NOVEL~*Hiding behind a Stranger*~THREAD 18- Chapter 23

'This will return everything that's been taken away from me...' The sneer evolved into a smirk Everything!'

'Returned?'

'Please tell us more, my friend...'

His response was a low-pitched guttural laugh, followed by a sharp click of his fingers 'Please arrange for a meeting with the Huzoor... I have some news to give him... but first, call for Hassan, Jamshed and Qamran... I'm sure they'll share my enthusiasm too!' he'd listed the names of three nobles - nobles, he had no use for, apart from the fact that they'd also grown tired of the Shehzaade's long-standing favouritism towards the Ustaad 'Go on now!'

'But, Hassan, Qamran and Jamshed?' continued the rest of his men, while two soldiers rushed out to do his bidding 'Why do you need THEM now?'

'What are you planning to do?'

Placing the scroll down, he cracked the knuckles of his right hand, and then his left. Oh how long had his frigid fists been aching for such a fight. 'I need their vocal support during this meeting... so we can jointly put Ustaad in his place!'

'WHAT! How? Please explain!'

'Enough with the suspense now, Khalil... what does that mysterious scroll say?'

'Alright alright...' he grinned, having had his fix of sadistic pleasure for then 'I've just been informed that one of the most powerful Hindu kingdoms is withdrawing support from Parnagarh... which means, a few other strong Hindu allies will stop backing Parnagarh too! It's the perfect opportunity to regain my pride and power that was taken away, by both - these dastard Hindus and the Ustaad! The perfect opportunity to get back my assignment!'

'Ya Allah! But, how is that even possible?'

'Huzoor loves Ustaad Sahib like a brother...'

'Do you think he would favour you over him and return the mission to OUR camp?'

The general stood up with a sudden vehemence, sending his chair flying back as he did so 'The Shehzaade will have to! Ustaad hasn't returned with the Farmaan yet... and it's past the two-day deadline that'd been given to him, is it not?'

'Y... yes...'

'Y... y... yes...' they nodded, terrified into a deathly silence by the general's roars.

Yes, Khalil would get back at everyone, by taking everything that was his - the mission, the money, the power AND the Sahiba.

Originally posted by: Bindu.

My darlingest Lashy di,

Yet again,you have given me the feel of watching a suspense thriller.Even the second read has such effect and the reason is apparently,your captivating narration and the intense diction.Hats off to you,Writer-e-Khaas!!👏👏

Thank you so much darling... I am so late with this one... but I was trying to complete 23 and then have guests at home now... so haven't been able to find the time till now!

🤗

The Farmaan hunt:

1)This was written so brilliantly,di.We knew Akbar would definitely find the farmaan but the finale of this success mission turned out to be more enthralling than I could imagine.I could feel his anxiety,then the slight distrust when he feels he'd read too much into the lines,then the regained confidence and composure followed by a lightening realisation of what Durga's lines meant..and that special moment he holds the Farmaan..everything was just so so beautiful!⭐️⭐️

Wow... after the buildup, generally the climax falls short or probably achieves what it promises... to exceed expectations is difficult and after you've said this.. especially the way you've described the underlined made me go all *jumpy* and

What an irony this was..it was supposed to be one of the proudest moments for the Ustaad but he felt anything but pride in the achievement.He should have felt huge relief after laying his hands upon the Farmaan but it felt exactly opposite.And what else could convey this better than these lines..

Suddenly, the document did not feel so thin and flimsy anymore. It felt heavy. Uncomfortably heavy, in fact - so much so that he couldn't wait to unburden himself of it.

'A proud moment?' Somehow, he wasn't sure this was an achievement he was going to be proud of.

I know... that... the man was good.. but now love is making him second guess himself... especially in such a crucial mission!

2)I loved loved loved the 'aadab' that was offered by the Ustaad to the elder heiress❤️He is such a gentleman who respects people for what they are irrespective of the status or age.

Thank you... that was one of my favouritest scene of AMK too... I am so glad it struck a chord with the readers.

As they say, the way a man behaves with a woman when no one is watching, shows his true colours... and this was one such incident!

I couldn't help feeling bad for Durga,once again.The fact that she was a mere 17 year old who had so much of life ahead but her right to live was snatched away in the most barbaric way possible boils my blood and I feel helpless.

😭

Then his attraction towards Heera's painting,the dilemma and struggle with himself to refrain from touching her portrait,those peculiar emotions that only one person is capable of stirring up in him were something beautiful beyond words.Quite intense too.Along with Akbar even I felt nostalgic reminiscing those carefree giggles and smiles which have abandoned her lately!

Intense? ☺️+ 🤗 +

The moment I read abt those magnificent portraits..this edit posted by Nams long time back flashed in my mind..I love this one very much!

I'm actually loving this edit now even more now!

I pinged Nams to come check this ages ago... but she hasn't even peeped in 😡

Heera and the swine😡😆

Just as Heera had,even I thought the reminder of his TWO promises by her would leave Mahender with no other option.But its the shameless,over ambitious guy we are talking of.I so hate him,di.Well,it would be foolish of him to let go of a golden opportunity that knocked his door itself in the form Chittaranjan..but I can only have hatred for him!😡

Here comes the hatred... but the guy is clever... gotta give him that..

actually that's what it is... in politics you gotta be clever or you'll be lost

So we got cunning Mahendar Vs intelligent Heera vs sly Khalil vs wise Ustaad vs shrewd Shehzaade

A war of mind games...

My,my..how many tactics he used to convince her..but Heera's gracious retorts and the repetition of his own words numbed him for a while!😆 You simply rock,my dear!👏

Thank you so much! 🤗

He might be a stellar actor but we are lucky that Heera could recognise that he was only an actor and his only concern was Parnagarh's wealth.When I had felt so angry and agitated knowing his true intentions..then how can Heera not go through all those she is currently going through.No wonder,she felt relieved that Durga was no more to witness the dirty reality!

Yes I agree 😡

I feel people like Khalil are less dangerous than backstabbers like Mahender.That monster doesn't pretend to be an angle.But this guy has successfully fooled all the Parnagarhis and their Baisas😡😡

true.. they rot the foundations from within na... that is more dangerous than anything else

I'm excited to read how would our Heera expose him or cancel the wedding even if his true colors get exposed later!

Did it fulfil the excitement? 😉

Pappu😭

What am I supposed to write about Pappu.It was his part that moved me to tears.His convo with his mother was heart wrenching.Poor guy thought his Samarth bhaisaa was annoyed at him.He only wanted to spend few mins with Akbar.Not a wish so great or difficult to be granted.But his last wish remained unfulfilled..😭😭

Yes it did... 😭

Even on his death bed,he ensured other children have their share of joy with the repaired toys.How considerate the kid is!

😭

I didn't expect you would end this character so soon.I couldn't believe what I read.Such a shock it was to know of Pappu's demise!When I pondered over the reason why you introduced him..I understood it was to reveal the past of AMK and bring a lil change in his priorities.Had Akbar fulfilled Pappu's wish,there wouldn't have been this conscious change of mind whose impact was not a momentary one..it's not restricted to fulfilling Azzez's small wish.But it's related to a bigger and the most important decision.A decision that influences lives of so many people.So,its not going to be an easy one for Akbar.

See Pappu is like that traveller we meet in a train journey for a few minutes who leaves a lasting impact... he is a chance occurence who changes our course of thinking and taking decisions..

there might be some small incident in all our lives that does that to us...

Pappu was that in Akbar's life... like a mirror image of

'See Akbar this boy was you sometime back... imagine if like Pappu you'd also died and never lived to see this day... are you still sure you want to make the same choices you're making?'

Must say,Pappu was one such shortest lived character who brought/would bring a drastic change in the plot.

Exactly! Not drastic change maybe... but a change for sure! He definitely got Akbar into the 'What am I doing?' mode

The last point is abt Azeez..he understands his master cum friend very well.He could sense the moral dilemma Akbar was going through.I like this guy(Hope Shruti doesn't mind..I only like him,nothing else😆)

Hayoo poor Shruthi.. her name's gotten jud-ed with Azeez's and now the phenomenon never goes away! 😆

Lashy di,I haven't quoted much lines as it was really difficult to choose the best.I'm sorry if it sounds monotonous..but trust me,every line had a great impact on me and its impossible to choose few!

It doesn't sound monotonous da 😭

Thanks for this update and pls update soon!😃

🤗 Mega hugs to you too!

Originally posted by: lashy

For Chapter 23

(Will definitely post by tonight😆)