Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1

by Evida Suntoyo

  "I will have Col. Anton investigate Soraya's movements since she arrived here."

  "Ayahnda, maybe it's also worth looking into the phone records from the house in London."

  "You're right. I will call the Embassy in London to get it." He paused for a moment, looked at his daughter and then said. "Ananda, I hope you don't think negatively about your mother, at this stage, we don't really know what happened."

  "I understand Ayahnda. There is another thing I would like to errr....consult you." She paused, waiting for his reaction.

  He could guess what was going to be her question, but he decided to let her continue with it. "Go ahead." He said.

  "About my husband and his family. They are very closely connected to Holly Mountain Pharmaceuticals. Do you think they had anything to do with what happened?"

  "Certainly not!" The Sultan said. "My cousin Hamza is the person I trust most in this world. Otherwise, why would I marry my daughter to his son?"

  "Then Ayahnda, how should I deal with this matter in front of my husband? Is it wise for me to tell him that there is a possibility that his step mother's family is involved in the attempt to kill me?"

  "We don't know that for sure. The drug may be Extemiva that was patented by Holy Mountain, but remember that Pangeran Bashir was the Minister of Defense during the time of the experiments, so he would have access to the drug. However, we also cannot be sure that Holy Mountain is not involved, so we do need to be careful. Because come to think of it, we did suspect that my brother has powerful financial support, and Holy Mountain right now, sticks out as a prime suspect. But what I need is a motive. What would they gain by supporting Pangeran Bashir? Extemiva is not a high enough yielding business deal, for them to invest their money in supporting him. We have to investigate some more. Ananda, I want you to be honest with your husband. I know for sure that he is loyal to me and to the country. And if it turns out that Tan Ping An is involved, he can protect you from them. Once he gets back, we will tell him everything you just told me." They both sat in silence. "Ananda, do you know why I married you to Ali."

  "I have my theories." She answered.

  "Yes, Hamza told me about them. But there's something that you didn't put into account before making your hypothesis."

  "What's that, Ayahnda?"

  "I was able to claim the throne from my brother because of my political strategies. I don't need Ali's ideals to gain political alliance."

  "Oh? Then why did you marry me to him?"

  "Because of you. Because of your birth circumstances, and because of your upbringing. Many people will look down at you. But he can legitimize you, from his father's side he is still a descendant of a previous Sultan, and his mother is a foreign princess."

  "Then, if I married his brother it would have the same effect, because his mother is the daughter of the second richest man in this country."

  "But he's not as sharp and committed as his elder brother. Do you think I didn't know about his philandering? How can I a man like that be my potential successor? Ali is a loyal and pious man, he can be trusted with great responsibilities."

  "But you forget, he was in a relationship with another woman, what happens if he runs back into her arms in the future?"

  "That depends on you. It's common sense that any normal man will easily be moved by a beautiful woman like you. Use your feminine charm to keep him faithful." He observed her expression, "You have consummated your marriage, haven't you?"

  "I'm sure you've received a detailed report on that subject." She replied with defiance.

  "I will take that as a yes! Then that means you have captured his attention, what you need to do now is tie his heart to you."

  Paramita remained silent, all her life he was a stranger to her despite being her biological father, but now she was beginning to distrust him, there was something about his words that didn't quite sit well with her.

  * * *

  The drive home was awkward for Paramita, Ali remained quiet most of the time. "Are you upset?" She asked.

  "Yes." He answered shortly.

  "Do you want to talk about it?"

  "I know a good steak restaurant nearby. Let's stop there to eat."

  "You don't have to be an arse about it, you know." She said to him sharply.

  "An ass about what? About my wife conspiring with another man to keep secrets from me? No, I'm not being an ass about that." He said without looking at her.

  "I wasn't conspiring with another man. I was just delaying until I have spoken about it with my father. Or in case you forgot, it was me who they tried to kill, not you. And one of the suspects is your step grandfather. Don't you think my decision made sense? I have the right to protect myself." She rebutted.

  He took a deep breath. "Mita, what do you see me as? Do you really think that I could be involved in these attempts to kill you?"

  She didn't answer.

  "So you do?" He asked again.

  "If my own mother was the one who forced the drug down my throat, why wouldn't it be possible that you are also involved? It's not like you were engaged with me because of your own free will." She said.

  "Mita, stop it! Don't go there! When will you start to trust me? I know that we've just known each other for a while, but we're allies in this situation, we should start by being honest and trusting each other. Besides, I've already told you why I initially agreed to marry you. Think about it, what would I gain by killing you back then?" He said while stopping the car.

  "You're absolutely right. You'll benefit more if you kill me right now." She replied.

  "No! I won't! Although we're officially married, but it hasn't been announced yet. And even after the reception, without considering anything else, a widowed Prince Consort is not a politically strategic position. If it serves as a consolation to you, you're worth more to me alive than you are dead." He explained odiously.

  "I'm sick and tired of this, I'm sick and tired of being used, by my father, by my mother, by you, and by whoever it was who tried to kill me. Do you all think that I'm just a pawn in your ambitions?" She banged her hand on the dashboard.

  "Then why not become a part of it?" Ali whispered.

  "A part of what?" She turned her head to him.

  "A part of my dreams, instead of seeing yourself as a pawn, why not become my partner? What do you have to lose? We're married, and we've had intimate relations several times now, so I know that we have a mutual attraction for each other. Why not stay with me and be my companion through all this?"

  "What are you saying? Give up my dreams to help you pursue yours?" She retorted.

  "I'm not asking you to give up your dreams. I'm asking you to pursue them here, by my side.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  "We're here, this is the steak restaurant that I told you about." Ali said parking the car in front of a nicely decorated restaurant.

  They sat down at a window table and ordered their meal. "The meat here is really good." Ali said.

  "Is the meat here produced locally or is it imported?" She said.

  "Most of it is imported, from Australia or New Zealand. We don't have many grasslands here to support all the cows to sustain consumer's demands for beef."

  "I see."

  "But we do produce our own poultry. That's something to look into, poultry. Professionally managed a poultry farm could be a potential source of export for our country."

  "That's right, I've read about that somewhere."

  "Mita." He said while reaching for her hand and holding it tightly, "Please don't doubt me, I would never let anything bad happen to you."

  "I'm sorry. You are the only person who's been my friend this whole time, I shouldn't have suspected you. But please understand me, if your own mother was the one who fed you poison, would you be able to trust anyone else?" She said.

  "I guess you're right." He kissed her hand and caressed it. "So, what have you decided about my proposal?"

  "Proposal? What you said in the car? I don't know, I'm
not convinced." She replied.

  Ali sat back dejectedly, he took a pretzel from the small basket on the table and popped it into his mouth. Suddenly his face brightened as he glanced towards Paramita who was eating while looking out the window.

  "Hey, give me your hand..." He said to her.

  She looked at him with her eyebrows arched, "Why?"

  "Just give me your left hand." He repeated.

  She hesitated but put her left arm on the table reaching across it. Ali took her hand and put the pretzel around her middle finger. "Now would you consider my proposal?" He asked.

  She looked at him in disbelief, "What are you trying to do exactly?"

  "I'm proposing to you, see I've even given you a heart shaped ring." He flashed a cheeky smile.

  "Grow up!" She said, pulling her hand away and harshly bit on the savory snack.

  "Oh, you just chewed at my heart." He said bowing his head and putting his hand on his chest.

  "How lovely....." There was a voice behind them.

  They both turned to the source of the voice. "Dewi." Ali said.

  Paramita looked at the window with a frown. She could feel something slicing her heart seeing the two in front of her.

  "Abang, how are you doing? I haven't seen you in sometime." She said to him, ignoring Paramita.

  "I'm doing very well, thank you." He smiled to her awkwardly.

  "So the two of you are leisurely hanging out before your wedding day? Don't you have to make preparations?" She said again while glancing at Paramita.

  Paramita pretended she wasn't there and smiled at the waiter who brought their food to the table. She inhaled the delicious aroma of her medium rare steak. And prepared to dig in.

  "Eating all that meat, wouldn't you be afraid that you wouldn't be able to fit into your wedding Kebaya?" Dewi asked her.

  Paramita didn't answer, she cut off a huge piece of fat from her plate and put it into her mouth. "I love the fatty parts, it's so yummy." She said as though talking to herself.

  "Oh my goodness." Dewi looked repulsed.

  "Dewi are you here to meet someone?" Ali asked seeing that Paramita was trying to control her emotions.

  "I have a meeting with the record company."

  "Ah, I see." He said, "Please don't let us hold you back from going to your table." He responded while pretending to look around the restaurant.

  She stared at him with rage and walked away from their table.

  "Abang" Paramita looked at Ali judgmentally, "You're right, the meat here is very good. Too bad the atmosphere is not up to standard, if I wanted to be in a place where people would stare and judge at me while I'm eating, I would have asked Rahmat to take me to the Chinese restaurants that has the fried rice eating competition every Fridays."

  "Mita, I know what you’re thinking, I promise that I didn't know she'd be here, and it doesn't make any difference to me. Right now, I don't have any space in my heart or mind for anybody else, but the woman who's sitting across the table from me!" He explained. "Oh, and If you really want to go to that restaurant, I will call Rahmat and ask him where it is. There's no need for you to go with him, from now on. I don't want you to go places with other men. Don't you like the food here? Here try mine." He said while feeding her a piece of meat.

  "You are so obsessed about this other men thing, but I get it. People would start to gossip and it might ruin your reputation." She said while passing a fork with a piece of meat from her plate to him.

  "It's not just that. More importantly for me is that I can't bear the thought of anyone else getting close to you, or knowing something about you that I don't."

  "You sound like you're jealous." She teased.

  "Let me tell you a story, there was once a beetle who coveted a beautiful flower that he thought was a gift to a bee who was very near and dear to him. Even though all his life this beetle would always give anything he owned to the bee, whenever the bee asked him without exception, because he loved that bee so much. But it turns out, the gardener had always intended to give the beautiful flower to the beetle, and not to the bee. So naturally the beetle was very happy and grateful, he held the flower tightly not willing to let anyone else not even the bee, come near or touch it. From the beginning, the beetle swore to himself that he will protect the flower from harm, even though he knows that the flower has many thorns and could protect herself. Because for him, that flower was the most precious thing he owned." Ali paused, "What do you think about my little story?"

  Paramita took a napkin to wipe her lips, "Are the beetle and bee in a boy loves boy relationship?"

  "Here, eat some more meat!" Ali said while pushing his fork near her mouth.

  Paramita wiped her lips again with the napkin to hide her smile.

  Ali stared at something in the distance, he looked stunned. Paramita followed the direction he was looking at, it was the table where Dewi was sitting, "Ah, so your beautiful flower is meeting with another man?" She said with an angry tone.

  Ali looked at her and couldn't help but smile, "So you do feel jealous towards me?" He continued, "It's not that. You know, that man is Jonathan Tan, my step uncle, he owns Mountain Records. So that was the record company that Dewi was meeting. But that's not the problem. The problem is, that auntie who just walked in with him, doesn't she look very familiar? Where have I seen her before?" He said while signaling with his head.

  Paramita turned around discretely to see what he was talking about, she couldn't quite see the auntie he was talking about, but after looking at them for a while too was surprised "Abang, that's not any auntie, that's my mother."

  "Mita, now we have a connection between your mother and Holy Mountain. I think we should leave as soon as possible, we don't know who our enemies are, and I don't want to take any risks with your safety. Come on let's go." He said to her while standing up and grabbing hold of her arm.

  Paramita accidently fell forward because of Ali pulling her, and that made the table screech as it slid on the ceramic floor. The group turned around and looked at them. Soraya didn't expect to see her daughter there. She walked over to them followed by everybody else in the group.

  "Mita, my little girl, I didn't know you would be here tonight, why don't you please introduce me to your companion." She said pretending not to know who Ali was.

  Ali smiled and answered before Paramita could say anything. "Bunda Soraya, it's nice to finally meet you." He answered while taking her hand and kissing it.

  "Jonathan, Dewi, I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Her Highness Puteri Paramita Sawitri, and this is her fiancée Raden Ali." She introduced them.

  "Thank you for introducing us, Bunda. I am well acquainted with you companions." He answered, while putting his left arm around Paramita's waist and pulling her backward away from her mother.

  "Congratulations...congratulations...Nephew. Soraya, you might not know this, but Ali is my nephew, he is the son of my sister's husband." Jonathan said while smiling and giving Ali a big embrace and shake on the hand. "And congratulations to you too my new niece. He said to Paramita. "Look at us we are all one big family now."

  "I don't want to be rude, but Mita is not feeling too well right now, she has been sick these past few days. Please excuse us, we were just about to go home." Ali put on a smile.

  "Are you sick? What do you have?" Asked Jonathan.

  "A case of food poisoning." Paramita answered while looking at Madam Soraya through the corner of her eyes. The latter seemed to be unaffected.

  "Oh my, you have to make sure that you take good care of yourself." He said to her.

  "If Mita is sick, then the two of you should go ahead and go home now. Ananda Ali, please take good care of my daughter." Soraya said.

  * * *

  Paramita sat quietly in the car leaning her head against the window, Ali held her hand and squeezed it gently. "Abang, don't ever betray me, okay?" She said without turning to him. "You're the only person I have left, don't disappoint me."

 
"I won't, I promise." He answered shortly. "Do you want to visit the Lotus Palace tomorrow? We can check if they have finished with the renovations that Ayahnda ordered and you can decide if you like the furniture or if you want to buy new ones." He said to divert her mind.

  She took a deep breath. "Fine, we can go there. Truth be told, I don't want to live in some ten bedroom palace. Especially one that's only lent to me and that's not mine. I would prefer living in a small house, but my own. I should sell my jewelry and buy myself a house."

  "What are you ranting about? If you don't want to live in the Lotus Palace, then we won't live there, I'm sure Ayahnda will understand. And what do you mean, sell your jewelry to buy a house? Do you think this husband of yours is only good for sex?"

  "Oh my goodness, I can't believe you said something like that." She said while covering her face.

  "Why are you still shy about it? I want us to be able to talk openly and comfortably about these things, this is the first step for us to be each other's confidants." He said to her. "I think I said this before, we only knew each other a little over a month, but we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, so we should start by opening up and saying what's in our minds. For example I didn't know that you didn't want to live in The Lotus Palace, why don't you tell me what else you don't want, or the things you do want, so there will be no feelings of discontent between us."

  "When did I agree to spend the rest of my life with you?" She lifted her head and looked at him, "But you're right, there has to be a communication in the meantime. The problem is, I just don't know where to start."

  He glanced at her while biting his lower lip, "Let's start at our living arrangements. I have a few properties around the city, some of them are rented out, but I do have a house that I bought about a year ago, that's not occupied. Maybe you want to go and check it out?"

  "A house that you bought around a year ago?" She repeated. "For what purpose? Is this the house that you plan to live in after you marry Dewi?"