Chapter 1408 - 1348: Mother and Son Quarrel

The tables were overturned, food remnants and shattered dishes lay on the ground, the curtains were ripped off, and the room looked like a mess left in the wake of a hurricane.

"Sultan!" The four bodyguards bowed to Kiya in respect.

The bodyguard with a cut on his arm, courtesy of the Queen Mother, shamefully said, "Sultan, the Queen Mother is emotionally unstable right now. Please leave, I fear the Queen Mother might..."

The Queen Mother shouted, "What are you afraid of? I carried him for ten months, I might be harsh on myself, but I’d never be harsh on him!"

"..."

Through gritted teeth, the Queen Mother said, "If only I could be a bit harsher on him, I wouldn’t have ended up like this."

"..."

"Truly, what a good son I have, after planning for your benefit my whole life, in the end, you lock me up in this godforsaken place.

Kiya, is this how you treat your own mother? You’re truly disappointing."

Kiya waved his hand and said, "Everyone, leave."

"Sultan!" The group opposed leaving Kiya alone with the Queen Mother, worried the erratic Queen Mother might harm Kiya.

The usually gentle Kiya suddenly roared, "Get out!"

When Kiya lost his temper, no one dared to speak. Gavin led everyone out.

"Shut the door!" Kiya commanded.

Reluctantly, Gavin closed the door, while a few remained stationed outside, ready to rush in at the first sign of harm to the Sultan.

...

The room was left with only the mother and son.

They scrutinized each other; the Queen Mother’s once jet-black hair was now half white, with a few noticeable silver strands sticking out under the light. His once-dominant and proud mother had aged.

Age had come, but her heart remained youthful.

The Queen Mother also noticed her son, Kiya, who was gaunt and wearing clothes that no longer fit.

The Queen Mother erupted angrily, "Kiya, what do you love about that woman? Can’t you see, she can’t even take care of you?

Can’t she feel any pity when you’re this thin?"

"..."

"A woman who doesn’t care about a man naturally won’t pay attention to him.

Paige Desmond doesn’t love you at all. If she had even a trace of love for you, you wouldn’t be in this sorry state." The Queen Mother added salt to Kiya’s wound.

The Queen Mother had been isolated here, cut off from the outside world, and didn’t know Paige Desmond had returned to Sileria City. She assumed Paige was still living in the Imperial Palace.

"Mother, I’m here today to tell you that I don’t want to be the Sultan anymore."

The Queen Mother, who was about to belittle Paige, was taken aback by Kiya’s words, swallowing her remaining words.

"What did you just say?"

"Paige and the child have gone to Abyanabad, and she’ll never return to Abyanabad... Staying alone in the Imperial Palace is extremely painful for me... I can’t endure it..." Kiya said to his mother, "Mother, can you understand that kind of pain?"

"I have no idea what nonsense you’re talking about!"

Kiya questioned, "Mother, why don’t you like Paige?" His tone was full of helplessness.

"I wish she were dead!"

Kiya looked at her sadly and said, "Today, the King of Cagalanga asked me why my Queen wasn’t present. I told him you were sick, and she was worn out from taking care of you..."

"She, worn out from caring for me? Ha-ha, Kiya, are you joking? That woman would be happy if I were dead."

Kiya replied, "Mother, you might have forgotten, but when you had surgery, it was Paige who took care of you.

You said she was clumsy, couldn’t do anything right, and even made her cry.

But do you know, Mother?

Paige may not be royal, but she was cherished like a Princess by others. Adrian Desmond hired many servants to care for her; she was always served, never serving others."

"..."

"Mother remembers her clumsiness, but why can’t you see her filial piety?"

"..."

"Paige lost her mother at a young age. When she married me, she tried to treat you as a mother to honor. Mother, have you thought about what you did in the past to make Paige’s heart grow cold?"

The Queen Mother couldn’t bear her son siding with that woman, and hearing her only son accuse her for that woman snapped her fragile nerves.

"Kiya, did you come here today just to lecture me?"

"No! I just wanted to talk to you, to tell you things I’ve kept bottled up for years.

After this... we probably won’t meet again."

The Queen Mother’s heart raced, yet she stubbornly said, "Just leave, as if I never gave birth to you!"

"Mother, you always say that I’m bewitched by Paige and have forgotten about you. If I’d forgotten, Paige wouldn’t have divorced me."

"..."

"You’re probably unaware that every time you had a conflict with Paige, in private, I always asked Paige to tolerate you because you are my elder, my mother..."

The Queen Mother sneered, "Paige has quite a temper. She may appear to endure on the surface, but deep down, she resents me and wishes I were dead."

"..."

"I can’t act as well as Paige, pretending to be obedient in front of you while making me seem like a rude and shameless person. But let me tell you, Paige is definitely no kind person!"

Finally seeing her son, the Queen Mother spared no effort to tarnish Paige’s image, adopting a ’If I’m not happy, you shouldn’t be’ stance.

Kiya suddenly didn’t want to speak as he watched his mother.

The Queen Mother endlessly criticized Paige, "... At that time, when she couldn’t have children, what’s wrong with me placing another woman with you? And she dared to quarrel with me?"

"Mother, when I married her, I promised she’d be the only one! For your sake, I married Gulit, breaking my promise, what more do you want, Mother?"

The Queen Mother shouted, "Did you truly want to marry Gulit? Don’t think I don’t know, marrying Gulit was all for show.

Marrying Gulit, you just cast her aside.

What did Paige say to you? Huh? She’s charmed you to the point where you’re unrecognizable..."

Kiya countered, "Mother, if you’re so magnanimous, why couldn’t you tolerate Father’s concubines?"

The Queen Mother was momentarily stunned.

"Father had so many women, never visiting your chambers, wasn’t that painful for you? When I was young, how did Mother explain it to me?"

"..."

"Mother told me that when I grow up, I shouldn’t become a man like Father, who was promiscuous and indulgent in pleasure.

I kept those words close to my heart, studied hard, striving to be a good Sultan, not promiscuous, I married only one woman... I grew into the son Mother wanted, why is Mother unhappy now?"