Diya (pov)

I still don't get it... I didn't see Begum-e- sultanate when I arrived here... neither did I see the other prince.. and ofcourse Badshah was also absent on my first day here. This is all very confusing.

"what is it, Diya?" she asks, my face must have been a clear indicator of my confusion. "where are they now? I have not seen the Badshah, the other begum and her son... where are they?" I voice my confusion. "Oh.. All three of them went to visit Begum's parents , few days back... the Badshah will be returning today... Begum Nusrat and her son will probably stay there for a few more days.... atleast that is what I have been informed" she shrugs casually.

I nod along.. "Do they know about our marriage?" I ask, I want to be prepared for all kind of situation. "Of course yes, they know, a letter was sent to them, that is probably why Badshah is returning early." She responds... but I want to know whether his returning early from his trip, is a good sign or a bad news... "So will he support our marriage.. I am sorry I am being too intrusive, but I really want him to accept me in this family" I say sheepishly... which makes her scoff. "He will be proud of this marriage , don't worry" her words are sweet but her expressions are very odd, it is like she is disgusted.

"umm.. is that not a good thing.. I mean if he will be proud of this marriage, is it not a good thing?" I voice out my doubts, her expressions raising confusing thoughts in my mind.

"Oh he will be proud of how Nawaaz killed, conquered Amer.. how many people he executed.. He will be proud of that. this marriage for him is a piece of souvenir." She looks away... but her words, they are like pricking needles. "I am sorry Diya Beta, I did not intend to hurt you but this is the truth, truth of this family, truth of this empire. I know it hurts... But we have to bear it, for our own sake" she caresses my hands.

I am slowly accepting all the things said by Begum Ma Sa, all the stories, everything, But one thing still revolves around my brain, "How did Badshah's acceptance for you, destroyed Nawaaz ji's childhood? I don't get it... It is ok if you don't want to share with me.. it is just that.... that statement just doesn't make sense" I look down, already expecting no answers, "It is ok.. you have every right to know, Nawaaz is your husband, and you should know why he is the way, he is" she breathes out.

"You know.. he was never considered to be a prince by others.. never given the basic respect a prince should receive.. when he was a mere child, he was called...a..... a Bastard, my son who was conceived and born , out of wedlock. He was always given the title of illegitimate child." She chokes on her tears.... and my tears flow of their own. She inhales a deep breath and wipes away her tear stricken cheeks. "When they did not spare an innocent child, why would they spare me?..... whatever we are today, whatever respect I am given, the kind of respect you see in people's eyes today for my son is all because of his hard work, his determination.. only because of him." She smiles proudly though her tears.

I can't help but be proud of the man.. she described my husband as. Is he truly that great? But I can assume how he achieved that amount of power and greatness, to change people's whole perspective about yourself. It must not have been a easy task... and I cannot even imagine how hard that must have been.

After a lot of other light talks... both our moods are back to normal. We both were soo engrossed in our conversation, that we did not even realize the passing of time. "And then he used to slyly come here at night time, after everybody went off to sleep, he would sneak into my room, and like a little mouse, he would get inside my blanket and sleep here." She shares some childhood stories of Nawaaz ji. We both laugh out loud.. my mind cannot even imagine a small, cute Nawaaz when I have seen the tall, ruggedly handsome man.

"What are you both laughing about?" comes that man's voice, making my breath hitch. Begum Ma Sa smiles "I was just telling her about your childhood mischiefs" she looks so happy now, her cheeks glowing with happiness. "Ammi Jaan, you should have told her about my adult mischiefs then..one where I kill people, one where I torture people and conquer their lands for my empire... tch tch childhood is long gone!" he tuts in displeasure. But now suddenly the air has shifted from a fun environment to tragedy and massacre stories, making me feel a pit in my stomach.

"See... she seems to love that story, Don't you little dove?" he scoffs in mockery. "Nawaaz! Don't be so insensitive towards human lives and emotions" Begum Ma Sa disapproves his behaviour, but that doesn't seem to affect him. When I closely look at him... he seems to be drunk...... and hurt? His eyes are red with fury or sadness.. I can't decipher. But something is not right..something has happened, which has clearly affected him, which is a very rare event. Even I know that he is not affected my much in this world.

"Nawaaz.... Has Badshah ji returned?" Begum Ma Sa asks hesitantly. He laughs out like a maniac... "Has he returned? Yeahh the old man has returned!" he spread his arms wide and laughs like he just cracked a joke. It seems like I have become invisible for the mother- son duo, because they don't seem to mind my presence during such heavy conversation. So I stay as silent as I can be, to know more.... More about my husband.

"Nawaaz Beta... Beta did he say something to you? something about your marriage? Anything which is hurting you?" her voice shakes with emotions. And her statement reminds Nawaaz ji of my presence... oh no. he looks at me... no he glares at me like I did something offensive to him.

"You! Get out!!" he yells at me.. making me jerk up in fear. I stand up unable to decide what did I do wrong?? "Nawaaz!!!! This is my room!! Stop shouting at her!!" Begum Ma Sa orders in an angry tone. This is going downhill. I have to stop this.. "I will go.. Begum Ma Sa, anyways it is almost bed time... I should leave." I bow my head and turn to leave.

"If Diya is going... then Nawaaz you should leave as well. I will not tolerate such behaviour of yours" Begum Ma Sa gives him a pointed look. He scoffs and does something very unexpected... he takes my hand and starts to drag me away... I am soo confused!! He literally screamed at me to get out and now he is dragging me away with him!?

"Nawaaz where the hell are you taking her!!!" I can hear Begum Ma Sa screaming at him from behind, But he ignores it and just continues walking. I am not even walking on my own.. he is taking me, dragging me with him.

Finally he stops, but doesn't leave hold of my hand. I look around and realize... we are in his room... but why?? Why did he drag me here?

I look at him for answers... but he just leaves my hand and starts removing his coat.. what is he upto?

"Why did you drag me here? In your room? Just a few minutes back you were screaming at me to get out of Begum Ma Sa's room? Then why drag me here?" I voice out my questions.

He doesn't answer.. doesn't respond anything.. it is like he is not even listening to me..

"N—Nawaaz ji, I am going back to my room" I stutter because I have never called him by his name... I don't know whether he will like me calling his name or not. He stills on my statement, and I turn away, to walk out of his room, trying to avoid another shouting from him.

"This is my room.. I decide whether you can leave or not. So stop your drama, and go lay down on the bed" he commands... and my mind gets stuck on the word 'bed'. Oh no what is he planning to do??? I am not prepared for another night like that!! I--- I cannot do it.. cannot bear it.

I stand there like a statue, not moving an inch. He looks at me and smirks... as he walks towards me. I know I should back off, should run away.. but my body is stuck as if waiting for him.

"Earlier my mother supported you, when I asked you to get out of her room, she said 'that it was her room!' And I am nobody to throw you out from there." He says in a low husky voice as he stands in front of me.... so close to me.

"Now.. You are in my room, I will decide when to make you stay.. and when to throw you out, without anybody questioning me." he caresses my cheeks with such delicate touch, such softness. My eyes close involuntarily. He removes my nose ring slowly, while I look at him confused, my senses clouded by his touch, his smell, his intense stare on me.

He pulls me and makes me stand in front of a large mirror, while he stands behind me. His body covering me from behind, I can feel his heartbeat, his breathing as rests his head on my shoulders. I am bewildered by his stare on my reflection in the mirror. His fingers loosen my necklace strings, slowly removing it from my neck. I hiss when it gets stuck in my hair, while he removes it with care.

I am lost in this closeness, his presence playing with my senses...my mind is unable to understand his actions, but my body.. is in sync with him. "what are you doing?" my mouth finally speaks.

His head rests on my shoulder again and he nuzzles his nose on my neck, making it automatically fall back, to give him more space... what is wrong with me?? why am I soo enchanted by him, that I lose control of my own body?? Why???

"You weren't going to sleep in such heavy ornaments, right?" his voice is a deep husky tone...which makes me shut my eyes... i feel his lips caressing softly from my neck to my shoulder, till my blouse... i can't open my eyes... I can't... I know if I will.. I will meet those mesmerizing eyes in the mirror.

I feel him back off... and I finally release my breath that I was unknowingly holding. He goes and lays down on the center of his bed. Where should I go? Should I go? To my room? I just stand there, in a trance of his actions few minutes ago. "Why are you standing there? I told you this is my room.. and I decide when.. you stay, and when you get out of this room." he smirks as he folds his arms behind his head.

I slowly walk and stand near his bed. He is literally laying in the center of the bed... where should I lay down?

He looks at me again and pulls me down on his bed, making me lose my balance and falling halfway on him. I back off quickly and lay as far as possible, which is on the edge of my side. "Turn your head towards me." he orders and I do that. I am no longer in control here. We both stare into each others eyes.... And I feel calm... I breath out a sigh as I rest my head on my arms. "what did my mother tell you?" he asks in a low tone as he inches towards me, decreasing the gap between us.

I cannot tell him that I know about his mother's past, about his horrible childhood. So I go with a risky option, which may spoil or make his mood. "She told me you used to sneak into her bedroom, and sleep under her blankets---- like" I stop myself because I don't know how he will react on this.

"Like what?" he comes more close... so much that our faces are just inches away from each other, but he is not touching me.. I cringe my face... because I am afraid of his reaction "Like... umm she said... you sneaked like a little mouse" I finish off in a whisper, but ofcourse he hears it granted how close he is. He stills for a second then bursts out laughing....

I have not seen him laugh, this carefree.... I have seen him laughing and smiling but it always looks and sounds sinister.. but this sounds like a child laughing freely... and I remember his mother saying, how he has gone through so much, faced judgements since his childhood, never appreciated, never loved... Bullied for his parents deeds.

He was never considered a prince... he was born a prince but never served any privileges on a silver platter...... He earned the title, he dug through hell to find gold, and he made his own gold platter... I know he suffered and made others suffer too in the process... But he is here... on his own... and I respect him for that............. and maybe, I want to stand by him, so he never has to stand alone. With these thoughts, my eyes close... and the last thing I hear before sleep engulfs me is his child-like laughter.

Damn... this one too is a long chapter!! I hope i did not dissapoint you guys, coz you all are the best readers!! ;)

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