Aderiyike Olayinminu was supposed to be starting over. After losing her job and returning to her parents' house with more shame than luggage, the last thing she needed was a wedding invitation from Ewatomi, her secondary school classmate and Lagos socialite, the kind of woman who made success look effortless. Everyone loved Ewatomi Olabiwonninu. Or at least, everyone pretended to. She had money, beauty, connections, and a way of looking at people that made them feel like problems she hadn't yet figured out how to solve. Riyi had to attend the wedding since her parents wanted her to break out of her isolation. But that Saturday morning, inside a packed event center bursting with aso-ebi lace, gele, jollof rice, talking drums, and guests spraying money like there's no tomorrow, someone finally decided they were done pretending. Ewatomi never made it to the reception. She was found murdered in cold blood in the dressing room. The problem was that everyone was in the hall. Everyone was accounted for. Nobody left. And yet, someone killed her. The groom looks guilty. The mother-in-law never bothered to hide her hatred. And the bridal train? Every single one of them is smiling a little too calmly for women who just lost their friend. Riyi has no badge, no plan, and no reason to get involved. She only has too much time on her hands, nothing left to lose, and a terrible feeling she can't shake: that the killer is standing close enough to touch her. Everybody has a motive. Nobody has an alibi. And the truth? No one will see it coming. Some invitations come with a price. Cover Design by the talented @cynthiaainsleywrites here on Wattpad

𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. While preparing for her coming-of-age ceremony, eighteen-year-old Yasmin Al-Nouri has one thing on her mind: to finally step into womanhood with the quiet hope that one day, she might find the kind of love she has only ever read about in secret. Having grown up sheltered all her life, she never had a reason to fear the world beyond her family's walls - until danger finds her one fateful evening. When enemy spies infiltrate the capital and single out Yasmin for reasons she does not understand, it shatters everything she believes about the kingdom she calls home. Fortunately, she is rescued by a mysterious warrior, and in the aftermath, overcome by emotion, she does the unexpected. She gently kisses her savior's forehead, thinking nothing of it. She couldn't be more wrong. He disappears without a trace, but Yasmin never forgets him. Several months later, things get complicated when Khalid Al-Zahrani, the formidable Crown Prince of Azhara, suddenly returns victorious from the battlefield. During his victory banquet, he stuns the royal court by invoking the Qasam Al-Muluk, an ancient vow that has been used only a handful of times in the kingdom's long history, which grants him one request no one in Azhara can refuse. He could've asked for anything. Power. Vengeance. Retribution. Instead, he chooses Yasmin. Now bound to the kingdom's most feared man, her hopes of reuniting with her mysterious first love are dashed. Yet something about Khalid unsettles her in a way she can't quite explain - familiar, almost. The more she guards her heart, the more she finds herself captivated. Can she see past his fearsome reputation to uncover who he really is? Or will the shocking truth endanger both their hearts and lives? This is the first book in the Desert Brides Series.