Tales Of The Heart

(32)

Shahzaib's study room felt usually cold and empty as he entered. But the emptiness did not last long, for his mother, the Empress, was already there, her regal presence dominating the room. He looked up as she approached, her eyes meeting his with a mixture of concern and anger.

"You cannot retreat from your duties, Shahzaib", she said, her voice firm, laced with disappointment.
"Your father is disappointed by the way you left without attending the private court discussion",
Shahzaib barely reacted at her words, nevertheless, they did sting.

"It is because of that woman that you are losing yourself", she continued, her voice growing harsher. "She has bewitched you, Shahzaib. Why don't you understand? If you continue to disobey your father, he will summon your distant cousins and depose you. And I refuse to let that happen. You have worked too hard, and I will not allow you to sabotage it",

Shahzaib stared at his mother, his eyes conveying a depth of sorrow and disbelief she had never seen in him before.

"I cannot recognize you, mother", he whispered, his voice trembling with unshed tears.
"Where is the mother who always wished for my happiness? Where is the mother who wanted nothing but a genuine smile on my face? Where is the mother who taught me to be true to myself? Where is the mother who told me to be loyal to my spouse, to never break a promise given to her, to never break her heart like father did with yours?",

The Empress gasped at his words, stepping back as if she had been struck. Her eyes which were filled with cold authority, now brimmed with tears, her lips trembling as painful memories resurfaced.

"Y-you... You are not supposed to know that... Y-you..." she stammered, her voice faltering as she struggled to maintain her composure. Shahzaib merely smiled but that simple gesture held the emotions that could crush one's soul.

"How can you push a woman to feel what you once felt, mother?", Shahzaib pressed, his voice rising with the intensity of his emotions. "I saw the tears you hid from the world. I was young, yes, but I saw the pain when Royal Consort Ambia came to the palace. I saw the pain in your eyes when father favored her. I saw your suffocation when she conceived Princess Shireen.
Father loves you, but his love was neither limited nor exclusive. How could you want me to become like him, precisely in matters of the heart, and force Inaya to suffocate as you did?",

Tears finally spilled over from Shahzaib's eyes, but they were accompanied by a blazing anger, born out of deep hurt and betrayal.

"I thought you, of all people, would understand Inaya more than anyone. Yes, perhaps you are bitter because Inaya spent more time with Royal Consort Ambia, but did you ever try to understand her, to give her a chance to be the daughter-in-law you always wished for? You pushed her away simply because she wasn't of royal blood and instead favored someone who tried to hurt your own son and the woman he loves",

The Empress's lips quivered, her usual composer shattered by her son's accusations. She could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth, but deep down, she knew there was truth in them, and that truth cut her deeply.

"Mother", Shahzaib continued, his voice gentler now but still firm, "Inaya is everything to me. She is my heart, my soul. And the sooner you accept that, the better it will be for all of us",

The Empress stood motionless, her expression torn between maternal love and the rigid discipline of a royal upbringing. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but she blinked them away, refusing to let them fall.

"Shahzaib," she began, her tone firm, yet, laced with an underlying pain.
"You speak of love as though it is the only thing that matters. But love is not what has held this empire together for generations. It is duty. It is the responsibility we carry on our shoulders, the sacrifices we make for the greater good",