Dari sat calmly among the guests, his expression composed, as though nothing around him truly concerned him.
Inside, however, one thought was clear:
I will marry her… only for revenge.
Across from him, Malak sat, dressed with an elegance befitting the setting, yet she felt anything but at ease. She held her cup of coffee, trying to appear normal.
Inside, her thoughts were entirely different:
I will marry him… only to save myself.
She lifted her gaze without meaning to.
Their eyes met.
A brief look… but not an ordinary one.
Each of them knew this was not a union entered by choice.
The grand reception hall of the palace was strikingly vast—far too large for a simple engagement between two families. Not all members of the family were present; they had intended it to remain a small gathering. The ceiling soared high above, heavy crystal chandeliers hanging like frozen constellations, while the polished marble floors reflected the movement of the guests. Everything spoke of luxury… and history.
The Al-Amdashi family was no ordinary one.
Their name alone was enough to open closed doors, and their wealth stretched across generations, layered like an inheritance that never ended.
And today, they had gathered for something significant—the engagement of the grandson.
The eldest heir.
The most fortunate.
The most watched.
Smiles were present, but not all of them sincere. Some congratulations were delivered coldly, while certain glances carried far more than courtesy. As though everyone knew… this engagement had not been the family's decision, but his—Dari—who had rejected every proposal offered to him by the most prestigious families and the most beautiful women in Saudi Arabia.
"Congratulations,"
one of the guests said with a wide smile.
Glances were exchanged, congratulations rose around them, yet the atmosphere remained tense in a way that was hard to ignore.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the palace.
All conversation stopped at once.
"What was that?"
Everyone hurried toward the source of the sound near the staircase.
But the moment they arrived… they froze.
A man had fallen from a great height, sprawled across the floor.
His body lay face down, blood spreading across the marble.
The scene required no explanation.
Malak gasped and stepped back, her hand instinctively pressing against her stomach. Her breathing faltered, her vision narrowing as if the entire place was collapsing inward. Then suddenly—she bent forward and vomited.
"What?! Not here, next to the body!"
Dari's mother's voice rang sharp and loud, cutting through the murmurs. Heads turned toward her, yet she paid no mind. Instead, she turned to Malak's mother, who stood beside her, stunned—not only by the scene, but by her daughter.
She leaned in slightly, as if to whisper, though her voice was not nearly as low as it should have been.
"Forgive her…"
She paused, then lifted her gaze toward Malak, her tone deceptively calm—cruel, as if dropping a bomb:
"She's pregnant."
Malak's mother turned sharply, her face draining of color.
Dari's mother added with cold mockery,
"Oh… it seems you didn't know."
A heavy silence fell.
Then all eyes turned to Malak.
At that moment, Dari had stepped aside slightly, his phone at his ear.
"Yes, there's been an accident… I need an ambulance and police immediately—"
He stopped.
He heard only one word.
Pregnant.
He turned instantly, recognizing the sharp edge in his mother's voice.
His gaze fell upon the scene. One of his cousins had crouched beside the body and began to turn it over. He ended the call quickly and snapped sharply:
"Don't touch him!"
He rushed forward—but it was too late.
The body flipped. The face was revealed.
The eyes were wide open in a terrifying way, frozen in the moment of death.
Malak looked.
Her body stiffened.
The sound around her disappeared. Faces blurred. Everything seemed to drift away.
Then the world spun.
In a single instant, Dari reached her. He caught her before she fell, lifting her into his arms swiftly, as though her collapse was not something he would allow.
He pulled her closer, then looked around sharply.
"No one touches anything!"
His voice this time was harsher—an unmistakable command.
"Wait for the authorities."
Silence.
Then whispers returned—lower, more dangerous:
"Did you hear? She said pregnant…"
"And before marriage… how shameful."
"That's why he agreed to the marriage…"
But Dari did not look at them.
Not even at his mother.
He was looking only at Malak.
His face was rigid…
but inside, he was anything but.
Two months earlier…
Malak pushed open the meeting room door, speaking into her phone as she walked in.
"Yes, that happened yesterday when I found out that he would be—"
She stopped abruptly.
She stood at the doorway.
The room was quiet. The long table was empty except for one man seated at the far end. An elegant, striking man, dressed in a thobe of the finest fabric, his features sharp, the light from the window behind him casting a defined glow around him.
Her gaze lingered on him longer than it should have.
He looked up.
Their eyes met.
"Malak," he repeated slowly.
Angel.
The irony almost made him smile.
There was something strange.
A feeling she couldn't quite understand.
Then suddenly—it clicked.
The position.
Some time ago, there had been an opening for Head of Product Development. The manager had told them the position was available and that they would need to prove themselves to earn it. She hadn't been interested at first, but after his insistence, she had decided to push herself further.
And now… here he was.
The one chosen.
Yesterday, they had received a message instructing everyone to attend the meeting room today for an important announcement.
At that moment, she made a decision—something she was always good at, as her mother used to say:
"You only know how to ruin things."
And she decided she would not let him take the position she had worked so hard for.
A faint, mocking smile curved her lips.
"Malak? Are you listening?"
Her friend's voice pulled her back.
She took a quiet breath, walked forward, and sat across from him, pulling the chair without breaking eye contact.
"As I told you… I finished it yesterday."
She opened her compact mirror and began applying her lipstick as if he didn't exist.
It hadn't taken much effort. It had been easy from the start.
"So his wife is out of the picture?" her friend asked.
Malak smiled faintly—devoid of real feeling.
"I didn't have to do much… I just made him think it was his decision."
She set the mirror aside and lifted her gaze.
He had been like a blank page.
"And now?" her friend pressed. "You need to finish it tonight."
"Of course," Malak replied. "He'll be gotten rid of like a bad aftertaste… just like that 'Gigi' who's good for nothing except clinging and draining you like a leech."
When she got angry at the manager—who cared deeply about his teddy bear named "Gigi"—she used the nickname mockingly. But Dari did not know that. He thought she meant him… that she was deliberately provoking him, making the company seem unprofessional so he would walk away.
Across from her, he gave no visible reaction.
But her entrance had not gone unnoticed.
He had been watching her carefully.
Every word… every movement… every smile.
The way she spoke. Her composure. Her excessive confidence.
All of it felt dangerous.
Inside, he did not take her words as casual conversation.
It was clear to him—
She was deliberate.
Suggestive.
Testing him.
Perhaps even… trying to entice him.
His jaw tightened slightly.
She had not changed.
The report had described her as innocent, kind—an angel, just like her name.
But now, seeing her up close…
He saw something else entirely.
Something far darker.
Inside, the thought settled.
Her.
He had found her.
As for her…
She saw something completely different.
His long stares. His silence. His focus.
She interpreted it her own way.
Clearly, he was already affected.
She smirked faintly when she caught him staring, then leaned slightly.
"Do you like what you see?"
He raised an eyebrow, coldly.
"What?"
Her friend's voice came again:
"Malak, is someone with you?"
"Yes."
She looked straight at him.
"Just another leech."
She paused, then smiled.
"But it seems he doesn't know he's about to burn."
Dari was certain now.
The same attitude.
The same arrogance.
The same cold detachment.
As if she didn't belong in a workplace at all.
She was casting her nets—trying to lure him.
But he was not his brother.
And what had she called him? A leech?
Did she think he would fall so easily? That he would cling to her from the very first moment?
No.
It was time to change that.
His revenge would be severe.
"Strange…"
he said, his tone cold.
"That you're so sure of the ending…"
He paused, then added, his eyes fixed on her:
"Let's see… which one of us burns first."
Silence fell.
She smirked faintly.
Then the tension broke as the manager entered, exhaustion clear on his face.
But the moment he saw the man—
His entire demeanor changed.
He straightened immediately.
"Sir?!"
He hurried toward him.
Only then did Malak feel that something was wrong.
Dari stood.
His height became more apparent.
His presence heavier.
He extended his hand and shook the manager's hand calmly.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting long," the manager said.
"Not at all," Dari replied.
"However, I'll have to leave now. There's no need for the meeting. My time here has been more than sufficient."
"Was everything satisfactory?" the manager asked.
"Yes," he answered. "I found what I was looking for."
The manager smiled, then glanced at Malak.
"Of course. As long as you were with Malak—she's one of our most capable employees."
Dari responded with quiet mockery:
"The documents will be sent today. I expect them to be approved and activated immediately…"
He paused.
"And a piece of advice… reconsider your choice of employees."
The manager, still looking at Malak with confusion, replied,
"Of course, I appreciate your advice. We'll finalize all necessary procedures today and circulate all decisions accordingly."
"Good."
He turned to leave, the manager walking with him.
Malak stood, completely lost.
The manager bid him farewell warmly, saying how honored they were and how pleased they were that their company had come under his group.
Her mind screamed, What is happening?
The manager noticed her standing there and said,
"Dari is the CEO of Al-Amdashi Group—the company that acquired us yesterday."
He paused.
"He is now the current head of this company."
She froze.
CEO?
In that moment…
Every word she had said minutes ago came rushing back.
She imagined pulling her own hair out.
But she smiled.
Nervously.
She extended her hand toward him.
He looked at her calmly… with faint mockery, one eyebrow raised, his gaze dropping briefly to her hand before returning to her face.
He took her hand at last.
"Nice to meet you… Dari."
"Dari…"
The name fit him too well—
sharp… dangerous…
like something that would tear through anything in its way…
without hesitation.
She said it as though she had no idea what she had just done.
His jaw tightened, the veins rising.
The name wasn't the problem…
It was the way it left her lips.
Not like a stranger.
But like someone who had said it before.
Often.
Intimately.
He looked at her deeply.
Longer than necessary.
Inside—
It was no longer suspicion.
It was certainty forming.
His grip on her hand tightened slightly.
Just slightly…
But enough to say everything he did not voice.
She pulled her hand away quickly, staring at her palm, now flushed.
Inside…
Chaos burned.
What had she done?
She had thought he was the man who got the position she wanted…
She hadn't known he owned the company.
She hadn't known anything had changed.
That the company she stood in now—
was no longer what it had been.
And that she…
was no longer where she thought she was.
But she said quickly,
"That's great."
He looked at her.
A calmer look…
and far more dangerous.
"Your acting… is good."
She froze.
He stepped closer, standing before her. She felt as though the light in the room dimmed, his presence swallowing it, his voice low, dark—
"And now…"
He lowered his voice further.
"I found what pleases me."
Her breath caught.
She didn't understand.
But one thing was clear—
This…
was not her day.
And she had just stepped into the beast's den…
without realizing…
she might never be the same.
If you made it this far… don't forget to add it to your library🙏
#Romance #EnemiesToLovers #CEO #Revenge #ArabNovel