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A HEARTBROKEN father hopes the launch of his fashion business will one day unite him with the daughter he has never met.
The Aliyah Marie Haute Couture brand - named after the child - was one of the sponsors of Bahrain's first Fashion Week and Dr Ahmed Alkhuzaie hopes its future success will be a clear sign that she has been, and always will be, in his thoughts.
The Bahraini doctor set-up the Aliyah Marie Holding Company last November after returning from Germany following an acrimonious split from his former partner.
At the time the couple was expecting a baby but Dr Alkhuzaie, 28, from Burhama, said: "Three years ago after our divorce, the court supported my former German wife to have full custody of our daughter, Aliyah Marie.
"I hope, someday, when my daughter is grown up, she will see the Aliyah Marie brand, perhaps while surfing the net, and try to find out what happened."
Dr Alkhuzaie had made his home in Germany for 10 years and left when the divorce was granted. The only images of his three-year-old daughter he has so far seen are photographs sent by his former wife's grandfather.
He said: "He has been extremely kind - he has been sending me pictures of my daughter but doesn't have the liberty to reveal their location."
Since returning to Bahrain to start afresh, Dr Alkhuzaie has met a new love - Shaikha Ahmed, a lawyer with the National Bank of Bahrain.
The couple will marry this month and Dr Alkhuzaie said his fiancŽ has proved a pillar of strength in helping him recover from the experience.
He said: "Nothing of what I have today would have been possible if it wasn't for Shaikha. She has been extremely supportive and understanding.
"Shaikha used to take prints of photographs of Aliyah Marie when I received them. She has even enlarged one and put it up in our new home.
"To date I have nearly 20 images of my girl from the day she was born ... she looked a lot like me as a baby."
The couple plan to travel to Europe as part of their honeymoon so that Dr Alkhuzaie can introduce his new bride to the close friends he made in Germany.
He said: "I am hoping I may even get a chance to see my daughter on the streets somewhere. Even if I get just a glimpse, I will know she is my daughter."
And, if that doesn't happen, he hopes the Aliyah Marie brand may help her find him one day in the future.
"We will be launching our label worldwide featuring both international and local designers in January," he said.
Dr Alkhuzaie decided to go into fashion as he is both interested and experienced in the field having worked with American lingerie giant Victoria's Secret in New York as part of a management internship programme while studying for his masters degree in Germany.
