"ZINNIA!" her husband called her.
"ZINNIA!"
That one word was enough to send a shiver down her spine. And she had never been afraid of anyone in her life. Except for him.
Zinnia rushed to support her drunken husband.
"What took you so long?" he yelled at her.
"I was busy cooking dinner for you, dear." she quivered
"Don't you lie to me! You have been fooling around with other men... You little bitch!"
"No" She pleaded "I have always been only yours." He punched her in the face, knocking her down.
Her eyes were wide with fear. She knew what was to follow next. He would beat her till he got tired of hitting her, never mind she was pregnant. She was a strong woman, but could never stand up to her husband.
Five hours later, her whole body felt like it would crumble to pieces. She noticed her face and clothes were all covered in blood.
I have to do something. She thought to herself. This has to stop, not for me but for the sake of my unborn child at least. And then she came up with a plan.
~~~~
"You have been working really hard dear" said Zinnia as she saw that Bairam Khan's injured hand from taming wild elephants.
Bairam was closest to the Emperor and Zinnia knew she could use this to her advantage. Plus, it was so easy to play him. Her witty banter and powerful personality already attracted him. There wasn't much she had to do.
"Let me take care of that for you" she said taking him gently by his hand.
"What happened to your face?" demanded Bairam as he saw the wounds on her face.
"Nothing!" she squealed. "It's nothing"
"This is not nothing!"
After much persuasion, Zinnia spilled her tale infront of Bairam in tears.
"What can I do? He is my husband, the father of my child!"
"Tell me the truth Zinnia, do you not want to be rid of him?"
Together, they poisoned him and the love between Bairam Khan and Zinnia soon blossomed.
"Hey beautiful, how can woman so gentle have such a vicious mind. I love the way you lie, manipulate and kill people, literally ofcourse.." He gently caressed her and kissed her on her fore head.
"Uff Bairu.. dear control yourself. What if someone sees us? They will start suspecting that we killed that monster. We have to be careful."
Zinnia also became most trusted in the royal family. Bairam and Maham Anga enjoyed their romance in stealth. Their happiness however was short lived. Humanyun, in reward for Bairam's Khan's services proposed him to marry the Mughal princess, Salima. The alliance would mean that he too, became a part of the royal family.
He chose Salima, this explains Maham Anga's tears in the earlier episode.. No wonder she is still so bitter. It must really hurt her to see Bairam and Salima enjoying their marital bliss. So she sent them away š
Thank you dear readers for putting up with my nonsense.š
