Somewhere in the heart of Dubai, among the glass and steel towers, where every street discharges luxury and the air smells of money, there was a restaurant called the Pearl of the Orient.
It was a place for those who could provide everything except sympathy.
Here, every chair was adorned with gold threads, and the service was not human, but shadows.
But it was here, in this world of perfection, that Safia worked, a woman with dark circles under her eyes but with her head held high.
Safia was not born into a rich family, but into a simple house in the suburbs of Sharjah.
Her father passed away early, her mother was ill, and the girl took her fate into her own hands before she even understood what childhood was.
Working as a waitress in such a place is not her dream, but it is the only way to survive until the baby is born.
That evening was like any other – noisy, tense, with an endless stream of orders. But suddenly the manager ran up to her, almost snatching the tray from her hands:
– You’ve been called to table 12. This is Said al-Mahmoud.
He wants the best waiter.
Safiya froze. Said’s name was known to everyone. Rich, powerful, cruel.
“I’m pregnant,” she muttered.
“Maybe someone else?”
“He chose you. Don’t argue,” the manager answered. “We can’t lose him.”
After she approached, she felt his contemptuous gaze – as if she were not a person, but a random speck of dust in the air.
“I asked for an experienced waiter, not a woman about to give birth,” he muttered.
“What kind of circus is this?
A restaurant or a maternity ward?”
Everything inside her was shaking, but her voice kept silent. Because she knew: one word and she would lose her job. And without it, there was no roof over her head, no doctor, no chance for a normal birth.
“Bring the wine.
And don’t spill it. I’m not going to breathe in your hormones,” he added.
She left.
– Wait. There are journalists here today.
They are recording everything. He won’t just leave.
“I don’t need his punishment,” Safiya muttered.
“I just want to give birth to my child in peace. Why does he think he has the right to humiliate others?”
“Look at yourself,” Said laughed venomously.
“You can’t even hold a tray.
Why are you even here? A woman getting pregnant out of wedlock is already a disgrace. And to put yourself on display…”
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