As soon as they entered Grandma Dada’s parlour, she wasn’t around—only her attendants were present, gathered there and offering greetings to Princess Sumayya and Sultana Sadiya. But no one paid attention to Sumayya and her mother, Ummah. Princess asked dismissively, “So Dada isn’t around?”

One of the attendants replied, “May you live long, my princess. She just stepped inside, but she’ll be out soon.”

Princess glanced at Sultana Sadiya and said, “Ummah, let’s sit while we wait for her.”

Sultana Sadiya didn’t object. They sat down and waited.

After about five minutes, Dada came out quickly. They all stood up, including Ummah and the princess. The maids quickly greeted her: “May you be blessed, Sultana, welcome.”

They stopped after that because they knew Dada didn’t like flattery.

She came and sat on the chair. Sultana Sadiya and Princess knelt and greeted her. Dada, with a cheerful face, responded and they sat down. Seeing their demeanor, Dada sensed they had something important to discuss, so she dismissed all her attendants.

Turning her attention to Sultana Sadiya, she said, “Judging by your faces, you have something important to say. I’m listening.”

Sultana Sadiya smiled and looked at the princess, who was staring back at her, waiting to hear what she would say. Turning her gaze back to Dada, she said, “May you live long, this is all about Sumayya. She came to me with a matter that truly bothered me. I felt it was more appropriate to bring it to you, since after the King, you are the highest authority.”

Dada simply stared at her, then nodded and said, “I’m listening.”

Sultana Sadiya explained, “Sumayya came to me saying she spoke to the prince, asking him to let her travel and observe how their business is going. It’s been five months since the business started, and she hasn’t had a chance to visit. Her business partner insisted she at least come once and sign some important documents. But instead of understanding, the prince insulted her, belittled her, and even slapped her. She came to me frightened, so I said we must come to you. Only you can handle this properly.”

Dada turned to Sumayya, whose eyes were swollen from crying. She was furious at the prince’s mistreatment of her granddaughter. Angrily, she said, “That is absolutely unacceptable. I despise injustice, and I certainly won’t tolerate someone mistreating his own. This is a legitimate business trip. I won’t stop her, because that would be wrong. As the prince’s wife, she should be trusted to move around, and you grew up in this palace—you never saw your parents behaving this way. And you know the King would never approve such behavior.”

Princess Sumayya began to plead with her grandmother, “Please, Dada, help me.”

Dada responded, “Fine, since he disrespected you, you must go. Call him for me.”

Princess Sumayya and her mother were very pleased with Dada’s reaction. Sumayya took Dada’s phone and called the prince.

Meanwhile, the prince had stormed into his room and threw himself on his bed, still furious with Sumayya. He wasn’t surprised though—he always believed she only treated him kindly when she needed something. Deep down, he regretted slapping her, because he had always hated such behavior.

His phone rang. He almost didn’t answer, but when he saw Dada’s name, he quickly sat up and answered the call.

Without greeting him back, Dada barked, “You disrespectful child, come and see me immediately. Don’t you dare waste my time. If you don’t come quickly, even your father will be furious with you.” She hung up.

The prince was livid at Dada’s tone and even more so because she involved his father. He hissed, “I’m sure this is Sumayya’s doing. That girl has no respect.” He showered quickly, got dressed, and headed toward Dada’s quarters alone, telling his guards to stay behind. He walked in his usual majestic way, showing no emotion, simply raising his hand in acknowledgement as he passed by others.