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Abhinandan POV

I came back to my home, and the attendees near my chamber were surprised to see me drenched in a mere loincloth and a lady's shawl.

The silence around me felt more like a storm. The noise of thundering and rain was getting even more intense. And, amid this, I cared little about making the right decisions.

I lay on the bed, wetting the comforter and the mattress. I could not believe I had done everything to her a while before.

I looked at my hand, the one who broke the bangles in her hand. I immediately sat up. I felt something in my chest. I should not have done that. And, my lips.

I sucked on my lips. They were only an inch away from hers. She protested; she trembled before me. I could not believe it was me.

What happened to me?

What would she think about me? I did not think of touching her that way; I did not think of doing all that what I did.

What was wrong with me?

And, how in the seven hells I brought up the proposal of her marrying me. I did not decide before walking there. I only wanted to stop her. I did not want to marry anyone.

It was not the right time. A lot had happened to the Kingdom, and I could not believe I only wanted to marry her amid all of this.

The fear of losing her was making me insane. And it was growing deeper with each passing moment.

Knowing that she did not say 'Yes' made me feel weak in my bones. For the first time in my life, I wanted something, and it did not happen. Somewhere, it felt like a bigger failure than not being able to wage a war against Rudra.

And I could not believe she did not say 'yes' to me. I was a man of honour. I had never looked upon a girl's face, let alone touching her. I looked at my hand. I could still feel her waist on my skin. She was soft, softer than this bed ever felt.

Speaking of bed, I knew where she would be staying.

I immediately stood up, walked out of my chamber towards the garden, and looked at the Princess' chamber in the front. As I stepped closer, the soldiers standing outside looked at me with confused faces.

"Open it," I ordered, looking at the closed door.

They looked at each other, and one of them said, "Its keys are with the Queen only,"

I nodded, understanding, and then looked at the Sun. It was still time in the morning, and I had to wait until my Maasa woke up. I could not walk into her chamber, as my father would be there, too.

But my Daadisa sleeps alone.

I immediately walked towards her chamber and asked the attendees not to make any announcements. Walking inside, I found her sleeping peacefully and snoring.

I sighed deeply. She did not even tell me that it was Trisha in the temple.

But I needed to talk to her.

Stepping closer, I sat beside her on the edge of the bed and gently touched her hand. She shivered all of a sudden.

"Daadisa," I called, and she hummed.

"Maharaj, leave me a hand, it's inappropriate," she laughed, and I felt Ewwwwww.

How could she dream all of this at this age?

"Daadisa," I called again, and she laughed even more while asleep.

"Maharaj, please leave the hand. Someone will see," she blabbered in a low voice, and I called her louder.

"Daadisa!"

And suddenly, she started screaming at the top of her lungs.

"GHOSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!"

"There is a Ghossssttttttttttttt, Maharaaaajjjjjj, ghost,"

A shiver of fear ran through my body. I immediately looked around and found the curtains flowing; I felt scared, too. There was a shadow.

"A Ghosttttttt, ahhhhhhhhhhh, Maasaaaa, baaapusaaaaa, a Ghostttttttt," we both screamed together and I tried to sit her up so we could run.

But, as soon as she saw me, she stopped screaming and slapped me on my bicep.

"Abhinan!" she yelled at me, and I calmed down, too. "Daadisa,"

She sighed deeply and looked at me.

"Why are you naked?" she asked, and I looked at myself.

I immediately wrapped the wet shawl around me and sat beside her.

"Sit down. Do not make my bed wet," she said, and I stood up, exhaling profoundly and frustratedly.

"Daadisa, I need to talk to you," I said, and she laid back.

"In the morning, Abhinan," she said, and I sucked on my lips.

"Daadisa, I want to get married," I said, and she immediately sat up.

"What?" A wide smile appeared on her face, and she immediately stepped down.

Holding my hands, she approached the couch and pulled me to sit over it.

"Are you sure?" she asked with a surprised face, and I inhaled deeply, nodding.

"Come sit here," she said and held my hand.

"It is so good to hear. I am so excited. We will call all the Kingdoms for this Gangaur festival along with their eligible daughters. You can meet the girls and decide on your future," she suggested, and I closed my eyes, shaking my head.

"I have a girl in my mind," I said, and her eyes opened wide.

"What?? From which Kingdom?" she asked with the widest smile I had seen on her face, and I bit on my lips.

"She is from no Kingdom. She is a... commoner," I said. She stared at me for a few moments and then looked away with a tense expression.

"A commoner cannot sit on the throne. And, the first wife of the King sits on the throne," she said, and I blinked silently. "Maybe you should marry a Princess first for the throne and then marry the girl you like," she said, and I immediately looked up at her.

"No way. I cannot marry two girls," I declared, and she looked at me.

"Who is she, by the way? What is her clan? Does she belong to ours but is a trader or someone else?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"It's Trisha," I finally spoke out loud and clear.

An aching silence followed, and she shook her head. "But, she is getting married. Is she not?" she asked, and I nodded before shaking my head.

"Well, no," I said, and she asked me suddenly.

"Why did not you tell us before that you like a girl?"

I sat frozen with her question. "Umm, I did not know it either. And I do not think it's something like that. I just...," I blabbered a little. "It's just you all want me to get married, and after Nandani, the Kingdom feels so lonely, so it's just that she is a good friend of mine, and I cannot think about any other girl in my life..." I cleared my throat. "Chamber," I finished, and she nodded, looking at me.

"So, you want to get married to a girl who is already getting married to a man, who happens to be a soldier in the Mahabaleshgarh, posted outside the King and Queen's main chamber. And, above all, she is your Guruji's daughter, which means she is like your sister. A guru, Behan," I stared at her when she summarised everything, and I could not help but nod.

"Please do something, Daadisa. Should I kidnap her?" I asked, and she slapped on my thighs.

"I mean the way Baapusa married Maasa," I asked, and she looked at me from the side eyes.

"I still do not support Raj in that. And I cannot have my other son do the same thing. And, then, what will be the difference between you and him?" she asked, and I nodded, for seeing the aftermath it would cause.

"Then, how can we get married?" I asked, and she thinned her gaze, asking me.

"Does she want to marry you too?"

I turned silent when she asked, "I do not know," I said, and she sighed deeply.

"Do you love her?" she asked further, and I shook my head again. "I do not know that either,"

"Then why do you want to marry her?" she asked with frustration, and I looked at her. I could not believe that everything was dependent on the 'Why'.

"Ranima," suddenly, an attendee's voice caught our attention, and she looked at me too.

"Yuvraj," she called out, and I stood up, looking at her worried face and heavy breathing.

"Raja ji is having a high fever again," she said, and I looked at my Daadisa with shock. Her face grew worried, and she looked at the attendee.

"Take me there. I do not know what is wrong with my child. And, why is this fever not stopping," she blabbered to herself, and I stood confused and scared.

I ran towards the Chandra Mahal and found the whole chamber lit with candles. It was as if they had not slept at all.

"Maasa," I called for her and found her beside my father. She was bandaging his forehead with the cold straps.

"What happened?" I asked, and she looked at me with a worried face.

"The fever. It is back," she said, and I thinned my gaze.

"What do you mean by it is back?" I asked, sitting beside her and touching my father's cheek. He was shivering, and I gulped, seeing him like that.

"Do not do the cold straps. He is shivering, which would not reduce the fever," I said, and the Physician stepped forward.

"Yuvraj, his body is shivering due to weakness. He feels hot from this fever," he said, and I looked at him.

"What is this fever, and why are you not treating him?" I raised my voice on him, finding him standing free and hands tied.

"We cannot find the sickness," he said, and I stepped towards him angrily.

"What do you mean you cannot find the sickness?" I growled in anger, and suddenly, my father spoke.

"Abhi, my son," his voice sounded weak, and a tear rolled down my cheek. I had never seen my father sick. It was not like he did not feel ill, but we never saw him like that. Our parents never let any problems come near to us.

I turned to look at him. "Baapusa," I said, and he lifted his hand to ask for mine. I immediately went towards him and sat beside him.

"Abhi," he held my hand tightly, and I could see his hands cold. How was it possible? He coughed all of a sudden and groaned in pain.

"I know I have failed as everything," he began in a breaking voice, and I shook my head. "I failed as a son to my father, I failed as a brother, I failed as a husband, and then I failed as a father too. Most of all, I failed as a King. All my life, I made decisions, and seeing many unhappy with those, I could not be happy with them either," his voice was shaking, making me feel an ache in my heart.

"But I have great faith in your vision. You are not me; you are a thousand times better than me. You are a great son, a great brother, a great child, and after me, you will make a great King, too," he said, and I shook my head.

"Why are you saying all of this? It's just fever," I said, and my mother broke into silent cries.

Seeing her, my heart broke even more.

"Abhi, I do not know how much time I have left," my father said, and I immediately pulled my hand away from his.

"What the hell are you even speaking?" I stood up.

"It's just a fucking fever," I spat out loud and looked at the physician.

"And what the hell are you doing? If you cannot treat him, leave, and someone call the physicians from the other Kingdoms," I said, and no one moved. Everyone stayed at their place with their heads down. I heard my Grandmother sitting with the shock beside my mother.

"Abhi, please, my son, listen to me," my father said, and I turned to look at him.

"You will not speak any more word," I said, and my voice broke before I cried. Nothing is going to happen to you. You will be alright," I exclaimed with a trembling voice, and he tried to lift himself up, longing for my hand.

"I just need one thing to see before I die. I do not have much time left. They cannot find my disease, and I cannot bear the pain of coughing, and my bones hurt when I walk," he said, and I sat down beside him. My fingers fisted tightly around his hand, and he caressed the back of my hand with his thumb.

"Abhi, I only wish to see my grandchild," he stated, and I closed my eyes. "You are not that old, Baapusa. You are young, you are fit, you will at least for fifty years,"

"Even a year is too much for me to ask," he cut me off, and I cried.

"Please, do not say it, or I will hate you even more. You cannot leave me until I forgive you. You cannot leave me indebted with my... guilt," I said, shaking my head. "I do not even know how to run a Kingdom. There is so much to learn," I added, and he smiled weakly, looking at me.

"I am not going to die now. I wish to see your wife and grandchildren," he said and coughed all of a sudden.

"It was not Trisha's mistake. I asked her to talk to you. I know you are upset with it. But, it was me who wanted you," he blabbered and I thinned my gaze.

"She knew about your health?" I asked and I desperately wanted him to shake his head.

But, instead he nodded.

I could not believe it. She knew about it all the while and did not even bring it up to me. I could not decide if I hated her more before or I hated her the most now. She kept this from me.

I stood up from the bed and my father called out.

"Please, Abhi, I want to see the future of Mahabaleshgarh," he said and I shook my head. I would never marry her. Let her be the soldier's wife.

"There is no future of Mahabaleshgarh," I said and he coughed even harder.

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