CHAPTER – 11
A shley stood there shocked, she was demoted to a position she started in the organization with, 14 years ago ?? That was worse than losing her job, no ?? Maybe she could resign now and ask for an experience letter with the same position she was currently in, she could do that right ?? But, John's next statement shattered her hopes...
"Prepare all the papers regarding the demotion and send them to Mr. Khan for approval", John ordered his subordinate...
Mr. Khan is the president of Acquisition and Mergers for almost all the businesses under R Empire...
"Tha...That's unfair... John... let me at least present my case at the grievance board", Ashley pleaded...
"You want to challenge the king's decision ??", John asked amused, she gulped, she knew she was taking a daring step, but if she was demoted, her whole career would be destroyed, she wanted to submit her resignation before she receives her demotion orders and it takes time to change in her profile, but John's urgency to get it done that instant scared the hell out of her... now, she can't even resign...
"But... that's unfair... His Royal Highness was unfair to me", Ashley argued, Isha fumed, she started feeling bad for the woman, but the moment she accused her husband, all her sympathy dissolved into thin air...
"Ms. Parker, I wouldn't be saying that if I were you... I would normally choose not to answer, but today I will", John said, his attention turned to Isha for a second, his eyes instantly bowed down offering his respect, the queen was here, in front of whom Ashley just accused the king. John can see Isha's fury and feels he should answer Ashley... "you chose to accuse the king of unfair treatment in front of people without thoroughly thinking, he demoted you to the position you first started with because, that was the position where an individual is taught about the terms & conditions in the Employee Contract of the acquired & merged businesses, so now, go there and learn from the scratch, if you don't want to, you are free to resign...", John said before turning to Bharat... "make sure the process is completed on all levels till EOD", he ordered
"Mr. Khan is on a business trip to NYC", Bharat said
"Detail him the issue in a goddamn meeting Bharat, and get a scanned approval... do anything, just get it done till EOD", John said before walking away...
"Attending disciplinary committees, to make you ask for forgiveness, we made you do everything but your ego didn't let the point reach your head, Hm... ??Anyways, get ready with an explanation, Mr. Khan will have a word with you after I finish detailing the issue to him, since you report to him, the official dismissal of duties will be done by him personally, and you can join in your new role today itself after the procedure is completed...", Bharat said and walked away, followed by his team...
They would have officially dismissed Ashley by themselves without explaining anything to her superior, instead, they would have just taken the approval over an email and get done with the procedure themselves but it's Mr. Khan she is reporting to, Zahid Shah Khan, who has a close relationship with the king, and one among the very few people the king respects...
Gradually everyone returned to their workstations to gossip about the scene that just happened...
"I so wanted to give this bi**h the taste of her own medicine...", Reetu said walking ahead but Isha held her hand...
"That's what cowards do... try to break the already broken ones, you are not a coward Reetu... let's go and work...", Isha said softly, giving one last look at Ashley who glared at Isha as if she would kill her, but Isha didn't care, she walked away calmly... she didn't care about how or what Ashley thought of her...
Isha sat down and gulped the whole contents of her water bottle... Reetu and Ragini made their way to her desk...
"How did Rana sa get to know ?? Who told him ??", Isha wondered to herself, but Reetu and Ragini heard her, Ragni held a guilty face and Reetu narrowed her eyes at her...
"Ragini ??", Reetu called, Ragini's eyes widened, and she shook her head at Reetu asking her to shut up but Isha saw their little non-verbal exchange...
"You called him ??", Isha shrieked, Ragini quickly shut Isha's mouth and looked at their colleagues sheepishly, who looked at the trio weirdly...
"Guys... you know us... ignore... ignore...", Reetu said, they chuckled and concentrated on their work...
"I didn't... I called Ranveer, he was supposed to call your brother-in-law to get this issue resolved, but I don't know how your husband got to know about it...", Ragini whispered, Isha jerked Ragini's palm that's cupping her mouth, glaring at her...
"How could you call bhayyu... and he... it isn't a big deal... I could have gone to the boutique, now this would fuel all those rumours more", Isha got worried...
"Shut up Ishu... you are thinking too much... let them think whatever they want to, don't care about all those... you know your situation at this time, how can I let you go and work in the boutique ??", Ragini asked and Isha sighed...
"I don't want to talk about it now... get back to your work... I want to be alone", she said, Ragini and Reetu sighed...
"I understand you are mad at Ragini, but I'm glad she did that... that bi**h's face is worth watching...", Reetu said, taking Isha's water bottle to drink water, but it's empty, so she took the other water bottle that's beside it, but before she could open, Isha snatched it from Reetu...
"This isn't water...", Isha said, turning to a side...
"Then what is it ??", Reetu asked, Isha tried to hide that smile that was threatening to form on her lips...
"Chocolate shake...", Isha said
"Okay... but what's there in it to blush ?? Wait... did your Rana sa got it prepared for you specially ??", Reetu said excitedly...
Ragini kicked Reetu's leg, to control her mouth, well, she didn't shout but she didn't whisper either...
"Hm... sort of...", Isha said, she remembered how cute her husband looked when he handed her the bottle that contained the chocolate milkshake, which was prepared by none other than His Highness himself...
"What sort of ?? Wait, did he prepare it all by himself ??", Ragini asked, Isha glared at her...
"Go and do your work, Ragini...", Isha said, but her hidden blush told the whole story to her friends...
"God, give this bottle to me, I'll be a millionaire the next minute, it's actually worth more than that", Reetu said about to take the bottle, but Isha took the insulated bottle rolling her eyes at her best friend who is being over dramatic whenever it came to her husband... it's not just her, everyone around sees her husband as if he came from Mars... or he is some Prime Minister... the fact is he is way more powerful than him in many aspects, Abhyansh had control over 36 governments, and had a say in many others, including his own country. Maybe Isha would remain unaware of her husband's power forever, thought Reetu and Ragini looking at her light reactions to everything they say about him.
"Ishu... honestly, tell me one thing, do you really think I exaggerate things ??", Reetu asked
"Of course, you do", Isha said, and Reetu sighed...
"Woman, it's time you know what your husband is and what power he holds in the globe...", Reetu said
"Reetu, I know, I'm not oblivious... I know he is an influential man, but you do exaggerate things", she said, Reetu sighed followed by Ragini... influential is a very underrated word for what Abhyansh is actually but they chose to let their friend know herself...
Isha's phone rang with her brother's number... she glared at her phone, before disconnecting the call...
"He was just concerned for you Ishu... I think you should talk to him", Ragini said
"I'm not even talking to you, first argue your case before taking up my brother's", Isha said glaring at Ragini, who sighed in response...
Reetu giggled at the mood swings of Isha which are showing a whole new side of hers altogether...
"Fine... fine... I wonder how would we bear your mood swings when you get pregnant if this is the case during your period", Ragini said before slowly walking away along with Reetu who giggled at her two best friends who barely argue...
"I am sure we would be bearing the brunt of her anger, as our Isha isn't daring enough to show it on her husband", Reetu said, and Ragini nodded without knowing they would be proven wrong the next minute...
"I left my phone at Ishu's desk, let's go and get it", Reetu said dragging Ragini too...
"There will be that one friend in every group that drags everyone even to visit the bathroom", Ragini said frustrated, nonetheless walking with Reetu...
"If I am cutting your calls, that means I don't want to talk to you, what part of it don't you get", Isha said pissed at her husband, who kept calling her 4 times in the span of 2 minutes...
"I get it, but I badly want to talk to you Rani sa...", Abhyansh answered softly... He knew his wife was mad, she kept signing him not to do anything extreme but he did, in his defence, his head was on fire seeing that woman ordering his wife around rudely, and she wasn't even right, not that she could talk to his wife in that tone if she had a valid point, no matter what, he didn't like people raising there tone at the queen, if he couldn't spare his wife's elder brother, how could he allow an arrogant and useless woman do that to his wife, only if she understood that what he did to Ashley was so much less compared to what he wanted to do, and that's because of her...
Reetu and Ragini thought she was talking to Ranveer but they received the shock of their life the next second...
"Well, I don't want to talk to anyone right now, especially to you Rana sa", Isha said trying to control her anger...
Ragini and Reetu cupped their mouths to control their gasps...
Isha didn't understand why she is mad exactly, for what Abhyansh did, or for how Ashley accused her husband of being unfair or pissed about the rumours that would spread among employees... or maybe all of it contributed to her irritation but for now, her husband occupied most of the part resulting in her blasting at him...
Surprisingly Abhyansh didn't get pissed or irritated at how his wife talked to him, instead, he felt good... he is surprised at himself when he is with her...
"Isha...I know you are mad... just let me see you...", Abhyansh said softly...
"No... I don't want to see you... not after the little scene you did, and I am not just mad, I am mad at you, if you wanted you could have handled the matter in a different way but no... you found this appealing out of all, right Maharaj ??", Isha taunted her husband...
"I just couldn't stop myself after hearing your brother, even the thought of someone forcing you to go to the boutique in this condition made me furious... I didn't know you had to stand up the whole day at your boutique every time you visited there... why didn't you tell me ?? You asked me to stay away from your work and in return, I asked you to let me know all the important things involved there, and you agreed, but you broke it Rani sa", he accused her
"Because that wasn't important, it's actually fine... we want to take inputs directly from the customers there... what do you expect we do other than accompany them while they shop...actually yes, according to Maharaj, I would have laid a throne there sitting in it and the customers would themselves come to me detailing about how they feel about my work, no ??", Isha's words filled with sarcasm got him painfully hard, all he wanted to do is just pull her into his lap, and sealing that pretty mouth of hers with his, breaking every word that tried to escape it...
"You have to stand there the whole day and you say it isn't important ??", he said, ignoring all his unholy thoughts...
"That's a part of my job, it wasn't a big deal, everyone does it, and it's just once in 15 days...", Isha argued getting pissed with her husband
"TWICE in a month ?? Isha... are you out of your mind ??", Abhyansh said and Isha sighed deeply praying to God to give her patience, today she is unusually very irritated and her husband chose only this day to frustrate her more... "tell me, have you ever gone there during your periods ??", Abhyansh asked in his cold tone, gone was his soft tone and she gulped, if she answers, she wouldn't hear the end of it... yes, she went there before but not on the first 3 days as her cramps were at peaks during those days, but when they got better, she used to visit the boutique, sometimes since it was her turn and sometimes to replace her colleagues, who asked for favours, all those times Ashley stayed quiet, but this time in a rush to show her authority on Isha, she lost not only her power but her whole career...
"I don't want to talk to you Rana sa... Do. Not. Call. Me", Isha said, pissed, and hung up before he could say anything, partly because of her irritation but mostly because of fear of how he would react if she tells him the truth...
"You were so wrong, Reetu... Isha is much more courageous than we thought...", Ragini said and Reetu was too busy in gaping at her friend to respond to Ragini...
"Now I get who is going to bear the brunt of her mood swings when she gets pregnant...", Reetu said with a giggle...
"The one who made her pregnant", Ragini completed chuckling along with Reetu...
Isha who heard their giggles glared at them...
"Why are you both standing there ??", Isha asked calmly...
"I forgot my phone here...", Reetu said picking up her phone from the desk...
"Okay...", Isha said softly making her friends sigh at her rapid change of moods...
"What ?? All your anger is gone ?? Or should I say, threw it on your poor husband ??", Reetu said and Isha's eyes widened...
"He is anything but poor...", Isha said and Ragini agreed nodding at her but in return received a glare from Isha who is still mad at her... "this is all because of you...", Isha said
"Fine, I'm sorry... drink your milkshake... if the person got you angry, the milkshake made by him might cool it off", Ragini said walking away, Isha stared at Ragini's retreating figure with open mouth, Reetu chuckled at her face and walked away, but not before pulling Isha's cheek for how cute she looked...
Isha's bewildered face turned into a smile when her eyes fell on the chocolate milkshake her husband prepared for her...
"You got happy seeing this yesterday, I want to make you happy too",that's what he said when she asked why he prepared it all by himself, instead he could have got it prepared by the chefs in the palace... his statement sounded so innocent, she never thought she would use that word for her husband, but at that moment, he looked like one...that moment, that innocence of her husband who is known as the BEAST by the world, made her fall in love with him again... suddenly her anger is replaced by love for him...
She remembered how she spoke to him, yet he was so calm and the softness in his tone remained despite her rudeness... she knew if it was someone else in her place, they would have been buried 6 feet deep before they finished the first sentence itself...
But again, what's the need to come there directly, he could have gotten it sorted in many other ways... just like that, she got mad again with her husband... she shook her head, she couldn't deal with her mixed feelings, for now, she thought to get some work done... she looked at her designs and tore the paper before starting with a new work...
The situation is worse with Abhyansh. His Rani sa is mad at him, well, she got mad with him many times, but never did she get pissed at him, but that's the case now... she didn't want to talk to him, but he couldn't accept that, he can't get any work done until he talks to her..and not to forget, the sarcastic remarks and taunts she threw at him excited him to no end. He loved her more with that sarcastic mouth of hers. The way she scolded him rightfully made his day, he wanted to hear more of them coming from her... he remembered the first time she tried to tease him...
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"Ignoring ??", she asked him, as if trying to test the waters...
"What ??", he asked in his cold tone, and that got her to change her statement...
"R...Ragini, my boss, was ignoring me for three days, she is angry with me", Isha blabbered looking here and there in fear...
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He smiled at the fond memory, she was timid back then, and now the way she shouted at him rightfully made him smile thinking they had come a long way... he called his wife again...
"Rana sa... I'm trying to get some work done here...", she said with a sigh, as soon as she picked up his call
"But I can't work if you are mad at me, come to my cabin on the first floor, or else I'll come there to take you with me", he said softly but she knew his threats were never empty...
"Fine...", she said pissed, and hung up before hearing his reply, he chuckled at her irritation... he knew he wouldn't tolerate that kind of behaviour from anyone, not even from his wife, but he didn't understand why he wasn't angry, instead, he felt her antics were cute, but he knew she was an exception, that too only a few times... he just hoped he wouldn't get mad at her or worse shout at her in the future, that would make her go back into her shell...
Abhyansh got up and took an elevator to his first-floor cabin... his men brought his laptop, and placed it on the table, before leaving the place, he started working, when his wife barged into his cabin, her face depicting anger...
"What was that ??", she asked, he smirked leaning back in his chair...
"I wanted to see my wife, she wouldn't like it if I go to see her, so made her come to me, what's wrong with it ??", Abhyansh said, seeing his smirk and his attitude, she got madder...
"Rana sa, you are so... ahhh!", she suddenly winced as a cramp hit her, she closed her eyes in pain... Abhyansh jumped out of his seat, rushing to her... he made her sit on the couch rubbing her shoulders...
"Sh... this is why I asked you to rest at home", Abhyansh said
"Leave me, I'm fine...", she said jerking his hands off her, here, she was suffering from pain and he was busy taunting her...
"I won't say a thing... relax... sh...", he said kissing her forehead continuously, pulling her to his arms gently...
"I'm fine now...", she said after a few minutes, in these few minutes, he tried everything, from rubbing her palms, to her abdomen to her back, despite her attempts saying nothing could be done, and it would be gone on its own soon...
"Sure ??", he asked and she nodded with a smile...
"Ji Rana sa, it lasts for only a few minutes but occurs frequently, that's the only issue...", she said with a small smile, but he could see the discomfort in her...
"What ?? Are you experiencing pain anywhere else ??", he asked...
"Yeah, my lower back is aching, I'll lay down for some time... wake me up after 15 minutes please...", she said
"I'll take you home", Abhyansh said stroking her hair softly but she shook her head...
"I'm used to this Rana sa, but this time the ache is much more, because of the medicines, that's the reason I'm suffering this much, don't worry, it's a one-time thing", she said holding his palm that's on her head...
"Rest in the room adjoint to my cabin...", he said
"No, it's just for a few minutes, this is comfortable", she said but the next second, squealed loudly when her husband lifted her in his arms, taking her to the room. He slowly put her on the bed...
"Rana sa...", she started but he cut her off...
"Sh... lay down and take some rest...", he said, adjusting the duvet on her...
"The last time, I was here, this room wasn't there, right ??", she asked
"It's there, but you didn't notice. It wasn't there when you first came here, your first day in the office...", Abhyansh whispered huskily, kissing her ear lobe and making her moan... "a few days after, I got this made... wanna know why ??", he asked looking intently at her, which caused her ragged breathing... she knew if she responded to her husband now, they would again have to borrow make-up from Ragini and that woman wouldn't stop teasing...
"No, your cabin upstairs must have an attached bedroom too, what's new to know, let me sleep", Isha said pushing her husband by his chest... Abhyansh understood what his wife was doing...
"No, none of my cabins in workplaces have a room attached or a bed in it", Abhyansh said, he is a very systematic man, he never thought of getting a bedroom attached to his cabins, only work can be done there, if he wants to rest, he went to his chamber or if he is too tired to travel he would prefer his nearby palaces or his hotels but never a bedroom attached to his workplace, though that situation never occurred that he got too tired to travel to his palace. He has the stamina to continuously work for weeks... "except for this one, since this is the only cabin at my offices, my queen visits", he said kissing her, just beside her lips making her breathe heavily...
"Does my Rani sa need something ??", he asked smirking, Isha glared at her teaser of a husband, but she too is a Rajput, she can't beg her husband... she shook her head turning her head to the side making her husband chuckle at her pride...
"If you are done laughing at my expense, go out and do your work, let me take some rest, or else I'll leave", she said getting up but he gently pushed her back to lay on her back...
"Lay down and take rest... I'll be back in a minute", he said and before she could respond, he walked out of the room... she closed her eyes and was slowly drifting into sleep when she felt the warmness on her lower abdomen...
She opened her eyes to see her husband massaging her lower abdomen with oil... she saw, her kurti raised till her waist, and her leggings are moved down, suddenly she felt timid, though he helped her the same way the previous night with the hot water bag, still, this felt too raw, as she felt strange but warm sensations throughout, when his fingers skilfully massaged her lower abdomen, the direct skin to skin contact hitched her breath...
Her gasp made Abhyansh who is seriously involved in reducing his wife's pain, hiding his primal desires realize she is awake now...
"Isha...relax... take deep breaths, try to calm your body...", he said softly...
"Ra...Rana sa... what are you doing ??", she managed to ask with her shyness...
"This is lavender oil, mixed with coconut oil, I heated it slightly, this reduces your cramps, and you'll feel better... just relax and rest", he said
"Rana sa... I'm fine now, you have work, I don't want to disturb you", she said but he gave her a look that shut her up...
"You are not anywhere near fine, your muscles are tensed... close your eyes and just relax...", he said softly...
"Please... dim the lights, I'm not comfortable", she whispered trying hard to cover herself with her kurti but Abhyansh held her palm...
"Isha... sh... relax, if you still feel the same after a few minutes, I'll dim the lights, okay ?", his soft tone calmed and convinced her... she nodded and he continued with his gentle massage...
Both of them tried to avoid their desire for each other and Isha got rid of it to some extent, she now started enjoying her husband's warm yet rough hands doing magic, and her pain slowly dissipated, the lavender oil combined with her husband's musky scent calmed her nerves... but, the same can't be said for Abhyansh, his desire multiplied every second, every time his wife moaned in pain relief, his pain increased, and the tightness made him hell uncomfortable, he so wanted to convert her innocent moans into something sinful but he ignored his urges. Helping with her pain is much more important to him.
He slowly turned her to lie on her front, massaging her lower back... her soft moans pitched higher, he closed his eyes to control his sinful thoughts. He understood she was suffering from extreme backache which she tried to downplay...
"Feeling better ??", he asked rubbing both his thumbs over her spine and lower back massaging it thoroughly yet gently...
"Yes, Rana sa... thank you...", she said closing her eyes in bliss, her husband's fingers held some kind of magic, this was the most relaxed she had felt since she had her first period...
"You are suffering from so much pain, yet you came to the office instead of resting at home...", he reprimanded her softly...
"This happens every month Rana sa, I can't sit at home doing nothing for days, every month right ??", she said
"Wrong, you can take rest as many days as you want, or at least work at your convenience till you get fine, that's the least privilege any woman employee of this company gets, you don't want to take advantage of being my wife and I agreed to it, but if you are suffering like this, I might just go and announce everyone you are the queen", Abhyansh said...
"Rana sa... you just can't do...", she started but he pressed the soft point on her lower back with his thumb making her moan loudly... "Ansh...", she cupped her mouth as soon as it left her mouth... he hovered over her back, his lower body completely touching hers, making a huge gasp escape her mouth when she felt him on her bottom...
"If you don't want me to do that, just listen to me...", he whispered in her ear nibbling her ear... "do you agree ??", his dangerously se*y tone didn't give a choice other than to nod at him making his smirk widen...
"Good, you are taking the next two days off", he declared, sitting beside her, massaging her back as if nothing happened, but it took a few minutes for Isha to contemplate what just happened...
She jerked when his oily palms touched her feet, coming out of her trance...
"Rana sa... what are you doing ??", she said pulling her feet away and sitting on the bed...
"It's fine Isha...", Abhyansh said, and about to pull her feet to him when she stopped him...
"It's not fine... this is so wrong, you can't touch my feet, you are my husband, and a king, more than everything, you offer prayers and 'Abhishek' to Shiv ji in the temple every day... even touching me during this time is a sin, I'm impure at this t...", she started but he interrupted her...
"Who told all this nonsense to you ?? Even the Mahadev I worship daily respects and loves his wife so much that he touched her feet at one point. Purity is depicted based on one's soul, and you are the purest according to that... ", Abhyansh said cupping her cheek softly...
"So, all these things have no meaning ?? Our ancestors are all wrong to follow these things ??", Isha asked confused
"No, they are right but not every time... and following these things aren't wrong, the reasons they told us are... women are the most vulnerable at these times, they have so much power within them that they need to dissolve the bad energy inside them in order to secure the good energy and the time period where this process takes place is called period. Women are never impure, it's the people who think that way are, it's just that, during those times they are not allowed to temples because of the archaeological structures the temples are built in... the bad energy flows down from up, and when a person enters a temple, the temple structure makes the energy flow from bottom to top which collides within and causes health problems for them, that is why women aren't allowed to the temples during that time, and the same is with cooking, women face mood swings, bad mood due to pain and extreme irritation, and cooking the food for the family in those times is believed to be increasing it and spreading the negative aura, so women are asked to stay away from kitchen. Do not interlink these facts to some nonsense theories like impurity... and coming to me, yes, I offer prayers to Mahadev, but for that, I take a bath, and cleanse myself of all the negativities within my body and soul before entering the temple, so these things don't matter to me neither to my shiv ji... got it ??", Abhyansh said, Isha kept looking at her husband in awe... looking at him and his personality, none would have expected his thinking to be this broad... she knew he was a man of few words, but when it came to her, he explained everything in detail, she didn't understand where he brings that patience from... "Isha...stop staring at me and answer, you got it ??", her trance was broken when she heard him say that... she was just caught staring at her husband shamelessly...
She looked down trying to hide her tinted cheeks... Abhyansh chuckled at his wife...
"I am still waiting for your answer Rani sa, you got me ??", he asked, with a teasing smirk...
She didn't raise her head or answer him, she just stretched her legs back into his lap, her feet slightly touching his stomach shocking him... her little but extremely meaningful act turned him on and, at the same time warmed his heart, that little act depicted a close and intimate bond between them...
He lowered his head, kissing her feet, she jerked feeling his warm lips on her feet, her wide eyes directly stared into his, and she could feel the warmth of his heart in his orbs...
"Abhyansh...", she whispered... he loved hearing his name from her, he dropped kisses on the soft skin of her feet again but stopped when she tried to take her feet away...
"Okay... I'll just run a massage...", he said understanding her apprehension... he took some oil and gently massaged her feet, pressing the pressure points gently...
"Rana sa... this feels so odd... I am fine now...", she started again as she never imagined getting a foot massage from her husband considering his personality and demeanour...
"Sh... I won't be stopping until I know you are fine, don't waste your energy", he said and she sighed... "let me know if the pressure becomes too much", he added
"It's exactly how I need, how do you know how to give a massage ?? You seem to know all the pressure points Rana sa", she asked amused at her husband's skilful hands...
"I used to give massage to your mother-in-law, she used to have trouble walking, and her feet used to get swollen whenever she exerted herself", Abhyansh said fondly remembering how he used to go behind his mother to stop her from working too much due to her foot pain but she never listened, so he learned the massage technique from a masseuse and gave his mother frequent foot massages...
His sweet memory soon turned bitter and the harshness of those bitter memories made it's presence on his face, Isha who was observing her husband's expressions sighed deeply. She didn't know what problem he had with his mother, but she didn't like it anymore...
"Rana sa... not used to... she still faces that problem, maybe she could use some help from you", she added softly but his demeanour changed...
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"Abhyansh...listen to me for once... please beta...", Amruta sobbed...
"Say a word more, only if you can confidently admit what I just heard is all a lie...", Abhyansh said looking at his mother, in what's called 'little hope'
"Please beta...", Amruta sobbed, her sobs proved her inability to claim that it's all a 'lie' and the 'Truth' clenched the 17-year-old's heart...
"I loved you so much ma, I learned not to trust anyone, but you made me realize I should include 'my own mother' in that anyone", Abhyansh said before his demeanour changed to the 'BEAST' he started being when he took over the throne 2 years ago...
"After today, no one would utter a word about this matter... remember, not a word, not even in your sleep", he declared, his cold tone brought shivers to everyone...
"That means you want this woman living under the same roof as me even after all this ??", Pratap's anger-filled voice brought out the animal in Abhyansh...
"Not just under the same roof, she will be staying in the same chamber as yours, same as before, there won't be any changes... and I just said, no one would talk about it, you dared to disobey my orders, starting from today, you are stripped off all the powers, you don't have a say in the decisions related to family or business", Abhyansh said, shocking everyone...
"And you are no more that mother I love and respect more than my life, you are just a woman who gave me birth", Abhyansh said, his words pierced right through Amruta's heart, she sobbed sitting on the floor, ignoring all the unsaid royal rules. No royal woman is supposed to get weak in front of people but losing her eldest son broke her from within that she no longer cared about anything.
Everyone understood how serious he was regarding that matter, if he could strip his father of all his existing powers, just for uttering about it. Avyan who witnessed it decided to not ask about what made his brother so aversive of his mother hell afraid of his brother.
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"You can talk about anything, but repairing my ties with that woman isn't one of them", he said, his eyes turned cold making her nod in fear... he closed his eyes to control his temper and was able to do so to some extent... "hm... lay down and close your eyes...", he said and she obliged him... he gently massaged her foot and soon she drifted into sleep, snoring softly... Abhyansh ruffled her hair softly looking at her face... her snores indicated how tired and in pain she was before...
Isha's phone blinked indicating Ranveer's call but since the phone was silent, it didn't disturb her sleep... Abhyansh gently adjusted the blanket, before walking out with her phone, he picked up the call after closing the door to the room...
"Ishu... bacha... are you okay ??", Ranveer asked
"Rajput", Abhyansh said and Ranveer groaned hearing his brother-in-law's tone...
"I want to talk to my sister...", Ranveer said
"You can't, she is sleeping...", Abhyansh said before cutting the call, Ranveer sighed and pressed 1st floor. When his sister kept cutting his calls, he understood she was mad, and decided to visit her, he waited in the basement and called her to come there but since she was sleeping now, he decided to go, and see her himself.
Ranveer knocked on Abhyansh's first-floor cabin. Abhyansh so wanted to say 'No' as he is already pissed remembering his past but he also knew his brother-in-law would not leave easily without seeing his sister. So, he allowed him in...
"She is sleeping, don't make any sound", Abhyansh said working on his laptop, as soon as he felt his brother-in-law's steps nearing...
"But where is she ??", Ranveer asked confused, he expected her to sleep on the couch since he was aware that Abhyansh did not have any attached rooms to any of his cabins...
Abhyansh groaned in irritation at his brother-in-law's stupidity before showing his palm towards the room...
"When did you get this ??", Ranveer asked, Abhyansh sighed deeply rubbing his forehead...
"Out Rajput", Abhyansh said hardly controlling his temper... he was fed up of his stupid questions...
"What would I do knowing when you got this, it's none of my business Ranawat... I was just trying to make a conversation as I love talking to you...", Ranveer covered and walked to the room to check on his sister before his brother-in-law could kick him out...
"God, that man's patience is almost non-existent...", Ranveer murmured to himself, but too bad, the beast heard... the door to Isha's room got locked before Ranveer could step in... Ranveer turned to glare at his brother-in-law who looked busy in his laptop as if he didn't just stop him from checking on his sister...
"I muttered it to myself Ranawat... now, I don't even have a right to talk to myself ?", Ranveer whined, walking towards his brother-in-law, Abhyansh looked at Ranveer for a micro-second, shook his head, and got back to work, Ranveer settled in front of him, both of them sat silently, but that silence is nowhere near comfortable.
"Why Ranawat ??", Ranveer asked after 20 minutes of silence... a small smirk formed on Abhyansh's face, if it wasn't for Ranveer's keen observation, it was clearly unnoticeable...
"I waited for enough Rajput, the fact that I'm unaware of my wife's pain is very unsettling, I want to end it now", Abhyansh said, making Ranveer sigh in defeat...
Abhyansh found all the people who had worked or still working in the Rajput palace, to know about every single unfair thing that was done to his wife, but he wanted to learn from his brother-in-law... Ranveer didn't want to reveal as he became selfish, he didn't want his mother to suffer so much, he knew she did so wrong, and he had already punished her for it... it's been a year since he had talked to her properly... he even accepted the fact that Abhyansh would one day kill her, but he knew he would torture her to death if he got to know about his mother's deeds... the BEAST shows no mercy, he knew it very well... he can accept him torturing his father, in fact, he wished for that, for everything he did to his sister, but not his mother... she might be wrong and cruel but she was still his mother...
"Sh...She's my mother Ranawat", Ranveer tried for one last time... Abhyansh nodded surprising Ranveer, the BEAST agreed to let the truth go ?? Just like that ?? Ranveer thought, his doubts were cleared the next second...
"Bhairav...", Abhyansh called and Ranveer understood his beast of a brother-in-law wanted to learn the truth from the people, the original source and that would increase his fury more...
"No... I'll tell you...", Ranveer said accepting defeat...
Bhairav just opened the door to come inside but Abhyansh showed him his palm, he bowed down and walked away closing the door...
"Ishu... Ishu was never allowed the basic things she needed, after her parents passed away, my mother cruelly snatched all the memories of her parents from her locking her in a room... I didn't believe it was an accident, so I contacted the police for suspected death, I had to go out regarding that frequently, I was sure Isha would be fine since Dadi used to take care of her, but just a couple of months after bhabhosa's and bhabho's death, Dadi was paralyzed, doctors started their treatment but things became very difficult, Ishu couldn't handle that, my father stopped Isha from going to school, I was a minor then, Dadi didn't have much say so did I, my father didn't listen to me, his men injured me and Vikram when I got violent one day, I understood I should act calmly, if I want to secure Isha's future, so Dadi and I made a plan to name everything on Ishu's name, but according to bhabhosa's will, we didn't have that right, so we pretended that everything was on Ishu's name and Dadi was made her guardian, my father got berserk, he started forcing Dadi to transfer the guardianship to him and Dadi put a clause that he would let Ishu complete her studies, so he had no choice other than to let her study, but that cunning a** got her homeschooled. After Dadi(paternal grandmother) passed away, I tried to take care of Ishu, but the circumstances in which she died caused too much suspicion, I started my investigation, but I was met with a dead end... I recently got to know how Kailash Rajput killed her, that a**h*le", Ranveer said, gulping the whole glass of water, remembering how his father shamelessly admitted how he killed his own mother, their Dadi who was their only family after Amar and Pallavi Rajput's death... Ranveer's eyes welled up remembering their grandmother, she anticipated this move sooner or later, yet went ahead with her plan as she wanted to secure both her grandchildren's future...
Abhyansh didn't feel anything like always, his heart only ached when his wife was in pain, the rest others didn't matter to him much but there was this nagging feeling, he wanted to console his brother-in-law, he didn't like the weak Ranveer Rajput with wet eyes... he wanted to see that man who would stare into his eyes fiercely challenging him...
Abhyansh slowly walked to Ranveer and patted his back, shocking Ranveer. Did his beast of a brother-in-law console him ?? It was an act of Consolance right ?? Ranveer is about to open his mouth to ask him if it was what he is thinking but Abhyansh glared at him, daring him to say a word about it which shut him up.
"I didn't know Ishu was treated so badly, one day, I returned home from the police station, I saw Ishu cutting vegetables at midnight... she was barely 13 at that time... when I asked her, she said she couldn't sleep so preparing for the next day's breakfast and lunch. Then I didn't know my mother used to slap her for getting late in preparing breakfast that my sister had to sacrifice her sleep for it. I thought Ishu cooked because she liked it, I let her as I thought she chose it as a distraction for her pain of losing her parents and Dadi. She loved cooking since she was a child, she used to spend hours with bhabho in the kitchen cooking bhabhosa's favourite food, so I imagined she was trying hard not to miss her parents but I was so wrong... my mother made her cook daily and my father made her work like a maid in her own palace, he used to punish her even if she got a minute late", Ranveer said gulping his pain...
Abhyansh clutched his chair handle tightly to stop himself from breaking everything in the room. The fury he is feeling is unimaginable, he so wanted to kill Kailash and Sheela Rajput as well as himself... he too had hurt her badly right ?? That thought diverted the fury to himself...
"How are you different ?? You did the same to her, in fact, worse huh ?? Remember ??", Ranveer taunted Abhyansh with fiery eyes...
"I didn't forget Rajput, and will never, the fire of regret will burn me for life, I won't talk about this regret or apologize to your sister frequently, you know why ??", Abhyansh asked looking at Ranveer who stared at him, now with soft eyes... "your sister would try to soothe my pain and remove my guilt if she gets to know about it, but I don't want it, I deserve to burn in regret for my whole life, I chose this punishment for myself", Abhyansh said, Ranveer felt his pain, living in regret is 100 times painful than death and what more can be a bigger punishment than feeling this pain for every second of your life ??
"I thought my mother treated Isha like a human, if not a princess, how wrong I was... my sister got her first period, and she was denied basic things like sanitary napkins... hell, no one was even there to tell her how to use them or why she was bleeding, she felt extreme pain and fear, that cruel woman didn't even let anyone help my Ishu till 2 days...", Ranveer's voice cracked, with two tears slipping from his eyes...
Ranveer couldn't even describe how the lady described the incident, Isha was clutching her stomach and rolling on the floor in pain, screaming for help but no one came to her rescue, Sheela Rajput didn't allow anyone to help until she felt maybe Isha would die if none helped her...
Abhyansh's heart ached hearing all of it, the pain was too much and he didn't know what to do to hold his fury, he clutched the pocket knife tightly, to inflict pain within, to hold the anger...
"Every month, my mother made Ishu her slave for a week, for access to the necessary things during that time... ", Ranveer said and Abhyansh shook his head in fury... "not necessary things too, only sanitary napkins, just a few... my sister used to cry in pain, yet she had to cook, clean, and take care of every chore while managing her pain... she didn't even have access to hot water", he added making Abhyansh tighten his grip on the knife, his hot blood dripping drop by drop...
"I bought new clothes for Ishu from time to time but after I moved outfor my college and then to London for masters, she was never allowed to buy clothes for herself, when she asked my mother for her old clothes, since all her clothes are worn out, Sheela Rajput forced the female servants to give their old clothes to my Ishu...", Ranveer said, his blood boiled thinking about that incident. "After that incident...Ishu learned stitching from a female servant and used to collect all the remains of the cloth the Royal designer left and started making her clothes out of them... how did I not notice all these ?? I was the biggest fool, my sister pretended to be fine and I believed it, no one can be more stupid than me, I couldn't find out despite her being a very bad liar", Ranveer said, regrets filled his tone and this time Abhyansh didn't bother to make him feel better, neither did he want him to feel better, he was furious at how stupid Ranveer actually was and his foolishness led to his wife's sufferings...
"Rajput...", Abhyansh called, his tone too cold, it got chills to Ranveer who looked up... "Out", he said too calm for his demeanour... Ranveer didn't argue or say a word, he just got up and left knowing his brother-in-law's temper...
Isha's phone vibrated again after an hour, Abhyansh sighed seeing Ragini's name... he cut the call to send her the message, and looks like she got it as she didn't call back.
Looking at the time, Abhyansh got the lunch ready before walking to the room to wake his wife up...
As soon as his eyes fell on her, he was remembered of all the pain she had gone through...
"I will give them so much pain that they will wish for a hell rather than being in my den, I promise you...", Abhyansh said kissing her forehead... he sighed looking at his right palm, which was now wrapped in a white bandage, the fear of his wife got him to get it treated immediately after his fury went down to some extent...
How would he hide it from her ?? He can't even lie to her, he didn't want to... it's better to avoid her thought he. Abhyansh walked back to his cabin and arranged the lunch in the room for her before waking her up...
"Rani sa... I have got your lunch arranged, just have it and go back to sleep, I'll see you in a while...", Abhyansh said and she hummed sleepily...
"Aap nahi khayenge ??(won't you eat ??)", she asked in her sleepy tone, her eyes still closed... a small smile formed on his lips at her concern even when she was half asleep...
"I will, just a little later... get up and have food my bacha... please", he said kissing her forehead and she opened her eyes to stare at his beautiful face, after hearing his endearment... her heart does a somersault every time he calls her that...
She pulled him by his collar wanting to sleep in his arms for some time... he understood what she wanted, so silently half lay on the bed, and she hid herself in his warmth, hugging, pulling him as close as possible...
"Should I cancel the meeting ??", Abhyansh asked softly ruffling her hair all the while hiding his injured palm from her eyes, thankfully she is half asleep still...
"No... you can go, I'll have lunch in some time, let me sleep for 5 more minutes, I don't want to get up", she whined and he kissed her hair nodding.
"Okay... I'll call you after 20 minutes to remind you... okay ??", he said and she nodded her eyes closed... he chuckled at it... "you are too cute for your own good, know that ??", he said but she was too sleepy to respond...
He slowly detangled himself from her, and put her phone on sound mode, before walking away to his meeting. And exactly after 20 minutes, he called her.
"Rana sa, I am awake and having lunch, you can concentrate on your meeting", she said as soon as she picked up his call. He sighed in relief and hung up making her smile at his relieved sigh. Now, she could even sense her husband's breathing pattern and figure out his response.
After having her lunch, she freshened up, and feeling fresh, she got back to work and called her husband after some time to remind him of his lunch. He gets very grumpy if he skips his meals or it gets delayed. A grumpy Abhyansh Singh Ranawat is dangerous for society, she thought giggling to herself...
"Yes, Rani sa", he said into the phone in his serious tone and she got he was doing something very important and regretted disturbing him immediately...
"Sorry to disturb you, but have lunch, it's almost past your lunchtime", she said softly and he hummed before hanging up... he then realized half of the reason for his irritation, though everything is perfectly alright in the meeting, exactly how he wanted...
"Let's resume this meeting in 15", he said getting up, everyone got up, and bowed down. Abhyansh had his food and returned exactly in 15 minutes, after messaging his wife about it.
" Done with my Lunch ",he texted
" Good, now you won't scare people in the meeting with your grumpiness ",her message read, he would have smiled if he wasn't already in the meeting room and everyone sighed as there wasn't a cold aura in the air like before. They thanked their stars and also the person or reason that made his irritation dissipate.
The rest of the meeting went fine and Abhyansh is satisfied with the status of all the subsidiaries under R Empire. He got back to his work after the meeting, and after some time, John made his way inside...
"Your Highness, Mr. Khan wanted to have a word with you before signing Ashley's demotion papers, should I arrange a call ??", John asked, praying in his head to save him this one time. Abhyansh hated if things didn't go as he wanted them to. He expected Ashley's demotion to be completed in the next few hours but Mr. Khan is very adamant, despite Bharat and even John detailing the issue, he insisted on talking to Abhyansh.
Abhyansh looked at John making him lower his eyes, hiding his shiver...
"I swear sir, Bharat and I detailed everything to him from our side, but he insisted on speaking with you", John said, Abhyansh took a deep breath before nodding at John... he knew Mr. Khan can be annoyingly stubborn sometimes... that old man would have been dead if he (Abhyansh)didn't respect him, thought he.
John scheduled the call.
"Apologies Maharaj... but I need to hear your 'yes' personally... do you want me to sign Ms. Ashley Parker's demotion ?? I agree she is a bit unprofessional but she knows her job, maybe she can be given another chance ?", Mr. Khan tried carefully...
"Sign those papers Khan...", Abhyansh said, already pissed at the old man's words, he would have given Ashley a chance if she deserved one, but she didn't, this isn't up for discussion...
"Yes, Your Highness, done", Mr. Khan said into the phone signing the papers that were lying in front of him and ringing the bell continuously for his secretary to come in... "send them to the head office this instant", Mr. Khan said handing them to his secretary who ran to him hearing his bell... he nodded and ran away taking the papers understanding the urgency.
"Bharat will receive the scanned documents in the next few minutes Maharaj", Mr. Khan said into the phone before Abhyansh could send a bullet in his head...
Abhyansh hummed...
"How is his Highness doing ??", Mr. Khan asked when he felt Abhyansh calm down a bit...
"Completely alive", the beast replied making the old man smile...
"That's good to hear, how is Mr. Abhyansh Singh Ranawat doing then ??", Mr. Khan asked
"Good", Abhyansh said, he wanted to add 'happy' too but he couldn't, after hearing his wife's pain, he no longer felt happy, but yes, he is happy and content in his life after she came into his life or to be precise after he fell in love with her...
"And happy too... I can hear it in your tone. Like I said that day, Abhyansh Singh Ranawat would find happiness for sure but for that, you need to keep the BEAST away from him", Mr. Khan said and Abhyansh agreed completely, he became Abhyansh Singh Ranawat in front of his wife, not the BEAST he is to the outer world, and that's why he could be able to stay in control despite the situation, otherwise he would have become a Beast in front of her every time he received unpleasant news regarding work... sure, the old man gave him wise suggestions that changed the course of his life...
"Yes, Mr. Khan... and that's why you are alive despite your attempts to annoy me every time with these nonsense meetings", Abhyansh said making the old man chuckle...
"Maharaj... how would I get to talk to you if not for work, you hardly give me appointments these days", Mr. Khan said
"You are getting old, you should start distributing your responsibilities", Abhyansh said coldly
"Is that concern Maharaj ??", the old man's quirky answer got on his nerves...
"No, order", Abhyansh said hanging up, making the old man sulk, he loved his work too much, and now since Abhyansh said it was an order, he had no choice rather to pass on his responsibilities one by one... why did he have to go and poke the king, he cursed himself...
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"You are not a weak man Abhyansh...gather yourself and get back to work", Mr. Khan said
"How Khan saab... I fought and won over all my enemies, I became a BEAST and punished them for all the cruelties they did to me and my family... but now, everything seems useless... my own mother broke my trust, she didn't just give that man another life, she killed Abhyansh Singh Ranawat", Abhyansh said, his words though cold, Mr. Khan could feel the 17-year-old's inner turmoil...
"You might feel like she betrayed you, she might have killed Abhyansh Singh Ranawat... but the BEAST is still alive... he had to stay alive to take care of everything that's with him and on him...", Mr. Khan said and Abhyansh looked at him, which made him slightly bow down his eyes, despite the close relationship he shared with him, he couldn't stare him in the eye...
"You are right... but if I am the BEAST, I am supposed to avenge like a BEAST, shouldn't I ??", He asked
"No, you shouldn't, because the woman who you are thinking of avenging, is your mother, and no matter what, Abhyansh isn't dead, he is alive inside you and he absolutely cares for his mother...", Mr. Khan started
"Khan...", Abhyansh's warning tone made the old man gather his words...
"I don't mean you should forgive her, just let that aside and take care of other things... I am sure Abhyansh Singh Ranawat would find peace, comes alive, and get happy at one point, but for that you need to keep him away from the BEAST, don't let the animal in you destroy him", Mr. Khan said walking away...
That one conversation made Abhyansh take some life-changing decisions both for himself and his people. He would be forever grateful to Mr. Khan for it though he never told him 'Thank you', he made sure his actions showed it.
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Abhyansh is brought out of reverie by the message sound...
"Are you done with your work ?? Or I can ask Ragini to drop me", his wife's text read... he sighed in irritation, he didn't know what satisfaction she found in texting rather than just calling him up... he called her and she picked up instantly...
"I'll take you, take the elevator number 7, I'll be in it", he said and after hearing her 'okay' he hung up...
Abhyansh took great care of his wife for the next two days... he stayed in Rajput Palace for the time being, though he visited his palace to offer the prayer, every morning. As she promised, she took leave for the two days and she felt a lot better with her husband and brother's pampering her.
Isha's cramps have reduced and Abhyansh couldn't be happier, he hated seeing her in pain, and the thought that she would be going through it once every month disturbed him to no extent...
Abhyansh dropped her in the office before leaving for his palace on the outskirts as he had another meeting with the ministers.
Isha thanked Shivam for covering her shift in the boutique two days ago and informed Ragini and went to the boutique to complete her outdoor duty, she purposely didn't inform her husband or her brother as they would make a big deal out of it, especially her husband.
Ragini tried to stop Isha as Ashley was also deployed there but she didn't listen.
Isha entered the boutique and smiled at the store staff... she spotted Ashley, who was glaring at her. Isha sighed and gave a small smile as she so wanted to end the bad blood between them but Ashley turned her head walking away.
"Hi Isha... good that you are here, I thought that annoying Shivam would be here...", Nupur, one of the store staff said
"He is a good person, don't say that", Isha said, Ashley who was taking a list of the things there scoffed hearing Isha. Ashley felt Isha purposely plays the act of being goody two shoes...
"Not to everyone... anyways... that woman there is Ashlaay... or something like that... she is from A&M department from R Empire, she is here to learn the processes, though she is an American, she understands the locale language, but still try to communicate in English", Nupur said
"Yeah... I know her...", Isha said and Nupur nodded...
"Haha, you know Isha, Nupur hates communicating with her... though Ashley understands a bit of Hindi, Rajasthani, Marwari, this lady here (pointing towards Nupur) tries to speak in English with her, the poor lady tries to understand her broken English but it was pathetic", another one said to Isha making her laugh making Ashley fume in anger...
She thought they were making fun of her, but they actually were talking about Nupur...
Half a day passed, and Isha took her box and moved to her friends to have lunch when she saw Ashley having lunch alone...
"She eats alone, every day??", Isha asked
"Yeah, she doesn't get our words nor our language much, neither can we communicate in English among ourselves, moreover she likes to stay alone, she has too much attitude for her position", Nupur said, Isha wanted to tell them that she used to head the A&M for R Empire textile wing till 3 days back, but she bit back...
They heard the commotion on the front side of the boutique, they were about to get up and see what it was but when they saw Ashley getting up and walking out, they sat back and continued with their lunch...
"I can't come in, why the hell did you drag me here Anshi", Natasha said glaring at her friend
"Well... you are already in, so just help me shop for my wedding... I love their collection...", Anshi said
"You know what happened with me last time", Natasha said harshly pulling her friend's hand to leave from there...
"Well, that's your fault, you shouldn't have called their designer with a degrading word...", Anshi snapped
"She is one, I saw with my own eyes, she got down the king's car, that too back seat, her face was flushed, hair dishevelled and lips swollen, she was sleeping with the king, I am sure", Natasha said, Ashley's eyes quirked up in curiosity about which designer they are talking about...
"You might have misunderstood, anyways, that's her personal thing, we have nothing to do with it... her lehengas are amazing, and I want to wear them for my wedding functions, so don't create a scene and just help me with choosing like a good friend, and if it makes you feel any better, I talked to the staff here recently, the designers don't work here anymore", Anshi said dragging Natasha to look around the collection, Ashley followed them, she understood who they were talking about but just wanted to be sure...
"Hi... I am Ashley Parker, can I help you ??", she said politely making her presence...
"Yes please, we want to see designer Isha's works, can you help us with that ??", Anshi asked politely, Natasha scoffed hearing Isha's name and Ashley understood the whole scene.
"No wonder you have that reaction... she is worth it", Ashley said looking at Natasha...
"Look! just help us with the shopping...", Anshi started but Ashley interrupted her...
"I was the director of Acquisition and Mergers of the R Empire whole textile wing till 3 days ago, now I remained just a manager for this stupid store, that bi**h was the reason behind it, you know", Ashley said
"What?? How ??", Natasha probed and Ashley told everything of course in her version... Natasha and Anshi gasped upon hearing the story. The king actually demoted someone of her stature to such a low level just because of that ?? Anshi didn't feel something right in Ashley's words...
"Just because he sleeps with her doesn't make her the queen... damn, this is getting too much, that woman is such a sl*t", Natasha said
Isha and her friends walked back to the customer zone to see what was making the commotion get louder and louder. Isha sighed looking at the guests or should say customers and Ashley with them...
"Oh! here she is...", Natasha said walking towards Isha, Anshi tried to stop her friend...
"Shut up Natasha, that's none of our business", Anshi said
"Oh, it was none of our business, but not anymore... her friends insulted me that day for calling her sl*t, as if she is the purest woman of the century...", she said turning to Isha... "maybe you have a different meaning of pure in your dictionary no ?? Marrying one man and sleeping with another, or maybe multiple men", Natasha said, Ashley was enjoying this from far... she was even making a video of it not knowing that the video will become her destruction one day...
"Nats, shut up", Anshi said sternly...
"Natasha, you are crossing your limits now, I didn't say anything to you before, but now it's beyond my tolerance, have some respect when you talk to me", Isha snapped seriously, she is a queen and cannot accept such degrading comments on her anymore, it would be an insult to her husband too...
"Just because you sleep with the king doesn't mean you are the queen... you are just one among many, the king uses", Natasha said and that's it, Isha's patience broke, she slapped Natasha harshly... she can't say nasty things about her husband and get away with it...
"How dare you talk about him like that ?? He is the king, people respect him for what he is... I will kill you if you stay here for one more second, get out", Isha said furiously
Anshi is about to drag Natasha but she jerks her friend's hand and is about to slap Isha when she dodges the slap... she is not so good at self-defence but thankfully dodged it, her husband would have cut Natasha into pieces if she succeeded in slapping her, Isha thought, not knowing that even worse is gonna happen now with Natasha, for even trying to slap her.
"Ma'am, please leave from here...", Nupur said to Natasha strongly
"She slapped me for him, it's clear she is sleeping around, and you people still take her side... looks like I was right, Ragini employs only these kinds of women", Natasha said
"I am sorry for her words... please forgive her...", Anshi told to Isha
"I did nothing wrong in calling a s**t a s**t, it is what it is... she is the king's personal bi**h", Natasha said
"No, I am his WIFE, you stupid woman", Isha said, silence occupied around... all the staff are looking at Isha with an open mouth... Ashley's phone is about to slip away but she held it at the right time, and she quickly stopped recording...
"I am his wife, Isha Abhyansh Singh Ranawat", Isha said, this time a bit softly, shaking her head...
"You are lying", Natasha said, still in shock.
"I wish I was, at least your life would be spared", Isha said seriously, she knew her husband would know about it soon and would never leave Natasha for what she did...
"Isha... this woman recorded everything", Nupur said taking Ashley's phone who was fidgeting with it in fear... there was still a lot of uncertainty, a huge part of her didn't trust Isha's words but all the evidence is in front of her eyes... from the time Isha entered R Empire, the king was roaming around her, noticeably or unnoticeably, someone or the other always came to her rescue, whether it was the king's men, Prince Avyan, Prince Ranveer, or the king himself...
"You are his wife ?? Really ??", Natasha asked, slowly fear gripping her heart even at the thought of what would the king do to her, he was the cruellest of the cruel, everyone is aware of the fact.
"What's going on here ??", Avyan who just came there to urgently talk to his Bhabhi sa, stood surprised at the woman asking his sister-in-law that question... and how the hell did she know she is the queen...
Natasha found hope in seeing Avyan and the men behind him... how can a queen be so normal like Isha is ?? She no longer believed in what Isha told...
"Hi Yuvraj... I am Natasha Khanna... my father is Rajat Khanna", Natasha introduced walking towards Avyan...
"Yeah, I know him, have met him a few times", Avyan said politely, looking at his Bhabhi sa, whose face is full of irritation and anger... he was about to walk to her when he heard Natasha's words...
"This woman here claims to be the queen when she was caught with his highness, I am sure she must have sed...", Natasha started, pointing at Isha... she wanted to say Isha seduced the king, as she cannot directly blame the king in front of his brother...
"How dare you ?? You were saying all the sh*t about my Bhai sa and Bhabhi sa without any fear in the world ?? Against the king and queen of this realm...", Avyan said angrily, all his politeness vanished into thin air hearing the woman.
Natasha's face paled... Avyan quickly walked to his sister-in-law...
"Bhabhi sa... you okay ??", he asked softly, and she nodded, "what happened ??", Avyan asked politely
"Don't worry, I took care of it, let it go Avyan", Isha said trying hard to control the spillover, if her husband got to know about it, he would kill both women, though hiding anything from him seemed almost impossible, she still tried.
"Ish... Rani sa... what should I do with this video", but her friend has to open her mouth...
"Nupur... delete it", Isha said but Avyan walked to the lady to take the phone, but before that, Ashley was about to snatch it to delete it... she is hell scared of what would happen to her if Avyan saw it but too late.
"Stay away Ms. Parker... not a step ahead", Avyan roared before taking the phone from Nupur's hand, watching the video boiled his blood...
"Take Natasha Khanna, her friend, and Ms. Parker to the CD", Avyan ordered his men, CD meant common den, where people are imprisoned or punished, for offending royal family members or committing offensive crimes against other citizens.
"Avyan... leave them... let them go...", Isha said
"No Bhabhi sa... I can't", Avyan said softly, respectfully yet sternly... he is already upset with the way things are going from morning and now this...
"It's my order Avyan", Isha too said sternly...
"I am obliged to follow your orders Rani sa but only until they aren't colliding with Maharaj's orders. In the case of any overlap, I am obliged to follow bhai sa's orders, which clearly state that I can punish or take any kind of action on anyone who disrespects you in his absence, and this is a lot more than disrespect", Avyan said showing the phone
"I didn't know... I am sorry, please forgive me for this once your highness", Ashley screamed, tears of helplessness and fear flew endlessly...
"Your end is here Ms. Parker... give your final goodbyes to the world", Avyan said glaring at the woman...
"Avyan, at least let that girl go, Anshi, right ??", Isha asked looking at Anshi and she nodded with tears... "she is innocent, she tried to stop her friend", Isha said
"That would be decided by the king, Bhabhi sa, but if you ask me, she is an offender too, she also looked at you with suspicious eyes... minding own business isn't gonna help here", Avyan said, Isha is seeing Avyan so angry for the first time... "what are you waiting for ?? Take them away", Avyan shouted at his men startling Isha...
"Sorry Bhabhi sa", he said bowing down...
Isha glared at her brother-in-law for not obeying her and walked to Anshi...
"Don't be afraid... I'll get you out, you will go back to your family soon, this is my word... trust me", Isha said holding Anshi's hands...
"I trust you Rani sa... I know you will fulfil your word, sorry again", Anshi said and Isha shook her head...
"Isha... please, forgive me, I am sorry, I am so sorry...", Natasha asked but Isha sighed walking back to Avyan, his men took them away, Natasha and Ashley kept apologizing, resisted going with them as they knew they were signing for a death warrant if they go now, while Anshi slowly walked with them...
The men snatched their phones. When they received calls from their families, they informed them that since they offended the Royal family members, they were taken to the CD and they might never come back.
And everyone in and around the place knew what going to CD meant.
"Please keep this low, I don't want to let people know about it, and Nupur, call me Isha, you guys are my friends", Isha said and they nodded with a small smile getting back to work. The news was a shocker to all of them but they didn't want to react in front of Isha or the Prince for that matter, Isha thanked her stars that no other designer is present with her in the boutique there... she dreaded the moment when everyone would get to know about it but today, she couldn't stop herself when Natasha spoke all nonsense...
"Why are you here Avyan ??", Isha asked, he knew she is pissed with him but this isn't the time to apologize to her... he came here for an important purpose...
"You have to come with me Bhabhi sa...", he said seriously, rubbing his forehead as his head was about to blast with all the worry and tension...
"Where ?? What happened Avyan ??", she asked softly looking at his distress...
"Ma is in hospital Bhabhi sa, doctors said she needs an operation, but she refused to get it done until she sees bhai sa and hears him call her ma", Avyan said shocking Isha...
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