She wants to control

-O mother, I was embarrassed in front of them; consider the mother of this and that; do not hold her son responsible for anything in our presence.
-Mule, stop being so dramatic. It was only a joke, and we all laughed at it.

Alara is empty, petty, and ignorant; she lacks interesting topics to discuss in public; she wants to control every conversation; she must be the focal point of the evening; and Marwan is her abundant source of material for regaining control if it should err. One of the most crucial techniques to make the lights sparkle again is to mock him.
The boy learned not to argue because the argument will turn against him, and if he is spared from punishment, he will not be spared from mockery.

In addition, she always has authorship as a fallback option if she is unable to find something hilarious.
In a split second, she concocts a falsehood about him, turns him into the evening’s biggest joke, and then seizes the lights.

From The Curse of Zainab Novel – Click Here And Read