PART 2
Layla’s fingers trembled as she slowly lifted the veil.
For one second, nobody said anything.
Zayd stared at her face.
His expression changed immediately.
The polite smile disappeared.
His eyes widened.
And Layla knew.
He recognized her.
The room suddenly felt too small.
Her father looked from Zayd to Layla.
“What is it?”
Zayd didn’t answer.
His mother frowned.
“Zayd?”
He was still staring at Layla.
Then he looked down at the earring in his hand.
“Nour,” he whispered.
Layla’s mother heard him.
“Nour?”
Layla closed her eyes.
There was no point pretending anymore.
Her father’s voice became sharper.
“Who is Nour?”
Layla opened her mouth, but no words came.
Zayd’s mother looked at the earring again.
Then at Layla.
And slowly, the truth began to reach her.
“Wait…”
Samira turned toward her daughter.
“Layla, what is happening?”
Layla had imagined this moment hundreds of times.
She had imagined being discovered in the street.
A relative seeing her without her hijab.
Someone finding the clothes hidden in her car.
A man recognizing her.
But she had never imagined sitting between both families while the man from the previous night held proof in his hand.
