Trigger warning: mentions of drugs and abortion.
--*--
"In politics, the only true relation is that you have with the throne" - unknown
"And here goes, check and mate! You couldn't save your queen. Ha!" Khushi smugly declared as her clever move had trapped Aman and won her the game.
Rani, who was watching this from a distance had a satisfied smile...this was a big day. Khushi Mehra was the chief minister, and now was going to get married with Arnav Singh Raizada soon. In all this, Rani would still be the queen mother, the one who held power. After all, she had ensured everything under the sun for the position her family was in today, she was in today! The journey from a 20 years old, middle class Reema Sharma to this rich and powerful Rani Mehra had been a tough one but she had crossed every hurdle and how.
.
.
Reema Sharma was a middle class yet very ambitious girl studying in Delhi university. She had a clear aim, to become a rich and powerful person! She hated her middle-class life with a passion and craved to be in power. She was ready to do anything for that, and she did! Even after her first ever decision proved to be wrong...
After that, a 20-years-old Reema was left homeless and alone. Her family had abandoned her. But she wasn't one to back down. Soon, she managed to catch an eye of a famous industrialist Jay Mehra, who was a bachelor in his 40s! He needed a beautiful young wife and an heir, and she needed power! He agreed to give her a respectful life by marrying her, in return of a child for him! And she willingly went into that marriage.
Soon after, she had twins, Swayam and Swara. But when the kids were barely 7 years old, Jay passed away, leaving a huge property, businesses and 2 small kids to his 28 years old widow, Reema.
Reema finally took the reins from that moment... She now became known as Rani, the queen of her world. Even to her kids, she became Rani Ma.
But in all this, her kids were raised without her care, love, and attention. They had every luxury money could buy but they had no one to tell them their limits. By the time she understood it, the damage was done. A 17-years-old Swara came home, scared, and pregnant!!! It was her classmate who was equally juvenile. There was no question of a wedding as they were underage and there was no way Rani Mehra's daughter could be a teenage mother. This would have caused a scandal not to mention ruin her image. So, Rani ensured Swara was 'freed' from it. But the whole incident impacted Swara, and she went into a shell...Rani finally decided to send her to Jay's distant relative in Denmark, where she would be under that family's watch...
She once again threw herself in her business when a few years later, Swayam was found involved in drugs. Rani couldn't handle it, neither could she find a way out, this whole thing was a huge blow to Mehra's name and her own carefully created powerful image. Board of directors had started throwing questions on Mehra's future CEO.
Of course, Swayam was sent to a rehab where he was recovering but he needed a new image.
And then she found the answer.. his marriage! A good, devoted husband was definitely an image that would eventually help him.
And thus, she made a deal with ex-cm Shashi Gupta, he would Mehra's support and backing in return of khushi's marriage with Swayam. Khushi's scandal had tainted Gupta's reputation and Swayam needed to reform his image, so this marriage served both purposes...
But this marriage was purely a political move for her, or so she believed...
--*--
Shashi Gupta was bedridden after that attack a few months ago, which had taken his son-in-law's life. But he was still able to speak and understand what was happening around him.
