"I accept the hand of Hidayah Loh Mei Ling in marriage with the aforementioned Mahar" Nazreen's hand was shaken by the officiant after the witnesses approved the Akad nikah.
Nazreen was initially shocked to learn that the woman he saved insisted for them to be married there and then instead of reporting the incident to the police. Other than the fact that she was a Chinese Muslim. He can only wonder as to why this woman would rather be tied to marriage instead of getting justice for herself. Was this all just a set up by herself? If not, why was she so calmed and collected? One thing for sure, his "wife" needs to be checked upon.
As for Hidayah, all she ever wanted was to end this nightmare and return back to Country C. This debt of "marriage" needs to be claimed. The man who caused this misfortune must be found.
After the procedure was done and the officiant had handed them the marriage certificate, both Nazreen and Hidayah returned back to the hotel.
All night, Hidayah kept to herself, not saying anything to Nazreen. After saying her thanks in the lift, they separated ways when Nazreen alighted on level 28.
**********
"I need a flight home now!" Hidayah blared on the call. The pounding in her head had returned and got stronger. With so much happening that night, she cannot stay there any longer.
"I will get someone to pick you up in 45 minutes," the man on the phone responded indifferently. After ending the call, she rushed through the room to pack her luggage.
Tears of anger or most likely helplessness fell from her eyes as she gathered her belongings. Connecting the Bluetooth earpiece to her phone, she dialled for Erika's mobile.
After the phone rang for a long time, she heard the call being connected. "Why are you calling me so late in the night…" A sleepy response welcomed her.
"Erika…" hearing her best friend's voice made her sobbed hysterically.
"Hid, what's wrong?" Hidayah's cries made her alert. This was the second time she heard her friend cried uncontrollably throughout the years they had been friends. "Tell me what's wrong…"
"Erika, I was… I was…" she could not say any further but ended up crying...
"You need to speak up, babe…"
"I'm coming home… can you meet in at the National Hospital in 3 hours time? I'm scared…"
"Why do we need to go to the hospital, Hidayah? What happened?" before she could say any further, Hidayah had already ended the call. Erika quickly got up from her bed and took a cold shower to freshen herself up. Not knowing what to do, she called Hidayat.
Hidayat was still in bed when Erika called. It was only 2.30 in the morning. "Why are you calling so late, Erika?"
"Hidayat, your sister called me asking me to meet her at the hospital…"
"WHAT! WHY?" shocked hearing Erika's words, he accidentally shouted into the receiver.
"If you don't know, how would I know?" she sighed. However, before she could say anything further...
"Let me call her…" Hidayat ended the call immediately and dialled his sister's number. However, the call was not connected. He then called the hotel where she was staying. After waiting a while, the receptionist told him that she did not answer the phone in her room. He requested for the staff to check on his sister urgently.
With a heavy heart, he rushed into the shower and took a cold shower before heading out to the hospital. He did not want to wait any further. He also tried to call Hidayah's phone endlessly while driving to the hospital. But the effort was met with more chagrin.
Erika knew Hidayah might not be in the country right now since she had given a specific timing for them to meet. Hence, all she could do was to make a cup of coffee to kill her sleepiness and wait for the right time before going to the hospital.