Zahraa Hardtmann

«لأنني أحببت» — Because I Loved

زهراء ناصر الدين — Zahraa Hardtmann

Official website for the novel and author.

Because I Loved / لأنني أحببت

EditionEnglish & Arabic
ProtagonistsEva & Liam
SettingThe Midnight Ocean
The Book

Because I Loved / لأنني أحببت

A literary journey through grief, memory, and the enduring search for meaning.

To those whose hearts have been shattered, who no longer believe in love, who believe that love is not for them… This book is for you. Life isn’t over yet. It’s just the beginning.

Dedication
“To those whose hearts have been shattered, who no longer believe in love, who believe that love is not for them… This book is for you. Life isn’t over yet. It’s just the beginning.”
English manuscript, opening dedication (page 1)
The World of the Novel

Core Themes & Atmosphere

01

Love & Healing

A chance meeting between two wounded souls seeking meaning beyond their past.

02

The Midnight Ocean

A silent sanctuary where vulnerable lives converge in the quiet of night.

03

The Writer's Voice

Eva’s fierce aspiration to transform sorrow into enduring words and purpose.

04

Hope in Solitude

Liam’s quiet quest to rediscover a reason to believe in living once more.

Characters

The sea, the silence, and the words unsaid

Eva

The Voice / Aspirations

“I want to be a writer. I want to write about my life, the pain, the love, and the moments that shaped me.”

Eva says that she wants to be a writer and to write about her life, pain, love and the moments that shaped her.

English manuscript, Chapter 1

Liam

The Seeker

“Maybe I'm not running from anything... Maybe I'm just looking for something I lost a long time ago. Hope.”

Liam returns to the ocean searching for a reason to believe in life again, meeting Eva in the quiet of midnight.

English manuscript, Chapters 1–2
Liam

“Maybe broken people find each other for a reason.”

Eva

“Maybe to remind each other that we're not broken.”

Excerpts

Passages from the manuscript

Selected passages from Because I Loved.

PASSAGE 01 — The night at the sea

"What brings you here?" he asked. "My grandfather just died," I answered quietly. "And yet, you were close to him?" I shook my head. "No." He paused, then asked, "So why are you crying?" "Because sometimes I think about it… people die."

English manuscript, Chapter 1 — first encounter at the sea
PASSAGE 02 — On writing

"I want to be a writer." I said, my words sharp, as if they carried the weight of everything I hadn't said before. "And what kind of books do you want to write?" "I want to write about my life. About everything I've lived through. The pain, the love, the moments that… what it means to be human."

English manuscript, Chapter 1 — Eva on her ambition
PASSAGE 03 — Looking for something

"Maybe I'm not running from anything," he said quietly. "Maybe I'm just looking for something I lost a long time ago." "Like what?" I asked gently. "Hope. Or something that makes me want to live again."

English manuscript, Chapter 1 — Liam at the water's edge
Read Excerpts →
Midnight Sea Atmosphere
The sea

A space for grief, reflection and hope.

The sea is a recurring setting in the story: Eva and Liam meet there, return there, and use it as a quiet space for grief, reflection and hope.

Book Two

Because of Him

لأنه السبب

Zahraa Hardtmann

Await the new book’s copies.

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Zahraa Hardtmann

Because I Loved

A literary journey through grief, memory, and the enduring search for meaning.