Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 (28 page)

"Ayahnda, I'm Okay. At least I think I
am, but if there are any side effects, I guess it's too late to do
anything about it by now I mean it's been four days already." She
reminded him.

"There are some other things that
concern me more Ayahnda, that's why I asked to come to speak to
you."

The Sultan took a deep breath. "Go
ahead, tell me."

"First, Mama was the one who forced the
drug down my throat."

"Soraya? Yes, I heard about that from
the Royal guard and your nanny testified to it. When they
questioned your mother, she said that she was giving you an
anti-pregnancy remedy, as she thought you and Ali were in an
adultery relation. But since you said it was Extemiva, then it's a
different story altogether."

"That's right Ayahnda. There are some
things that need to be answered. Where did she get her hands on
this drug? She had a roll of newspaper in her hand, they weren't in
English. I find it hard to believe knowing my mother that she came
off the airplane and bought them. And also, she's a celebrity and
she knows very well how those tabloids are, so what triggered her
to believe the news that I had that kind of relationship with
Abang? I know my Mak Noor will always be careful about the thing
that she would say to Mama, because of the way Mama would react at
times. And besides, it seems that Mama came prepared with the
bottle to feed it to me."

"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.