After an exhausting shift, a tired nurse accidentally climbed into the car of one of the most feared and powerful sheikhs in the country and fell asleep in the back seat.
But only a few minutes later, she heard him give his driver an order in Arabic.
He had no idea she understood every word.
Leila finally left the private clinic shortly before eleven that night.
It had been an unusually brutal shift.
One of the nurses had called in sick that morning, leaving Leila to cover the workload of two people. She spent almost the entire day rushing from one room to another, changing IV bags, assisting doctors, and staying beside an elderly patient for hours after a complicated operation.
Just when she thought the day couldn’t get any worse, several unexpected patients were brought into the clinic late in the evening.
Once again, Leila couldn’t leave on time.
By the time she finally stepped outside, her legs were aching and her eyelids felt impossibly heavy.
She was so exhausted that she didn’t even bother changing out of her white medical uniform.
She gathered her belongings, opened the taxi app on her phone, and ordered a car.
A few minutes later, a notification appeared telling her that the driver had arrived.
Several expensive black vehicles were parked outside the clinic.
Leila glanced down at her phone and then looked toward the cars.
One of them had its rear passenger door open.
Without checking the license plate, she assumed it was her taxi.
“That must be mine,” she whispered.
Then she climbed inside.
A man around forty years old was already sitting in the back seat.
He was dressed in expensive traditional clothing and had a neatly groomed beard. His expression was serious, and there was something intimidating about his gaze—the kind of presence that made most people instinctively avoid looking directly at him.
But Leila was far too exhausted to notice.
“Sorry,” she mumbled as she settled into the seat near the door. “I need to go to Al-Marin Street, number eighty-two.”
The driver immediately went still.
The man beside her slowly turned his head.
He stared at the young woman who had just entered his car as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened.
Leila was already closing her eyes.
“I barely slept last night,” she murmured. “If you can, just wake me when we get there.”
Less than a minute later, she was asleep.
The driver looked at his passenger through the rearview mirror, clearly unsure what he was supposed to do.
The vehicle belonged to Sheikh Karim al-Hadid, one of the most powerful and feared men in the country.
Rumors surrounded his family and his enormous wealth.
People said Karim controlled dozens of businesses, owned vast properties, and had several luxurious residences.
There were also stories about what happened to people who crossed him.
Nobody simply climbed into his car without permission.
Especially not a complete stranger.
“Sir,” the driver finally asked cautiously, “should I remove her from the car?”
Karim didn’t respond immediately.
He continued studying the sleeping nurse.
Leila’s head had tilted slightly toward the window.
Her exhausted expression made it obvious that she had been working for hours without rest.
Her phone was still loosely held in one hand.
A small name badge was attached to her uniform.
Karim leaned slightly closer and read it.
“Leila,” he said quietly.
The driver looked at him through the mirror.
“Maybe she thought this was her taxi.”
“Obviously,” Karim replied coldly.
A few moments later, the vehicle pulled away from the clinic.
The sound of the engine briefly woke Leila, but she didn’t open her eyes.
She heard the men talking in front of her and assumed she would soon fall asleep again.
Then Karim suddenly began speaking in Arabic.
He clearly believed there was no possibility that the exhausted young woman in the back seat could understand him.
He was wrong.
Leila understood Arabic perfectly.
And the moment she realized what he was telling his driver, every trace of sleep disappeared.
“Don’t take her to the address she gave,” Karim said calmly.
Leila’s breathing almost stopped.
But she kept her eyes closed.
“Take her to my country house,” the sheikh continued. “No one will come looking for her there until morning.”
The driver hesitated.
“And if she wakes up?”
Karim glanced back at the sleeping woman.
“Tell her we’re taking her home.”
A cold shiver ran down Leila’s spine.
She understood every word.
But the two men had no idea.
The driver lowered his voice.
“Why do you want her, sir?”
Karim answered with an unsettling calmness.
“She’s beautiful. We’ll keep her at my house.”
He paused.
“Perhaps she’ll become my fourth wife.”
Leila couldn’t pretend to be asleep anymore.
Her eyes suddenly flew open.
She looked first at Karim and then at the driver.
“Stop the car!”
The driver jumped.
Karim immediately looked at her face.
He understood that something had changed.
“You understand Arabic?” he asked.
“Stop the car right now!” Leila shouted.
The driver panicked and immediately began slowing the vehicle.
As soon as the car nearly stopped, Leila grabbed the door handle.
She threw the door open, jumped out, and ran toward the brightly lit street without looking back.
Karim remained in the back seat.
He said nothing.
He simply watched the exhausted nurse disappear into the night.
