Tainted Souls

Chapter 18

Leonardo

A month had passed since Taimur Al Jahaan abducted Alia, and I was nowhere near finding her. Did Taimur Al Jahaan mention our meeting to Alia? Did she know how the bastard challenged me openly?

I could not sleep at night thinking about what Alia must be going through. Would Taimur try to force himself on her? He was still her husband, and if he wanted, he could sleep with her. Would Alia resist him or succumb to his advances? Alia had loved him for years, and it wouldn't be easy for her to restrain herself if he tried something. 

I stayed up all night thinking about Alia's feelings in the whole situation. Did she want to get back with her husband? They had three kids together. It wouldn't be a surprise if she made peace with Taimur Al Jahaan for all her sons' sake. 

I held my head in my hands. The thought of Alia with anyone else, even if that was her husband, was enough to make me want to burn down the world. I loved Alia, and I wouldn't let anyone force her into something she didn't want, even if the said person was a King.

The door to my office burst open, and Nico barged inside, "I warned you not to go against him," he announced, glaring at me.

"What happened?" I stared at Nico, surprised.

Nico pulled out his cell phone and held it before my eyes. The headline on the website of a leading daily made my stomach twist.

'Italian Tycoon stalked his business partner's wife and tried to sabotage their marriage.'

"It's all over the internet. Even our PR team can't make it go away," Nico hissed while I stared at the screen with a blank mind.

I did not doubt that Taimur Al Jahaan leaked the information to the media. I recently sabotaged his deal with the Italian Government, and he retaliated by leaking the information. In the past week, Taimur had shut down two projects of my company in the Middle East. I hit him back by canceling his company's deal with Italy. I expected him to retaliate, but I didn't expect he would be down to play dirty.

It could prove catastrophic for my company. No one would want to work with me after learning I tried to steal my business partner's wife. I never imagined Taimur Al Jahaan would go to such an extent. It only meant how hell-bent he was to keep Alia. I couldn't understand why he wanted Alia if he was married to the love of his life. 

Why not free her from the shackles of their marriage and let her live the life she desired? Arabs were possessive about their women and famous for having multiple wives. Polygamy for men was permitted in Islam and an ancient tradition of Arabs. From his perspective, Taimur Al Jahaan wasn't wrong to want to keep Alia as his wife. It wasn't anything new in that part of the world. But Alia didn't desire it, and she had every right to divorce him. 

"How are we going to get out of this?!" Nico rubbed his temples in frustration.

"We will find a way," I tried to assure him, even though I knew there was no way out.

My reputation had taken a hit. Stalking wasn't something the media would let slide easily. They would have a circus ripping my reputation to shreds. I was more concerned about how it might reflect on Rameen. I didn't want her to suffer any scrutiny from the media because of me. She had already endured a lot because of my recklessness, and I didn't want her to face any more problems. 

"For God's sake, Leo, tell me what's going on? What beef do you have with Taimur Al Jahaan? That man holds the power to destroy us. We can't fight him," Nico's gaze was full of questions.

Guilt clawed at my heart. It pained me to see Nico worried like that. He was loyal to the core and was there for me through every up and down. He deserved to know the truth, but I couldn't share it without Alia's permission.