Ek SHEHZADI. Ek SULTAN.
Mohabbat aur intiqam ki ek bemisal dastan jo likhi gayi angaron ke darmiyan.
Shehzadi Dilruba Gulbahar, apne naam ki tarah dilkash, pur-asrar, aur behad haseen. Ek jhalak aur dekhne wala fana ho jaye, ek nazar aur dil dhadakna bhool jaye, aur muskurahat aisi ki sahra mein bhi phool khil uthain.
[Shehzadi Dilruba Gulbahar-like her name, she is an enchantress. Her beauty, unmatched, like the light of the moon, so mesmerizing. It could still the wind, a gaze so deadly it could burn hearts, and a smile so dangerous it could bring empires to their knees.]
Magar taqdeer ne chali ek chaal...!
Aur kar di gayi ek Sultan ke naam.
Mohabbat se nahi, chahat se nahi...!
Balki saazishon aur siyasat ki shatranj ka ek mohra ke tor par.
[Fate played its game, and she became bound to a sultan. In the name of marriage, not out of love, but because of political alliances.]
Sultan Dildar Alamgir Shamsyan, jalal aur husn dono mein bemisal. Jalal itna ke nazarain tab na lasake, aur husn aisa ke nigah palatna bhool jaye. Saltanaton mein sab se badi saltanat qayam karne wala, doston ka dildar aur dushmanon ke liye maut ka paigham.
[Sultan Dildar Alamgir Shamsyan, unparalleled in both majesty and beauty. His glory so intense that eyes could not endure, and his beauty so enchanting that one could forget to look away. He is the one who established the greatest kingdom among all, the beloved of his friends, and the harbinger of death to his enemies.]
Ek teer chali, dil pe lagi, nazarain mili, aur shuru hui ek aisi dastan jo mohabbat ke safay par likhi gayi aur intiqam ke lahu se rang di gayi.
[One arrow was shot.
One heart was wounded.
One gaze met another.
And thus began a tale that would be written in the ink of love, but stained in the blood of war and revenge.]
Ye mohabbat ka aaghaz tha ya tabahi ki dawat?
[Was this the beginning of a love story, or the prophecy of destruction?]
Janne ke liye padhni hogi puri dastan...!
DILRUBA: THE FLAME OF SULTAN
PAUL
I cheated on my fiancée.
Sophie and I were building our future. In love, happy, peaceful. Then she found a lump in her breast and I made the worst choice: I numbed my fear by sleeping with someone else. My worst mistake and my biggest regret. Now I see Sophie around town with him. She's radiant and laughing with people who actually show up. I'm trying to learn how to be a man who does. If she lets me, I'll spend the rest of my life proving I can choose her when it's hardest. If she lets me...
SOPHIE
I thought the promise was in sickness and in health.
But he buried his fear in someone else. On the same night, I walked into a bookstore and meet the gentle giant owner who invites me to his book club full of misfits.
I'm laughing again, I smile more than I ever have, I heal my heart.
My ex says he can learn to stay, but my bookstore owner keeps showing up like it's as easy as breathing. I don't know what the future holds; I don't know if I'll win this battle against cancer, but I do know I'm done wasting time on people that love only when it's easy.
CALLUM
She came in to Rivers & Rhodes Bookstore and asked for books with happy endings only.
I gave her a recommendation, an invitation, and an offer of friendship. Now, this beautiful brave woman is completely under my skin. I'm not here to win a competition against him. I'm here because choosing someone, second by second, is the only way I understand love.
Content Warnings: on page cheating, emotional and physical infidelity, cancer, mentions of vomiting, bleeding, surgery. Please be advised.