Chapter 44 (continued)-
Razia , although confused by Iltimush’s question , smiled and replied “Abbu , I trust you , you can never be selfish , you must have a justified and good reason , but first please let me know , who was the friend?And what compeled you to take such a step??” she asked , confused to the core, Iltimush looked at her with guilt-filled eyes , he looked vulnerable , he took her hand into his and said “Razia…meri bacchi(my child) , you trust me , that I know , but promise me that after knowing the truth , you won’t reveal it to anybody , promise me.” to this Razia frowned and nodded.
Iltimush started narrating the whole incident to her-
Around 13 yeas ago , when you were only five , I and Altunia’s father were best friends , I could anything for him , we were best friends even before I became the Sultan , and after I became the sultan , I made him the Subedaar of Bhatinda , things were all going well with us , until one day… when one of my spies informed me about the conspiracy taking place in Bhatinda against the Sultanate , I knew he couldn’t have done that , so I decided to travel to Bhatinda and confront him myself , but it was really unfortunate that my spies had proofs , he was traitor and was planning a masscare in Dilli , I reached Bhatinda as soon as I could with some of my best warriors in disguise , I still had hope that everything would be fine , but as soon as I reached there , I found that someone had already informed him about my surprise visit and he wasted no time to attack us , in between the clash , he confessed his jealousy towards me and his intentions , he wanted the thrown , and he was not the right person for it , Yakut’s father was also with me , I knew that if I arrest Altunia’s father , and then take him to Dilli , it would be injustice to his family , I tried to calm him down but he was too stuborn , and just when he was going to kill me , I……I killed him instead , Altunia witnessed this and misunderstood us , his mother knew about this , but had subdued her sorrow somehow for the sake of the Sultanate and it’s people , she knew I was not wrong , but not Altunia , he ran away from the scene , fearing for his and his mother’s life , , but when he saw Yakut’s father nearing his mother who was then pregnant , he thought that he would kill his mother too , terrified and angry , he used some of his little skills he knew and…killed Yakut’s father and fled from the palace .
I searched for him for years and finally after ten years , I found him with the help of my spies , he was working as a slave , and thankfully , had no memory of his child hood , he could only remember his mother’s and father’s face.
Iltimush closed his eyes and sighed , “And the rest you know.” he finished , Razia was left shocked , she did not know what to do , how to react , she knew it was not her abbu’s fault but , will Mirza ever understand this , she hugged her father tightly and started to cry p”Abbu ,it wasn’t your fault , I….I promise you I won’t reveal this to anybody…” she said between her sobs , trying to subdue her sorrow, Iltimush was well aware what his daughter was going through , and hugged her back.
But little did they knew that someone had overheard their conversations , and to their ill-luck , it was none other than ShahTurkan herself , Turkan smirked at her new discovery “Ahh a useful secret , well well well , it’s use is not needed until now , but if my doubts are right , I’ll soon need it.” she thought.
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The night was a long one , after Iltimush left , Razia decided to take some rest , but all her efforts to sleep went in vain , her lips were paining like anything , she was too tiered and was having a god headache as well as backache , moreover , the recent confessions by her father was a bit disturbing ,she simply laid down on her back on the bed and closed her eyes , but to her surprise , she suddenly felt , warm wetness on her forehead , she slowly opened her eyes , only to find Mirza , applying a medical paste on her forehead and lips , she let out a small gasp of surprise , that was hardly audible , she opened her mouth to say something but he placed his index finger on her hips “Don’t …..take rest , and you need some extra rest , we shall have the breakfast , lunch and dinner at your chamber and at your bed only…….. did you realise that your lips were bleeding when you were sleeping… that…that Shamsh-Ud-Din had punched you right? He asked , Razia smiled and replied “I punched him too.” Mirza let out a small laugh , while his eyes became teary , Razia saw this and asked “You….really love me till the core no? Why Mirza …but why do you love me so much?” a lone tear fell from her eye , after knowing about her abbu’s past , she was feeling guilty that she couldn’t tell him the truth , Altunia wiped away her tear and replied “Because every breath I take , I take for you….If I ever, ever loose you for any reason..I won’t be able to live .” hearing this Razia hugged him tightly and he responded with equal passion , she knew that one day or the other , the truth would be out , but she could only hope that they and their love won’t have to face the consequences.
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Precap – Nasir wakes up and finds Fatimah laying beside him.