Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 (43 page)

"Thank you, Pangeran. Please excuse
me." He bowed to Ali and left with Mister Ariawan.

"So, you got your very own little army
of Royal Guards assigned to you huh? Paramita said casually while
entering Ali's study.

"It's protocol." He replied.

"And what will a simple housewife like
me know about protocol." Paramita sighed standing by his side. She
placed a stack of newspapers on his desk.

Ali pulled her down on his lap. "What
indeed." He replied. "What are these?" He asked while looking at
the bundle on his desk.

"This is today's edition and some past
editions of Wirakarta Daily. According to them you bought a house
for Dewi and maybe soon you'll marry her as your second wife, today
there's even speculations that she might be one or two months
pregnant with your child, because she was caught vomiting behind
stage."

"She always vomits behind stage since
the first day I knew her, she puts her finger down her throat after
each meals. How could she not vomit? I feel bad for whoever cooks
for her. And how can I make some other woman one or two months
pregnant if for the past three months I'm either at the Sultan's
Palace with your father, or here getting drained until the last
drop every single day by you?"

"You dirty old man!" She
replied.

"Anyway I haven't been buying any
properties lately, but I know someone who's been busy doing it. So
simple housewife. Tell me, what is this I hear about your land
acquisitions? Do you mind sharing it with me?"

She smiled, "Are you spying on
me?"

"Is it supposed to be a secret from
me?"

"Not really. Just some business
dealings of mine. And they are not land acquisitions. I'm buying
old houses, I plan to restore them, then sell them. That's all. I
have to find some way to spend my dowry."

"Ahh...so you're working?"

"Why you don't permit me
to?"

"Of course I do! But when you need to
go out on surveys, you shouldn't go alone. Take the guards with
you."

"Okay I will." She said as placed her
head against his.

"What company are you going to hire for
the construction project?" He asked again.

"I think I'm going to invite several
companies to bid. The properties I bought are in Wirakarta's
upscale locations, so I think a lot of constructors will be
interested to participate in the project."

"Hmm, you have it well planned." Then
he continued carefully. "Mita, it's not that I want to get in your
way or anything, Hafiz owns a construction company..."

"Bang, if he wants to bid and he gives
me a fair and competitive proposal, I don't have any intentions on
favoring or discriminating against him."

"I appreciate your professionalism, but
I can't help feeling a little..."

"Jealous?" Paramita cut him, "Bang. I
will make sure to study each proposal and make sure they are
reasonable, before I compare apples to apples and then award the
contract."

"Okay. I want to see them though. Let's
say I'll audit the financial side of it."

"Okay, boss."

"What do you want to eat
tonight?"

"Are you going to cook for
me?"

"Eh-he...."

"Let me see, hm......" She said as
flashes of dishes passed before her eyes.

"I know. Spanish Paella, with real
saffron." He said without waiting for her respond.

"I'm so lucky to have married to you."
She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"You are, aren't you? But you have to
pay this dirty old man in advance for the meal." He said while
lifting her up on the big desk and pulling her skirt up.

* * *

"You want me to meet you at a café?"
Paramita said to the woman at the other side of the phone. "I have
absolutely no business with you."

"I have to talk to you!" Dewi said.
"Please, listen to what I have to say to you. Can't you see that
all this is killing me?"

''Look Dewi, know that you're hurting.
I'm sorry for everything that you had to go through, but please let
him go already!"

"That's easy for you to say, you're not
the one who lost the man you love the most in this world.
"

''Okay, I'll meet with you, but this
will be the last time." She paused to find a pen and paper. "Tell
me where you want to meet."

"Promise me you wouldn't tell him that
you're going to meet me." Dewi said.

"Fine!"

Paramita flagged a taxi in front of the
palace gate, since she was going to meet with Dewi I she didn't
want to bother any of the guards. She didn't consider Dewi to be a
danger to her. That woman had lost her mind, but she was very
pitiful more than anything else. After being in love with Ali for a
few months she could empathize with Dewi. The taxi slowed down in
front of a small café located at Wirakarta's shopping
district.

She paid the taxi fare and stepped
down, she took off her dark sunglasses checked the name of the café
again, before entering. She looked around to see if Dewi had
arrived or not, she saw a petite woman sitting at a corner table
Wearing dark sunglasses in an attempt to remain incognito." She
must think that she's that famous". Paramita thought to
herself.

She walked over to where Dewi was
sitting. Through the corner of her eye she can see people looking
at her. She wondered if they recognized her, keeping a calm front
she directed herself to the table, pulled back the chair and sat
down.

"What do you want to talk about?”
Paramita asked without small talk.

"Why don't we order something to drink
first?" Dewi said stalling. Dewi signaled to the waiter to come to
their table and take the order.

"Cappuccino, please." Paramita
ordered.

"Black coffee for me." Dewi
said.

"I don't have all day!" Parameter
started again, "Say what you want to say, I'm
listening!"

"I want you to see how much I'm
suffering. I want you to see what you've done to me." Dewi said in
a melancholy tone.

"It's getting old and tiring! What are
you hoping to gain by all this pity party?"

"You're cruel, you're mean. When we met
at the restaurant, you already knew that you were engaged to him,
but you pretended to be interested in our relationship, you were
asking about our plans for marriage. You did that on purpose did
you? You were acting all nice and innocent, but in your heart, you
were mocking me."

"Do you mean you made me come all the
way out here just to listen to your nonsense?" Paramita replied.
"Aren't you clear yet that this marriage wasn't my
choice?"

"Do you think I didn't know that day at
the restaurant, you tried to seduce him? You flirted and teased
him! Soon he will realize what type of a woman you really are, soon
he'll see that you're nothing but a low class woman masquerading as
a princess."

"Are you done?" Paramita asked
nonchalantly though deep down she had to admit that Dewi wasn't
without reason. "If not, please continue with your whining and
ranting."

"I hate you! I wish you would just go
and die."

"I'm wasting my time here I'm leaving,
I have better things to do then listen to your senseless rambles.
You know what? Call me mean, but I wonder how Bang Ali could stand
dating you for three years. You are so boring, one sided and you
don't possess a single shred of common sense. I'm leaving now. Have
a good day!" She got up and left the table she walked to the
cashier and paid the Cappuccino that she didn't get a chance to
drink.

Paramita stepped out of the café and
waited for a taxi. She caught sight of a black van parked across
the street that gave her a very uneasy feeling, as the men inside
the van seemed to be observing her. One man came down and looked as
if he was going to walk her way. Paramita left the spot she was
standing at, and walked down the block.

From the side of her eyes Paramita
could see the black Audi Van speeding by and pulling over a few
meters in front of her. She turned left and fastened her pace. Two
men came out of the car and hurriedly followed behind
her.

The two men ran past her and blocked
her path by standing in front of her. Paramita made a quick
observation, they didn't appear to be armed. She stepped back a
little, then said in a soft and exaggeratedly feminine voice,
"Please, let me go, I don't know you people. What do you want with
me?"

"Young lady, you should feel honored,
our lord Tuanku Pangeran Bashir wants to talk to you."

"Pangeran Bashir?" She repeated almost
as if to herself, "So the two of you work for him?"

"Young lady, come with us."

"Tell the old man, if he wants to talk
to me, there are proper ways to do it. He should come out of his
car and find me himself instead of sending his goons to me" She
responded harshly.

"Impudent woman!" The man on the right
shouted while moving forward to grab her.

Paramita jumped back to evade him.
Seeing that he missed, he charged again with his hand extended
ready to grab her. This time she stayed still, she caught his hand
and clinched with all her strength the area between his thumb and
index finger with her thumb and index finger. The man gasped
because of the sharp pain, she clenched her fist and slammed a hook
into his diaphragm. He tried to catch his breath, but she didn't
give him a chance, she grabbed his shirt and threw him against the
wall as hard as she could. He fell flat on his back after his
forehead smashed against the brick wall, and she added a stomp kick
to his temple to leave him unconscious as his head ricochet against
the ground.

The other henchman was surprised to see
her quick and strong attack, he cursed under his breath and leaped
forward. Paramita didn't wait for him to get close to her, she
moved her foot forward and baited him with a sweep kick, the man
was surprised and stopped on his track, that's when she saw the
opportunity and launched a roundhouse kick towards his head. The
henchman fell sideways, she approached him and stomped his head
with her right foot, causing him to hit the sidewalk hard. He was
still conscious so she squatted down and grabbed him by the
neck.

Seeing that Paramita was overpowering
his men, Pangeran Bashir opened the car door got off, took out his
gun and pointed it at her.

"Stop there!" Pangeran Bashir shouted
at her while continuing to point his gun at her. "You really aren't
a dignified lady, you're a low life just like your
mother."

She observed him carefully, this was
the first time she ever saw him. He looked much older than her
father, even though she heard mentions that they only were three
years apart. He had the strict and fierce look of somebody who
doesn't take any nonsense. "And you really are a typical machoism
brute. You think that women who just roll over and let a man whack
her in the head and drag her by the hair is dignified." She
responded to him while letting go of the guard's neck.

"Put your hands up." He said calmly and
coldly, then turned to his men, kicking with the tip of his toe to
wake them up. "How could you have the face to take your salary if
the two of you couldn't even apprehend one woman?"

"Please forgive us, Tuanku." They
said.

Pangeran Bashir turned back to Paramita
signaling her to walk to the car. "Get in!" He ordered.

Paramita raised her hands up and
complied with what he said.

She entered to the back seat of the car
with her back towards the driver's seat. She was surprised to see
that Dewi was sitting there across her, "What the..." She
cursed.

"Niece, you must be wondering why Miss
Dewi is her." Pangeran Bashir said as he also climbed into the
car.

"Not really, birds of a feather flock
together." Paramita mocked.

Pangeran Bashir raised his hand to slap
her on the face. Paramita reflectively caught him by the wrist and
squeezed it. She felt the cold metal from a gun barrel on her neck,
she released her grip on the old man's arm.

He pretended that nothing had happen to
save his pride. "Drive!" He ordered.

Chapter Thirty
Six

"Where did she go to?" Ali asked
Noorhayati in disbelief.

"Like I said Pangeran, after receiving
a call from Miss Dewi, Puteri took a taxi, to go out and meet her,"
Mak Noor repeated.

"Did she tell you where she was going
to meet Dewi?" He asked again.

"No, she didn't. But she wrote the
place and address on a piece of paper on the notepad by the phone,
and if something I know about my Puteri well, is that always put a
lot of strength and pressure when she wrote, chances are we can see
the marks on the next sheet." Mak Noor said while picking up the
notepad and tracing the dents that Paramita's handwriting left
behind then handed it to Ali.

"So you said that she's been gone for a
few hours already?" He felt uneasy.