The Untamed Sheikh (a Fazza novel)

Chapter 12: Ahlan w Sahlan

The entire ride was quiet and without conversation. Khaled probably knew I was not in the mood to talk and so he probably decided to let me be. I probably scared him off with that punch I gave him last night, which I was starting to regret because at the end of the day he was simply doing his job. Only at the time, I did not know that and perceived him as a threat.

Arriving at the palace, the bodyguards allowed us in and instantly my eyes began to roam on the property, which was a lot more radiant during the day than at night when we visited when my mom decided to abandon me. I did not want to think of my sister as having abandoned me as well, but I did find myself wishing that she would have let me stay with her because the last thing I wanted was to be alone in this monster of a palace.

I was suddenly angry at my sister, which felt odd because I had never in my life ever gotten mad at her.

The car came to a stop and I grabbed Oreo and I stepped out. Instantly, I noticed Sheikh Hamdan with his brothers Maktoum, Ahmed, Saeed, and Mansour. Then there were his sisters Sheikha Maryam and Sheikha Futtaim.

"Ahlan w Sahlan!" Sheikh Hamdan welcomed.

"Ahlin!" I said, hoping they did not make fun of my accent.

"So this is your son" said Sheikha Futtaim, who was smiling at me, as was Sheikha Maryam.

"He's just as handsome as his father" added Sheikha Maryam. "He picks up right after him."

Right, sister, right! I thought to myself.

"Hi, I'm Maryam" she came over and hugged and kissed me on either cheek.

"And I'm Futtaim" she too came over and hugged and kissed me.

Wow, and they introduced themselves without their title of 'Sheikha'. Quite interesting since I was practically a commoner.

"Tcharrafna!" I said, which was the Lebanese way of saying 'Nice to Meet You'. "Esmé Faisal!"

"And you're speaking Arabic in the Lebanese dialect. I love it, it's such a romantic and sexy accent" Sheikha Futtaim complimented.

"It sure is" Sheikha Maryam smiled.

"And you've met our brothers Maktoum, Saeed, Mansour, and Ahmed?" asked a rather excited Futtaim.

"Yeah, we have" I said, awkwardly.

"Welcome back" said Maktoum, the more serious of the bunch.

"Yislamo!" I thanked.

"And there it goes again" Sheikha Maryam chuckled. "Our Lebanese accented brother."

"Yes" Sheikh Hamdan smiled, except I was not returning any smiles because not only was I desperate to get the hell out of here, but I felt like a complete stranger here. "Welcome home son!"

Oh hell to the no, he did not just say that! Did he really think I felt at home here? Was he that delusional?

"We'll show you to your new room," said Sheikha Futtaim, who motioned to Sheikha Maryam to accompany us.

I walked with them along with Sheikh Hamdan and his brothers, my uncles. I once again surveyed the palace as we walked in. I was noticing its grandiosity even more now than before. At the time, I had been too distracted. I now had to admit that this place was quite fancy and looked more like an expensive ass hotel that only the rich and famous could afford. Then again, this was Nad Al Sheba palace and Sheikh Hamdan definitely fell in the rich and famous category.

The walls were a gold color with areas covered in black and brown. The floors were quite expensive-looking and were likely made of marble. Persian rugs were covering the floors, in red, blue, and white fancy Arabic/Turkish designs. The stairwells were of fine and shiny wood and the steps were made of a white marble that had a marbled black design to them.