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1487 Words
Shazeb murmured in his sleep, princess Seema woke up because of the noise.
" Nur, please don't say that. I can't breathe without you"
I always knew Nur Jahan was his first love. No matter how much I try, I will always come second. Everyone was aware of his love for Nur Jahan.
I was in the clouds when the marriage was proposed. Which girl would not be, after all, he was not like other sultans who have a harem full of girls.
He said to me that he fell for me a long time back but couldn't marry me because of his promise to Nur Jahan, but when he had to take a new wife as Nur was barren, he asked for my hands for the first instance. He told me not to be insecure about Nur. I never forced him to be away from her, but seeing his affection towards her, I requested him to spend all his nights with me for the first six months of marriage so that he will get used to me.
That did work in my favour because after six months he liked spending his time with me. At every chance, he jumped into my arms. He was over the moon when he heard I was pregnant. I don't know what has changed since this past month. He looked very disturbed.
Shazeb suddenly woke up.
" Seema dear, are you alright?" He asked in worry, seeing her awake.
" I am fine and your prince is fine too". she gently caressed her tummy.
" come here ". He hugged her tight. Seema was the epitome of beauty.
" What is worrying you, my dear? You seemed disturbed. "
The problem between him and Nur. Seema has nothing to do with it.
" I know you love her more than me," Seema replied with a hint of jealousy.
" What made you think that? Please take all insecurities out of your mind. I have given you all my time since we married. Does this not mean anything to you? "
He was stroking her cheeks.
" I am just worried that you will leave me after I give birth."
" Seema, you will be the mother of my children, not one child. I want to have more children with you. "
He tightened his embrace, he wanted to reassure her that she is equally important to him and did not want her to take stress in this condition.
"Gentle Shah" They ended up having a very intimate night. Shahzeb then said her what he wanted to say.
" Seema dear, you bring out the most hidden desires in me. I will always love you. Can you please promise me one thing?"
"Anything for you, my Shah."
" After we have a baby I will be spending an alternate week with Nur. She needs some of my time. I have neglected her for a long time."
Seema was not happy but she agreed with a smile.
" You agree on everything without a fuss. That's what I love about you. "
" Who do you love most, me or Nur?"
" I love you both equally. She may be my first love, but you are the mother of my children. It is like asking which eye I would prefer. I cannot imagine losing any one of you."
" Will you take another wife?"
" Will you be happy?"
" I won't mind, but will always want to be your priority"
" Nur will behead me if she listens to that."
He smiled. Nur Jahan was fierce whereas Seema was the gentle one.
He was happy that he made Seema agree. He now knew he could concentrate on his Nur Jahan.
I will make up to you, Nur. You will not have any complaints from me...
He smiled
The next morning, Shazeb woke up with determination.
My little Minx is very angry with me but I will make up to her. Three more months till Seema's delivery, everything will be alright. Nur's wait will be over.
He was occupied with a lot of work today and still had time to visit Nur in the afternoon, but as soon as he reached her side of the palace, he was stopped at her entrance.
" How dare you stop me? Don't you know the consequences? " He roared furiously.
" My dear King, I am very sorry for this disrespectful gesture, but our princess has given strict orders not to let anyone in."
"Especially you" he muttered in a slow voice.
Shazeb just pushed him away and barged in but they drew their swords. His soldiers arrested them.
"Mercy, oh king, but we are just bound by our duty".
"I am very impressed by your loyalty and I promote you both and appoint you as a head guard in the service of queen Seema."
Both of their faces fell.
"Thank you for such an honour, O king" they kneeled in front of him like they were begging.
" We like being in the service of princess Nur, our loyalty lies towards her ".
Their loyalty was towards Nur Jahan, their Queen was due to the respect she held in their hearts.
Shazeb wanted to behead them because of this disrespect, but Nur would not like it.
He had important things to do, so he marched into Nur Jahan's quarter. She was sleeping, she looked very pale, His heart ached to see her like that. It was all his fault. He should not have ignored her for so long. She was very young and immature, whereas Seema was a bit mature.
Nur Jahan was just 18 when he married 23-year-old Seema.
"Shazeb, I agreed to your marriage just because of my duty towards our people, but this condition put by your would-be wife is not acceptable to me. For six months you won't be visiting me."
"Nur, I will visit you daily, she just wants me to spend my nights with her for a few months. Look, it's not wrong in a way. I will get to know her. I will make sure she knows your importance in my life. She is very insecure that I will not be unjust towards her.
Everyone knows my love for you is endless. Please, you need to agree for my sake. Please..." He held her hand and pleaded
Nur Jahan, it's just a matter of six months. Please agree with this. The kingdom will have an heir and that will be your child too. She doesn't want anything from me except this condition for marriage."
"Why can't you marry someone else?"
"Look, I told you about my dream and I have to marry her." I was holding her hands.
She jerked my hands in anger. "This doesn't look like marriage just for an heir. I know you have feelings for her. Now you have enough of me. Get out of here. You cheated on me. You trapped me with your false promises, I lost my ability to conceive just for you. You are just like all other men.
What justice are you talking about? For being just towards her, you are being unfair towards me. What kind of condition is this for a marriage? You should have been the first one to oppose it.
Did she seduce you with her blue eyes or is it her body that you are after? "
" stop it. You are not aware of what you are saying in anger."
"Get out you bastard, you are a cheater. I hate you. I give up all my rights to you. Go enjoy your life."
He was so angry he raised his hand to slap her but stopped. His mood was off. He left her as it was his wedding tonight. She is upset. He thought that he would deal with her later.
After that, Nur Jahan was never the same. She started talking to him very little or insulting him. He got more love from Seema and started spending more time with her. He never realised this would hurt Nur to the extent that she wanted to divorce him and even contacted scholars and prominent people for advice on the dissolution of this marriage.
She was young. He thought that he should have handled the situation gently.
I will correct all my mistakes now.
He looked at her with love. Her long tresses covered her enchanting face. He gently touched them. Nur was very obsessed with her hair. She had long straight silky hair which was below her waist.
He placed his lips slowly on her forehead. Always aware of her surroundings, even in sleep, she was alert. She woke up with a jolt. She turned her head to the other side.
" I warned you not to show me your face again."
What she did next shocked him.
- Writer
