Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 (12 page)

“Sorry, Miss,” Paramita said to her.
“Can you please offer something to drink to my nanny?”

Nancy sighed, and said, “No problem.”
She turned around and walked out.

“Please, take a drink.” He said while
lifting his cup.

“You haven’t answered me yet.” She said
to him.

“Answered what?”

“Will you go ahead with my
plan?”

Ali took a deep breath, “It’s not like
I can refuse the Sultan’s decision for me to marry you, you know!”
“Good, it’s settled,” Paramita said with a victory smile. "This
fool turns out to be a reliable ally." She thought to herself.
Things are going to be easier than expected.

Chapter Ten

That night Ali arrived at Dewi’s house
without the usual high expectation and excitement. There was a
heavy feeling weighing him down, making him feel exhausted and
weary. He sat quietly for a while to calm his mind, then got down
and walked the short distance to her front gate. He reached out his
arm to press the doorbell button that’s located on the wall behind
the main gate. An older woman came out. She recognized him
immediately and opened the gate to let him in.

Ali sighed, this house is so familiar
to him. The past three years he’s been visiting it every time Dewi
was in the country. He entered the living room. She wasn’t here
yet. She would always make him wait at least twenty minutes for her
to get ready.

Finally, she came out, as always, Ali
stood up, and she would rush into his arms to greet him. “I miss
you. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking that you were with that
woman. What did she say? Did she threaten me?” She asked
enthusiastically.

“Dewi, why don’t we sit down? There is
something very important that I have to tell you.”

“Abang, you’re scaring me.”

Ali took a deep breath, “I don’t know
how to tell you this. We’ve been together for a long time, and you
know that I’ve been faithful to you, I’ve always respected you, and
loved you with all my heart.”

Dewi didn’t know what to think,
“Abang….”

“Dewi, I…I’m sorry.”

Her face dropped, still not knowing
what he wanted to say, but something inside her told her that it’s
not good. “Why are you sorry?”

“Yesterday, when I arrived home, my
father gave me the news, that….” He paused, “That I have been,
shall I say chosen, by His Majesty Sultan to be his son in
law.”

“What do you mean chosen to be his
son-in-law?” She understood what he said, but she found it hard to
believe him.

“I have to marry the Sultan’s
daughter.”

“Marry the Sultan’s daughter? And you
accepted it? You agreed to it?”

“I have to, I can’t refuse. To refuse a
direct order from the Sultan is treason.”

Dewi started to cry, “So, you’re
breaking up with me? You’re ending it between us?”

Ali couldn’t say anything, he just sat
there, with his head down, feeling torn and saddened.

“The Sultan’s daughter is that woman
isn’t she? Paramita. Is that why you refused to see me last night?
To be with her? Do you find me no longer attractive? Is that why
you prefer a younger woman? What did I do to deserve this?” She was
beginning to become hysterical.

“Dewi, calm down,” Ali said while
holding her to his chest. “Calm down, please, don’t do
this.”

“Abang, how can I calm down? The man I
love broke up with me to be with a younger woman. That evil bitch
she used her father’s power to steal my man.”

“Dewi, it’s not like that. Mita is not
that kind of person…”

“Mita? Mita? Not that kind of person?
Abang, how could you! That’s why I had a bad feeling yesterday. I
saw how you two looked at each other. Did you think I was so stupid
that I couldn’t see you flirting with each other, and now this?
You’re defending her in front of me, and you dare to call her name
in such a loving way, in front of me. How could you after all the
time we’ve been together, how could you betray me like
that?”

“Dewi, I didn’t cheat on you, there is
nothing between Mita and me, I barely know her. If it wasn’t for
the Sultan’s orders, we would never have anything to do with each
other.”

“We? We? Do you refer yourselves as
we?”

“Dewi, calm down, please don’t be like
this. I know you’re hurting, I’m hurting too.”

Dewi dropped her head on the sofa and
started crying inconsolably. Ali didn’t know what else to
do.

“Abang, don’t leave me, please. I love
you, don’t leave me…” She begged him.

Ali's heart broke into pieces. Feeling
impotent and helpless. “I’m sorry, my love. I’m very sorry. I had
to tell you before you hear it from the official press
release.”

Suddenly Dewi, moved closer to him,
“Abang, let’s leave Jothar, let’s go far away,
together.”

“Dewi, you know I can’t do that, what
about my family? I can’t abandon them.”

“Then, I’m going to talk to that woman,
I have to make her understand, that we love each other and that she
shouldn’t separate us.”

“Dewi, don’t do that. Although Mita
looks strong in the outside, but she’s vulnerable in the inside if
you tell her that, she would be very depressed and
hurt.”

“Why do I have to care if she gets
hurt? What about my feelings? Am I not hurt, I feel like I’m
dying.” She paused for a while, “Bang, why do you worry if she gets
hurt or not? Why do you care so much for her? Tell me! Bang. You’re
attracted to her aren’t you? Deep down, you are willing to marry
her. You want to marry her, don’t you? I knew it! I had a bad
feeling when I saw the way you looked at her. You looked like you
wanted to eat her up.”

Ali realized that he’s not going to
succeed in calming Dewi, or will he have any luck reasoning with
her. She’s still hurt and sad, just as he is.

“Dewi, I think I should go home now,
you need to take a rest, and we will talk again once you’ve calmed
down.” He said this while standing up and walking out.

“Abang, don’t go. I don’t want you to
go. Are you going to her?” Dewi screamed at his back.

Ali quickly went out, entered his car
and drove home. He stopped his car on the side of the road and hit
the steering wheel with his fist. “Why is this happening to me?” He
thought to himself. After feeling himself calmed, he continued to
drive home.

* * *

When he arrived, he went directly to
his room without greeting anybody, and locked his door behind him.
The last thing he wanted was to argue with anybody, like what
happened last night.

He washed his face in the bathroom.
Then walked back to his room, and threw himself on his bed without
bothering to take off his shoes. It felt like there was a big block
of wood on his chest. He closed his eyes trying to sleep, but all
the thoughts burdening his mind wouldn’t let him. He needed to talk
to somebody, but he didn’t feel that he can confide in his family
at this moment. That made him sad, because all his life they always
had been by his side, supporting him through thick and
thin.

He reached into his pocket, the cell
phone number that Paramita gave him. Maybe he can talk to her, at
the end of the day, she’s stuck in this same situation as he
is.

Without bothering to lift himself up,
he reached for the cordless phone on his side table. He dialed the
number written on the piece of paper, he heard a dial tone. It rang
for several minutes before he heard a woman’s voice
answering.

“Hello….”She said it was
Paramita

He hesitated for a minute and couldn’t
bring himself to speak.

“Hello….” She said again

“Mita. Hi, it’s me...”

“Bang Ali? Hello, what’s wrong with
your voice? Are you okay?”

“Um, I got back from talking to
Dewi.”

“Oh, and how did she take
it?”

“Not well, I’m afraid. She was
heartbroken, sad, and angry.”

“I can imagine. What woman wouldn’t be
after hearing that her boyfriend is going to marry someone else?
You need to give her some space to calm down and
re-capacitate.”

“It hurts me so much to see her like
that. I spent the last three years dedicating my life to make her
happy, and today I had to give her this news, and see her break
down in front of me. I couldn’t even hold her and comfort her
because, I know that I’m the person who’s causing this. And how can
I ask her to forgive me, if I’m going to leave her
anyway.”

“Abang, why didn’t you tell her that
we’re not going to really get married, tell her that it's a sham,
so you and her can get back together afterward? Didn’t you say it
yourself the other day that the two of you couldn’t plan marriage
because of her career? Just tell her that it’s only a few months
delay if any at all. If you are willing to wait for her to resolve
her career, I don’t see why she can’t wait for you to resolve your
personal problem.”

“It’s not that simple, if I tell her,
it might lessen her pain, but we won’t know if everything will go
the way we want it to go, what happens if in the future something
comes up that won’t allow us to divorce? Also I don’t want to keep
her hoping for me to come back, maybe it’s better for her to forget
me, and move on with her life.”

“Ah…the perils of love. You see that’s
why I decided long ago, that I’m never going to fall in love. Nope,
love is not for me. I actually want to be happy.”

“Ah, so your bitter unrequited love has
left you traumatized, hah?”

“Well, not only that, look what
happened to my parents, I mean they had their level of suffering. I
suffered and cried a lot, when I loved in the past. And don’t tell
me, that now is the only time you felt miserable because of your
relationship.”

“I have, I won’t deny that, but never
at this magnitude.”

“Let me tell you, Bang. And this is
something I learned all by myself with the things I’ve been through
in life. No matter how painful, hurt or depressed you feel right
now, tomorrow is going to be another day. Happiness, sadness, pain,
and pleasure, they are all a passing phase. Rather than feel
burdened by the unfortunate events that happened today, why not
look forward to the opportunities that will come tomorrow.
Especially when you’re in a situation that’s out of your hands like
this. It won’t do you any good to feel depressed.”

“You know, you’re quite mature and deep
for a kid.” He said his voice sounded more upbeat than
before.

“Well, thank you.”

“So the press release is tomorrow,
which means that we will be officially be engaged to each
other.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Then there’s all the preparation for
the wedding.”

“On my part, I have to leave it to
Permaisuri Farida, whatever she wants, it’s not really my wedding
per say.”

“You should show some interest,
otherwise people will think it’s strange that you’re not happy or
excited.”

“Oh yeah, I can do happy and excited, I
could even go so far as thanking Ayahnda for making me marry you,
the most handsome and fantastic man in Jothar.”

“Ha…ha…ha…Hearing it from you it
doesn’t feel like a compliment.”

“You’re right, the lucky one is you.
Because, I’m young, beautiful, intelligent, noble-hearted, and
kind, daughter of the reigning monarch, plus you get additional
career enhancing benefits by marrying me. You must have done
something really important in your past life to deserve a reward in
this.”

“First of all, our religion does not
believe in reincarnation.”

“It was a figure of speech.”

“Second, young, beautiful and
intelligent, you definitely are. Noble hearted and kind? Maybe a
little. You forgot to add, hot-headed, have an overactive
imagination, and crafty.”

“What? You already know me that well in
two days?”

“I’d like to get to know you
more.”

“We have time for that.”

“Oh well, it’s getting late. Thank you
for talking to me, I feel better now.”

“Of course. I see us as partners in
peril. So you can count on me for anything." She said
jokingly.

“Partners in peril? That’s a good one.
Good night, Mita, sleep well.”

“You too, Bang”

Paramita pressed the red button to end
the call, and put the heavy hand phone down, she got up from her
desk, walked to her bed, and laid down.

“He’s not such a bad person.” She
thought.

She felt bad about coming in between
Ali and Dewi. They seemed very much in love. But there was nothing
she could do. Paramita never wanted to be with him, she was a
victim of the situation too. It’s not like she purposely seduced
him to snatch him away from Dewi. If she had the power to choose
over her own life, she wouldn’t be here. She would probably have an
internship in a construction company in Dubai by now.

“Well, Romeo and Juliet will have to
sort out their own problems. I have my own to worry about.” She
said to herself, she’s no superhero to be trying to help other
people, or solve their problems for them. She had to keep steady
and focus on her own goal. Besides, it’s not like she didn’t offer
Ali any solutions.