon such a young couple...” the officiant said with a kind look at Mahjub and me.

We listened to all the blessings the priest had to offer, performed all the Muslim traditions before exchanging rings. Ideally, there should have been no physical contact until the last day of the wedding, but I could see in Mahjub's eyes that he couldn’t bear not touching me for another minute.