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Rehman POV

"We will party tonight, okay, Bhaijaan?" Haider cupped my cheeks and made me shift my gaze from the coin in my hand towards him.

Who brought this coin here?

"Bhaijaan, party. Tonight. Please," he said, shifting closer to me to catch my non-interested attention. And he was so close to me that if he would move another inch, he would take my wife's place.

"No, I do not drink, Haider," I said, moving my thumb over the moon's design on the two-inch big bronze coin. It was rusty.

"Please, Bhaijaan, such a big occasion it is, you have to take a sip at least," he said, placing his legs over mine.

"What happened? Rehman," Suddenly, Abbujaan's voice caught my attention. He asked, taking the seat in front of me. I immediately plastered a smile on my face while hiding the coin in my palm and shaking my head.

"Just worried about the preparations for the day," I said, and he nodded, sipping the juice.

"Haider," suddenly, Agastya's voice turned our gazes to him, and I noticed him holding a tiny baby in his hand.

I met all their babies, and they were all adorable.

"Yes," Haider replied, and he signaled something to him, which caused Haider to get off me and run to him immediately.

They both disappeared, and Abbujaan glared at them.

"Chor chor mausere bhai,"

"Birds of the same feather flock together," he said, shaking his head, and I immediately burst into laughter.

Suddenly, Abbujaan stood up from his couch and walked towards me, settling beside me. He placed his hand around my shoulder and leaned back comfortably.

"Is everything okay between you and our daughter-in-law?" he asked, and I gulped, nodding slightly.

Honestly, if a scratch would come on Rehana, Abbujaan would be the first person to kill me. He loved their daughter-in-law more than their own children.

"Paraye ghar ki bachi ki qadar apne se jyada karni chahiye,"

"One should value a girl from another household more than one's own," he said, and I nodded.

He looked away for a moment. His face told me what he was here to talk about.

"Does she know?" he asked in a low voice, caressing my shoulder, and I lowered my gaze to stare at the maroon-colored floor beneath my feet while I shook my head slowly.

"I do not know, Abbujaan," I said, my voice weak. Given how she had behaved until now, I did not want to hurt her feelings.

"Does she remember him?" he asked further, and I looked up to look at him and shook my head.

"She has not discussed about him. But, yes, she did remember him years ago," I said, and he nodded.

"But, we cannot leave him. What he has done is unforgivable," he said, and I nodded.

"I understand, but if she ever gets to know, she will be devastated," I said; needless to say, she was still far from understanding the politics, the Kingdom's matter, and enemy and friend.

Her love was way too pure, and in those two days, I learned something crucial about her.

She was madly in love with me.

Everything in me wanted to love her back, but I could not get rid of the first reason I married her.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, and he caressed my shoulder.

"Everything will be fine," he said, and I nodded.

"I just do not want your efforts to go to waste. You have worked hard for this, Abbujaan," I could not stop myself from saying, and he smiled weakly.

"It is you who has been doing some extraordinary work for more than a decade," he said, and I smiled, remembering the first time Ammijaan and I left Darmiyan Sultanate and shifted here.

I was fifteen, and Abbujaan sent me here to take the reigns of Hamid Sultanate into my own hands. I was distraught and never wanted to leave Choti Ammijaan, him, Ruhani, and Haider.

But his words were more than the orders for him, and that was when I became the Sultan of this Sultanate.

He has helped me with every small and big thing till now.

In the last decade, I had managed to protect Hamid Sultanate from nine attacks, small and big, with his unwavering love and guided supervision.

But, last month, we got to know that in the five attacks from the nine, Rehana's father was involved discreetly.

That was when Abbujaan instructed me to bring her to Hamid Sultanate before her father could find her and use her against us.

If whispers were believed, he knew his daughter was now married to me. I had tried to keep it secret from everyone, even the closest of the ministers and people, but the smoke always erupts, even with the tiniest of fire.

Currently, my biggest concern was keeping Rehana out of his father's touch.

Especially when he had joined his hands with our centuries-old enemies, the southern Arabb.

"Pranam, Sultan," suddenly Rudra's voice caught our attention, and Abbujaan gestured a Salam at him.

Me too, once he moved his gaze to me with a smile.

"Have a seat, Rudra," Abbujaan said, and he smiled back, sitting across us.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, sensing our faces; I nodded.

"Yes, you tell us. Are you enjoying it here?" Abbujaan asked, and he nodded.

"Though Haider and Agastya are planning something, and I feel my promise of no drinks is on the verge of breaking," he said, and we both laughed.

Haider had finally found his partner in crime.

I stood up from the couch and walked to him.

"I can tell how insane this problem is because Haider is not going to leave us so easily," I said, sitting beside him, and Abbujaan smiled, looking at us.

"Well, you two should try new things in your life. And this is just liquid. It is no harm. It does nothing," Abbujaan said, and we both laughed.

"Obviously, no harm," Rudra said, and we chuckled.

I had not touched alcohol, smoked, or anything that could make me a bad person in anyone's life. I knew that they would do nothing, but why try losing our minds?

"By the way, Rudra, I do really need your help," I said, remembering a favor I needed from him, and he looked at me, nodding slowly.

"Well, I am not familiar with the many Hind customs. But, my Begum is as much as my Choti Ammijaan's daughter-in-law's as much as she is my Ammijaan's. So, I want to make her feel special too. I want to add a touch of Hind culture to the function; maybe a dance or something that could make Choti Ammijaan happy," I explained, and he smiled.

"Of course, I will help you," he said, and I nodded.

"Sultan," suddenly, an attendee's voice caught my attention, and we all looked at him.

"You all are asked at the dastarkhan," he informed me, and I inhaled sharply while standing up.

I knew my wife was cooking for us today, and a part of me was slightly excited to eat what she cooked.

I did not know if she knew how to cook. And, the letters from the Miran's Sultanate's Sultana never mentioned her taking interest in these as well.

Well, she kept writing to me about her every few weeks. I knew how Rehana had spent seven years there. She used to keep herself glued to the books, and no one knew what kind of books. The sultana never interfered; I never wanted to. I wanted her to take her life in her control.

And she did. She learned fencing, horse riding, dancing, singing, shielding a bow and arrow, and other things as well that I was not really aware of.

For example, cooking.

And the only thing I wanted her to get over and forget about was me, brothel and ways to keep the husband happy, which she did not. She even seemed madly in love with me.

Her words in the morning scared my soul. For a moment, I envisioned my life upside down.

Imagine losing your hard-earned self-control over things getting ruined to ashes with her feminine seductive powers she did not know existed.

"Let's go," Abbujaan said, and Rudra also walked with us to the dining room.

We all settled, and I noticed the other relatives, the ladies, also coming in.

For this arrangement, which was more like a Sultanate thing, the men and women were seated on either side, and there was a partition in the middle, though we faced each other.

The moment I took my seat in the middle of the gents' side, my gaze sharpened at the translucent curtain, and I wondered where my wife was.

I could hear the giggles and conversations, and the moment the familiar noise of anklets caught my attention, I turned my gaze towards the door.

My sight fell on Ruhani and her.

My breath suddenly stopped.

She was dressed in heavy orange attire— the deep orange, with sparkling work on it. With every step forward, her lower's flare dragged against the floor. Her jewelry chimed, blocking all the noises for me.

I immediately looked around at the other men. Could they hear that loud, too?

But they seemed busy in their conversation.

And the moment I turned my gaze back to her, she was already behind the partition.

Followed by her, the sweet dish entered, weighing heavy in the attendees' hands, decorated in silver bowls on the silver plates.

The aroma of the dry fruits melted in the milk, with the heart-filling sweetness spread wide, made me gulp and turn my gaze back to the source of this sweetness.

A part of me was frightened, wondering what Allah was planning for me. Because too much sweetness and love all of a sudden felt too good to be true.

My gaze sharpened as she reached her couch, which was just opposite me. The only thing keeping us from staring at each other was the thin, translucent golden curtains.

"Mashallah!" I heard Abbujaan's appraisal as soon as the bowl reached him.

"Beta Rehana, this smells delicious. I do not need to taste it to tell how tasty it is," he declared, catching everyone's attention.

After him, the bowl came to me. My bowl was plated differently, on a very separate plate.

My brows furrowed, wondering why there was such a special treatment.

"Thank you, Sultan," Rehana spoke in a low and sweet voice from the other side.

A part of me wanted her to call him Abbujaan like me, but other knew that it was too soon for her.

Especially when she had made it clear that she did not like him at all.

Honestly, I respected her decision, and I was nothing but deeply grateful for the way she fulfilled her promise to behave until he was here.

The conversations kept going on. Haider and Agastya were not leaving each other. They were busy planning something in which I had zero interest. Ranvijay, Aahil, and Abhinandan were chill about it.

But Rudra was mostly freaking out.

Honestly, I could understand.

Spending years staying away from things and then being pressed by social pressure to even taste them was like betraying oneself.

I could never.

Ammijaan told me that my father, Haider Shah, was a very mannered man. He was disciplined, less talkative, and had everything a gentleman had.

And everyone always says that I had taken after him. I was exactly him.

But I knew who I actually was.

And, a part of me regrets doing things I have done.

No, I had not disgraced anyone in my family. But, sometimes, I feel as if something else takes over me.

Like last night, I could not control myself from drawing Rehana's blood.

I knew what I was doing, but still, my devilish side took over me.

And, she did not seem healthy for my spirituality, my believes and my morality.

Unknowing, she was gaining a distinct power over me.

Needless to say, I was not able to move my gaze away from her since the moment she was seated in her seat.

Her soft giggle traveled down to my ear, and suddenly, Aahil's low whisper caught my attention.

"You are awestruck, Bhaijaan, but do not make it obvious," his words immediately made me look at him.

He had a grin on his face, and I noticed him moving the spoon in the bowl.

"Am I making it obvious?" I asked in a low voice, bothered by my staring skills and wondering if he was joking or being real.

"Yes. You are staring at her. Everyone is gossiping about you," he said, and I gulped, raking my eyes around and noticing people whispering, giggling, and talking.

He was right.

"By the way, how is everything going between you and her?" He asked in a low whisper; leaning over my couch, I cleared my throat a little and held the spoon in my hand.

Ever since Ruhani's wedding, I had found Aahil to be my partner in crime. He knew things about me and I knew things about him.

The only boundary between us was not discussing about Ruhani.

But Rehana was not his sister.

"It's good. She is giving me a tough time," I said, bringing a spoonful of sweetdish to my mouth.

"How? What do you mean?" He asked, having a bite.

"Umm," I could not stop myself from letting it slip through my tongue, and the sweet and balancing taste of Sheer Khurma melted in my mouth.

It was delicious. The texture, the thickness, the sweetness, it was all perfect.

I immediately looked up at her and noticed her staring at me.

She raised her brows, asking me in signal how did it taste. And, I immediately changed my expression as if I was tasting something disgusting.

Her eyes opened wide, and she immediately had a spoon from her bowl. Her brows knit with confusion.

"She is... not scared of me at all," I tried to say, noticing Aahil was still waiting for my answer.

He furrowed his brows.

"Why do you want her to be scared? It's good if she is not," he said, and I looked at him. A smile dared to appear on my face, recalling the memories of last night and this morning.

"She is bold. She is just..." I sighed deeply, stealing a gaze at her. She was still confused, looking back at me. "I just cannot explain that," I said, taking another with uneasy slowness and making a face that could tell how bad this sweet dish was.

Her face looked terrified, and I did not know why it made me laugh. I tried to control it.

"But, what happened?" Aahil asked again, catching my attention.

I shook my head, taking another bite. I would ask her to cook this every second day. It was delicious.

"She confessed her love to me. She was not scared of me even a bit. And she is ready for everything. There was not a single doubt. Are all girls like these?" I could not stop myself from asking in a low voice, and he knit his brows with confusion.

"No shyness and all?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"No, she is behaving like we have been together for a decade," I said and could not stop myself from adding, "It scared me a little,"

"Hahah," Aahil laughed. "That seems fun," he said, and I smiled, noticing she was still staring at me.

Her face looked upset.

I knew what she might be thinking at this moment.

And suddenly, she stood up from there, and everyone looked at her.

I noticed Ruhani and Ammijaan asking her where she was going, but she just smiled at them and walked out.

What happened?

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