"I want you to do something for me, for a woman like you, this wouldn't be difficult."
"Thank you for trusting me with the task. Please turn around and leave." She said holding the urge to strangle him.
"Listen to me, woman!"
"Please leave, man!"
"I want you to stay away from my brother."
"Oh? I was wondering when someone from his family will be looking for me to tell me that." She asked straightforwardly.
"I'm doing this for the sake of his wife, Puteri Farida. He doesn't make her happy. He married her only to find other wives and he doesn't love her."
"Only for her and not for the other one? Ah........I see.........So you are......you are concerned about your sister in law's wellbeing, how noble." She said pretending not to understand his real intention.
"My sister in law is a good woman, she doesn't deserve to be second to a lowly woman like you."
"Excuse me? I thought I heard you call me a lowly woman."
"Listen! If you don't do what I tell you, I'm going to ruin you so that you'll be crawling for forgiveness. The news in the tabloids is still nothing compared to what I will do next."
"What you will do next? So the articles in the newspapers, and all those horrible things that they said about me, that was you're doing?"
"Just make sure that you do what I tell you, and don't betray me! I'll make you regret if you dare to."
"You're delusional...." Soraya sneered.
Chapter Thirty Four
That night she brought up the conversation with her husband. "Pangeran, today was the first time I met your elder brother."
"Which one?"
"The one who's arrogant and condescending." She explained flatly
"Does he look a lot like me?"
"Yes, he does, maybe bigger."
"Pangeran Bashir. How did you meet him?"
"He came looking for me."
"Why?" Pangeran Abdul Kadir lifted his brow.
"To threaten me to leave you."
"Hmmmm...."
"So what's the story?"
"Story?"
"Between you, him and your senior wife...."
"How did you come to think that there was something between the three of us?"
"Never mind, the less I know the better." She said, then continued seductively, "Why don't we rest for the day?"
Pangeran Abdul Kadir felt as if his soul flew through the roof, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.
That morning the first thing she did after showering was call Mulyo, her friend who worked for Wirakarta Post. She made an appointment to meet him at a café that afternoon.
"Sor, how are you? How's the married life?" He greeted her with small talk.
"How do you think it is?" She responded.
They sat down and ordered their drinks.
"Mul, I have a lead that might be interesting for your gossip column." She said after taking a sip from the coffee.
"I don't do celebrity gossips anymore. I'm trying to be a real reporter, you know the ones that cover real news. The type of news that you probably never read."
She smiled patiently, "I read this story once, a fairy tale, about two Royal Princes, and a Princess. Maybe one of them is a Crown Prince."
"Your husband?"
She smiled again, "Why would I be telling you about the skeletons in my husband's closet?"
"Tell me more." He began to become curious.
"So, you're interested are you?" She teased. "So the story goes the country's crown prince, who has several wives, and this wife bore him a son and heir to the kingdom. But apparently she had some history with his brother, a brother who happens to be a strong military man, in very high position. I hear that he still hasn't forgotten her and tries to be her guardian angel."
"What's in it for you?"
"Me? Nothing, I'm just a concern citizen who thinks that the people have the rights to.........read fairy tales, that's all." She acted innocently.
"Right! I've known you since we were kids, remember?"
"So I just told you a fairytale that I read a few days ago, nothing more."
"Your Fairytale is an interesting one. I think I'll elaborate, dig deeper, and publish it." He said with high spirit, "Do you want to hear a secret gossip from the fashion industry?"
"What is it?" She asked.
"Your mentor Benny Tung, he just got a big financial injection, by no other than the Crown Prince, your husband. Did you know about that?"
"My husband and...Benny?" Soraya blinked in disbelief. Of course, Benny was the one who introduced them, and he also invited the Crown Prince to the party. Soraya's face became pale. "Just make sure you blow this fairy tale in a huge proportion." She growled.
* * *
Soraya spent the day digging into her mother's kitchen. Her mother had always been a good cook, but today, her cooking was extra delicious, it left her wanting more. After her second plate, she was still unsatisfied and decided to raid the fridge.
"Soraya, what are you doing? Doesn't your husband feed you?" Her mother asked feeling curious about her daughter's behavior.
"He does, but the maids at home don't cook as well as you do, Ibu." She replied while taking another bite at the chicken leg in her hand.
"Ibu, I'm going to leave you some money, tomorrow I'm coming back here for lunch. I want liver and potato in chili sauce and lamb fried rice." She yawned, "I'm sleepy. I think I'm going to lie down in my old room."
"Soraya, didn't you always say that it's not good to sleep after a meal?" Her mother feeling astonished at her daughter's change.
Soraya yawned again, "It's not. But I'm tired. Maybe I'm going to stay here tonight since my husband isn't coming to my house."
"Soraya, are you happy? With this life that you have now? Does it make you happy?"
"No." She answered without hesitation.
"You should walk away. We can both leave."
"Where to, Ibu?"
"I don't know, we can go to Singapore or London. Your aunt lives there."
"Let me think about it."
* * *
She was pregnant again. That was the result of the blood test the doctor did. She thought that she had become barren, but apparently miracles do happen. This time Soraya didn't know what to make of the news. She caressed her belly carefully not knowing whether to love or hate the little person inside of her.
As she walked down the street feeling unsure about her condition, she passed by a bookstore. There in the window the news was on the front page. Jothar's Royal Love Triangle. Soraya's eyes beamed reading the article through the glass. She took this as a good sign, from today on her life will blossom again.
* * *
"And because your father had to do damage control due to that article, he had no choice but to divorce me. It was good of him to make sure that you and I were financially secured, and that allowed me and my mother to immigrate to England and start our new lives there." Soraya concluded her story.
"Wow, and I always thought that you were with my Father because you loved him."
"I'm grateful to him, for giving me you. But I don't love him. How could I? After all that happened." "You are very strong and brave, Mama...," Paramita said moving close to Madam Soraya hugging her and kissing her cheek.
Madam Soraya pulled her daughter into her arms, "Mita, I'm sorry I was never a good mother for you. I took out my frustrations at your father on you, that wasn't fair and I treated you badly. I promise that I'll change from now on. You can count on me for anything."
* * *
"Why are you doing this?" Raden Nabilla said while throwing the newspaper on her brother's desk. "Is this why you brought Dewi to my son's wedding?"
Jonathan looked up at his sister, "Come on, no harm down, we were just enjoying a little bit of publicity. That's all."
"I'm warning you, Joni, stop fooling around, if you mess with any of my children again, I'm going to tell Papa on you! Remember what he told you?
If you mess up one more time, he's going to take your rights to lead the company.” She threatened.
"He's not you real son anyway."
Raden Nabilla opened her eyes widely with fury, "Not my real son? Who dares to say that? I raised him since he was a little boy. He's my son! I'm his mother! Not that woman who abandons him when he needed her most. If anybody dares to deny it, I won't forgive them!"
She turned around to walk out of his office, when coincidently Dewi walked in. "Good afternoon, Raden Nabilla." Dewi greeted her with familiarity.
"Young lady, have a little bit of dignity! Stop chasing after my son. He doesn't want you anymore! It was your fault he turned away, he kept asking you for marriage and you always rejected him, it was me who had to watch him suffer every time you threw his heart to the ground. Did you think he is the kind of selfish man who would prohibit his wife to work after marriage? In every relationship, there is a give and take, why did he have to be the one to always give and sacrifice for you while you were never willing to give in even slightly for him. Now he's happy with someone else, he’s in love and starting a family, so leave him alone!" She scold before leaving the office and slamming the door behind her.
* * *
"Oh wow, I didn't know that was how your parents met and married." Ali said as he chopped the onions on the kitchen counter then throwing it into the frying pan.
"Eh-he, I used to dislike my father, now I despise him for what he did to my mother." Paramita answered.
"Can you please pass me the salt?" He pointed to the bottle in front of her.
She handed it to him, "Bang, my mother brought a tabloid along with her, you couldn't believe what was on the front page." She showed him the paper that her mother gave her.
Ali turned his head to read it, "That's a cheap way to promote an album. I can't believe she would stoop so low."
"Yeah, I find it sick how they are prying into our sex life."
"Well....., it's not our sex life that they want to know about, it's the product of it. No sex means no heir." Ali explained plainly.
"Great! Now I'm a baby factory."
"Mita, I know it has been hard on you. But it's going to get harder starting tomorrow after the announcement, there will be more eyes watching us. "
"Yeah, I know. I just wish your ex-girlfriend wouldn't try to hitchhike on our popularity." She lamented. "If I had married Prince Hasan, maybe it would've been easier on me, at least he didn't have a famous girlfriend."
Ali stopped what he was doing, "I'm sorry that your father made you marry a low born social climber like me, instead of a real Crown Prince from a big country. If you compare me to him, I'm absolutely nothing. I can't even protect you from all this gossip and scrutiny."
Paramita didn't expect him to answer that way, his voice sounded earnest. "Bang, I didn't mean to offend you.”
"I'm not offended. If I knew that you would come into my life one day, I would have never gotten involved with any other women. I want to be a husband who you can be proud of, who makes you happy, and who would never disappoint you. Maybe I can't match up to a person like Prince Hasan, but I can do my best to make you love me and never regret that you married me."
Paramita felt bad, she realized that all this time she was too preoccupied with her own fears and insecurity to realize what Ali was going through inside, "Bang, I..."
"Hey it's ready, come on let's eat." Ali cut her off, "Here, I want you to taste my world class stir fried meat. Guaranteed to make you come back for more."
"Hey," She grabbed his wrist, "I'm sorry, don't think too much about what I said."
He held her cheeks and kissed her lips gently.
"Bang..." She whispered
"Mita, it’s me who should apologize, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's just that I miss you so much, and it's making me a bit paranoid. But don't worry about it, I won't pressure you for anything, okay? Now let's eat."
Paramita nodded, "So, tell me. How was your day today?"
"Well, I made sure that they emptied out all my belongings in my room. I’ve never realized how much garbage I've collected throughout the years."
"I'm just glad, we're done with all this moving. It's tiring. But do you know what I found most unbelievable?" She asked.
"What?"
"How in the world could a man have so many clothes? You are a lot vainer than I thought."
Ali laughed. "Don't blame me, my mother always buys us new outfits every month, for me and for Hafiz. I don't think I've even wore all of them."
"Ah...., well, I never buy my own clothes either." She smiled.
They heard the sound of a phone ringing, a few minutes later, Rini showed up at the kitchen door, "Your Highness Pangeran, there is a call for you from the office of the Sultan." She reported.
Ali looked at Mita who lifted her shoulder. "I'll take the call from here." He said.
He picked up the phone, then waited for the sound of a click indicating that the other one had been put down before answering, "Hello."
Paramita didn't pay attention to what he was saying over the phone, she didn't want to be the type of wife who spies at her husband. Instead, she concentrated on her food.
"Well, so much for our honeymoon." Ali said while sitting back in his chair.
"What did they say?"
"We have to attend an event tomorrow at the Wirakarta Continental, hosted by a very large international financial institution. Your father wants me to take the opportunity to introduce myself to their honchos. It's a good chance to discuss opportunities for opening up Jothar to foreign investments."
"Ah...okay, well I suppose there's nothing we can do but attend."
"The good news is, that it's a black tie event, so you wouldn't have to be squeezed into a girdle."
* * *
They walked into the venue, Paramita held on to Ali's forearm. This was the first time she had seen him in a black tie suit, he looked handsome and elegant as always, she admired his chameleon like ability, he was one way with her at home, but another way outside. Now he looked serious and charismatic, befitting of a crown prince.
She wore a beige colored off shoulder gown, since it was a high profile event, she didn't dare to wear her fake diamonds. Instead, she chose to put on the only real ones she had. They were greeted at the door by the Country Manager of the company, her name was Susan Deck. She politely welcomed them in and introduced them to the rest of his team.
"Your Highnesses, let me introduce you to the President of our company, this is George Beckman. George, this is His Highness the Crown Prince of Jothar Prince Burhanuddin Ali and his wife Princess Paramita Ali."
"It's nice to meet you, Your Highness Prince Ali, Your Highness Princess Paramita." George smiled.
They were presented to the other members of the high management team and their respective spouses.
Paramita found herself enjoying the conversation she had with Susan, she was a very knowledgeable woman, very direct but prudent. She also paid careful attention as Ali on several occasions subtly pitched his investment proposal to George. The latter became interested in his idea and they agreed to take the discussion to the next level on a later day.
"Yes we are definitely interested." George said nodding his head.
Ali smiled, satisfied at the response he received. "Excellent, I’m glad to hear that. We will arrange a meeting with Sultan sometime next week."
"It would be my honor to meet your father The Sultan." George replied.
"Ah, His Majesty is my father in law." Ali explained.
"Oh, excuse me, I wasn't aware."
"I'm just a prince consort, my wife is The Sultan's daughter. I am a Prince because of my Princess."
"Ah... I see."
"As you can see, my husband is a very intelligent and capable man, he is the Crown Prince because of his abilities and not because of his right of birth." Paramita added.
"I have to agree with Her Highness." George countered.
* * *
"Do you really think that I deserve the Crown Prince position for my capabilities?" He asked as they were leaving the venue.
"Yes I do!" She assured.
"Thank you." He whispered, "You're very beautiful tonight."
"And you're charming as always."
"Come on, I have a surprise for you." He said while pulling her hand.
"What surprise?"
He brought her to the pool, it was decorated with lines of candles on the floor and flower bouquets.
"What's all this?" She was dumbfounded.
"You said that you wanted to be a Princess like your friend Libby." He said.
"Lizzy." She corrected.
"I can't make you become your father's Princess, but would you be mine instead?"
Four violinists came out on queue playing the waltz.
"May I have this dance?" He asked extending his hand to her.
She nodded taking it. As he pulled her close he whispered, "Don't get angry if I accidently stomp on your foot."
"How romantic...." She whispered back trying not to laugh.
Ali smiled as he moved his right foot forward, Paramita took the queue to move her left foot back, and they danced to the smooth classical music. Tonight she got a chance to discover another side of him. The side of a professional at work, of an economist who is working for his country and his dreams. A different side of the husband she had become familiar with these past few weeks.
"On the night of our wedding reception, you said that you didn't want to sleep on the bed because of the flower petals, why is that?" She asked.
"I don't know, it just reminded me of a time when I was five years old, my father took me to a funeral, he told me to wait outside, but I got bored and went to look for him, that's when I saw the deceased lying on the..." He swallowed his spit
Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 Page 29