The minute the certificate was signed, Ali sent it up to his lawyers to deal with. So the next afternoon, Ali sat there in his office with his lawyer in front of him.

"Okay, so this is the only proof you have of your marriage?" The lawyer asked.

"Yes. Legally that is all I need." Ali replied.

"You're correct, but we have to take this to the higher-ups. Everyone is going to try to win something out of this. Third cousins, cousin's wives, and husbands, even workers." His lawyer stated, in his thick British accent.

"What proof will you need?" Ali asked.

"First of all, I am missing your Nikkah papers-"

"We didn't have a Nikkah. She's my wife lawfully." Ali said

"Well, this is a Muslim family, you're not wedded until you have a proper Nikkah. If you don't they're going to question the validity of the marriage."

"You'll need pictures of the marriage, or if you can just have one with enough witnesses for the ceremony." He added

Ali wanted to groan and punch this guy. However, the man was right. They had to make sure this seemed authentic, so there was no loophole or error later on.

"Also, you're going to need her signature and thumbprint on all of these forms for her to transfer her shares to you. Now Abdul Qadeer is dead, and he has no will, naturally, she is the sole heiress, and she owns all of it. You're going to need her written and verbal consent, for this is a big exchange. The Qadeerul Mafia stands at 6.2 billion dollars." His lawyer said.

"I will sign it. I will sign every penny of my wealth to you." Ali's mind ran back to her words.

But to get her verbal consent I am going to have to let her go. Or at least that's the deal she made, I can always use force. Ali thought.

"Then, that'd be all. Get all of these things to me the earlier the better, and we'll begin the case officially." He said, leaving with his briefcase in hand.

Ali picked up the phone that rested on his desk and dialed John's number, and not a few minutes later there was a knock on the door and he came in.

"We need to have a Nikkah. Prepare whatever the hell you need for that, and there needs to be a ceremony for evidence. Prepare the documents now, and make the function happen tomorrow morning." Ali said.

"Yes Sir." John nodded once, before heading out right away to complete the tasks. Ali pulled out a file and started to work, sipping his bitter coffee here and there as he signed off some documents, and proofread the others.

Ali turned his chair to log into his laptop when the door jerked open with a frantic maid behind an agitated Erika.

"Sir! I am sorry, she didn't listen-" The maid begins.

Ali lifted his hand, indicating her to stop talking and leave.

"What the fuck Ali! Did you get married? MARRIED?" Erika shouted.

Ali shut the folder and got up to walk around his desk to lean against the front of it.

"Don't worry, it's just a power move." He said

"What do you mean? You're actually married to that woman, while I'm your girlfriend!" Erika said.

"It doesn't matter. It's just temporary." Ali sad curtly, not really caring much about Erika's little fit.

"But you're still married to her, I can't be your girlfriend openly. If anyone sees us I'm just going to be a ridiculous mistress! Do you know how humiliating that is? " She complained.

"This is going to last a month babe. It'll end before you know it. You already know the deal, this is to take over Qadderul." He said taking a reasonable pause before he stood up straight and beckoned her to him, just his hand gesture holding so much dominance anyone would be mad to disregard it.

Erika walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, setting her face into his neck.

"You're only mine." She murmured.

"Right?" She said, loosening her engulf to look at him in the eyes.

Ali said nothing and just blinked his eyes once, as a yes. Erika pressed her lips against his and Ali kissed her back pulling her in by the waist, they kissed for a hot moment before she backed away.

"You have to get this over with quickly because I wanted to hold a party for the two of us, not attend a party of you getting with some other chick." She mumbled.

"Patience, Darling. Be patient." He spoke.

Erika nodded at him and gave him another peck before she broke off their contact.

"I have to go meet with managers of the Westchester location, they're going to need some budget cuts." She said, fixing her hair.

"Good." He replied.

"I'll be back," She added, before strutting away.

As the door closed, Ali looked at the thick binder his lawyer had left him. Ali wanted to groan, knowing he had to get Anaya to approve and put her thumbprint on the documents. He would just make one of his workers go in her room and do whatever it takes for her to just put her name on it, but the girl was quick. He highly doubted her she would probably try to mess with the records, plus he needed her verbal consent and he was the only one that could get that.

Ali grabbed the binder with one hand and left his study, walking right down the stairs and to her room. The door was open and a maid walked out of the room with a tray full of food. He went to the door and saw her sitting on the blanket that laid on the floor, as she looked to her right then to her left. He knew she was praying, and it irked him.

He slammed the door shut to get her attention, but she didn't even flinch. Anaya had never looked so vulnerable before, her eyes went in her face void of even a glint of hope. Her clothes just hung on her body as if they were going to fall off, her wrists were as thin as paper and her face so narrow even her hijab looked loose.

Of course, Ali noticed. It was too obvious to not, she looked as if she was on the brink of passing out. He didn't know what to say about it, so he chose to put it off for later.

"You need to sign some more papers." He said to the point, throwing the binder towards her.

She didn't react nor move, just sat there staring at the floor, and then she grasped the binder. She opened it, and she could read that it was property papers. She was indeed right, this was just about the money.

She closed her weary eyes and took the pen, but she didn't even have the energy to hold it up, and suddenly the words on the article became blurry, and before she knew it she collapsed to the ground falling completely unconscious.

Ali immediately bent down to her and clutched her shoulders putting her weight on his thighs, his hands feeling the bone that stuck out because she was so skinny.

"Anaya!" He called, tapping her cheek.

It didn't work as she remained completely blank. Ali picked her up effortlessly and put her on the bed, taking out his cell phone to call his family physician telling him what happened to her and what she looked like now. Her face was colorless and her body laid limply on the mattress, Ali knew what it was- she wasn't eating. Either with the intention of hurting herself, or to just rebel against him.

The doctor came in the next twenty minutes, his supplies being carried behind him by a chauffeur. He checked her temperature and the underneaths of her eyes as he plugged her onto a drip.

"She's severely malnourished, she has no energy, her heartbeat is dull, and her body has lost a significant amount of muscle! Do I need to go on? Why isn't she eating correctly?" He asked Ali.

"I am not sure," He said, nonchalantly.

"I am going to give her some vitamins that she must take, and she needs to eat high protein and healthy fat foods for the upcoming month to regain the weight she's lost." He said, writing a prescription and handing it to Ali.

The doctor left, and Ali looked back at her, her cheeks becoming a tad redder, as the drip seemed to help her. He looked back at the maid who was about to leave and called her back in.

"What's she been eating?" He asked her.

"Nothing really, I always receive the tray back- full. She eats the fruits on the side, and some of the vegetables but not the food." She said.

"When she wakes up, get her health on track before the end of this week."

I can't let her die before the trial. He thought.

- - - - -

Nikkah- A Muslim marriage.