Ranya helped me to add some items to my suitcase, since I already have one that is ready for my urgent trips, then I called Malika, explaining the reason for my trip and she stayed at my house tomorrow, check how the kids are and if Ranya needs help. We arrived at the airfield and the aircraft of the Royal House of Qatar was ready. Dad sat down next to me and Youssef checked to see if the security team was okay, then authorized our takeoff.
-Hafiq, I've already arranged the cars and our accomodation at the Ritz Carlton in Manama.
-Okay, but before we go to the Ritz, I want you to call Jafar Abdul for him to authorize our trip to the palace in Bahrain, tell him we're going in peace to greet King Nahan for his wedding with Bianca.
-Hafiq, please.
I interrupted him, opening a book to distract myself.
-I know what I'm doing, Youssef.
BAHRAIN- MANAMA
QUEEN ANTÔNIA HASSAN
As we descend the stairs of the jet, Nahan awaits us in the courtyard of Bahrain airport. He greets us cheerfully, asking how we were traveling.
-Welcome to Bahrain, Bianca is ecstatic with the arrival of the two of you, can we go?
My security team is talking to Nahan's people, an eight-car convoy is waiting for us to make our way safely to the palace in Bahrain. I smile looking at this device worthy of a head of state and I think that a few years ago, my transportation was a mini, that took me from Quijingue to Santa Barbara, and went there, in the middle of the Bahian backlands, that at the age of thirteen I met Aziz and since he welcomed me as his "protégé," nothing in my life was as it was before.
Brenda clapped her hands together as we got into the car that will take us to the palace in Bahrain.
- Ah! Honey, thank you for coming with me, I'm so happy to see Bianca.
-There's nothing to be thankful for, you're my best friend, Brenda, my little sister, you know you can always count on me, don’t you?
Brenda hugs me by the shoulders and gives me a cracked kiss on the cheek.
-I know Toninha, but I do not like to see you like this, what happened? You seem sad.
I held my valise fastened to the body, thinking that nothing in life is ever perfect, right now, that I am recovering from the thud I took with Anusha's death, I have a fight with Hafiq.
- I fought with Hafiq, he caught a message from Nahan to me and you know how he is, he puts a lot of nonsense in his head. I don’t like to see him weakened like that, he's a much more confident man today than he was before, but every once in a while, those traumas of his mother's loss come out and then my husband turns into a big boy, Full of insecurities, possessive, scared, when he embarks on the past, sometimes it's hard to bring him back, Brenda.
Brenda nodded and added,
- Also, my friend, it is not anyone who passes by the bar he lived without freaking out, just to imagine how he felt, my lady, my heart tightens: the mother disappears like this one moment to another and then he receives her ears in an order box, it's terrible my friend, dark as hell.
I look at the landscape of Manama without being amused at anything, I do not like to see Hafiq tormented in this way and I feel even worse because it was I who caused this stress to my husband. But as soon as I hand over the copy of the partial report of the investigations into the attempt on the Nahan family and the relations between our countries improve, I will talk to Hafiq and explain everything to him. I could not sit idly by while Karim was accused of such a horrible act, my father-in-law and I started off on the wrong foot, but today I could not have a better friend, I'll never allow them to stain his name with such a defamation.
Bianca, as soon as she saw us, went down the stairs to the palace and grabbed Brenda, the two of them hugged each other, crying excitedly, it was a touching thing to see.
Brenda wiped her face and held Bianca by the hands, looking her up and down.
-Let me see how you are, ah! Bibi, you look beautiful, my sister, how much I miss you.
-You're beautiful too, Bre and you, Tonia, will you give me a hug?
I opened my arms to my friend and joined her and Brenda, the three of us hugging and jumping like three little girls.
A lady in a black tunic, in her mid-sixties, came down the stairs slowly and came to meet us. Brunette, short, chubby, her look, though austere, emanated affection and zeal. Bianca approached her and pulled her by the hand, bringing her to us.
-Brenda, Antonia, I want you to meet Nahan's aunt, Thurayya, Thura is my fairy godmother, I do not know what would become of me if it were not for Thura.
Thurayya shrugs and squeezes Brenda’s hand, Thurayya grabs her in one of her bear hugs and the poor thing corresponds. Then she stands in front of me and squeezes my hand, looking at me with a serious air.
-So, the lady who is the famous Queen Antonia?"
I hold out my hand to her, saying,
-Neither lady nor famous, just Antonia, Thurayya.
-Please, my friends call me Thura.
I smile at Thura and she squeezes my cheek, as if I'm a child. My thoughts come back a year ago and I catch myself with watery eyes, that's how Manusha, my favourite maid was fond of me.
Thurayya gives me a warm hug, holding me in her fat arms so well and I return the hug to her, kissing her cheek, touched by our empathy so fast and amazing.
Bianca and Brenda go upstairs and I give Thurayya an arm to accompany me. She is surprised, but she nails my arm up the stairs with me.
-Come, my dear, I'll show you the suite I've booked for you, I hope it's to your liking.
We arrived at the suite that Thura arranged for me and she opened the windows, letting the afternoon rays of Manama invade the room.
-If you did not like the room, I can set up another quickly.
- I loved it, thank you Thura.
Before she closed the door, she invited me, embarrassed.
-If you like to have a chai and don’t mind keeping an old lady company, I'll be on the porch soon, the afternoon is beautiful.
-I love tea, do you have Karkadeh here?
-Best of all Bahrain, but Bianca does not like tea, if you want, I can do for both of us.
-I'm going to love it, I'll just change my clothes and I'll find you on the porch.
Thurayya left the room leaving my heart partying, I think I gained a new friend.
Brenda is talking to Bianca in her suite, knocking on the door and asking Bianca where I can find Thurayya, she tells me to go to the kitchen and tells me how to get there.
I decide to let them alone for a little while and go down the stairs, turning left and following a long corridor full of art objects, sculptures and pictures of Bahraini authorities.
At the end of the corridor I find a large, well-equipped kitchen, Thurayya warms up something on the wood stove and motioned for me to come in as soon as she sees me.
-Sorry, I asked Bianca where you usually like to stay, and she told me how to get to the kitchen, did I intrude?
-No way, sit down, I was just finishing our karkadeh, I'm still fixing the table on the porch.
I look at that cosy kitchen and ask her:
-Will you have some tea here? For me, in a house, there is no place that makes me more comfortable than the kitchen.
Thura laughed in agreement with me.
-So, it is for me, too, if you do not mind having our afternoon tea here. Let me call Nair to help me set the table.
- No need, let me help you, what do you want me to get?
Thura tells me where to get a towel for the table and a few minutes later we are sitting around a table full of goodies, talking as if we had known each other for years.
Thura hands me a piece of walnut cake, speaking embarrassed:
-I wanted to apologize for Nahan's mistake, trying to kidnap you was deplorable. I can assure you that I did not teach him to act this way, but he was blinded by pain and anger, if it were not for this attack on Ishna and Amira, he would never have the courage to do such an absurdity.
I reassure her
about this incident while I taste another piece of orange cake.
-I fully understand what happened, Thura, I know he acted wrong, but who assures me, if I were in his place, would I not do the same? For the short time I had with Nahan, I could see that he is an honorable man, the investigations into this attack are already well advanced, I can assure you that my father-in-law was not the head of this crime.
-I know Antonia, if there is anyone who would never do anything against our family, this is Karim, your father-in-law is a fantastic man.
I did not know they knew each other, curious how small this world is.
- Do you know each other?
-Our kingdoms were once much closer, my mother and Queen Anusha Lamar studied in the same boarding school. I knew Karim many years ago, Antonia, he still did not dream of marrying Farah. I honestly do not know where Nahan got the fixed idea that Karim would do any harm to Tarif.
The afternoon tea chatter lashed for hours, one of the maids approached Thurayya, greeted me with a shake of her head, and began to speak in Arabic quickly, then arrived with a tall, dark, austere man.
Thurayya rose to greet him, but his cheerful air faded in a moment, she seemed tense with his presence.
He greeted me with curious air, watching me from top to bottom and Thurayya introduced us.
-Mohamed, this is Queen Antonia Hassan of Qatar, Nahan's guest of honour.
- Invited, curious, very pleased Queen Antônia Hassan, Mohamed Harmed, Prime Minister of Bahrain.
So, this is Mohamed, our eyes defy each other for minutes, until I decide to follow the path of diplomacy and reach out to him, surprising him with a firm grip, a non-verbal message so he does not expect fear from my part, and that I am not a woman to retreat.
- The pleasure is all my Mohamed, Queen Antônia Santos Hassan, of the royal house of Qatar.
He did not release my hand and I did not his, we stared for a long time, until he loosened his grip and smiled falsely at Thurayya, asking her to speak to him privately.
Thurayya asked me to wait for her in the kitchen and followed him down the hall.
I stood by the door, curious to know what that venomous snake wanted with Thurayya.
Their conversation changed drastically, but it was only whispering, but apparently the moods for some reason were exalted and Mohamed speaks louder and louder with Thurayya, allowing me to hear a part of the discussion.
-They are not married yet, help me to get this over with, you do not see that this is all an insane madness, our people will never bow to a foreign slut. It's still time for you to save your skin Thurayya, if I open my mouth and speak everything I know, Nahan will turn his back on you and throw you into the gutter when he’ll know the truth. To whom you want to deceive, posing as a virtuous lady, I know of your past, Thurayya Abdul, you are nothing but a slut like that eahira. (Foreigner)
- Well you do what you want Mohamed, as long as I live, I will support Nahan, if you want to ruin my life and tell him the truth, whatever, I pay the price, but I will never leave him alone, this is my duty, to be by his side, always. Bianca was the best thing that happened in Nahan's life for years and I will not let anything and no one take away his happiness again. He is going to marry her tomorrow, accept that you have lost once and for all, give up.
I reached the middle of the corridor and found Mohamed holding Thurayya's arm, threatening her, I came to meet them, I pushed him and I stepped in front of Thurayya, surprising him.
-Release her, take off your dirty hands from Thurayya right now, you miserable one.
-Do not interfere, this is between me and Thurayya, Queen Antonia, you are not welcome here, if Nahan were not a fool, you would be dead now.
I raised my finger in his direction and he stepped back.
-Try putting one more finger on Thurayya to see what I do to you. I have a novelty that I feel you will love: the Qatar intelligence service is helping in the investigation of this attack and we are one step away from the truth. So, I'll just give you a warning, Mr. Mohamed, the time that my husband, sheikh Hafiq Zafir Bin Al Hassan, has all the evidence of this crime in his hands, he will not treat with mercy and have mercy on the miserable that spotted The name of King Karim Omar, you can be sure that this poor fellow will not receive anything less than the death penalty. Come on Thurayya, Mohamed is an intelligent man, he understood my message, your conversation with Thurayya ends here and now, have a good time.
He stood in front of me, his lips twisted in a rigid line, bowed his head, and strode down the hallway.
I held Thurayya's hand and her skin was icy. We slowly returned to the kitchen, she sat with the desolate air and hiding her face in a dishcloth, Thurayya sobbed, touching my heart.
I comforted her, hugging her by the shoulders.
When she could calm down, she got up and locked the kitchen door, sitting down again beside me.
- Antonia, I don’t know why, but I feel that I can trust you, I'll tell you something about my past that embarrasses me to this day, but I need to open up with someone, so many years living with this guilt hurts me so badly.
I encouraged her to open up to me, and Thura poured all that was choking into her throat for years, bursting into tears.
- Thurayya, don’t feel like this, you are a lovely woman, so dignified, no matter how much society tells you that you have done something wrong, no one commands in the heart, we can’t dominate love, dictate who we are going to fall in love with Or not, it would be so good if life were that simple, but it is not, you could live the honour of loving and being loved, which is a divine gift, not everyone gets this blessing, love and be reciprocated. I know that if you could choose, it would never have been the way it was, but what matters is that you have done your best, do not be ashamed of your story, it is beautiful and I feel honoured to meet such a fantastic woman as you.
-Thank you for listening, for understanding me, thank you so much Antonia, and what was that between you and Mohamed, eh? I like you, you're a brave girl, Antonia Hassan.
I closed my eyes and absorbed her words, traveling until the day I met Anusha, my Manusha, Hafiq's grandmother, the worst enemy and the best friend I've ever had in my life. My harpy on a day of fury, an old 78-year-old woman who taught me to be the confident, firm, strong woman I am today. Anusha was in recent times the maternal figure that life took from me. And I thank God every day for having had the honor of living with this woman ahead of her time, Anusha filled my life with wisdom and love as I never imagined receiving a day. I lost her to cancer, one day she was by my side and in the other, puff! She left me alone again, without her grandmother's lap, her friendship, her motherhood. When I heard Thurayya call me cheeky, I went back in time, because that's how she treated me, that's how Anusha called: "Cheeky girl", without my wanting the tears to escape my eyes without control.
-What did you say, Thurayya?
-I said you're a cheeky girl, Antonia.
-Anusha called me an insolent girl.
Thura wiped away my tears and wiped his own, reaffirming:
-But Anusha was right when she called you like that, you really are an insolent girl, Antonia, and I love it.
I hugged her feeling once more blessed by fate, God knows how much I suffered with the loss of my Manusha, life took me in the arms, but apparently, I was given Thurayya.
-Do you accept me as your friend, Thurayya?
-I had, since the moment I saw you, my dear.
Ah! It was worth it to have come to Bahrain, now God willing, I have only to talk to Nahan and we can conclude these investigations for peace to return between our kingdoms. And above all, I still need to tame the furious beast that I left in Qatar.
CHAPTER 27
NAHAN
The joy of Bianca to receive Brenda and Antonia surrounds me, I find Antonia in the hall, hugged with Thurayya and I find grace, Latinos are so cordial, warm, this feeling of welcome makes me feel so well.
Remembering my childhood and the distant and cold way my pa
rents treated me, I realize that I only found affection and comfort in the arms of two women in my life: Thurayya and Bianca.
Mom was a sad, gloomy woman, I force my memory to remember when I received a cuddle, a kiss from Mom, and I do not remember.
It was a relief when she and Daddy decided to put me in boarding school, just so I got rid of their blows, their curses.
The harsh way she treated me was only worse than the way she treated Thurayya and Jafar.
When I was ten, I heard a discussion of Mom and Aunt Thurayya from behind the door.
The anger they faced was intense, latent, Thura said that I should continue living in Bahrain and Mother insisted that I go to boarding school, I still remember Mother's words.
-This bastard goes to boarding school, and nothing you tell me will change my mind. Why are you still here? You're not welcome in this house, why don’t you get this imbecile of husband of yours and go away at once?
-Because that was not the agreement we made. Or have you and Abdullah forgotten what you promised me? I'm going to stay here, next to Nahan, whether you want it or not, my sister.
She always defended me, tooth and nail, ah! Thurayya, you grumpy old woman, what would become of me if you were not my aunt?
I approach Antonia and invite her to visit our lands, she thanks and says farewell to Thurayya, walking with me through the garden.
I'll show you our stable with the sheer amount of race horses we have. The improvements in the staff’s hoses, our surroundings, the sports court, the mini farm, when we return to the garden my phone rings insistently, I look at the display and I see that it is Jafar, it must be something important, I apologize to Antonia by interrupting and answering the call.
- Marhaban, Jafar.
Jafar answers my greeting, clearing his throat and dropping a bomb on my chest, without giving me time to breathe or preparing to think what to do. I remain silent and think for a few moments, answering him then:
- Authorize the entry of the aircraft into our airspace, I will welcome them with all the cordiality they deserve. We knew that this would happen one day, it was time for us to settle our differences, I missed Jafar, there is nothing to do but to strengthen our borders and await their decision, to lead them with a safe journey to our Palace, they will be my guests, they will not be treated as enemies.
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