Saeed Hilal picked us up from the hotel and drove us to Nad Al Sheba palace, Sheikh Hamdan's residence. My sister and I looked at our mom and Saeed Hilal having a serious session of catch up. At this point – now knowing my mom's affiliation with the Sheikh – the surprise of her talking to him like she knew him her whole life, began to fade.
I was suddenly very curious to know what kind of friendship she had with the Crown Prince of this emirate. It was quite obvious that she knew him very well and that they were quite close at one point.
"Is it just me or is mom seriously holding back on critical info?" I asked, watching her from the backseat as she chatted with Saeed as if they were old pals.
"She's definitely holding back. I had no idea she was friends with the Sheikh and now she's having a rather chummy conversation with his bodyguard?" her expression incredulous. "I'm not one bit surprised if she dated him."
"What? Saeed or the Sheikh? Cause you're being a little too ambiguous" I stifled a laugh.
"Sheikh Hamdan" she gave me a nudge.
"Mom and the Sheikh?" I looked at her sarcastically. "That'll be the day."
"Mom is still young and pretty. She looks more like our older sister than our mom."
"And I hate that it appears that way. The last time someone asked me if he could have 'my sister's' number, I almost decked him."
"And what stopped you?" she looked at me curiously, cause she knew what my temper was like and how easily my fists started to swing in all directions.
"Gabe. Otherwise, I would have broken both his nose and my fists – all at once."
"Gabe's always been able to keep you on a short leash. I admire him greatly for that."
"Yeah well, he's the best. Kinda wish he was here to give me a hand with this trip and this dinner I am so not looking forward to."
"Hey, it probably won't be that bad."
"Piper, we're having dinner with royals and the Crown Prince of the emirate we are currently standing on, will also be there. How the hell are we supposed to act?"
"I'm sure you can just be yourself. Besides, I've done research on Faz and he seems like a family type of guy, loves kids, writes poetry like someone I knew" she chuckled and I gave her a pointed look.
"Faz?" I gave her a stupefied look. "You're calling him Faz?"
"Yes, but you're missing the point."
"And your point is?"
"I looked at his Instagram."
"You mean you were Instagram stalking him?"
"Whatever... my point is...I'm sure he won't harm you if you don't have royal etiquette. Besides, I have a feeling he's fond of you."
"And how'd you figure that one out?"
"Just the way he looked at you when we met him."
"If he's friendly and loves kids, I'm sure that's just part of his nature. I doubt he has any special fondness for me. I mean, why would he? He doesn't know me enough to develop even a gram of it."
"Come on, that Macho-Man bravado you got going on underneath...you're actually loveable."
"Right, otherwise my mom would be just as loveable with me."
We finally arrived at Sheikh Hamdan's palace. The moment my sister and I stepped out of the car, she kept eying the place with quite a bit of curiosity. She was bewitched by its grandiosity, its beauty, its lush gardens that were neatly decorated with flowers and even palm trees in certain areas, giving it that desert kingdom sort of feel. The palace was almost like a shining jewel that only got brighter whenever the sun shined on it.
Hell, it felt like I was in Aladdin's palace. In Agrabah. Except, this version of Agrabah was Dubai.
"Wow, I can't believe I am standing in an actual palace" she said the moment we walked in, only further revealing its luxuries. The place had guards in certain areas of the palace. Even I had to admit I was in awe.
The walls were somewhat of a cream-colored white, decorated with gold designs and the floors were of marble with several Persian/Arab/Ottoman designs. There were also Persian rugs in several areas, as well as tables made of marble and holding grandiose bases of flowers, with all other areas decorated in gold. All and all, the palace had a very Arab/Ottoman feel, noticing the art on the walls with frames of Arabic calligraphy. I would not doubt it one bit if the calligraphy frames were excerpts of Sheikh Hamdan's poems.
Entering the Majlis, we noticed other royals waiting for us. Present were Sheikh Ahmed, Sheikh Maktoum – who always looked serious, Sheikh Mansour, Sheikh Mohammed – the emir, and another boy who looked to be around my age, then realized it was Sheikh Khalil, another son of Sheikh Mohammed's from a Syrian woman. Sheikh Hamdan suddenly showed up, noticing my sister getting weak in the knees at just looking at him. She couldn't stop staring.
While the majority of his family wore white Kandouras with either red checkered Ghutrahs or in some other color, Sheikh Hamdan wore a black Kandoura with a cream-colored Ghutrah and also had a Bisht over it.
He looked at my mom, looking at her with a rather odd expression I did not expect him to look at her with. Now, more than ever, I had a feeling that my sister was probably right about her having some kind of romantic connection to him. What if she did date him before? And what could that spell for both my sister and me?
But most importantly, what was this trip about?
"Ok, you really think there's something romantic going on between these two?" I whispered to my sister.
"I don't know...but it sure does look like that could very well be the case."
"I hope it's just our imagination cause something smells funny and I'm not talking about actual fumes in the air!" I said in a wry tone.
Sheikh Hamdan's brothers all spoke to my mom as if they knew her. All of them greeted her with a hug and a kiss on either cheek. Something was definitely going on here that I was for sure the last to know of.
Then Sheikh Hamdan greeted her and the attention was shifted to both my sister and me. He came to us, then he stood in front of me, looking at me as if he was expecting something from me.
Please stop looking at me! I thought to myself.
His big brown eyes locked in with mines. It was odd, but he was looking at me as if he knew me better than I knew even myself.
What was I supposed to say?
"It's good to see you again" he smiled, looking at me directly in the eye.
"Likewise" I said.
"Shall we?" he extended his arm, leading me and my sister to the dining room.
Piper and I sat down. Our mom decided to sit next to Sheikh Hamdan. Piper sat directly across from her, while I sat directly across from the Sheikh.
As dinner time passed, Piper and I continued eying our mom, watching how she chatted with Sheikh Hamdan and his other brother. She obviously knew them, and quite well because they all kept re-hatching memories of times past – dead giveaway.
Piper and I continued eating dinner while we heard the rants coming from the royalty brothers and our mom. I was so uncomfortable and did not have to look at my sister to know she was also feeling the same. She and I briefly looked at each other and then quietly got up and walked over to the foyer. I was mildly surprised that no one said anything to us as we got up, but then again they probably did not even notice us since they were all too busy being all chatty-chatty.
"Ok, what the hell is up with mom?" I asked.
"I haven't got a clue. They're just chit-chatting and talking about past memories!" she said, now the feeling sinking in more that mom was more than affiliated with this family. Now, there was absolutely no doubt about it.
We both looked at our mom and the rest of the Al Maktoum bros.
"Ok, aside from the fact that we weren't invited into the conversation" I once again looked at them. "What is mom's deal with this family? She's all chummy and perky with..."
"Prince charming?"
"Yeah, him. But everyone else is acting like they know her. Which is quite obvious at this point" I was now getting frazzled.
"Maybe we're overthinking things. But then again, something seems off."
"What's off, is a mystery as to why mom kept this from us. But who cares, it has nothing to do with us and yet at the same time I'm...oh what the hell. I'm just babbling like an idiot."
"Relax. You're getting frazzled" she laughed.
"Am I alone if I say I want to go home?" I asked.
"No, you're not alone on that one."
"Now that makes me feel so much better," I said, noticing both Sheikh Hamdan and our mamá together, showing up suddenly.
"Mom," said Piper.
"What are you two doing here?" she practically demanded, looking at us as if we had done something wrong.
"We just had to stretch out our legs. You know sitting down for long periods makes me stir crazy" I said, trying to study my mom's expression.
"I see" said Sheikh Hamdan, who was looking at me with that intense sort of look that my dad used to give me.
"So the four of us..." my mom paused for a brief moment. "We're going to have a rather serious talk," she said, very casually. The fact that her saying the word 'serious' had no effect on her tone and how she said it, made me feel even more mystified.
Piper and I looked at each other, wondering how this party for a serious conversation just went from a three to a four, and the fourth person was none other than the Crown Prince of Dubai.
At first, the thought crossed my mind that my mom was going to reveal that she used to date dear prince charming over here, a literal Aladdin in this scenario. Only, my guts were telling me that was not what she was going to discuss. She made it sound like it was something semi-serious, but I had a feeling this was going to take one violent shove into serious.
Sheikh Hamdan's brothers and dad said their goodbyes to us. Piper and I tried keeping it simple and to the point so that we did not accidentally disrespect them since again, we were not educated in royal etiquette.
"It was really nice to meet you guys" said Sheikh Maktoum, the more serious of the bunch while Sheikh Ahmed and Sheikh Mansour seemed to be a little more playful and witty.
Then there was Sheikh Khalil, who had quite the attitude. He was for sure looking at me like an intruder. A dangerous intruder attempting to invade his turf.
"Likewise" I said, trying to fake the fakest of smiles. Then I turned to the rest of the bunch. "It was nice meeting you all" I said and then shook hands with Ahmed, Mansour, Khalil, and the Emir.
Once all the goodbyes were completed, which continued with more talking, making it a rather long goodbye, my mom and Sheikh Hamdan walked back inside.
Again, both sets of eyes roamed on to me and to my sister. However, though, it seemed like the attention was being placed a little bit more on me. If there was one thing I hated, it was being the center of attention.
"Ok, so I guess it's time to go home" said Piper.
"The four of us still need to have that conversation" said my mom, her tone serious as well as her expression, indicating that whatever convo we were about was going to be anything but good news.
We walked over to the Majlis and sat down. Sheikh Hamdan then asked one of the servants to bring us some tea and coffee, with dates.
After the tea and coffee arrived, I decided to forego the coffee because, for one thing, caffeine made me anxious and preferred to have a good night's sleep tonight. I grabbed some dates and ate them with my tea, loving how they paired well with one another.
"Ok, so dinner was nice and I'm digging the tea and dates..." I said somewhat sarcastically, trying not to let my snarkiness come out while in the presence of the Sheikh. "But I am curious as to the conversation you want to have with us."
"Yeah mom, what's this all about?" Piper asked, somewhat annoyed now. Even the Sheikh's presence was not having much of an effect on her at the moment.
Sheikh Hamdan – Fazza...as I liked to call him – and my mom, looked into each other's eyes. There was no doubt my mom was nervous, as was Fazza. Except, I could tell by the look in his big brown puppy dog eyes that he had compassion for my mom. Ok, this was getting weirder by the second.
"Mom..." I forced her to look at me. "What is this all about?"
She sighed, Fazza now holding her hand. And not in a casual way. He was holding her hand with protection, and some romance attached.
"I don't know how to begin this conversation..." she was hesitating.
"How about you start by explaining yourself!" I was now starting to lose the little patience I had I had left in me.
"Drop the attitude!" my mom warned.
"Then get to the point!" I punched in the attitude just a little bit more. It was a suicidal move on my part, being in front of Fazza. Surely, he could have me decapitated without hesitation if he chose to.
"Faisal, please show your mom some respect!" Fazza said, compassionately, but with a tone and look that said he did not approve of my attitude toward her.
If it were some other moron, I'd have told him to shut his face. Except, I was not crazy enough to say that to him. I could not imagine the consequences that would come about as a result of my less than friendly attitude.
"Mom, please...just say what you're gonna say cause now I'm the one who's nervous!" I said, this time urgently and zero the attitude.
Piper took my trembling and sweaty hand.
"This involves you" my mom looked at me.
"Me?!" I now felt my heart jumping.
"What is this secret you have that involves my little brother?!" Piper now seemed to be losing her cool.
"Yes..." I too was about to lose it. "What's this all about?"
"Sheikh Hamdan...here..." my mom began, looking at him, and with the same attraction and compassion that Fazza had been showing her the entire time since arriving. Then she looked at me directly in the eye. "He is your father!"
It took me a moment to register what she had just said, what she had just revealed. It seemed absurd to think that the Crown Prince of Dubai was my biological dad. It was so absurd to even think that what she had said had any validity. I even wanted to laugh, but something held me back from doing so. It was the obviousness that it made no sense why my mom would make such a statement if it were not true. She was not the joking type and even if she was, she would never joke about something like this.
That was when I realized that she was being as serious as a heart attack.
"Wait, what?!" I snapped. "Say that again cause I'm not sure I heard correctly."
"Sheikh Hamdan is your father..." my mom gave me a stern look as if she wanted it to be engraved in my head for the rest of my life so I did not doubt her words. "Your biological father!"
I looked at my sister, who was just as shocked and as speechless as I was. I simply could not fit it into my head that my father – my biological father who was never there for me when I needed him – was none other than Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. Then another reality hit me upside the head, the most obvious thing. If I was his son, then that also made me a prince by blood.
I was a Sheikh!
"Mom!" Piper snapped. "When exactly did you plan to tell any of us? Or him for that matter?!"
"It had to be at the right moment!" my mom insisted, giving her the same stern look that was nothing but a warning to not cross her.
"Why didn't you tell me this years ago?!" I too snapped. "Why wait eighteen years, especially when I've asked you countless times who was my real dad?!"
"Because it wasn't the right time! That's why! And don't get smart with me kid! At the end of the day, I make the decisions and I will tell you, even the most life-altering information when I feel like it!"
"Wow, what a sorry excuse for an excuse!" Piper was pissed, as I was.
"Watch it!" my mom warned her.
"No, you watch it!" I got up in her face about it. "Since when do you have the right to deny me this information?! Yes, you're the mom and you think all your decisions are the wisest, but this one, this decision was probably by far the crappiest of all the lousy decisions you've made throughout my life!"
"You better speak to me with respect little boy, because I won't tolerate any disrespect!" my mom warned.
"And if I don't? What are you going to do? Spank me?!"
"Faisal, son, please...be respectful to your mother!" Sheikh Hamdan, or daddy, implored.
"You may be the crown prince and my dad, but that does not give you the right to tell me what to do!" I tossed back at prince cutie as my sister often called him.
"That's it!" my mom tried to slap me, but I didn't let her. Then she pushed me and landed her palm directly against my face, making it feel as if it had been lit on fire.
Piper stepped between us, especially because mom always tended to take out all her frustrations on me. I always felt this barrier between me and my mom. I knew she loved me, yes, but at times it felt like she held this special resentment for me. As if I did something to her that made her want to treat me this way. In some ways, my sister acted more like a mom to me than my own mom did. It was why we were close.
"Stay out of this!" my mom warned my sister.
"No! That's my little brother you just slapped and I am not going to let you harm another hair on his head!" Piper stood up against her.
"How dare you defy me!" my mom growled.
"I will defy you when you're wrong! And right now, you're in the wrong and I will not let you slip by like you're always accustomed to.
Sheikh Hamdan looked like he was caught in a corner, watching as my mom and sister argued.
"And there's more news" my mom finally said, which made me feel sick to my stomach because I was almost certain it was not going to be good news.
"What?!" I demanded.
"You're going to live here in Dubai, with your dad!" she tossed. "I've had it with you and your rebellion! And now, your dad is going to look out for you from now on!"
"What?!" Piper shouted. "Are you being for reals?!"
"Yes, I'm being very for reals! So get used to not having a brother to look out for!" my mom said, cruelly, which I could tell surprised Hamdan. "I don't want you in my life anymore" she darted at me. "You're a disappointment for a son!"
That one hurt, because as far as I knew I had not done anything, ever, to be labeled as a disappointment. I got good grades and was an honor student, got accepted to the best universities and it was literally up to me where I wanted to go. Yes, I got into fights, but only to defend myself when it was my absolute right to.
"Isabella, don't be cruel to the boy, please!" Hamdan pleaded. Except he was eighteen years too late to defend me.
"I'll be cruel if I want to!" she snapped. "He's a disappointment for a son and I won't hold back from saying it!"
"You're a cruel and sorry excuse for a mother!" I said, through gritted teeth.
"Don't make me slap you again!" she warned.
"Don't you dare!" Piper prepped herself to defend me in case mommy tried to abuse me yet again with another slap.
"Isabella, don't hit him. He's just a boy!" Sheikh Hamdan pleaded.
"Yeah, a rebellious boy if you ask me!"
"Mom, you can't leave me here!" I almost wanted to cry, but the more I resisted, the more my eyes began to water.
"I'm sorry, but you're staying here whether you want to, or not!" my mom said, maintaining the same cruelty in her tone. "I don't want you to come back home with us! And that's final!"
"Piper!" I looked at my sister, who came and hugged me.
"You can't just abandon him. He's done nothing wrong and all you've done is mistreat him for nothing!"
"Don't question my decisions!" my mom shouted.
"I will question them because your decisions are questionable!" Piper attacked. "I won't hold back from telling you the truth about how cruel you are!"
"Let go of your brother and let's go! Now!" my mom yelled.
"Well, I'm not leaving Faisal here by himself! So you can forget it!" Piper challenged.
"Piper, I will take good care of your brother!" Hamdan assured her.
"No!" I said, fearful of what lied in store for me.
"Listen to me, it's going to be ok" Piper tried to assure me the moment she realized that there was not going to be an out for me here. "I'll figure something out, I promise!"
"No, you won't!" my mom grabbed Piper, but Piper pushed her away. "How dare you!"
"No, how dare you! And don't you dare cross me because when it comes to my little brother, I am more than willing to break even the law!" Piper got bold. "So don't!"
"Listen to me little girl!" my mom attempted to taunt and belittle my sister, but my sister was way too strong that it did not even make her flinch. "Don't make me grab you from the hair and drag you out!"
"Try it, and see what will happen!" Piper's brown eyes – which were usually always kind – were now filled with anger. Piper than hugged me and started to whisper in my ear. "Listen carefully, I'll figure something out and I promise I'll bring you home! Don't worry!"
I felt my eyes watering some more, wondering what was going to happen to me since this vacation had suddenly become permanent for me.
"Alright, enough coddling him!" my mom grabbed my sister and pulled her, but Piper grabbed my mom's arm and twisted it, almost hurting her.
"Don't you put your filthy hands on me!" Piper shot her a nasty look. "I will not leave Dubai if my brother is not coming back home!"
"Oh yes, you are!"
"And what are you going to do about it?! Last I checked I'm an adult and can do whatever the hell I want!" Piper shot at her. "And I am never going to let you make me abandon Faisal! If you want to toss him like a dirty used up napkin, then that's fine cause clearly your motives as a mother are questionable. But I will not abandon him! So get it through your head!"
My mom gave her a defeated look, realizing that she could not break Piper down. My mom turned to walk off, and Piper followed along, giving me a wink from the other eye so Sheikh Hamdan – daddy – did not get any funny ideas.
I stood, frozen, watching as my mom and sister left. I knew Piper would not be able to keep her promise to take me back home, though she was serious. The one who could decide my fate was none other than Sheikh Hamdan, and I knew he would never let me go home. If my mom could be this cruel to me, something told me that he was capable of it too and had no doubt he would even lock me up in a dark dungeon if he had to.
"Son!" said Sheikh Hamdan, but I did not acknowledge him. I was crying and trying to understand what was happening all around me. "It's going to be ok. I promise."
Then the thought of not seeing my sister, Melanie, my best friend Gabe, the rest of my family...it pushed me over the edge and I started running, hoping to catch up to them. Then I watched as the car drove away, with my mom and sister inside.
Sheikh Hamdan begged me to wait, but I ignored him. I kept running, then fell and injured myself all over and had a feeling that the side of my eyebrow was bleeding. I got up and kept running, yelling for my sister. Then I watched as the gate closed, leaving me behind and locked up with no way to escape. I kept banging the gate, trying to open it, but it was me against the wall. It was like trying to defeat Goliath with my fists.
I then tried to climb the gate, but then security came and grabbed me. I tried to fight them and even landed a few punches to a few until one blindsided me from behind and was restrained.
I kept trying to free myself, but the more I tried to, the more aggressive they got. Then Sheikh Hamdan ordered them to let me go and immediately they did. He ordered them to leave and then moments later it was just us two. Me and daddio.
He looked at me. I was surprised that in his eyes was nothing but compassion. Still, as compassionate as he could be, I was angry at him for never having been there, to begin with, and now being forced to live with him.
But what made it worse was the fact that now it turned out I was also a Sheikh. It was like a crown of thorns that was being put around my head, making it a painful and heavy weight that I was not sure I could handle. But more than that, it was a weight I did not want to even so much as try and handle.
"Buddy, it's going to be ok. I promise" he pleaded, almost as if he was desperate to gain my approval. "Wait, you're hurt" he looked at my injured hand and the trail of blood running down to my neck from the edge of my eyebrow.
He pulled out a tissue and cleaned away the trail of blood. I felt the physical pain of my injuries, yes, but the pain of having been betrayed by my mother was worse than physical pain ever would be.
***
Here is a brand new chapter. I hope you are all enjoying this story. I will continue to post on Mondays/Tuesdays to keep chapter posts as regular as possible.
Thank you for reading and giving this story a chance. Please continue reading and please Comment, Vote, and Share.
The next chapter will be titled "Salvaje".
Love you all. You guys rock!
Johnny