All Chapters of A Chance To Rise: Chapter 141
- Chapter 150
165 chapters
Chapter 141 His New Road
The dorm room looked different without Khamees in it. The walls, once plastered with schedules and analytics and motivational posters, were bare now. The desk, usually cluttered with cables and hard drives, was empty. Even the air felt different—thinner, somehow, as if the room had been holding its breath and was only now exhaling.Zaid stood in the doorway, watching Khamees pack the last of his belongings into cardboard boxes. His friend moved with efficiency, folding cables, stacking notebooks, labeling boxes with a marker. There was no hesitation, no lingering. Khamees had always been good at endings."So," Zaid said, leaning against the doorframe. "This is it."Khamees looked up, a small smile playing on his lips. "This is it.""You'll stay in touch?""Obviously. I'm not disappearing. I'm just... relocating.""Same thing.""Different thing." Khamees sealed a box and set it with the others. "I rented an apartment. Near the local market. Its Small, but mine."Zaid raised an eyebrow.
Chapter 142 Something Real
The first week of summer break was bliss. Zaid slept in, ate his mother's cooking, and spent lazy afternoons on the balcony with a book he never finished. They went to the beach—his mother in a wide sunhat, Zaid splashing in the waves like a kid. They went to the mall, bought nothing important, and laughed at terrible outfits in dressing room mirrors.It was perfect.Then the second week arrived.The apartment, once a refuge, began to feel like a cage. His mother was at work during the day, and Sami was hours away with his reunited parents. Zaid found himself pacing the living room, scrolling through his phone, watching the same videos over and over.He was bored.Not the comfortable boredom of a lazy afternoon, but the restless, crawling boredom of someone who had forgotten how to be still.He picked up his camera. Filmed himself staring at the ceiling. Deleted it. Filmed himself making tea. Deleted it. Filmed himself talking about nothing. Deleted it."This is pointless," he muttere
Chapter 143 What Truly Matters
The vlog about Ahmed posted on a quiet Tuesday evening. Zaid had edited it himself—slowly, carefully, without the usual jump cuts and flashy transitions. He wanted the footage to breathe. He wanted the dust and the sweat and the weight of the work to speak for itself.Khamees had watched the final cut in silence. When it ended, he had simply nodded and said, "It's good.""It's different," Zaid had replied."Different is good."They posted it. Then they waited.---The first few hours were encouraging. Comments trickled in—familiar usernames, the loyal fans who had been with them since the beginning."This is beautiful.""Thank you for showing this side of life.""Ahmed is amazing. I hope he becomes an engineer."But the numbers didn't explode. The views climbed slowly, steadily, without the sharp spike they had come to expect. The algorithm, it seemed, didn't know what to do with a video about a construction worker studying to be an engineer.By the end of the first day, the vlog had
Chapter 144 Small Business
The hairdresser's name was Jamal, and he was a force of nature. His shop was tucked between a laundromat and a corner grocery, its sign handwritten, its windows streaked with dust. But inside, the mirrors were spotless, the chairs were worn but comfortable, and the air smelled of clipper oil and something citrusy.Zaid had found him through a friend of a friend—someone who said, "You want a character? Go see Jamal. He'll talk your ear off and fix your hair while he does it."They arrived on a Thursday morning, the shop empty except for an elderly man in the corner chair, a white sheet draped over his shoulders. Jamal was mid-sentence when they walked in, his scissors moving in a rhythm that matched his words."...and I told her, I said, 'Madam, if you want a miracle, you need to go to ummrah and pray. I can only give you a haircut.'"The elderly man chuckled, his shoulders shaking.Jamal glanced at Zaid and Khamees, his eyes bright, his smile wide. "Customers? Or are you here to steal
Chapter 145 Fighting Back
The email arrived on a Tuesday afternoon, polished and professional, the kind of message designed to impress. Zaid read it twice, then called Khamees."Have you seen this?""The email from the restaurant chain? Yeah. They're being very... persistent.""Persistent is one word for it."The chain was called "Sultan's Grill"—a sprawling network of family-friendly restaurants with locations across the country. Their food was fine, their portions generous, their decor aggressively themed. They were the opposite of everything Zaid and Khamees had been championing: corporate, standardized, soulless.Zaid typed a polite refusal: "Thank you for reaching out, but we're currently focusing on small, independent businesses. We wish you the best of luck."He hit send and thought nothing more of it.---The response came within hours."We understand your position, but our legal team advises us that your channel has featured several food establishments in the same region as our locations. Refusing to
Chapter 146 Tired But Ok
The apartment was quiet when Zaid got home, the late afternoon light slanting through the windows. He had been out filming with Khamees, and his arms were tired from carrying equipment. He kicked off his shoes, called out, "Mama? I'm home."No answer.He found her in the kitchen, sitting at the table, her head in her hands. Her work bag was on the floor beside her, still zipped. She hadn't changed out of her uniform."Mama?" He crossed the room, his heart tightening. "What's wrong?"She looked up, her face pale, lines of exhaustion etched around her eyes. "Nothing, habibi. Just tired.""You came home early.""The office was slow. I thought I'd rest."Zaid didn't believe her. He knelt beside her chair, looking up at her face. "Are you sick? Should we go to the doctor?""I'm not sick. I'm tired. There's a difference.""Mom—""Zaid." Her voice was firm, but soft. "I'm fine. I just need to lie down."She stood, swaying slightly, and he reached out to steady her. She patted his hand and wa
Chapter 147 Traumatized
The afternoon had been quiet, peaceful—the kind of lazy weekend day that Zaid had learned to treasure. His mother was in the kitchen, the smell of simmering lentil soup filling the apartment. Zaid was sprawled on the sofa, half-watching a nature documentary about penguins, half-dozing in the warm afternoon light.Then the door burst open."Om Zaid, are you home?"Zaid sat up, startled. A woman he didn't recognize swept into the living room like a small hurricane—colorful scarf trailing behind her, gold bracelets clinking, a massive plate of baklava balanced in her hands. She was plump, cheerful, and clearly on a mission."Umm Khaled," his mother called from the kitchen, her voice warm but surprised. "I didn't know you were coming.""I was in the neighborhood! I brought baklava! The good kind, from the new shop on Al-Wahda Street—" She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes landing on Zaid.The plate of baklava lowered slowly."Ya salam," she breathed. "Is this... is this Zaid?"Zaid nodded, u
Chapter 148 The Start Of His Business
The search for the perfect shop had taken Khamees to every corner of the city. He had walked through crowded souks and empty strip malls, peered into dusty windows and gleaming new developments. Nothing had felt right—until he stepped into the small boutique on the second floor of Al-Manar Mall.The shop was called "Threads," and it was exactly what he had been looking for. Not too big, not too small. Big windows facing the main corridor. A back room that could serve as storage and a small office. The walls were painted a warm cream color, and the wooden floors creaked in a way that felt charming, not neglected.The owner was an older man named Abu Faisal, his hair gray, his hands stained with years of work. He sat behind a small counter, a calculator in front of him, his expression tired. Beside him stood a young woman—his daughter, it turned out—with sharp eyes and an even sharper smile."You're the one who called about the shop," she said. It wasn't a question.Khamees nodded, sudd
Chapter 149 Preparations
The shop smelled of fresh paint and sawdust. Khamees stood in the center of the empty space, his hands on his hips, his eyes scanning the walls, the floors, the ceiling. It was his. After weeks of paperwork, negotiations, and sleepless nights, it was finally, legally, undeniably his.Now came the hard part: making it real.The opening day was three weeks away. Three weeks to transform a dusty old boutique into the flagship store of his brand. Three weeks to build the shelves, hang the clothes, design the displays. Three weeks to turn a dream into a place people could actually visit.He should have been terrified. Instead, he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time: excitement.---The first person to arrive the next morning was Zaid, carrying a toolbox he didn't know how to use and a bag of croissants he definitely knew how to eat."I brought sustenance," he announced, setting the bag on the counter. "And moral support. And also these hands, which are useless for manual labor but
Chapter 150 A Good Challenge
The vlog posted on Sunday evening, just as the sun was setting and the city was beginning to cool. Zaid had edited it himself, weaving together footage from the past three weeks—the empty shop, the painting, the assembling, the late nights, the laughter. He'd included bloopers at the end, because some things were too funny to leave out: Hosam dropping a shelf on his foot, Karam photobombing every serious moment, Imran arguing with a tape measure.The title was simple: "We Built a Store. (And Almost Lost Our Minds.)"Khamees watched the final cut with Zaid, sitting on the sofa in his apartment, the laptop balanced between them."It's good," Khamees said."It's honest.""Same thing."They posted it and went to bed.---Zaid woke to his phone exploding.Messages. Notifications. Emails. His screen was a cascade of alerts, each one more urgent than the last. He blinked in the morning light, trying to focus.Khamees had already texted him: "Check the video."Zaid opened YouTube.The vlog ha