Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 (31 page)

"I do, Mama. I do love him, very much.
He was the one who stayed by my side through all the difficult
times, you know with the drugging and all." She said trying to
convince Soraya without giving out too much information, "And I'm
sure that he loves me too."

"Mita. To prove to you how much I
regret what I had done to you, I will support your decision to be
with him. But you must know, I don't trust him. I don't think that
he will be loyal to you. A man who has loved another woman for
three years, then suddenly fell in love with you and forgot about
her, can easily do the same thing to you. Or you don't know, maybe
he hasn't forgotten about her, and is seeing her behind your back.
I've made up my mind. I am going to live here in Jothar until I can
be 100% sure that you're going to be alright."

"Well, that's the first time. Usually,
you never worry about me that much."

"Because, I was always confident that
you would be responsible and decent girl. Now I have pushed you
into the arms of that unreliable man, so I have to make sure that
he doesn't hurt my baby."

"Good afternoon beautiful ladies....."
A familiar voice greeted them from behind.

"Ananda Hafiz, I worried you weren't
going to show up. Mita, I don't think I need to introduce you to
your brother-in-law."

Chapter Twenty
Six

"No, that won't be necessary," Paramita
replied.

"Auntie Soraya, maybe you don't know
this. Mita and I go way back, we've known each other before she was
even engaged to my brother." Hafiz explained.

"Oh really? I didn't know that. Tell me
about it."

"We studied together in university,
Mama."

"Is that so?"

The waiter interrupted them to take the
order. "My daughter and I will have a Tuna Salad, "What will you
have Hafiz?" Madam Soraya turned to him.

"Please get me a Lasagna and orange
juice."

"Since when did you eat lasagna?"
Paramita asked him.

"Since a certain young woman called me
a fish in a pond a few years ago for, not trying it." He replied
looking at her with a gentle look.

Soraya coughed to get their attention.
"Mita, I have asked your brother-in-law here today, so he can help
me explain about his brother's relationship with Dewi. I have
spoken to her, oh well you know, I met with her the other night.
She wanted to talk to me about her relationship with your husband,
she even arranged for me to meet with Hafiz to confirm her story.
According to her, your husband never officially broke up with her.
He only apologized to her for going ahead with marrying you. Don't
you see? That means he left the door opened for when he wants to go
back to her."

Paramita didn't say anything. She
thought about her mother's word.

"Mita, my brother is a very faithful
man. He's not like....He's not like me. I think all his life he
only ever had two or three girlfriends, and he broke up with them
for reasons other than another woman if you understand what I'm
saying."

"I do. That's the more reason to feel
certain that he wouldn't cheat on me, right?"

"Mita, you heard it yourself from your
mother. Dewi said that he hasn't broken up with her. He can be
planning to get back with her." He paused when the waiter delivered
to food. "Thank you," He said to the young man.

"You're such a loyal brother aren't
you? I've never heard Abang talk bad about you or judge you behind
your back. And now you're saying these things to me, his wife?" She
said sharply.

"Mita, don't be so mean to Hafiz. He
only wants to help you." Soraya mediated.

"Mama, did you know that I used to have
a crush on this Raden Hafiz? When I was studying in University. But
he never looked twice at me. The moment he knew that I was going to
marry his brother, he actually confessed to me."

"What?" Soraya asked shocked. "Hafiz is
that true?"

"Auntie Soraya, I made a mistake, I
never realized what and how much I felt for Mita until I knew I was
going to lose her. But that's not the problem now. The reason, that
I'm saying these things, is because I don't want to see Mita get
hurt again, the way I hurt her before in the past. I realize that
Mita has moved on from me and that I missed my chance, but if she
was to be with anyone else. I want to make sure that she'll get the
love she deserves, and not someone who has his heart someplace
else."

"Hafiz, my happiness has nothing to do
with you. Right now, I'm married, a newlywed, and I don't need to
listen to your ill wishes to me."

"Are you sure you're in love with him
or is he replacing me?"

"How can you think that, I mean look at
the two of you, he's white and your lightly tanned, your eyes are
black and slanted, and his are almond-shaped and honey colored,
your hair is straight and his is...."

"I get it...I get it...."

"Young man, I don't think your attempt
to steal your brother's wife is honorable!" Soraya said to
him.

"Auntie, I'm not doing any such thing.
Like I said before, all I want is to see Mita happy. It's okay if
she doesn't end up with me. She's a very dear friend and I don't
want to see her get hurt."

"I appreciate what you are trying to do
for my daughter, but now since I know your feelings for her, I
don't think it would be proper for us to take account your word.
Granted, your argument does make sense, and I as Mita's mother do
worry about her situation and I wouldn't want her to suffer in the
future. But we would solve this problem ourselves."

"Auntie..."

"That's enough.....Let's finish our
meal and let's not talk about this anymore."

Paramita was surprised to see Ali and
Raden Hamza walking in through the door of the restaurant. She saw
the waiter greeting them, she couldn't make out what they were
talking about, but she saw them both walking towards their table.
She could see that Ali was angry and unhappy that Hafiz was having
lunch with her and her mother.

"Good afternoon, Bunda Soraya, what a
surprise meeting you here. My father and I had come out of a
meeting nearby, we wanted to have a cup of coffee."

"Madam Soraya, it's good to finally
meet you again." Raden Hamza greeted her.

"Raden Hamza, how long has it been? A
little more than twenty years was it?"

"Madam, it is a pleasure to see you
again, of course we are family now since our children are married,"
Raden Hamza said to her.

"Raden Hamza, this is something that
I'd like to discuss with you. And fortunately Ali and Mita are
here." She said on purposely not using honorifics to address her
son in law.

"Please, why don't we speak of a cup of
coffee?" He replied. "Is it necessary for Hafiz to join
us?"

"Yes, he should stay." She
replied.

Ali had an uneasy feeling from the
moment Captain Bagas called him to report that Hafiz was there at
the restaurant with his wife and mother in law. He was rushing out
of the Sultan´s Palace to head to the restaurant when he passed by
his father in the hall. Raden Hamza calmed him down and came with
him to avoid an unwanted incident between his two sons. Ali pulled
a chair and sat beside Paramita, he took her hand in his and held
it on his lap. Madam Soraya glanced at them.

"And how is Raden Nabilla?" Soraya said
making small talk.

"My wife is fine, she is happy with her
new daughter in law. And she's busy helping with the preparation
for tomorrow."

"Ah, now I feel bad for, not taking
part in it. But then again, I don't think the queen will be very
happy to see me. Imagine that I have to help my daughter's wedding
as a guest." She said while fixing her hair. "Speaking of the
wedding, I was telling Mita, that I was not exactly happy with the
choice of husband that her father had married her too."

"Madam, are you not satisfied with my
son Ali as your son in law?" Raden Hamza asked. "What is it about
Ali that doesn't go well with Madam Soraya?"

Ali held Paramita's hand tighter,
causing her to winch.

"Raden Hamza, I want to tell you that
when I heard from the Sultan that he intended to marry Mita to Ali,
I was very happy. I have known how he was since he was a boy, and I
have only good impressions of him. In fact, it was me who insisted
for Mita to go ahead and obey her father's wishes" She paused, "But
that was before I knew that Ali had already promised marriage to
another woman. Something that I found out only recently. In fact,
if I remembered right, even my daughter at one time mentioned that
her future husband was in love with another woman."

"Madam, I assure you that my son is an
honorable man, he would not do anything irresponsible to his
wife."

"Raden, the Sultan is an honorable man
and never really did anything irresponsible or he was always ready
to take responsibility for his actions. He is very responsible, to
his wives, and even to his ex-concubine and all his children. Do
you understand my point? He is a responsible husband to a hand full
of women. I don't want my daughter to live that kind of life." She
pointed out.

"Bunda, I promise you that I will be
faithful to Mita and will never disappoint her," Ali said to
her.

"Wasn't that the same promise that you
made to Dewi Chandrawati? Because that was what she told me last
night. And now you're married to my daughter and Dewi's crying in
disappointment." Soraya said emotionally. "Who's to say that my
daughter wouldn't have the same fate? Also, according to Dewi, you
never ended your relationship with her, you only avoided her,
apologizing because you plan to go ahead with the marriage. Why is
that? Are you hoping that she will keep a torch burning for you, so
you can go back to her after you have Mita under
control?"

"Bunda, That´s not true, I have ended
it with her, and I never crossed my mind to go back to her,
I......."

"Raden Ali, I might not be the best
mother in the world, but I will never allow anyone to play with my
daughter's feelings." She paused for a while, "I'm going to talk
bluntly if anyone might think I'm vulgar, I am apologizing up
front. Ali, Mita is a beautiful and attractive young woman. I'm
sure a woman like my daughter can easily awake desire and passion
in men. Now that you have had your way with her, how long till you
get bored and want to return to the one who owns your
heart?"

"Bunda, I'm sorry for what Dewi is
going through and all the pain I caused her, that's why I
apologized to her. The feelings I had for Dewi could not be
compared to what I feel for Mita. Dewi was my girlfriend for three
years, but I never felt for her what I feel for my wife. I don't
need to return to anyone, because the person who owns my heart is
already by my side. Dewi doesn't mean anything to me anymore, she's
merely a part of my past now."

"I hope you're sincere. But either way,
Mita has admitted her feelings for you, so I suppose there's
nothing I can do to make her come to her senses. But I'll be
keeping my eye on you!" She warned him. "As for you Hafiz, in front
of your father and brother I want to say that I hope you would
forget my daughter, you had your chance and you blew it. Respect
her as your sister in law. Your attempt to show affection can
easily create conflict between Ali and Mita. If you're serious
about, not wanting to see Mita get hurt, think about
that!"

"Hafiz, you know even if I wasn't with
Bang Ali, I will never be with you, ever!" Paramita said, holding
back her sadness she added, "She bled for one month and had several
complications, I was by her side the whole time, not knowing if she
would survive or not. Although she finally did, but the doctors had
to remove her womb to save her life. You never once bothered to
come and visit her. She actually wanted to keep the baby, but
because you and her parents refused it, she had no other choice but
to abort it."

"Ananda, what happened? An abortion?
Who is this woman you are talking about? What does she have to do
with my son?"

"Mita, we should go now," Ali said
while standing from his chair, "We should let Hafiz and father
talk. And you have another appointment."

"Mama, we're leaving now, we'll talk
again later."

"Bye, darling. Take care." Soraya said
while kissing her cheeks.

* * *

They left the hotel in Ali's car.
Captain Bagas stayed behind to wait for Raden Hamza. "Why was Hafiz
there?" Ali asked her.

"Your goddess arranged for him and my
mother to talk about your relationship with her." She answered
sarcastically.

"My goddess? I only believe in one
God!" He answered with the same tone.

"Don't play dumb! You know who I'm
referring to." She said. "Maybe this marriage was a bad idea, after
all."

Ali suddenly stopped the car causing
Paramita to be thrown forward and pressed against her seatbelt.
"Don't ever say that. In our marriage, there's only you and me. Not
your parents, not mine, and certainly not any bitter exes or former
crushes. They can do whatever they want and say whatever they want
to say, but the two of us belong together. And our success depends
on us. I love you and you love me, and that's all that
matters."