Forbidden Love- Akdha fanfic

A Step Closer

2 weeks had passed by and Jalal's taunting and tantrums were annoying Jodha . A day was left before they reached Agra.

That night,Jodha and Jalal had a fight about a trival matter.

"I am right,that's where I saw you first, Jodha begum"

"I am getting really annoyed right now, if you don't stop then I will go sleep outside."

"I didn't stop you, you can go whenever you want", Jalal smirked looking at her.

"That's it , good night.", Jodha stormed and left the tent.

Jalal found it amusing to stay with Jodha. He realised that even a minute of seperation from her , he couldn't bear.

After 5 minutes or so , Jalal went out and saw Jodha lying under a tree, the cold weather had taken a toll on her complexion. Her lips had turned blue and her skin was much more paler.

"let's go inside Jodha, you don't look well.", Jalal said with concern in his eyes.

Jodha nodded her head, and got up only to faint in Jalal's arms.

•After some time,

"Shenshah, Jodha begum's body is really  cold , you are the only one who can warm her body, I hope you understand what I mean."

Jalal was at a loss of words,he ordered the maids to bring black cloth and wrap it around Jodha , as it would absorb heat and bring her warmth

•Next day, Agra,

"What did u say Mothi, Hakim saibha told Jalal that he had to spend the night with me, then what did he do?"

"That....

"His Majesty, Shenshah Jalaluddin is entering the room"

Mothi did her usual pranam and scurried away from the room,

"I wrapped you up in black clothes Jodha begum", Jalal said smiling

"What?"

"Don't worry , I didn't touch you."

" Oh , yea , thank you for taking care of me yesterday"

" Anyways, I came to tell you that there will be a jashn today for you"

" For me, why", exclaimed Jodha

" It was your birthday day before yesterday and we couldn't celebrate it. You are Jalal's wife , your birthday will be a grand occasion."

Jodha was taken aback,"I....

" I will come to pick you up in the evening, be ready. Good bye"

•That evening,

Jodha wore a green coloured choli and lehenga. She was adorned with heavy jewelry and simple makeup which made her look royal and ethereal.

Mothi was braiding Jodha's hair with the jewelry when Jalal entered.

Jalal was taken aback by Jodha's image on the mirror. He knew she was a beauty , but today , she looked even more beautiful,so beautiful that Jalal kind of felt proud that he was her husband.

Jodha and Mothi were unaware of Jalal's presence when Jodha asked Mothi,
"Mothi, his favorite color is green. Do you think he will like it?"

Mothi smiled and taunted her,
"Whose favourite colour is green Jodha? Is it Shenshah? But I thought you didn't like him."

"Mothi, you talk too much these days.
Jalal remembered my birthday and he's holding a huge Jashn for it, the very least I could do to show my thanks is by wearing his favorite color ,but I don't know if he will realise.", said Jodha sighing.

"When did you start caring so much about what Shenshah thought about you, Jodha?"

" I don't hate him Mothi, he protected me many times but I had created my own version of him that I wasn't ready to accept what I saw. I don't hate him now, I just , Maybe a bit....I may have started liking him."

The moment Jalal heard her tell that she started liking him a bit, Jalal felt his heartbeat which he had never felt the way it beat for the past 20 years.

He wanted to hear her tell those words again. He was stupified and remained there smiling .

"Pranam Shenshah", Mothi's greetings had bought him out of his fazed state.

He bowed his head to return the greeting, and when he looked straight ahead he saw her smiling.

It was then he realised, that he didn't like her , he loved her, that if anything were to happen to her, he couldn't forgive himself.

Jodha on the other hand was unaware of the fact that Jalal had heard her confession. Jalal looked really good in his green attire and he looked very fazed. His eyes were gleaming with happiness and she had never seen him so happy.

Jodha bent down to take her shawl and inched closer to Jalal.
" Did something good happen today Shenshah, you are smiling a lot?"

Jodha took the aarti plate to ward off any evil eye on Jalal, but Jalal was unresponsive. He was taken aback by her beauty, nothing could compare to her beauty. Even gold, silver and diamonds lost their shine in front of her.

Suddenly,Jalal wanted her to change her attire, he didn't want anyone else to look at her or eye her especially Sharif Uddin.

"It's nothing Jodha begum,don't remove your shawl in the court today."

Jodha was taken aback at Jalal's request, " Why shouldn't I? It's my birthday celebration"

" Because you look pretty today. So don't remove it", Jalal replied with blush creeping up his cheeks.

Jodha was equally suprised by the compliment and her cheek turned crimson , without looking at Jalal eye to eye she replied, " Yea sure, I won't"

The celebration was grand and a variety of gifts were presented to Jodha. Jodha was beaming with happiness, she felt like she was back in Amer. When the dance was going on , Jodha bent down to speak to Jalal.

" Thank you ", Jalal heard a sweet voice to turn around and see Jodha's big doe eyes staring at him with a smile on her face.

He had never seen her this close before, and her being this close to him was making him want to pull her even more closer to him , hug her and never let her go.

The close relationship between the two were annoying Maham who was finding a way to separate them.

On the other hand, Ruqaiya couldn't fathom the fact that Jalal was actually paying attention to Jodha so much so that it made her wonder if her dream of Malika-i-hindustan was going to be shattered.

Even before Jalal could reply, Jodha felt very dizzy,
" Shenshah, my head , it hurts"

" What happened Jodha?"

But even before she could reply , Jodha collapsed on Jalal's arms.
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Hey guys .. I have been quite busy lately, which was the primary reason why I wasn't able to update the story. I shall update the next chapter tomorrow if time permits. Thanks for your support... Enjoy reading ☺️