Aliyah’s POV

Two months passed in a blur of exhaustion, secrets, and silent determination. Each morning I woke up feeling weaker, yet stronger in my resolve. My body was no longer the same. It betrayed me in the early hours with nausea, with dizziness that left me gripping the sink, with swollen breasts that ached beneath my clothes. But no one could know. Not Papa. Not anyone.

When the invitation to the major tournament came, I stared at the crisp envelope for nearly an hour, my hands ...