Chapter 28
The late afternoon sun filtered through the thin curtains, casting long golden lines across the small room where Aaryan quietly folded Saanvi’s clothes. His fingers moved delicately almost too delicately as if even the fabric deserved more gentleness than he ever received.
Behind him, hurried footsteps echoed.
Saanvi : jaldi mera samaan ready kar de. Hume aaj hi waha pahuchna hai.
Aaryan’s head lifted immediately, eyes soft, voice barely above a whisper.
Aaryan: Ji.
She turned to leave, but stopped. Aaryan felt her gaze on his back before he heard her voice again.
Saanvi: Aur haa iss baar tu bhi humare saath chalega. Toh apne liye kuch kapde rakh lena. Shaam ko nikalna hai… late nahi hona chahiye.
Her words fell like a sudden weight on his chest.
Him? Going with them?
His breath tangled in his throat.
Aaryan: J.. ji… mai kaise…?
Saanvi rolled her eyes, irritating sharp as a slap.
Saanvi: Pair se. Aur kaise chala jaata hai? Chal, ab jaldi kar.
She threw the words like stones and walked away, her heels clicking angrily against the floor.
The room fell silent again.
Aaryan stood frozen for a moment, clutching the half-folded kurta in his hands.
His lashes trembled, his throat tight with all the words he never spoke.
He wasn’t used to going anywhere, wasn’t used to being taken anywhere.
Wherever they were going…
Whoever he might meet there…
He had no idea how fate was about to shift beneath his feet and pull him toward someone whose gaze would change everything.
Aaryan inhaled shakily, the smallest flutter of nervousness curling in his stomach.
He had no clue that by tonight, his life would collide with a man whose eyes could burn the air around him.
..........
Aaryan had never stepped this far from home.
The moment they left the haveli gates behind, a small, breathless flutter rose in his chest a mix of fear and wonder.
As per Saanvi’s order, a dark cloth covered most of his face, leaving only his big, bambi-like eyes exposed to the world.
Maybe it was a blessing.
Otherwise, everyone would have seen how wide those eyes had become and how beautiful and pure He is. He walked a few steps behind Saanvi’s carriage, his footsteps careful on the uneven road. The world outside felt too big, too loud… too alive.
And he... he felt impossibly small in front of it.
The town appeared slowly at first like a painting unfolding stroke by stroke.
A cluster of houses.
Smoke rising from chimneys.
Children running barefoot on the dusty path.
Vendors shouting prices.
Colours he had only imagined.
Aaryan’s eyes widened so much that they almost hurt.
Is this… all real?
Every sound tugged at his curiosity.
A cow bell jingling.
A potter shaping clay.
Women laughing near a well.
A little girl running with sugarcane in her hand.Aaryan drank it all in silently, his gaze flicking from one place to the next, unable to settle.
Behind the cloth, his lips parted in tiny, unconscious wonder.
He wanted to stop.He wanted to look at everything longer.He wanted to know what it felt like to belong to a world so open, so bright, so loud.
But Saanvi’s carriage kept moving, and so did he be quiet, obedient, invisible.
Still… the world peeked into him.
Shops with colourful fabrics fluttering in the wind.
Lanterns hanging from tree branches.
Men laughing loudly at tea stalls.
Little dogs chasing each other.
Aaryan felt something warm spread in his chest an emotion he hadn’t felt in years.
Curiosity.
He clutched the small bag of clothes he carried, fingers tightening every time someone passed close by. The cloth on his face made it hard to breathe, but his eyes and his eyes were drinking in everything like he was seeing life for the first time.
A group of boys ran past him, a spinning wooden toy in hand. Aaryan’s eyes followed the toy until it disappeared around the corner. He didn’t even notice when his feet stopped.A sharp call from the driver pulling Saanvi’s carriage made him flinch.
He hurried forward again.
He wasn’t allowed to fall behind.
He wasn’t allowed to look lost.
He wasn’t allowed to want things.
But he couldn’t stop the way his heart thudded every time he saw something new.
A woman selling bangles held up a glittering red one, and Aaryan’s eyes softened he imagined how beautiful it must look in the sunlight. How it will look on his wrist.
A white horse tied near a stable tossed its mane, and Aaryan slowed, mesmerized.
Everything felt magical.
Everything felt like freedom.
Even if he wasn’t allowed to touch it.
Even if he had to hide his face.
Even if he was simply walking in someone else’s shadow.
Aaryan didn’t know where this journey was taking him.
He didn’t know who was waiting at the end of this road.But for the first time in years…He felt alive.
Little did he know that the town he looked at with such an innocent wonder would soon bring him face-to-face with someone whose gaze would change everything.
.............
The journey through the bustling town slowly faded into silence as the road widened into a grand stone pathway.
Aaryan’s breath caught behind the cloth covering his face when towering gates came into view gates so tall they seemed to touch the sky.
Randhir’s kingdom.
Magnificent.
Intimidating.
Alive with warriors, horses, flag-bearers, and servants rushing with purpose.Aaryan lowered his gaze and walked quietly behind Saanvi’s palanquin, holding the small bag close to his chest, trying to make himself invisible among so many unfamiliar eyes.
Raja Subhan rode ahead, his posture straight, regal, commanding. Rani Veena sat beside him in a smaller carriage, jewels shimmering as the sunlight touched them. They carried the confidence of people who had visited great palaces before.
Aaryan did not.
His heart trembled with every step.
Two large drums thundered near the entrance as the palace gates opened in a slow, powerful sweep. A line of soldiers stood stiff with swords crossed in salute.
And then she stepped out.
Rani Kalyani Devi.
The Queen of this kingdom.
Randhir’s mother.Aaryan lifted his eyes only for a second and felt his breath leave him.She was nothing like he imagined.
Tall.
Commanding.
Clad in deep maroon silk, heavy ornaments, and a gaze so sharp it could slice stone.
Her presence alone made even the guards straighten their spines.
She looked fierce. Royal. Unshakeable.But beneath all that power…
her eyes held something else when they rested on Saanvi.
Not hatred.
Not disgust.
But a cold reluctance like she was welcoming an enemy because destiny left her no choice.
Still, she smiled politely.
A queen’s smile.
Warm enough to look true.
Cold enough to hide her real feelings.
Rani Kalyani: Swagat hai. Aap sabka humare rajmahal me swagat hai.
Her voice carried a gentle authority, the kind that made everyone bow instinctively.
Raja Subhan stepped forward with folded hands.
Raja Subhan: Humein aapka aabhar hai, Maharani sa. Randhir aur Saanvi ka rishta humare liye samman ki baat hai.
At the mention of Randhir’s name, Aaryan’s steps faltered just slightly.
He had heard his name.Saanvi had spoken with pride.The servants whispered it with fear.
But Aaryan didn’t know what kind of man he was walking toward.
Rani Kalyani’s gaze briefly flicked to Aaryan only his wide eyes were visible.Something in her expression froze for a heartbeat.
Curiosity?
Confusion?
Or simply the instinct of a queen noticing even the quietest presence in her palace?
But she said nothing.
Her attention shifted back to Veena and Saanvi.
Rani Kalyani: Aap sab thak gaye honge. Taiyariyan ho chuki hain. Aaiye.
She gestured gracefully, and dozens of servants hurried forward to take luggage, guide carriages, and escort the guests.But Aaryan… Aaryan walked alone.Behind everyone.
Unnoticed.
Except Rani Kalyani’s eyes drifted back one more time.
Just for a second.Watching the small, covered figure trying not to get in anyone’s way.Aaryan lowered his gaze swiftly, his small bag clutched tighter.
Inside the palace courtyard, everything glittered fountains, carved pillars, flower garlands, marble pathways. He couldn’t stop his eyes from widening again, drinking in the beauty of this world he had never imagined he would see.
But everyone else walked with practiced confidence.
Only Aaryan’s steps echoed with awe and uncertainty.As they moved deeper inside, whispers floated through the corridor.
"Rani sa nhi chahti ki rajkumari saanvi humari maharani baane par ek Raja ka wada kaise tut sakta hai"
“kya Rajkumar Randhir is rishte ko apnayenge "
Aaryan didn’t mean to listen, but the words brushed past him like cold wind.He felt a strange ache in his chest for reasons he couldn’t name.
As they entered the grand hall, Rani Kalyani paused, her voice echoing through the wide space.
Rani Kalyani: Humne Randhir ko suchit kar diya hai. Wo bas pahunchne wale hain.
Aaryan’s heart skipped.
Randhir.
The man whose kingdom he had just stepped into.The man Saanvi was supposed to marry.The man whose single decision could shape the future of both families.
Rani Kalyani: tab tak aap sabhi jaake araam kar lijiye jab maharaj aur randhir aa jayenge aapko suchit kar diya jayega.
All of them left for the rooms which were arranged for them.
All the servants in one room but for Aaryan there was a different servant room so no one is able to see his face it was arranged as par saanvi's request.
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