I ignored them and opened the door myself , there i saw mustafa on his desk with his daughter in his arms while ayse stood next to them .
« Stella » he said in disbelief when he saw me , i felt for a moment that we were the only people in this room .
He kissed his daughter's head and gave her carefully to her mother " I will see you later" he told ayşe to leave us alone and she eventually did but after giving me one of her evil looks .
Mustafa got up and opened his arms for me , i immediately fall into his embrace and hug him my worries and everything negative in my soul faded away .
" I have missed you so much" he whispered as he stroke my hair softly " I did as much" i mumbled , i felt safe in his embrace and didn't want to let go . but now after all we've been through i can let go without the fear of him going away .
" We're finally here"he broke the hug but still held me close " Seeing what we have been through to be here makes this all worth it" He was right , this moment of happiness was what i longed for .
" it felt like years .. you can't imagine how happy i was when i heard my fathers decision" he said while taking my face between his hands " i can't wait to take you home" i wanted to ask him now but i felt like it was the wrong moment to do so .
"Mustafa .." i said unsure of my question "why did you hide from me me what happened" he raised his eyebrow in confusion but immediately sighed when he realised what i was about to ask . His eyes darted away from mine .
« If you're talking about my province then ... i didn't want to tell you since i was really mad about it and i didn't want to drop your mood before our marriage »
« You shouldn't have done so Mustafa , i want to know the good and the bad . and i don't like it when you keep secrets from me »
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« It's not keeping secrets away from you , i knew you'd find out but i don't want to burden you with my problems » I didn't want him to think like this and say that his problems burden me .
« Don't say that » i put my hand on his shoulder « What happened ? how did his majesty make such harsh decision and on top of that he put selim instead » I asked curious about this sudden decision .
« An austrian envoy came to meet me in Manisa proposing peace between both countries and i have sent him away but his majesty was extremely furious and thought i acted upon my own and that i did a mistake even accepting him in » i listened to his side of story and it sounded unfair , but i heard that his majesty always took strong actions towards him .
« I- I'm so sorry , but haven't you tried to explain this to him ? » he looked frustrated and annoyed about this situation « I tried but .. no use , he believed what he heard way too much that he can't believe any of my arguments" he said full of guilt and remorse
" you don't have to blame yourself for this Mustafa , they ran to his majesty to tell him this and didn't even give you the chance to explain yourself" he nodded after what i said agreeing with me " Hurrem sultan and Rustem , they don't waste time to strike and paint me as the villain in my father's eyes" They were way too evil , and god knows what lies they feed to his majesty .
" They have been giving me a hard time , despite me leaving my own home as a child they didn't stop but i will not tolerate this injustice anymore" he sighed in annoyance but calmed down right after " i told you we shouldn't ruin our time with these problems"
He changed the subject and we sat down talking about what happened when were both away and our future plans , after all what he said and revealed about his family i couldn't help but not trust even the walls around us . this palace was so tarnished with blood of innocents that i felt suffocated just by taking a breath
After we finished talking , his mother joined us . the last encounter i had with her was unpleasant and full of resentment but i knew for sure it wasn't going to last forever since we were going to live together and be in each other's presence more .
" Mustafa , i will be taking my daughter in law from you for some time" she looked at me with a side eye making me look away from her , mustafa let go of my hand and nodded .
" Of course , i am sure you have many things to talk about" he said in a teasing tone as he knows the tension between us . I stood up from my seat and left with Mahidevran sultan .
I trailed behind her and followed her until we arrived to what i assumed her room , we both stepped inside and she dismissed all of the girls that were inside .
" So you have finally achieved what you wanted" she said offering me a seat which i took " you don't have any idea about what you got yourself into , you didn't just marry my son , but you have married the crown prince and his problems" she said looking at me in the eyes with a serious gaze .
" Now you have stepped into a route with no exit , and i must tell you that love gives nothing . yes he might love you and you might love him but it will not gain him anything , you must support him in other ways" i knew what she meant but i wanted to hear her further more .
" The road you're about to take is full of bandits and people who wants to harm Mustafa , but i need a strong and a hot headed woman by his side . Someone who would protect him even from himself" she sighed looking at the window contemplating " if you are not ready for it then don't waste your life and go back home"
" As there are many women who would be enough for him and would love him unconditionnally but i dont want that i want someone that will throw herself in fire for my son and protect him from the enemies that surround him"
" Sultana , i understand you and i have spoken with mustafa about this and i am ready for anything that is coming our way . Rustem pasha and Hurrem sultan are my enemies now and i won't hesitate to burn them to protect mustafa » she seemed convinced by what i said , she for the first time grabbed my hand and put it between her hands .
« I have lost this war with hurrem before and the only hope i'm clinging on to is my son , i don't care if it costs me my life but i want to see him claim the throne he deserves » She looked genuinely hurt and i could see it from her eyes , i knew that she was basically thrown away by the sultan and got replaced by hurrem sultan and this gave me a reason to not let anyone get between me and Mustafa .
« I will do whatever it takes sultana , don't worry about it . i hope this will clear the tension between us as i don't want us to stay in awkward terms » she smiled in disbelief and patted my hand .
« That should stay in the past , i was on a defensive position i didn't really dislike you but i was taking precautions as Mustafa is known for things like this » i was confused on what she meant , i had a very straight forward question but i asked her still « Was he a womaniser ? » her eyes widened at my choice of words .
« I wouldn't use that word , but when he was still young and reckless he would cling onto a woman and it would take him time to forget her » I didn't know this face but i could understand , men are way too different when they're going through puberty , they tend to be reckless and love anyone that's next to them .
« But now i can see that he truly loves you and trust me if i didn't sense good coming out of this , i would never accept it » i felt somehow relieved that now i was on good terms with his parents , it is good to start on a good page with everyone before things start to get messy .
