Episode 19

"If you keep going in circles, our mother will grab you by the ears and make you kneel on corn for at least half a day for messing up her rug!" Harmed smiles.

I look sternly at him, because I am the older brother and should be respected.

"Show more respect to our second oldest brother, Harmed!" Kafar intervenes. "Even if he looks like a lost ostrich, going in circles." they both laugh. "Do you need a compass to find the direction of the altar, Samir?"

"Both of you..." I mutter under my breath.

"You shouldn't be so nervous." Amin says. "Between going back to a life of abuse and insults or living alongside a man with a bad reputation but who can provide a good life, I don't think the bride has any chance of choosing the first option. So yes, she will show up, don't worry."

"Do you really think my wife is a gold-digger, Amin?" I ask, clenching my fists.

"No, but she was sold, and as my sweet Samira said, she's your property, so if our father bought her, she can't escape, she belongs to you by right." he shrugs.

I walk towards him, but my father appears and intervenes.

"Why am I seeing discord among my children on a festive day?" he looks at all of us. "Come on, speak up!"

"Amin got a little carried away and said offensive words about our new sister-in-law." Kafar answers.

"Offense?" Amin retorts. "I only spoke the truth, what my wife and I think, that if the bride was sold by her family and bought for Samir by you, father, he doesn't need to be nervous because she can't give up or run away from this marriage, since you bought her like a commodity and she belongs to Samir. Is there something wrong with speaking the truth?" he crosses his arms.

"Truth has many sides, Amin." my father takes a deep breath. "And in none of those sides is Yasmin treated like a commodity by our family. This young woman is not to blame for what she has been through, and believe me, she has gone through tough times since her mother passed away. I don't even want to imagine how many atrocities Omar and his second wife committed and the psychological damage they caused to this girl. But I assure you, just as we welcomed your wife Samira, we welcome Hanya, Harmed's wife, and we will one day welcome Kafar's wife too, therefore we welcome Yasmin as a Harmud! You must respect her as a sister, never making comments about her past or about how this marriage was arranged. Moreover, your wife's family also received a handsome dowry, Amin, so for that reason, was she also a commodity bought by our family?" he looks at my brother sternly.

"My Samira came from a wealthy family, not from debt-ridden people who sell their daughter to pay off debts." he grumbles.

"If they were so wealthy, why did they negotiate to increase the dowry?" my father questions. "Amin, remove the scales from your eyes and ears while there's still time, or you will endure a hard and miserable life until the end of your days." my father sighs and looks at me. "As for you, I know well the intentions you had in your heart regarding this marriage." I look sternly at Kafar, because he was the only one who knew about my intention of the agreement. "Do not judge your brother, as he said absolutely nothing to me. I made sure to give you the benefit of choice, which is why I included that 6-month clause in your contract, but poor Yasmin, influenced by the ambitious Omar, didn't even bother to read such clause." he shakes his head. "Know that if you decide for annulment, you won't have to fulfill the 6-month period."

"What? What are you saying, father?" I ask, confused.

"You will stay in our house until the third full moon, as is customary after getting married, but if you are determined not to live this marriage, your mother and I will take responsibility for Yasmim, we will send her to another city where she will study and graduate in whatever she desires, and she will be like the youngest daughter of the Harmud family."

I look at my father in disbelief. What does he mean?

"Do not be surprised, it was a decision made by me and your mother, as we do not want to run the risk of Yasmim being rejected by you and then being harmed or hurt by her own family, by being left alone and unprotected. And so, if that were to happen, once Yasmim finishes her studies, she will marry a suitable suitor, chosen by her mother.

"Marry?!" I look incredulously at my father. "How can you plan such a thing?"

"My son, the decision to not take this marriage seriously was yours. It was you who thought of annulment. Your mother and I are simply taking precautions and ensuring that this young lady will have a future of honor, and will not be the rejected woman cast aside and pointed at on the streets by others, forced to walk with her head down because of your decision." He takes a deep breath. "Well, but all of this should not alarm you, after all, you planned exactly this, to annul this marriage and return to your foreign lover who almost invaded our home and embarrassed your wife in front of everyone, at yesterday's ceremony, isn't that right?" He stares at me. "Your mother and I are only making things easier for you." He shrugs.

Kafar and Harmed look at me disapprovingly and follow my father.

"So my brother, barely married and already wanted to get rid of the bride?" Amin says, smiling slyly. "Interesting...."

He leaves and I stand there, motionless, with no reaction.

So, in three moons, they will take her away from me?!

I do not understand why, but this thought leaves my heart restless.

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