Desert Rose

Khadija, Khadija

After an uneventful day, Khadija went to bed after reading an erotic novel, Desert Rose. It was a romance story about an ambitious woman and her relationship with the Emperor, which began after she attended a ball to celebrate his victory in battle.

The was purely smut, the plot was entirely secondary to the acts committed--but it was interesting enough for her to keep reading; and, in part, explicit enough to keep her heart racing. Like many novels, the female lead, Rahiq, is a quiet, gentle young woman. She was unfortunately mistreated by her stepmother Aminatou, her father's mistress. The two lovers who had been together since childhood split up due to Aminatou's lower status as a commoner.

Amani and Jimel's marriage was arranged between two affluent families looemperor to produce more suitable heirs in the future—Jimel was the oldest son of a wealthy merchant, and Amani was the youngest child of an official. After they were wed, under pressure, Rahiq was born.

On the other hand, Aminatou married an older man who promised her the world. Being a woman who emigrated from a country riddled with war and subjugation efforts, her family stuck to their traditional values. And to discourage her childhood crush, she was made to marry a stranger, thirty years her senior.

Her husband drank as if the wines and liquor were escaping him. If he wasn't out drinemperor, he would be home, furious about insignificant things. He attacked her for the first time, she fought back in a frenzy. Then, eventually, she gave up--two daughters bore her pain. She often hid her children away, taemperor the brunt of the force from their father's torment.

She did love her children. Their smiles pulled her through the most agonizing days. No matter how much society saw her as an "evil stepmother" her children saw how much she cared for them and how much she endured. To

Six years passed, with her husband taemperor out his grievances on her, physically and mentally.

After a night of drinemperor, he died drowning in a river not too far from their home.

The next day, Aminatou departed with bruises still on her body. Her feet lead her to where her salvation resided—Jimel's estate. She wanted nothing more than for him to hold her in his embrace.

She arrived at his residence, with her two children wearing their nightgowns as it snowed. The two hadn't spoken in years since his family forced them apart. A servant, who had recognized her from his days at the family's residence stared back at her wide and ushered her with haste as the night grew older.

Jimel, who was still woremperor in his private quarters and had been notified of their arrival, quickly ushered them downstairs--far from the rooms of his family. After putting the children to bed and discussing their grievances, they held each other under the moonlight. As they began their affair, Amani's resentment grew.

To Jimel, their love was an arranged affair, but to Amani, he was her first love.

For the man she loved to hold another, it was too much for her.

Before things came to a head, Amani disappeared. And, despite the circumstance, Jimel took this as an opportunity to marry Aminatou. However, because of their class differences, their situation became complex. She grew up with the need to show that she and her two daughters were good enough for high society after marrying him.

After their marriage, Jimel, at every step, had protected her and her children from it all...until the day he left for business and never came home.

Days turned to months--those months turned into a year and eventually, a distraught and heartbroken Aminatou was presented the lost diary of the man who brought light back into her life. She was left to take care of his twelve-year-old daughter, in addition to her daughters who were ten and eleven.