Wrapped In Pleasure - Brenda Jackson [54]
Jamal stared into the face of the man who had produced him, a man loved, respected and admired by many—a man Jamal knew would do anything for his people and a man who, in addition to everything else, believed in honor.
“Yes, Father,” he answered quietly. “I know what I’m saying and I also know what this means. I truly thought I could go through with it, but now I know that I can’t. I’m in love with someone else, and there is no way I can marry another.”
King Yasir looked deep into his son’s face. He had known when Jamal arrived home three weeks ago that something had been troubling him. Subsequently, Fatimah had shared with him what that something was. But he had turned a deaf ear to the thought that his son was in love with a Western woman. But now, seeing was believing. Jamal looked tormented and his features were those of a man who was hurting and whose very soul had been stripped away. With all the arrogance and lordliness Jamal was known to have, King Yasir was shocked that a woman had brought his son to this.
“This woman you love is a Western woman, is she not?” he asked gruffly.
Jamal continued to meet his father’s gaze. “Yes,” he said calmly.
“And you’re willing to walk away from a woman of your people and marry someone not like you, of your faith and nationality?”
Chin up, head lifted and body straight, Jamal answered stiffly, “Yes, because, although not like me, she is of me. She is a part of me just as I am a part of her, Father. Love has united us as one.”
The king’s eyes darkened. “Love? And what do you know of love?” he declared. “Are you sure it’s not your libido talking? Lust can be just as strong an emotion as love,” he persisted.
Jamal walked closer into the room to face his father. “Yes, I’m aware of that, and I do admit I was attracted to her from the moment I first saw her. I even thought it to be lust for a while, but it is not. At thirty-four I know the difference. I have had an ongoing affair with Najeen for a number of years, yet I’ve never thought about falling in love with her.”
“You wouldn’t have. You knew her position in your life. She was your mistress. If a man of your status were to fall in love it should be with his wife.”
“But things don’t always happen that way, Father, as you well know. Look at the number of other dignitaries who are besotted with their mistresses. And to answer your question as to what I know about love, I can honestly say that I know more now than I did some weeks ago,” he concluded heavily. “I know love is what has me willing to stand before you now and plead for your understanding that I marry the woman who has my heart. Love is what has me in total misery, torment and depression. Love is also what has kept me functioning regardless of those things.”
He took a deep breath and continued, “Love is what I see whenever you and Fatimah are together, and love is what has me willing to abdicate my right to succession if I have to.”
Shock was reflected in his father’s face. “You will give up the right to be my heir—the crown prince, the future king—for this woman?”
Jamal knew his words had caused his father pain, but they had to be said to make him understand just what Delaney meant to him. “Yes, Father, I would. Fatimah was right. Love is powerful enough to bring even the strongest man to his knees. I love Delaney Westmoreland, and I want her for my princess.”
“But does this woman want you? What if she refuses to accept our ways? What if she refuses to change, and—”
“I don’t want her to change,” Jamal said vehemently. “I love her just the way she is. I believe she would be willing to meet me halfway on certain things, and in my heart I also believe she will love our people as much as I do. But Delaney is not a woman who will bend because a man says she has to.”
“This woman is disobedient?” the king asked, troubled, astounded.
“No more so than Fatimah was when she first came here. If I remember correctly there was some rumbling among the people