Kidnapped by the Arab

Everyone turned to look at Aisha. Ahmed felt a sense of relief as under the hijab, Aisha wore a burqa, which only allowed her eyes, lower lip, and chin to be visible.

“I’m sorry, really sorry, Your Highness,” Vittoria apologized.

“It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize; it was an accident,” Aisha replied calmly.

The previous night, Carlo and Vittoria were in their room. Carlo was obsessed with seeing Aisha’s face.

“I want you to find a way to remove Aisha’s hijab. Pretend it’s an accident or something. I need to see her face,” Carlo demanded.

“I can’t do that. We are guests here, and if she covers her face, it’s because she’s attached to her customs. We shouldn’t interfere with that,” Vittoria replied.

“Are you disobeying my orders?” Carlo asked threateningly.

“No, I’ll do as you ask,” Vittoria had to obey to avoid being punished.

The next morning, when Ahmed and Carlo went to the golf club, Vittoria told Aisha about Carlo’s plan.

“I’m sorry that my husband is so reckless,” Aisha said.

“Don’t worry. Just do as he asks,” Vittoria replied.

“I can’t. I’d rather face Carlo’s punishment than do something improper.”

“Trust me.”

When Carlo saw Aisha wearing the burqa, he felt annoyed. Ahmed’s mother often wore it to eat and drink tea in public without showing her face.

Later, when they were alone, Carlo approached Vittoria and slapped her hard.

“You’re such a fool! I asked you to do one thing, and you couldn’t even do that properly,” Carlo said, as Vittoria rubbed her cheek, trying to hold back her tears.

“I did what you asked. It’s not my fault the Jequesa was wearing something under the hijab,” Vittoria replied.

“Their culture is so strange.”

Aisha was very grateful to Vittoria and told Ahmed what Carlo was planning.

“That idiot! I’ll put him in his place right now,” Ahmed said.

“Don’t do it. You’ll expose Vittoria, and she’ll suffer the consequences,” Aisha pleaded.

In New York, Cambell and Thara finally had the legal document declaring the little boy as their son.

“Leonard! What a beautiful name you chose for our son,” Cambell exclaimed as Thara laughed.

The baby had become the center of their world. Cambell couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when the little producer of dirty diapers stole his heart. Maybe it was the moment he came into this world. Watching Thara in her role as a mother touched his heart, and he knew he had made the right choice in marrying her. They had legally married a few days ago without ceremony or celebration, and they planned to have a religious ceremony later to invite their friends.

“I’m sorry that our wedding was like that, but I’ll make it up to you later,” Thara said.

“Don’t worry, love. It was necessary to make you Leonard’s legal mother.”

Carlo and Vittoria bid farewell to Ahmed and Aisha. An unexpected situation in Italy required their immediate return; Carlo’s mother had slipped down the stairs, and her condition was critical.

“I regret that you have to leave so soon. I would have liked you to stay a little longer,” Ahmed lied politely.

“We appreciate your hospitality,” Carlo said. He didn’t want to leave yet. He wanted Caroline to tell him where his sister was, but with so many guards around the palace, it had been impossible.

They were accompanied to the airport, and Aisha was happy that Carlo would finally be far away from her. She was worried about Vittoria and had given her phone number, telling her not to hesitate to call if she needed help.

Arkham noticed the tension between his brother and their guest. He had to investigate what was going on between them. Maybe he could find something there. His brother couldn’t be as perfect as he seemed.

Ahmed was in his office, observing his wife and sister planting roses in the garden with Caroline’s company. He imagined his children running around there and knew he had to talk to her about it. His assistant brought him back to reality.

“Sir, Mr. Gauner’s lawyers are here. You had scheduled a meeting with them.”

“You can let them in.”

Stik Gauner had been imprisoned for denouncing fraudulent activities against foreign investors.

“Salam Alaikum.”

“As Salaam Alaikum.”

The two lawyers greeted the Sheikh courteously.

After discussing the problem, Ahmed promised to review the case. He knew he needed to make many changes in the judicial system. They couldn’t continue acting the way they did. The United Arab Emirates couldn’t afford to punish those who reported fraud against foreign investors if they wanted to maintain foreign investments in the country.

For some time, Ahmed had been fighting to change certain laws. He strongly disagreed with the treatment of women who were raped. Instead of prosecuting their aggressors, they were often imprisoned. Aisha also emphasized the need to review such cases, as many women were losing years of their lives imprisoned for the wrong reasons.

As evening fell, as usual, Ahmed sought solace in Aisha’s arms. He needed to forget the day’s stress and tension.

Before going to bed with her, Ahmed took a shower. When he came out of the bathroom, he noticed Aisha taking a pill. He walked closer and took them from her hands.

“What is this?” He asked, and Aisha remained silent, which annoyed Ahmed. “Why are you doing this?”

“I’m sorry, Ahmed. I don’t want children, at least not now. Maybe later, when I’m sure that my feelings for you are as strong as yours for me. I need to sort out many things. I can’t bring a child into this world and expose them to constant risk. I know Carlo would harm them if he found out.”

“When you’re sure about your feelings for me?” Ahmed turned away and went into the dressing room to get dressed. When he came out, Aisha approached him, but he rejected her.

“Are you leaving?”

Ahmed left the room without answering, heading to a clandestine bar in the city, where powerful men gathered, and several girls undressed on stage to the rhythm of music.

He sat at a table and ordered a bottle of whiskey, which was also illegal, but at that moment, he didn’t care. After drinking several bottles, he could barely stand. Arkham arrived and found his perfect brother in such a place, more drunk than he had ever seen him.

“Wow, the perfect son in a place like this. You’ve had quite a few drinks, brother. I didn’t expect to see you in this state,” Arkham said.

Ahmed was barely conscious of his surroundings. Arkham called some girls to sit beside him, posing for photographs.

After taking the photos, Ahmed called his bodyguards, who were waiting outside the place.

“I think you should come in for your boss. He’s not in a condition to stay here,” Arkham said.

The men came in, lifted Ahmed into the van, and drove him to the palace. Aisha opened the door, and they laid him on the bed before leaving. Aisha approached to change him, but as she tried to remove his shirt, she noticed several lipstick marks on him. It felt like contact with him burned her, so she moved away, sat in a chair, and started crying.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

She felt like a fool, pushing him away. The fear of losing him had made her react, but she loved him, more than she could bear.

After a while, the anguish passed, replaced by anger. How dare he do this to her? How could he betray her?

She left to stay in her old room. In the morning, she would talk very seriously to him, and the Sheikh would have to listen.

Early in the morning, Raccha knocked on her door, looking nervous.

“Your Highness, it’s better if you sit down. You won’t like this news they’ve published,” Raccha said, handing her a newspaper. As she saw the photo on the front page, she paled.

The newspaper published a picture of Ahmed surrounded by several girls kissing and hugging him. He was sitting, with a vacant look in his eyes as some women embraced him and others kissed him.

Her first reaction was anger, but as she looked at the photo again, she realized that something was off. His vacant look was a clear indication that something was wrong.

She thanked Raccha for informing her. The girl had hesitated to show her the newspaper, but as her assistant, she had to do it.

Ahmed woke up at that moment, feeling as if a thousand tiny lances were piercing his head. Aisha entered and showed him the newspaper. Ahmed was surprised to see the image, and the headline was alarming.

“This is the great example our Sheikh gives.”

Below the headline, the article conveyed a negative message about him.

“Our Sheikh hides in the shadows to do inappropriate things, enjoying alcohol and women, two things prohibited and punishable by our laws.”

Ahmed paled. It was obvious that someone wanted to harm him. He looked at Aisha, who was watching him impatiently, waiting to hear what he had to say to try to justify himself.