Hey, I really don't like long, essay length author's notes but this was important to write so please bear with me and give it a few minutes of your time.

So I've noticed some questions being frequently asked and since they were piling up, I decided to address them here because I cannot answer each comment for every reader individually.

But before we proceed, let me tell you that though most of these comments are only genuine queries, some of the them actually came off as rather rude/upsetting and I had to reword them in my note in order to avoid conflict. My intention is not to target anyone with this so don't take this personally.

Now, let us answer some questions:

Why is Noura so impulsive/aggressive?

She missed her lessons on emotional intelligence.

Why is Noura so slow to connect the dots?

Maybe she was born with a low IQ.

Why is Noura so annoying/infuriating sometimes?

I thought it a good character trait to annoy others.

Noura is stupid.

Careful, she keeps daggers.

Why is Noura so trusting of Eskander?

If being her only family in a palace full of untrustworthy people isn't a good enough reason, I don't know what is.

Why is Noura so blind to Eskander's flaws?

Years of longing for him has impaired her sense of judgment.

Noura and Eskander's relationship is disturbing/disgusting.

Your mental health is important. You can skip their scenes, which is practically half of the book, so maybe quit the book.

Noura is infatuated with Eskander and it's not love.

Well, who's gonna teach her the difference?

Can you kill Eskander?

No. The author in me loves him too much for it.

Adam and Noura's marriage is not based on pure intentions.

I know. I arranged the wedding.

Thankfully I know the basics of my religion, so let me do my job. I'll find you a solution for it.

Noura being married to Adam but with/after someone else is forbidden/inappropriate.

Unfortunately the story isn't rated 100% halal.

The characters lack morals/values/principles.

The story is based on dark themes and villainy. You're looking for the said things at the wrong place.

Why doesn't Noura remember Hadi?

Who says? She remembers his eyes. Cheers.

How can Hadi waltz in and out of the palace whenever he wants?

Don't jinx him please.

Al Shafay loves Noura or is he just obsessed?

How about we wait to make introductions with him first. You can ask him afterwards.

How does Noura have so many suitors?

They don't know of the devil in her.

Why isn't the book completed already?

I don't live on Wattpad 24/7.

~

Jokes aside, let us clarify these questions on a serious note:

• Noura is not a palace girl. She ain't gonna play perfectly here and fit in. She's forcefully taken away from her home and enslaved. Her understanding of and reactions to certain situations might not be ideal.

• Eskander is her only family at the palace and Noura believes him to be the only person truly sincere towards her. Logically she trusts him more than anyone else with regards to herself and isn't fine with the thought of being left alone without him.

• Nowhere Noura supports Eskander's drinking habits; she attempts to stop him both of the times he's shown drinking in the book. Though she isn't shown totally opposing to the idea of him siding with Sulaiman against Al Shafay, that too before learning of Yusuf being alive. But the thought of him being listed as a traitor is unsettling to her.

• When Noura reaches maturity, Eskander has already left home for the army. When he returns, the years spent away from each other has done them both changes, and so her change of feelings for him sets in. Since he's the only man closest to her and the only one she has ever liked, she chooses to hold onto him despite the flaws of him she could see. That's a many years of attachment to him she cannot let go of abruptly, especially when she wished to marry him. If anything about their relationship disturbs you, I'll repeat myself as I've already mentioned before, their relationship is totally fine to me and I'm not going back to change anything.

• Noura doesn't remember much of her childhood at the palace because of her young age and limited time she spent there. The three boys from the 'him' pov are comparatively older than her and so their recollection of those memories are better than her.

• Adam and Noura's marriage happens under unfavorable circumstances for her and she finds it better to marry someone else than be bound to the caliph forever. She willfully marries Adam, but with the intention to leave him soon. That intention on her part doesn't go in support of the marriage, but whether Adam shares her intentions or not remains a mystery.

• Who is Hadi and how he's able to maintain connections, go in and out of the palace, or why he's after Noura remain questions to be answered.

• The many suitors that Noura have doesn't necessarily mean all of them are actually in love with her.

• Khalifa is named after Al Shafay who is both the hero and the villain of the story. What he did to Noura was out of an obsession to keep a memoir of his past with himself in the form of her. But whether the obsession changes to love or not is dependent upon who Khalifa turns out to be.

• And lastly, if you've read the couplets at the beginning of the book taken from the poem, To Love a Villain, you would know that this book isn't about heroes and their principles. Almost all the characters in the book are crooked, and Noura isn't your perfect Muslimah born to educate them. I've already stated in the beginning, the characters in the book might be Muslims but in no way represent Islam, so shall not be judged. You're not asked to learn from them or become like them. This is just fiction. Any advises on what needs correction in regards to permissible/forbidden or appropriate/inappropriate are welcomed. The story isn't listed under spiritual genre. And I think having already written stories both in spiritual and mystery genre before, I know the difference.

This isn't meant to offend anyone but to be considered as a request. Because I'm grateful to each of you sharing with me this journey and coming along so far. But in case you've missed me saying this before, fortunately or unfortunately I read almost every comment on my books and though I truly appreciate you leaving them, sometimes they're not the nicest things to read. And as much as I write for the pleasure of my readers, I do it for myself too and it requires me much effort and time. So kindly if you don't like something, you're welcome to skip it or leave the story instead of coming back to hate upon it. I'm not here to get lessons from anyone about what to do and how to do.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you understand me. Feel free to leave me anymore questions you've got in the comments and I'll get to them as soon as possible.

Wishing you a blessed new year in advance. Stay happy and stay safe. My prayers and well wishes.

Until next time,

✵