Song :- Kuch Khas Hai. (Fashion).

You are as important in my life,
as the beat is to heart......

*****************************

Third POV.

Anaya's head rested on Arjun's shoulder, his protective embrace shielding her from the harshness of the world. His fingers moved gently through her hair, his touch soft, yet possessive.

Then, in a low, dark murmur, his voice broke the silence. "I was ten years old when Bhai started rebelling against Dad... He never wanted this royal life... Dad wanted him to be the next heir, the crown prince. But Bhai... he just wanted peace, a normal life. That difference shattered everything in our family."

Anaya's brows furrowed, sensing the shift in his voice. She didn't move. She just listened.

"Maa... always loved Bhai more. Krish was her favorite," he confessed, bitterness cutting through his voice like a cold wind. "I don't blame her... but she never saw me. Not really. After the fights started, she gave all her attention to Bhai—saying Dad was too harsh on him. Maybe he was. But she never once looked back at me or Aashi the same way again."

Anaya tightened her hold around his torso, trying to comfort the broken boy buried deep beneath the hard man.

"Maa left with Bhai and Aashi one day... just like that. Took them to her parents' home. Left me alone. A ten-year-old boy in a giant palace. I stood by the gate, waiting... thinking she'd come back. One day. Two days. Then a week... but she never did."

Arjun's voice cracked now, and Anaya could feel the weight of the memory suffocating him.

"Do you know what that does to a child?" he whispered. "No mother. No sibling. Just guards and shadows and silence. Dad wasn't even there. He was too busy preparing me to be the next Yuvraj. My body was trained like a soldier. But my soul... it was breaking. Every. Single. Day."

His hand curled into a fist, the pain flashing in his eyes.

"They beat me, Anaya. The trainers. The seniors at boarding school. But I never cried. Because the one person I wanted to cry to... had left me. My mother never came back for me. And when she did, after three years, I wasn't her son anymore. She still pampered Krish. Coddled Aashi. I... was just The Rajvansh heir."

Tears slipped from Anaya's eyes. She couldn't stop them. That small, abandoned boy was still inside Arjun, screaming in silence. She pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his waist, her touch saying what words never could: I see you. I'm here.

"I was a name, a crown. Not a son. Not a brother. I stopped expecting love... I stopped believing in it."

He turned his face toward her, his eyes vulnerable for the first time. "But then... you came. A gust of fresh air. You made me feel again. And that scared the hell out of me."

Anaya, overwhelmed, looked up at him through teary lashes. Arjun's eyes softened. Their faces were close—breaths mingling.

She closed her eyes.

And he kissed her.

Soft. Deep. Raw. His lips trembled with emotion he could no longer suppress. She now knew why he was this way. Why his love came wrapped in walls and shadows. And she vowed to never abandon him. To pull him out of that dark place—no matter how long it took.

He kissed her temple and whispered against her skin, "Don't leave me, Anaya. You're my home. Let's give us a chance... together."

She nodded, whispering back, "Never."

Later that night, Arjun finished his drink and quietly stepped into the room. After a quick shower, he slipped into bed beside her. Anaya instinctively curled into him. He chuckled softly, pulling her closer, wrapping her in the warmth of his arms. For a moment—just one—they were weightless.

Scene: Sampoorna's private room — Late night

The mansion was quiet. Everyone was either asleep or pretending to be. But Sampoorna couldn't close her eyes.

She sat by the window, clutching an old photograph — a boy, maybe six or seven, clinging to her saree pallu with the brightest smile on his face.

Arjun. Her secondborn.

The boy who once never slept without hugging her... now barely looked her in the eye.

Tears slid silently down her cheeks as her fingers traced the picture. Her lips quivered with words she could never say aloud.

"You used to call me Maa like it meant the whole world... and now all I see in your eyes is respect, not love. Not warmth. Just... formality."

She looked up at the moon, her voice choked.

"I gave you up to save your brother and sister. But I lost you, didn't I? Not to time. Not to fate. But to your father's greed."

Flashbacks swirled behind her eyes—
Uddhav yelling, "If you come between me and Arjun, I'll send Krish and that infant Aashi away! You'll never see them again!"

She remembered clutching her babies, tears flooding her eyes. She had begged. Pleaded.

But Uddhav didn't see a son in Arjun. He saw a weapon. A future ruler. His pawn in a grand game of power.

And she, torn between three children, sacrificed the one she thought could survive without her.

"You were strong, Arjun... stronger than a boy should've had to be."

But when she returned, he wasn't the same.

The boy who once ran into her arms now stood tall, composed, unreadable. He bowed his head out of courtesy, not affection. He called her Maa—but with a tone as cold as winter steel.

She had lost him.

Forever.

Scene: Udhav's study — The same night

Sampoorna stormed in, her tear-stained face hard with years of buried rage.

"Why did you do that to me? To him?!" she demanded, voice shaking.

Uddhav didn't even flinch. "It was necessary. He was meant for greater things."

"You tore a child from his mother!" she yelled, trembling. "You blackmailed me—threatened me with Krish and Aashi. I was a mother torn into pieces! You made me choose!"

Uddhav sighed. "You chose wisely. Look where Arjun is now."

Her slap cracked through the room.

"Look at him?! You mean the Arjun who doesn't let anyone close? Who wears his pain like a crown and his rage like armor? That's not power. That's trauma! You turned my boy into a shell just to make him your political puppet!"

Uddhav looked at her, calm but unapologetic. "He was always meant to rule. Not cling to skirts."

Sampoorna's voice broke as she whispered, "He needed love, not control..."

She staggered back, choking on tears. "And now... even when he hurts, he doesn't come to me. Even when he's broken, he hides it. Because I wasn't there when he needed me."

Scene: Back in her room — A lonely monologue

Sampoorna sat on the bed, her voice hollow.

"You're my son, Arjun. My blood. And I never stopped loving you. But the day I let go of your hand... I lost the right to say it."

She hugged the photograph to her chest and wept quietly — not for the past, but for a future where she could never undo it.

**************

The next morning, Anaya was the first to wake. Sunlight poured in through the curtains, and the first thing she saw was Arjun's face—calm, peaceful, and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Her fingers traced through his messy hair gently.

A deep, raspy voice broke the silence. "Staring is bad, Mrs. Rajvansh... especially at a handsome sleeping man."

She blushed and tried to pull her hand away, but he caught it, smirking.

"Don't stop. I like it."

He snuggled into the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent like it grounded him.

Anaya smiled, stroking his hair. He looked so innocent like this. Unburdened.

"Arjun..."

"Hm?"

"What are we doing today?"

He hummed, his lips grazing her skin. "Let's stay here all day... just like this. I want to memorize every inch of your buttery skin..."

She blushed furiously. "No! I want to explore this place..."

Before she could finish, Arjun grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the wall. His eyes blazed, furious.

"Don't leave me alone, Anaya. Ever. I mean it. Or you won't like the consequences."

She froze, shocked by his sudden darkness.

"Arjun... it was a joke. Just teasing..." she whispered, trying to soothe him.

But Arjun closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry. You leaving, even for a second, triggers things in me I can't explain... I've always been left behind. It does something to me."

Anaya gently cupped his face. "Hey... I'm not them. I'm not going anywhere. But you have to talk to me, Arjun. You can't shut down like this."

He opened his eyes. They weren't cold now—just scared.

But then the fear twisted into something darker.

"Are you pitying me, Anaya? Is that why you're here? Because now you know about my past? The great Anaya... wants to fix the broken prince?"

She stepped back, hurt etched on her face. "No... that's not it at all—"

"Don't lie to me!" he snapped. "You hated me once. Now suddenly... you care? Why? Because you saw the pathetic little boy I was?"

"Arjun, please... it's not pity. It's something else... something I'm still figuring out—"

"Forget it," he said coldly, jerking her hand away. "I don't need your pity." And he walked out, leaving her stunned.

Anaya stood frozen, her heart breaking.

Everything was going fine... what happened?

Tears welled in her eyes. Was giving this relationship a chance the right decision?

She spent the rest of the day by the large window, lost in thought. He didn't come back. Only a maid came in quietly now and then.

Around noon, the maid knocked again.

"Ma'am... Sir asked you to get ready. You both are leaving in half an hour."

Anaya sighed. There was no point resisting. She got dressed in a beautiful peach lehenga, adorning her forehead with sindoor and her neck with mangalsutra. She looked breathtaking, but her face carried a quiet sadness.

When she came down, Arjun was on the phone. Ron bowed to her politely. Arjun turned to see what Ron was reacting to—and then his eyes met hers.

His breath caught.

That sindoor. That mangalsutra.

Proof that she was his.

She tried to avoid his gaze, but he kept staring—like she had stepped out of his dreams. She looked away, shy. But he burned every detail of her into his memory.

Then, with a single nod to Ron, he returned to his call, not saying a word. Ron escorted Anaya to the car.

She sat inside, distant. When Arjun joined her, she moved to the far side of the seat.

That stung more than it should have.

He opened his laptop and worked in silence, jaw clenched.

The silence was heavy—filled with words left unsaid.

Eventually, Anaya fell asleep, her head resting awkwardly against the window. Arjun looked over... and something inside him cracked.

He pulled her gently to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He placed his coat around her.

Then he pressed a button—closing the partition window.

She stirred slightly, but stayed asleep.

His hand gently moved her hair behind her ear. She looked peaceful now. So trusting.

But he knew he had shattered something again.

The nightmare from last night—the dream where she mocked him, walked away, just like his mother—it had haunted him. And today, when she jokingly pulled away... that fear had overtaken him.

He had lashed out.

Again.

Now... he didn't know how to fix it.

She stirred in her sleep, and Arjun whispered so softly, "Don't give up on me, Anaya..."

They were going back to the palace now.

But the real journey—of healing, trust, and confronting ghosts—was just beginning.

**********************************

Hey Guys,

A new chapter is updated......

So now they are giving their relationship a chance. Let's see what is going to happen in the future...

Thank you,

Please do comment.

Don't forget to VOTE...