Captured Hearts Book 1 in the Heart Series - Wattys 2015 Winner

Chapter 19

Jenna tightened her robe around herself, and tiptoed down the hallway towards Hudayfah's office. All of the boys were downstairs, including Hudayfah and Rami, Rana had gone to bed early, and she was going to do something that she knew was risky.

She was going to search Hudayfah's office.

Yes she knew it was wrong.

But she had to do it.

As she approached his office door, she glanced back and forth down the hallway, before pulling on the handle, and slipping inside. She had only been in there a couple of times before, mostly when she came to tell him dinner was ready, but as he wasn't there and she was sneaking around, she felt a little bit...scared.

She stepped hesitantly towards his desk, smiling slightly at how orderly it was. Hudayfah was very neat and organized, and she admired it about him as she could sometimes be a little bit disorganized. She stepped around the desk, pulling open one of the drawers, her hand trembling slightly. The first drawer held pens and pencils and post it notes, and other such supplies. There was even a tape dispenser shaped like a smiley face, and she shook her head, almost positive it had been from Rami.

The second drawer held papers, both lined and printer, and she shuffled slightly through them, a few seconds later concluding they were all blank. The third drawer however held files, each labeled neatly, and as she spotted a file labeled 'Muhsin', her eyes widened, and she plucked it out of its place. As she opened it, and began to rifle through its contents, her jaw dropped. There were checks written to this Jamaal guy, dating back from two years ago on behalf of her brother. The further she got into them, the larger the amounts became. She couldn't believe Hudayfah had continued to bail out her brother like this. The last check was written a month before their wedding, and it was in the amount of fifty thousand dollars.

Fifty thousand dollars!?

She had no idea Muhsin was in this deep. No wonder he kept calling for money. She couldn't even give an estimate of the amount of money Hudayfah had poured into her brother, but it was well into the millions. Why had he done it?! Why had he kept it up? And it couldn't have been because of Jenna, they hadn't even known each other two years ago. There was something bigger going on than Muhsin had told, and she wondered if she even wanted to know what it was.

As she put the file back in place, there was another one behind it, and when she read the label, her heart began to pound.

Marwa

She hesitated, staring at it for a good five minutes before she reached for it and pulled it out. It sat on her lap as she was suddenly too scared to open it. A few minutes later, before she lost her nerve, she slowly opened it, her breath leaving her. There was a picture of Hudayfah and who she assumed to be Marwa laying on top of a pile of papers. They were sitting at a restaurant, and Hudayfah was gazing at her adoringly. She was absolutely stunning. She had long, really long brown hair, and piercing blue eyes that were heavily lined with Kohl and mascara. Her smile showcased two rows of perfect white teeth, and Jenna couldn't help but think how handsome of a couple they made.

Under the picture was what looked like a marriage license, and as she inspected it further, she found she was right. It was a marriage license! Muhsin had said they were just engaged...

Underneath that was what looked like the conditions for their marriage, things like the Maher, which Jenna couldn't help but think smugly was a lot lower than hers. But then she realized she didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Other papers contained things like receipts for a wedding hall, flowers, a catering bill. This wasn't just an engagement, this had been serious. She next came upon a folded up piece of paper that said 'Hud' on the front with a series of hearts, and she felt her own heart constrict.