The Most Beautiful Woman in All of Egypt - Chapter #4 - Free To Read

The court erupted.

Nobles spat insults over one another, viziers muttered behind their beaded collars, and the generals’ voices cracked like thunder against the temple walls.

A marriage? To a warlord?
To a rebel who had burned Pharaoh’s cities to the ground?
It was unthinkable.

Laila did not care for their outrage. Because she had already made her decision.

“No.”

The single word cut through the noise like a blade. She stood from her place beside the Pharaoh, her spine straight, her chin high, her gold-threaded linen shimmering in the candlelight.

The Queen did not flinch. Laila saw it in her cool, knowing gaze—Nefirah had expected her to resist. But she had not expected what came next.

“I will not be given away like some lesser concubine,” Laila said, her voice unshaken, clear as a temple bell. “I will not be used as a pawn to bargain for my father’s throne. I will not be sold—”

“Laila.”

Her father’s voice was quiet, but it was enough. The chamber stilled. She turned to him, waiting, daring him to deny her.

“I love you,” he said.

The words—soft, almost desperate—shook her more than any command could have.

Because love had never been a question.

Of course he loved her.

But love was not what this was about.

“This is prostitution,” she hissed, stepping closer. “You want to sell my body to save your throne. You want to sell me and start over—with her.”

Nefirah did not react, but Laila caught the shift in her eyes. The small victory.

Her father flinched, shaking his head. “You will always be my favorite, Laila. You will always be my firstborn.”

“Even if you have a son?”

Silence.

For the first time, Laila felt unsteady. Before he could answer—before she could bear to hear it—a sound shattered the quiet.

A low, rising roar from beyond the palace walls. A commotion. A gathering. The Pharaoh turned toward the balcony, his expression dark with something unreadable. And then, the high priest entered. His face pale. His breath short.

“You must come at once.”