Chapter 69
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After the long lunch, Rani Suchitra retired to her private quarters with Mira to rest.
Yamini and Sanjana chose not to rest. They walked toward the inner courtyard garden.
The weather was perfect for a stroll.
Jasmine climbed along the carved pillars, and sunlight came through the mango trees.
Yamini smiled as she recalled climbing those trees.
Next to the courtyard was a terrace where Bharat and his brothers stood talking.
“They're probably planning world domination,” Sanjana said with amusement.
Yamini laughed. “I wouldn't be surprised.”
Bharat stood slightly apart from his brothers, listening more than speaking. He was facing her, and his shoulders were slightly relaxed.
As though he felt her gaze, he looked towards her.
Even standing across the garden, she felt the heat in his gaze.
Her cheeks warmed, and she looked away first.
Sanjana's smile deepened. “I've never seen Bharat this relaxed.”
“He might look relaxed,” Yamini said. “But he's definitely still planning world domination.”
Sanjana laughed.
They sat quietly for a moment, enjoying the warmth. The Rewa spring was softer than Jogra's.
From somewhere in the distance came the sound of temple bells.
“I remember swimming across the river to ring those bells when I was ten,” Yamini said. “My mother was not happy when I came back dripping.”
Yamini recalled Rani Suchitra’s amused smile while her mother was embarrassed.
Sanjana smiled. “You must have been quite a handful.”
“Oh yes, totally,” she said. “I loved exploring the places around the palace. I remember crawling into the caves around the temple and getting my dresses torn and dirty.”
Sanjana laughed.
“Ram told me about his childhood adventures at Rewa too,” Sanjana said. “They all grew up here but spent summers at their respective ancestral palaces.”
Yamini nodded. That explained why she had never crossed paths with any of Rani Suchitra's sons during her childhood visits. Their summers had taken them elsewhere.
She and Bharat had grown up moving through the same spaces and never once crossed paths until the engagement.
She wondered sometimes how differently things might have gone if they had.
Maybe it wouldn't have mattered. He would have been exactly who he was. And so would she.
Or maybe it would have mattered enormously.
Sanjana suddenly swayed beside her.
Yamini caught her arm immediately. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” Sanjana steadied herself. “Just a dizzy spell. I'm fine.”
Yamini frowned. The weather wasn’t too warm.
She guided Sanjana to the stone bench under the nearest shaded tree.
“Stay here. I’ll call the staff and ask them to bring—"
Even before she finished the sentence, she spotted Ram.
He crossed the garden in long, purposeful strides and stood in front of Sanjana.
“Have water,” he said.
A staff member appeared almost immediately with a glass.
Sanjana exhaled. “Ram, I’m fine.”
“No, you aren’t.”
Yamini watched as Sanjan let out an exasperated breath. “I'm a doctor, remember?”
Ram didn’t budge. “I do. And I am your husband.”
Letting out another exasperated breath, Sanjana took the water. “Overbearing,” she muttered.
Ram said nothing. He waited until she had drunk most of it before stepping back and then turned to return to his brothers.
Sanjana glared at Ram’s broad back as he walked away.
“He's impossible,” she said.
Yamini smiled. Bharat was apparently not the only one of Rani Suchitra's sons who could be impossible and commanding most of the time.
“Maybe we should go in,” Yamini said.
Sanjana shook her head. “We haven't announced yet,” she said, her voice softening. “I'm two months pregnant.”
Yamini's breath caught. “Congratulations,” she said, feeling happy for the couple.
Sanjana smiled. “Thank you. Only Ram and Rani Ma know. And now you.”
“Thank you for telling me.” Yamini's eyes brightened with laughter. “That explains why Ram is monitoring your water intake.”
“He was already overprotective before,” Sanjana said. “Now it's his full-time occupation.”
Yamini laughed.
“You and Bharat should come to Devara before the baby arrives,” Sanjana said. “We'd love to have you.”
“We will,” Yamini said with a smile.
And she meant it without having to think about it first.
Across the garden, Bharat stood with his brothers in the afternoon light.
She couldn’t wait to tell him about Sanjana’s news later that night.
As soon as the thought occurred to her, she realized that she had been sharing quite a lot of things with him lately. Each evening when they had dinner together or later at night, she spoke of her day, and he listened quietly.
She wasn't sure when talking to him had become the best part of her day.
Strangely, that realization didn’t frighten her as it should have.