Maya : Ek deewangi

21. The secret and her confession

Entire day went in travelling and soon they reached the desert of Valsar , house of many nomads and banjara's .Maya was sitting in front of sultan and her head was against his chest .Sultan was riding the horses with one hand and the other rested on her waist keeping her at place ,her eyes flickered open as he stopped the carriage near a haveli " Assalamualaikum Sardar , could you provide us a shelter for tonight" , he asked to an old man who was sitting on the charpai outside the house along with a few servants and workers " Ghani khama , yes I can provide you a shelter for tonight but in exchange you need to do me a favour " the man said eyeing both of them , Sultan frowned his eyebrows" What kind of favour do you need Sardar? " he asked and the man whispered in a low voice " My daughter is getting married on the third day from today ..and I want someone to join my daughter's wedding as her brother .. actually my son Rudraksh was killed by a group of thieves on his way back to home and my daughter have always wanted to meet her elder brother for once...now i don't have the courage to tell her about his death ." Sultan's expression turned normal hearing his words and before he could refuse or speak anything " We are ready to help you Sardar" ,Maya who could understand the importance of a brother in a sisters life spoke holding onto Sultan's hand tightly . Sardar wiped his tears away and joining his hands he thanked Maya for her kindness " I shall be very thankful to you child ...God bless you...now you both may take rest in the chambers ...Shama , show them their chambers " he said joining his hands together and ordering his wife .Both of them reached their chamber. Sultan who was lost in his own thoughts came out of his thoughts when Maya touched his cheek lightly " Have I done anything wrong ?? ..." she asked and Sultan chuckled lightly " No ..Begum ..you haven't done anything wrong but you have done exactly what my mother did several years ago ...and i am afraid of the consequences " ,Maya frowned at his words and sat on his side ,her hands cupped his cheek and Sultan looked into her eyes " What did she do ?? And what consequences Sultan ?..you can tell me " she asked looking into his eyes and she could sense his insecurities in the moment .His hands held her hands lightly and kissing the back of her hands ,he whispered "Do you trust me Maya" , Maya blinked nervously hearing her name instead of Begum from his mouth , " More than myself " , he took a long breathe and joined theirs head together "Once my mother trusted a man with her sister and he was the reason for her husband's death ...he was the reason why i lost my childhood love ...he was the reason why I ...I lost my khaalajaan .." ,her hold tightened on his hands as she tried to process his words , her eyes blurred with the visions of her childhood where she had lost her mother and everything that was related to her , realisation hit her hard ,she couldn't stop herself from breaking down as she realised it was her own father who killed his mother ...it was her father who took away Sultan's father ...it was her father who always kept her away from reality,he was the real culprit for everything wrong that had happened to her ,but who was Sultan's khaalajaan and how did she do what his mother had done ... she was slowly losing it all when he pulled her into his arms "You are helping a stranger and so did my mother ...Your father Raja Udai Singh Sisodiya worked at the court of Mainakagarh as a minister and one day his loyalty turned into lust and greed when she saw your mother the eldest princess of Mainakagarh, my mother who was the younger one helped him to marry your mother and one day he asked my mother to help him in a war against Magadha which was under Raja Piramal Pratap , my mother who trusted him blindly with her elder sister asked my father to help him in wining the war and once he had won the war ,his greed extended to Dularab , he tried to manipulate my father by harassing your mother and when my ...my father got to know about his actual plans he tried to save your mother by sorting it out but...he was killed by your father on the name of settlement,Qadir bhaijaan was also captivated by that bastard ,my mother begged Mainakagarh for justice but they never came forward to our help because the king assumed my mother as a culprit who destroyed his kingdom's peace ...she was thrown out of her own kingdom and than she decided to shape a ruthless and powerful Sultan who could take her revenge ,fortunately your father couldn't capture Dularab after my father's death because at that time several other countries had alliances with Dularab and also because Dularab had a Sultan now ...a Sultan who was way more younger than the title ...a Sultan who wasn't born to rule but he was forced by his duties ..Sultan Amir Qasim Ali Khan.I never wanted to rule Maya ..i wanted to love ...i wanted to live ...but my fate played the worst ...i couldn't love but hate everyone who tried to harm my leftover family ...i couldn't live but kill everyone who stood in my way ...you know I still remember you were a little girl back than ...who used to play with Me and Qamir bhaijaan , whom i loved at the time was the feeling of love was unknown to me ...I still..I still remember how you cried when khaala Jaan died in my arms ..she loved you a lot Maya ..and i had promised her to protect you ...i had promised her to kill her culprit .." , her heart pounded in her chest with every word he said to her, her mother never died naturally but she was murdered.She was Sultan's childhood love ,he had gone through so much because of her mother and still he loved her ..and the fact that her Mashaheb was sisters with his mother shook her to the core ...her head throbbed with blurred memories and visions of a woman drenched in blood lying in a teenagers arms ...he was Sultan ...and the ...the woman was her own mother..her cries turned into painful screams as she couldn't digest the fact that she was kept away from everything that she should have known ..that she always hated Sultan for killing a man who didn't deserved to be her father " Shh...calm down Begum ...i had never thought I would have to tell you everything like this but ...but i don't want to lose you Begum ...i don't want anybody else to reveal the half truth ...i don't trust anybody with you Maya ..i don't " he creased her head lightly and after a couple of minutes,her cries turned into sobs and she raised her head looking into his eyes , she could see the little boy who was forced to mask himself under his duties , she could see the little boy who loved her for years even when she hated him for something he never did ...she could see the loneliness in his eyes ,the pain of losing his father and brother..she couldn't think anything else but stood in front of him and cupped his face with all the love she had, he looked into her eyes and hugged her by her waist crying his heart out , his cries made her feel the pain he had been hiding from the world " I...I am sorry Sultan ...you ..you had to face this alone...h..how could you survive with so much pain your heart ..." His hold tightened on her waist as he cried until all the pain was gone and all he could feel was love ,his childhood love,his wife ,his better half , he raised his head lightly and she kissed his forehead, a tear escaped from their eyes at the same time and suddenly they laughed together " This is what made me survive Begum ...that one day you'll be by my side ... holding me closer to your heart , laughing with me in my relief ... and crying with me in my grief " , her eyes watered again as she hugged him closer to her heart " I ..I love you Sultan ...i love you for making me belive in love ...for making me feel things i never believed existed...I love you for being my protector even when I though you were the villian of my story ..i love you for loving me ..I love you..i love you so very much " he quickly pulled her into his lap as she had confessed her pure feelings towards him that too without any confusion but trust and ...love ..love ,the love he always craved , he looked into her eyes " I love you too Begum Jaan ...i love you for being the reason I breathe ...for making the little boy in me feel alive even when he was tainted by blood and politics " ..

~ your feedback do matter a lot to me  ... so please don't forget to vote and comment ❤️and i have something to tell you guys , my new novel " HEART OF REVENGE " is out now ..you may read it in my library