Prince Charming

My Other Half

Prince Mateen's dad was stunned. He didn't expect Prince Mateen to say it.

"I've told you before, didn't I? You are not supposed to be in any kind of relationship with a commoner, especially those with no ties to a royalty bloodline." Said the Sultan.

"I know." Replied Prince Mateen.

"Then, what is the meaning of this?" Asked the Sultan.

"Why can't I have a relationship with a commoner? Abang Malik married a commoner, you married mum when she's a flight attendant. I don't see the reason why I couldn't. Furthermore, your successor will be Abang Muhtadee and I'm 6 in line of succession to the throne." Said Prince Mateen.

The Sultan sighed. Whatever Prince Mateen said is true. All he ever wanted to be was the best for his kids. He thought Prince Mateen would marry one of his cousins like how he did or maybe someone of the royal bloodline.

"Where did you meet her and when did you start dating?" Asked the Sultan.

"I met her at the Polo Charity a few weeks back. When I first laid my eyes on her, I felt a sense of attraction towards her. Then we met again at Jab gym. There was when I started making the first move and since then, we've been talking with each other. I feel comfortable whenever I'm with her and I can be free. She treats me like a normal person and not some royalty. I feel normal. Something that I don't get to feel that often." Explained Prince Mateen.

"Since you have already said that, now, I want to meet this girl of yours. Invite her to Brunei and tell her to face me at the palace." Said the Sultan.

Prince Mateen smiled.

On the other hand, Aisy texted Prince Mateen a couple of times but there wasn't any response. She was about to give up when suddenly her phone rang. Aisy and Prince Mateen were on the phone for quite some time. She expressed her worries about the news article to Prince Mateen. She's worried that someone might not be happy when they read the article about both of them, especially someone special to him. Prince Mateen assured Aisy that everything is fine and no one will be mad or offended when they read the article.

"Are you sure? Your fans might be." Said Aisy.

"Haha, funny. I don't have anyone special in my life. I wouldn't be talking to you if I do have one, you know." Replied Prince Mateen.

"True." Said Aisy. Deep down, she wished Prince Mateen would say he have someone special. With a twist, she's hoping that someone special is her.

"Hey, erm. My dad invited you over to Brunei and face him in the palace." Said Prince Mateen.

Suddenly, Aisy becomes nervous. A lot of questions ran through her mind. What if the Sultan doesn't like Aisy befriending his son? What if the Sultan wants Aisy to cut her ties with his son?

"Hey, Aisy. You there?" Said Prince Mateen. His words snapped Aisy out of her world.

"Yeah." Replied Aisy.

"So what do you think?" Asked Prince Mateen.

"My school holiday starts next week. How about I visit Brunei next week." Said Aisy.

"Cool! See you soon." Replied Prince Mateen.

Words spread like wildfire in Istana Nurul Iman that Prince Mateen has a girlfriend. Prince Mateen's friends were all shocked when they find out about the news. Everyone thought it was just a rumour the media made. Few of his friends have met Aisy before and there were surprised to know that they are dating when they've met a few weeks back. Prince Mateen doesn't know much about Aisy and the same goes for Aisy. Everyone thought that Prince Mateen and Anisha would have been together. Nonetheless, everyone wishes him well.

Out of all the people who knows Prince Mateen, one particular person didn't take the news well. Anisha threw the glass that was in her hand when she read the news article headlines.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!! Bitch! Out of everyone in this world, why would you choose Mateen! He's mine! Didn't I make it clear enough the last time we met? Damn it!" Shouted Anisha. 

She's full of hatred. She looks at the photo of Prince Mateen and Aisy one last time and threw the newspaper into the rubbish bin. All of the efforts were gone. She's been following wherever Prince Mateen goes for years and they were practically stuck like a magnet. It feels like a part of her has been snatched away from her. She was hoping that someday, Prince Mateen would have fallen in love with her and asked her to be his girlfriend. When reality hits her, she couldn't believe that someone had stolen her spot. Anisha refused to acknowledge Prince Mateen's relationship with Aisy. She took out her phone from her pocket and look through all the moments she spent with Prince Mateen. She scrolled through her gallery and spotted lots of photos of Prince Mateen and her together. She played a particular video and smiled.

All the memories came back to her. She was the happiest girl alive back then when all the attention was on her and Prince Mateen doesn't mind going out with her whenever she asked him to. Now, whenever Anisha asked him out, he either replied he's busy with military duties or playing polo.

By the time Aisy landed in Brunei, it was already 6 pm. Aisy came alone and when asked by her parents, she said that she's old enough to do solo travel and she has fallen in love with Brunei. Her parents didn't want to be overprotective so they let her go and warned her to be careful. Prince Mateen offered to pick her up and she didn't hesitate to say yes. She scanned the airport, looking for a particular figure. There he was, wearing a button-down shirt and jeans. Pair it with a pair of sunglasses.

"Hey." Smiled Prince Mateen.

"Hey!" Replied Aisy.

"You hungry? Wanna grab some dinner?" Asked Prince Mateen.

"Sure." Replied Aisy.

Prince Mateen drove to the nearest restaurant near the Istana Nurul Iman. The atmosphere of the restaurant was fancy and Aisy felt that she doesn't belong there. She feels that the place only belongs to rich people because in there, there are a lot of guys wearing suits and ladies wearing dresses matching with expensive jewellery. The waitress came to Prince Mateen and Aisy's table and Aisy ordered Aglio Olio while Prince Mateen ordered steak.

"Can I ask you something?" Asked Prince Mateen suddenly.

"Sure." Replied Aisy.

"I know this may sound crazy but I've been thinking about it lately."

Aisy seems nervous when Prince Mateen said it.

"I am genuinely happy when I am with you. You make me feel comfortable around you and you pretty much don't care who I am. You genuinely want to be my friend for who I am and not for my status and family background. I want to thank you for being such a good friend. I also want to thank your parents, for having such an amazing daughter. My life has been such an eventful and full of colours since the day I first met you."

Aisy didn't know what to say. No one has ever said that to her. It felt so special especially coming from someone of the opposite gender.

Finally, Prince Mateen pops the question.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Asked Prince Mateen while holding a single red rose.