"You have no right to be the ruler of this nation. A position you are so proud of. Because you are not an Ahmed" Suhara said bitterly
Every single person in the council room froze listening to that declaration.
"What do you mean?" Salim asked
"What I said" Suhara said, with an evil laugh.
"Don't listen to her, Salim. She is trying to cause unnecessary trouble with her lies" Zayed said, looking at the older woman with disgust.
"Am I? Science is so advanced now. Why don't you take a DNA test and confirm?" Suhara asked with an evil smirk.
"Suhara? What nonsense are you saying? He is our son" Khalil Ahmed said furiously
"Our? He is not ours, Khalil. Yes, he is mine. But not yours" Suhara said
"Suhara. Stop with your non sense" Rosaline said furiously, seeing how pale her nephew had gone.
She loved Salim as much as she loves her own children, and she couldn't watch him breaking like this.
Suhara shot Rosaline a look of such loathing that Rosaline flinched.
"You! You are the root cause of all the problems." Suhara screamed at Rosaline.
"What-"
"I was raised to be the queen of this nation. Everything was going smoothly. My betrothal to the Sultan of Zidra. We were to be married and you had to come and steal my betrothed" Suhara screamed
"Suhara…"
"I was supposed to be the Queen of Zidra. Not you! Everything went down the hill. All my dreams, my power."
"Aunt Suahar. That's enough" Zayed said coldly
"I got into a casual fling after their marriage. Salim is the result of that" Suhara said, without paying any heed to others' words.
"Why would you do this to me, Suhara?" Khalil asked brokenly
"When I got pregnant with Salim, I realised this is my one chance at gaining power. I talked my brothers into a peace treaty and married Khalil. But obviously, I will be giving birth to a child before Rosaline. I made sure, Rosaline didn't get pregnant until Salim was born. I wanted to be sure that my child is a boy" Suhara said
"What do you mean by you made sure? What did you do?" Rosaline asked
"I fed you contraceptives along with your food. I had my woman in your entourage, Rosaline. You usurped me as a queen. I couldn't let you give birth to a child before my son was born" Suhara said
"What about the man who got you pregnant? Where is he?" Karim asked
"Disposed off, of course. I couldn't let him live and let people know my secret, now could I?" Suhara asked coldly.
Salim sucked in a sharp breath as he heard that.
The father he never knew is no more…
"What kind of a woman are you?" Karim asked in disgust.
"You shamed me Karim Ahmed al Zidra. By ditching me and marrying another woman, you brought shame to me and my tribe. And I paid you all back. I ruined your marriage. I made my son a king. And you lived your life, regretting the decisions you made" Suhara said smugly
"What do you mean by you ruined our marriage?" Rosaline asked dreadfully
"Oh darling Rosaline. The woman who got ruined in love. The first time your husband cheated on you, he was drugged. And many times after that too, he was drugged. For years I drugged him and got him with other women" Suhara said
"You b*tch…" Rosaline cursed
"Oh! Don't blame it all on me. After the first few years, he started enjoying the other women without the drugs" Suhara said, with a smirk, knowing well where to strike for Rosaline to feel the pain.
"That's enough. Get this woman out of here." Zayed commanded and soon a screaming Suhara was dragged out of the council room.
The council members were silent, not knowing what to say after the revelations.
"I request all the council members to take leave now. We need a moment as a family now" Aveline spoke gently yet firmly.
Zayed was thankful at least Aveline was able to handle it.
The council members took leave one by one, leaving only the family behind.
"Salim" Camille gently placed a hand on her husband's shoulder
The pain in his eyes was unbearable.
"I- I am a-" Salim couldn't form words properly
Salim looked up at Khalil, whom he had loved as his father for the past 35 years. Now to know that the man isn't his father…
"Don't. Don't think that way, Salim" Khalil said fiercely, probably reading Salim's thoughts.
"I held you in my arms when you were born. You opened your little eyes and looked at me for the first time, and I fell in love. You are my son, no matter what that woman says" Khalil said fiercely and Salim hugged his father tightly.
"It doesn't change the fact that Salim is not an Ahmed. And the throne should always belong to an Ahmed" Karim pointed out
"Father" Zayed called out furiously
"Don't glare at me. I am telling you the facts. Salim cannot remain the Sultan anymore" Karim said
"That's enough father. Salim was raised to be the Sultan of this nation. He ruled the nation for over five years. And he did it fabulously. He will remain the Sultan of our nation, no matter what" Zayed said
"No Zayed" Salim said gently
"Salim. We will talk about this later. Father, I suggest you leave to your quarters now" Zayed told his father and Karim walked out of the council room furiously.
Zayed walked to his mother, who was still frozen in her place.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Mom.."
"She is so evil. She deliberately ruined our marriage." Rosaline mumbled
"Aveline, please take mom to her quarters" Zayed said.
He is torn!
Between the love for his mother and the love for his brother.
Both people are broken now.
But his mother has been through this pain for years. But the blow to Salim is new. Salim needs him more.
And he trusts Aveline to take care of his mother, maybe better than him.
"Sure. Please come, mom" Aveline said and took Rosaline to her room.