"You walked into the lion's den, sweetheart," he whispered, stepping closer. "And lions don't let go so easily."
He looked down at her leg, at her trembling hands, and the fear in her eyes.
"A beautiful young girl like you," he chuckled, "shouldn't...
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Sultan's face tightened, his jaw locking.
The guests shifted uncomfortably, their eyes darting between them.
"I remember one of his... past mistress," Mishti went on. "She told me what he was like—warned me to stay away. Told me he was a womanizer, that he breaks people just to feel powerful."
Her voice cracked but grew louder. "He's not a hero. He's a man who used power to control me. Who cornered me every time I tried to leave. He played with my life like it was a game!"
"He said awful things to me," she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks. "That he bought me from my stepmother like I was some—some object he could own. That everything I had was because of him."
She turned to the guests, breathing hard. "And today, because he hands me a gift in front of you all, suddenly he's charming? Sweet? A good man?"
She let out a hollow laugh. "You're all seeing the mask. Not the monster."
For a long, heavy moment, no one spoke.
Sultan stood, his eyes dark and unreadable. He looked at her like she had ripped open every part of him in front of the world.
Sultan stood up slowly, his face empty.
He took a step forward.
"You done?" he asked softly.
Her eyes glistened as she panted.
His voice turned cold. "You love pretending to be a victim, don't you? Like you're some angel fallen into the wrong house."
She blinked. "What are you—"
He cut her off. "Should I tell them who you really are? Your mother was a trafficker. Your father a criminal. Both of them murderers — the same ones who killed my father and brother."
She froze, breath caught in her throat.
"Sultan!" Shama Begum shouted, "That's enough!"
But he didn't stop. He took another step forward, voice rising.
He looked at everyone and said, "She's the daughter of the people who ruined my family. Her father was a criminal. Her mother was part of a sex trafficking ring. The same people who killed my father and my brother."
She froze. She could feel people's eyes on her — judging, questioning.
"She talks about morals like she's pure," he spat, "but she's got filth in her veins. She grew up in the dirt, and that's exactly where she belongs and today I got to understand that."
"She is right....I was a womanizer."
"But I never forced anyone," he continued, his tone sharp but calm. "Yeah, I slept around. I won't lie about it. But every single woman I was with... she wanted it too. I didn't drag anyone. I didn't lie to them. I didn't make promises I couldn't keep."
