You want what's offlimits, you ask for his heart,

You want to know what makes the villain fall in love.

I tell you he has transgressed, you tell me he'll restart,

You want to save a villain you cannot unlove.

— &

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❝Once upon a time in Baghdad, a street girl teaches the Khalifa of the kingdom why a king needs a queen.❞

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snippet

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"The Khalifa is a riddle unsolved, and those who have ever solved it and known him haven't lived long enough to let anyone else know the answer. He is the man everyone talks about but few have ever seen. Rumors go that he has concealed himself as a commoner to protect the throne, but if anyone finds out his true identity, he kills them to keep his secret. Only his most trusted people know him, and he hopes you'll be one of them."

"What do you mean?"

"The Khalifa wants to marry you, Noura. You'll be his Malika."

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synopsis

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How dire can be the consequences of discovering a forbidden secret?

The Khalifa of Baghdad is rumored to be the unlawful heir to the throne. With the last rightful heir in hiding and the lust for power fueling treason, the caliph keeps his identity hidden and rules from behind the veil of his grand advisor.

When Noura, a girl wanting to do nothing with the palace and its politics, is accused for a false theft and taken away from her home, she lands right in the court of the caliph to redeem. But she soon discovers that the walls of the palace tell tales darker than the night.

Between her heart after another one and the caliph's fondness for her, things turn lethal when letters from an unknown admirer start showing up in her chambers, claiming to be her lover. The battle for survival requires her to use her wit and chain her feelings. But when circumstances bring her to the brink of making a choice, how well can she handle the chaos before all secrets come crashing down, including the secret of the Khalifa?

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author's note

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Before you proceed, :

• This book has Arab and Persian characters and I'm none of those. Mistakes made in terms of languages, customs etc. are welcomed to be corrected.

• The setting is loosely built upon Abbasid Caliphate, but the book follows no particular timeline neither any particular rules of the caliphate.

• The characters in the book are Muslims, but represent Islam in no perfect sense, so shall not be judged.

• The setting in the book is mostly out of my own imagination and might not necessarily fit into the old Baghdad caliphate, including the political titles and structure.

• Lastly, the story is completely fictional and similarities with anyone/anything in real life would be purely coincidental. All the photos used in the book belong to their rightful owners. Wherever I use a quote/poem/narration from another author/poet, a reference will be made.

: the poem in the beginning of this book is a collaboration between and me. The full poem, To Love A Villain, can be read on our Instagram accounts (link in my bio).

Happy Reading (:

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