Betrayal
What was it that could have forced such an offence against her longest friend. As though she had received nothing but pain from Laila when in fact, she was treated with only kindness.
Love was powerful enough to turn a great partner into the worst of enemies.
Her betrayal was silent, cloaked in deception. It tormented her, yet she could not stop.
Wafiyyah stood in silence. Hiding behind her veil as she compelled herself to remember the same incident. Laila on the ground, weeping as the secrets of her love were revealed.
Left astonished when she was suddenly taken from Laila's side at the function, Waffiyah was thrown out of the room and forced to oversee the heinous event from atop a balcony of the throne room.
Should it be true, Laila would lose everything.
Whilst her heart wished to weep for an old friend, her mind could only see the truth before her. With this revelation and Abdul's accession to sultan, he would have only one wish. Laila.
Surely the princess would return to Al-Shujae at the first chance, she would not stay with the man who betrayed her.
It could not be! How could Wafiyyah bear to see Abdul console Laila. She could not allow it. Wafiyyah would burn herself alive before her one love was taken.
Her mind raced, thinking of the one deception which could not be forgiven. She could not even dare to speak it out loud, afraid that it would stop her from committing this sin.
Wafiyyah clutched her heart, knowing her next actions were unjustifiable. There was no solace to be found. She searched, finding herself at the mercy of the sultan himself.
"You will not hurt her, will you?" Her innocent question was shadowed in guilt as the sultan bared his teeth.
"Are you questioning me?" He dared her. Wafiyyah stepped back, bowing her head in fear.
"N-never!" She quivered. Amir leaned back, eyeing the servant as she trembled. The girl had chosen a side, a place in which there was no room for emotion.
Weep out your affection.
Become heartless.
No one would understand your love here.
-
Her eyes opened, staring upon a dark ceiling. A single candle was lit, casting a shadow where its light could not reach. Laila felt a tear fall down the side of her face, forgetful until she looked around the tiny room and found herself face to face with the dancing woman.
She immediately sat up, wrapping her arms around her body.
"Wh- Where am I?" Laila asked delicately. The lady stood from her dressing table, bringing forward a glass filled with water.
"First drink, then we shall speak." She spoke gently, afraid to scare the girl. Laila deliberated, looking upon the cup before finally taking it.
"I brought you to my chambers, you were in no position to be taken to your own." The woman sat down, offering a friendly smile.
"My name is Zulaikha." She greeted. Laila was silent, smiling back until she felt herself fall.
"Laila?" Zulaikha called, pulling her in worry. Laila shook her head, tears falling no matter how she tried to stop them. She opened her mouth, sobbing in place of her words.
Zulaikha wrapped her arms around the girl, holding her as she weeped.
"It was all a lie." Laila whispered, unable to say anything more. Minutes passed in what seemed like hours, till eventually her cries quietened.
"What he said, it was the truth." Zulaikha finally spoke.
"You are the daughter of Sumayyah, sister of the sultan." Laila shook her head, unwilling to accept this truth. "How could this be?"
"I knew your mother. I worked as a young maid here before the sultan forced me to become his entertainment." Her words came out bitter, unable to speak of Amir without disgust.
"Your mother was very kind and very brave. But she was also stubborn. When she met your father, they instantly fell for each other. The Sheikh of Al-Shujae was quite charming to make the famously boyish princess fall for him." Zulaikha smiled, reminiscing over previous joys.
Sumayyah was loved amongst everyone, a princess who could defeat any warrior. She was the pride and joy of her father and tribe.
"If- if they wished to marry then why did sultan not just allow it?" Laila asked. Zulaikha sighed, "The proposal was ongoing when the sultan passed away. Back then, Amir was never supposed to take the throne. There was his older brother... Ahmed."
"I know of him." Laila interrupted, remembering the tribute to the sultan.
So, Ahmed was the one who was loved by all. Her memory was suddenly clouded by thoughts of her husband. She bit her lip, pushing away the image of him.
"Yes, Sultan Ahmed was everything Amir is not. His rule was short but no one could forget what he had done. He forbade slavery, he was generous to the poor. Even his wife, they say she was from a lower class."
The more Laila heard of Ahmed, the warmer her heart felt.
How different could two brothers be?
"But that was the problem, Ahmed was caught up with many affairs, Sumayyah's marriage had to be delayed. Until one day, he suddenly died." Zulaikha shook her head, as though she had returned in time.
"When Amir became sultan, he rejected the proposal without reason. Many believed it was his arrogance as Al-Shujae were a far stronger tribe back then." It was distasteful to even think of Amir's pride.
"Sumayyah was never the type to stand back quietly. She fought for her right to marry the man she loved. Your mother, she was exquisite. I still remember watching as she stood against Amir in front of all the ministers, claiming that he had no right to the throne."
Laila was in awe of her mother, enchanted by the words coming out of Zulaikha's mouth.
"Amir had her locked in her chambers, but Sumayyah, she was smart. Perhaps she knew her brother too well. That very night she ran away from this tribe, to your father."
Risking her life to cross a desert alone, wanting to reach her beloved.
As though the padlock had finally been opened, Laila felt a connection to her mother which she had previously yearned for. She clutched the necklace her stepmother had given her.
Knowing nothing of the woman who birthed her, only that she was loved dearly by her father.
So dearly that he could never love another again, not even Lady Asiyah.
For the sake of her stepmother, Laila had never spoken of her birth mother. Satisfied with the love she received already, Laila lived quietly with this slight emptiness.
An emptiness which was now being filled.
"My mother... Sumayyah, she died from childbirth." Laila confessed. "Yes, the sultan was too overjoyed when hearing you were a girl." Zulaikha scowled.
"This revenge, it was planned from a long time ago. Usman is a great warrior, he could never deny the sultan's command." Laila shook her head, feeling foolish.
"I should have never believed him." She broke into a cry.
"I have betrayed myself and I have betrayed my mother. She escaped from this tribe only for me to come back and fall straight into dirt. I have dishonoured her-"
"No!" Zulaikha stopped her.
"I have heard of how you challenged the sultan, how you have sacrificed for love, just like your mother. She would have been extremely proud of you."
"I fear that it was no longer love for my tribe which was keeping me here." Laila confessed.
"I fell in love with my enemy."
The one who bought her happiness was the one who took it away.
The cruel cycle of fate.
"I will end this." She vowed.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
Nothing would make up for the pain which flowed through her entire being. Her heart pounded as she walked through the darkness of the halls, imagining that these walls may have once contained happiness.
Her mother's home.
No words could describe the torment within her. In loving usman, she had cheated herself. She knew he awaited her, tongue prepared with excuses. As though his revenge was justified.
A man once beloved to her, pacing across her room, anguish on his face. He was suffering.
She held onto her dress, forcing herself to stand before him. Her stare, once filled with love, now brimmed with betrayal. How she wished to have never given her heart to him.
He felt her presence, abruptly approaching his wife. She stopped him with her cold stare.
His eyes did not leave hers. If what he was told stood true, nothing he could say would help.
He stepped forward as she stepped back. As though they had returned in time, to a tent in the middle of the desert. The same loathing lay in her eyes, only now, it was not without purpose.
In the beginning, Laila hated Usman for his actions; an empty hatred. A feeling void of emotion, void of love.
But now, her very soul had been ripped apart. The hatred was not bare. In fact, it filled her entire being, tearing her heart into pieces.
She fought hard to stop the affection, forcing herself to feel only abhorrence despite standing before the one she cherished.
"I have one question... What was the true motive behind our marriage?" Laila crossed her fingers by her side, holding tightly onto herself as she begged for anything... anything but his silence.
"Laila-" he finally began to speak,
"No more lies." She abruptly stopped him, shaking her head.
"Right and wrong, good and bad, love and... hate." She looked up, abandoning the last string of emotion as her gaze hardened.
"There is only a thin line between them."
Usman shook his head, coming forward as his wife only increased the distance between them.
Laila's eyes stayed barren, empty as he pleaded to darkness. She turned away, unwilling to even hesitate, refusing to fall into his words of deception again.
"Perhaps." She glanced upwards, the tears she had forbidden now fell down the side of her face as she stared at the patterned ceiling.
"Perhaps I never did love you."
His hands gripped her shoulders, shaking her.
"Don't say that." He prohibited as she fell limp into him.
"You are nothing but a puppet of the sultan, doing his bidding as you have always done. Congratulations Usman, you have gained another victory." Her hands met his, pushing away his hold, his warmth.
Her body refused to move, detached as he almost forced her to face him. She pulled away, internally weeping when suddenly losing the comfort of his touch.
How she desired for an existence where they had never met. Perhaps then, she would've lived a different life. One where she would have not experienced this kind of loss, one where she did not fall into complete desolation.
How easier it would have been to have never... known him.
Can you hear my heart weep as it bleeds from your betrayal? How I wish I had never fallen for you.
"I had accepted this marriage only for my father's sake." Laila sniffled, her heart heavy as she finally looked upon his broken figure.
"And for my mother's sake, I will abandon my love." Usman shook his head, unable to move as his heart begged for forgiveness.
"I never want to see you again."