"Give your daughters difficult names. Give your daughters names that command the full use of tongue. My name makes you want to tell me the truth. My name doesn't allow me to trust anyone that cannot pronounce it right."
"Sultana, is there anything bothering you?" Reyhan came on terrace of my chambers seeing me in quite annoyed mood. How couldn't I when that woman named Shefika knows the truth about Iskender and she is pregnant.
"Nothing, did Shefika come safe into Marmar Palace?" I asked him.
"Yes, I placed my most loyal people there. Nothing bad will happen to her," Reyhan said trying to calm me down and make me peaceful about this whole situation.
"No one will know about this," I said but could see he is surprised with that. He was maybe too much loyal to Sahin and I knew he would tell this to him.
"But, Sultana.." Reyhan started to tell.
"Don't, Sahin won't hear about this from you," I said as I signalised him with my hand to shut up.
I got up and walked away from my chambers. I decided I have to visit Iskender as keeping this secret made me feel even worse and I didn't know how many time more I could keep it for myself.
"Sultana," he got up and bowed to me when I entered his chambers. He wasn't used that I would visit him, but it was so hard for me that after many years I know he is my brother and still can't hug him or tell him anything because I wanted to protect him.
I wanted to protect him from our mother who would immediately place him on the throne and then make people rebel against him, because for all those years everyone thought he was dead together with twenty-two my brothers who my late brother Mehmed Khan killed when he ascended the throne.
Who would believe he is really prince Yahya my twin brother who our mother Safiye sent away because she couldn't stand any of her children getting killed by her own son. Who would believe Iskender is actually him or random person my mother uses to get her power back, which she lost many years ago.
"Sultana are you fine?" Iskender asked me worriedly and that moment I came back to reality after all the thoughts that were in my head.
"I am, I came here to talk about something important with you," I said and sat on his couch while he sat little bit further from me, as he couldn't be so close with Sultan's wife.
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"Is it something important?" He asked me confusedly. Oh God, how happy I would be if at this moment I could tell him that he is my twin brother with whom I was separated at very young age.
"A woman named Shefika came to me today," I said and I could see he looked at the floor ashamedly at the even mention of her name.
"What did she want from You?" He asked and on his face I could see she is not really happy talking about her.
"I want to know first what is going on," I said.
"Her father is a doctor who I visited few times because I had stomach problems. She obviously fell in love with me and she started following me always. She even went few times in the house I lived trying to make up with me," Iskender started talking.
"I always told her I couldn't be with her because my heart belongs to another woman, but she would never listen to me. She catched me once I have accidently been drunk and slept with me, trying to make me marry her," Iskender said.
I couldn't believe the story was like this one because it was obvious Iskender didn't want to have anything with her. But what was weird to me was that someone obviously forced her to go constantly around him as she and her father knew who he is, and I was afraid my mother or someone from our family was involved in this.
"She said to me she is pregnant," I said to him and I could see he is shocked from that.
"What?" Iskender stood up and I could see he is not happy with the fact he will have a baby with someone he doesn't even like, but at the end it was also his fault.
"She obviously wants me to try to do something and as you are Grand Vizier she obviously wants something from that," I lied a bit because I couldn't tell him what she really said to me.
He started walking nervously around his chambers so I also stood up. I felt nervous because I had to lie and I didn't know how much Shefika could be silent and will she tell the truth to him.
I stood up and listened what he was talking about when I caught a drawing standing on his working desk. I couldn't but to look at it.
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While he was nervously going around the room I took it into my hands and I saw that the woman who was draw on the portrait was I.
Iskender turned around and saw me with my own portrait in hands and he stayed speechless. I didn't have anything to say as this was too much for me how the things went on. He should have known the truth many years ago and then those events no one wants wouldn't happen.
"Sultana, I... I want to apologise you," Iskender barely could say as he was obviously afraid of my reaction.
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"I want you to explain me what does this mean," I said as I tried to stay calm on this whole situation.
"Since the day I saw you my heart belongs only to you. I could never ever look at another woman," Iskender said and nervously looked at my eyes.
"That is impossible. You will never even think about it again," I said and turned my back to him as I couldn't look at him. I took the drawing he made and placed it in the fire.
"I apologise for my emotions, I know you are Sultana and I am no one," Iskender told.
"I will pretend I have never heard about this, and you will forget about this and never ever again think about me in that way because it's forbidden to you," I said but what for real I wanted him to know that we are twin brothers not two strangers but the situation couldn't allow me to say it.
I walked outside of his chambers as I couldn't stand this anymore. I blamed myself for everything that happened and I was for real the one who is to be blamed because now Iskender looks at me the way he should never because he doesn't know I'm his sister. I could have stopped this but I didn't.
"What have you done in his chambers?" I heard Sahin's voice when I came to the hallway.
