Novel Storm
Disrespect
Roksolana stood up and looked the woman straight in the eyes. She lifted her right hand and would have retaliated if princess Azeezat hadn’t stopped her by holding her hand. She struggled against the princess’s hold on her but the other woman held on tight. She looked at the princess who shook her head before releasing Roksolana’s hand. She was tired. Tired of everything and everyone trying to dictate her life for her. She was tired of people telling her which way to live her life. The entire sultanate seemed to suffocate her and her very existence. She stared at the harem’s leader for one long minute before walking away. At the door, she saw the Sultan walking in with Aabdeen. Without stopping in her tracks, she hissed at the two of them.All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.
Jamal looked at Roksolana in amazement. Had she just hissed at him? He knew she was angry at him, but that doesn’t give her the right to disrespect him in the presence of his subjects. He hadn’t even taken anything that didn’t belong to him. She was his concubine after all. So, he owned every right to her body. And no matter how he used her or any of the women in his harem, they don’t get to complain. As a matter of fact, even if he killed all the people in his sultanate, they had no right to complain. Other women in his harem would kill to have the chance he had given her, so why was she complaining? He couldn’t even remember the last time he had anything to do with his favorite mistress. And he had thought that he could invite Roksolana over to his house for breakfast so that they could talk over what happened last night.
“Sultan!”
Jamal heard an outburst of joy. He looked up and saw Lady Miriam standing in front of him like his thoughts had cajoled her to life. Her happy expression lifted Jamal’s dark mood. At least, there is someone who appreciated his presence. He walked into the room and saw the other women coming out of Roksolana’s room. Had something happened between the women before he arrived? Knowing the rivalry between Lady Miriam and Roksolana, he wouldn’t be surprised to learn the two of them had had another argument.
“What happened here?” The Sultan asked.
“The maid you brought tried to cause trouble.” Lady Miriam answered. The Sultan looked at her with a hard stare and she gulped. “I meant Lady Roksolana.” She corrected herself.
Jamal softened his face a little. He had known about Lady Miriam’s attitude and vicious character even before he got close to her. He knew that she took after her father in the ramifications of life. To have their wishes fulfilled, both father and daughter didn’t mind who they stepped over to attain their goals. Rumor even had it that the finance janissary had killed his wife just because the woman threatened to expose him. Whatever the secret was, no one knew about it to date. The reason Jamal himself had gotten close to Lady Miriam was because of her viciousness and the fact that he knew that she wouldn’t judge him no matter what he did. Perhaps he should just spend some more time with her again to regain himself. He had been acting too soft lately because of reasons he didn’t want to think about.
“Lady Miriam, I’ll be having lunch at your place later. Make sure everything is in place,” Jamal commanded Lady Miriam whose face lit up immediately.
“Yes, Sultan.” Lady Miriam answered immediately, enthusiasm reflecting in her voice.
Jamal looked at the rest of the women, then walked out. He was sure he had made the right decision. By the time he spends days with Lady Miriam, he would be back to his usual self. The usual self everyone fears to hear even the sound of his footsteps and rushes to do his biddings lest his anger is aroused. The man that could order the killing of men without thinking about what a certain woman would think of him when she heard. The man that doesn’t blink even if people groveled for their lives at his feet. The man who could have intercourse with any woman that pleased his sight and hunger for that moment.
What was Roksolana turning him into anyway? Ever since he met her, he hadn’t been able to find pleasure with another woman no matter how hard he tried. None of them had appealed to him. He always found himself comparing each one of them to Roksolana and he had always felt that none of them matched up to her grace. Even when he forced himself into the arms of another woman, he was always thinking about her. He was always thinking that he was betraying her and whatever he had felt in that moment for the other woman would die instantly. It was part of what had led to his frustration. He had been without a woman for so long and seeing her with another man had made him fall into a temptation he couldn’t avoid. He had just had to have her. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that she was a virgin but his body hadn’t been ready to listen to his logic, so he had done what he did to relieve himself from the pain.
When they got to the house, the first thing his eyes fell on was the table and the arrays of food displayed on it. Jamal couldn’t imagine himself ever sitting at that table to eat without his mind reminding him about what had happened between Roksolana and him that night. Just looking at the table right now was making him hard. He instructed Aabdeen to get some maids to clear the food on the table. Jamal also instructed the man to dispose of the table and get a new one in place. He told Aabdeen to make sure that the color of the new table was different from the old one. He didn’t want to always deal with arousals he could not do anything about. Jamal told the other man that he could have the rest of the day off once he was done with his instructions.