Requited Unrequited Love: An Enemies to Lovers Marriage of Convenience Romance

Requited Unrequited Love Mina Ramzy Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Mina Ramzy All rights reserved. Visit my website at www.minaramzywrites.com Editor: Jovana Shirley, Unforeseen Editing, www.unforeseenediting.com Proofreader: Marla Esposito, ProofingStyle, www.proofingstyle.com Book Cover Design by www.ebooklaunch.com No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. ISBN-13: 9798359611701 ASIN: B0BQX8X3PK Contents Dedication Content Warnings Playlist 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 Epilogue Acknowledgments About Author Dedication To all the women who feel suppressed by their culture. I hear you. I am with you. Content Warnings The following content may contain elements that are not suitable for some audiences. Reader discretion is advised. Mention and depiction of sexism Mention of drunk driving and car accidents Mention of queerphobia Mention of mental/personality disorders (eating disorder, addiction, psychopathy) Mention of suicidal thoughts, suicidality and suicide Depiction and mention of self-injurious behavior (self-harm) Depiction and mention of death Depiction of excessive or gratuitous violence Depiction and mention of blood Abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal) Child abuse Rape and sexual assault Depiction and mention of cancer Use of profanity / Cursing and vulgar language Explicit and graphic sexual content DISCLAIMER Some passages in this book might be considered more non-fiction. These parts aim to raise awareness of mental health and cultural suppression. Playlist Prisoner - The Weeknd, Lana Del Rey Pretty When You Cry - Lana Del Rey Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood Consideration - Rihanna, SZA For Whom The Bell Tolls - J. Cole Take Me To Church - Hozier Fuck Love (feat. Trippie Redd) - XXXTENTACION, Trippie Redd I Can’t Handle Change - Roar Bad Girls - M.I.A. Pretending (feat. Jessie Reyez) - A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Jessie Reyez I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic Monkeys Another Love - Tom Odell Romantic Homicide - d4vd Scars - Michael Malarkey Lose My Cool - Amber Mark Losers - The Weeknd, Labrinth Dear Yessie - Jessie Reyez L$D - A$AP Rocky All The Time - Jeremih, Lil Wayne, Natasha Mosley Habits of My Heart - Jaymes Young Tether Me - Galleaux Jocelyn Flores - XXXTENTACION Song Cry - August Alsina Bloodstream - Stateless SMTS - Jeremih Broken - Lund Exorcism - Clairity Darija Freestyle - Dounia If Only - BRIDGE Don’t Go - Reece All Mine - PLAZA Queen Tings - Masego, Tiffany Gouché Keda - Sherine Moeiteloos - Fresku, Shadi Chapter one I’m in need of change. And I don’t mean changing my sheets—although I also need to do that. I mean, life-changing change. As I’m sitting in a coffee shop, sipping on a latte, with my notebook full of bucket lists and lists, I skim through them, and I realize there are a lot of things on them I can’t cross off. I might never be able to. The things being extreme is not the reason. For some, these might be yearly or even daily activities. It’s because I’m not allowed to. I’m Egyptian, which means I grew up with double standards. Where men are at the top of the pyramid and women, well, they are certainly not standing beside them. In my culture, men can go where they want, when they want, with whom they want, explaining themselves if they want. Women, however, cannot. It is as simple as that. If you want to go somewhere, you either go with your family or with your new family. In other words, going on field trips, vacation with friends or something like exploring yourself while studying abroad will never happen. Women can go on trips with their husbands, and women can explore themselves when they’re married—in their new kitchen. After all, there’s a way out for everything as long as it can prevent women from going away. I failed to benefit from many opportunities abroad because of this. Of course, I used to wonder why. Well, the answer I’ve always been given is, “Someone can do something to you!” or, “It’s just the way our culture is …” Thus, it all boils down to this: men can do what they want, which means women can be in danger; ergo, keep the women behind closed doors until there’s a man who wants to protect them. From men. From themselves? God, I despise men. It might not be all men, but there is no way to distinguish them. All of them show beautiful colors before showing their true ones, so it’s best to stay wary of them all. There is a saying in Arabic that goes: Ely etls3 mn el shorba, ynfo5 fel zbady. Literally translated, it means the person who got burned by soup will even blow on yogurt. Figuratively translated, it means when someone betrays you once, you will never trust again. Not even the people you know can be trusted and have no intention of betraying you. As I said before, my bucket list items are not extreme; they’re pretty mundane. And if they aren’t, I tend to make them so. I wanted to write a prisoner. We would become pen pals and exchange letters. But I realized I wouldn’t exactly be able to handle that … Instead of writing a prisoner, I decided to have a