Mona Stories · Read & Watch
Leaving a marriage she did not choose
Shahd was 35 and an only child. Her father worked for a company whose owner’s son became interested in marrying her.
She told her father that she did not feel comfortable with the man. He focused on the family’s money and status and dismissed her objections.
The marriage went ahead under pressure. From its earliest days, Shahd felt confined and unhappy. When she finally sought a divorce, her father warned that she could not return home.
She continued anyway. Her father-in-law helped arrange the separation without a public dispute, but her father kept his threat and made her leave the house.
A place to begin again
A friend offered temporary shelter. Shahd did not want to remain dependent on her, so they looked for a small apartment.
Through the friend’s father, they found a fifth-floor apartment owned by Haj Saad. It was comfortable, in a respectable area, and comparatively inexpensive.
Saad’s attention made Shahd uneasy from their first meeting. Her friend told her not to worry, mentioning that he was already married to four women.
Initially, Shahd paid rent from her savings. Those savings ran out, and the work she found barely covered food and transportation. She fell three months behind.
The late-night visit
Saad arrived in person after midnight. Shahd told him it was inappropriate to enter while she was alone.
He said she must pay or leave. She asked for another month, but he reminded her that the apartment was worth more than he was charging.
Then his tone changed. He began complimenting her appearance and suggesting that a woman in her situation needed a man to protect her.
Shahd understood what he was implying. Fear of losing her last place to live kept her from ending the conversation.
Saad offered to clear the overdue rent and pay a year ahead in return for a personal arrangement. He had turned her housing insecurity into leverage.
Reassurance that brought no relief
Shahd let him inside so the conversation would not attract attention in the street. She immediately felt that closing the door had made her options narrower.
She insisted that any financial promise be documented with receipts, rather than left as words he could later deny. He readily agreed.
The following day, he sent food and other items. That evening, he returned with money and rent receipts, confident that he would obtain what he wanted.
The written account ends with Shahd caught between fear, need, and regret. The narrated video continues the situation and the consequences of an offer that had never felt like freely given help.
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Original Mona Stories narration. Playback controls are set to English; available audio and captions depend on the video.