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Abhinandan POV

I would never talk to her. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, waiting for her to call me and say something.

She had to say something.

I saved her from getting married to Shantanu. He was not into her. How could she be angry over not getting married to someone she hardly knew?

He was a stranger and a soldier; for me, he could not be trusted.

However, I was someone she knew, a prince, and could be trusted.

She could trust me.

I would never hurt her or do anything she did not like. What was her problem?

I kept waiting for her to amend her mistake. She could not be rude to me. She was never like that. She always spoke with calm and delicacy with me.

I liked her that way.

As time passed, I felt dizzy and almost fell asleep, but she did not say anything.

It hurt me. It broke something in me. I felt as if I had forced her to marry me. Or maybe she was just angry with the way I married her.

But she should not be. Her father accepted us, and our family welcomed us. What was the problem?

"Trisha," I called out slowly.

I wanted to know the problem.

Turning around, I looked towards her. She was facing the opposite direction. And I slowly pulled the comforter down.

My breath hitched as my gaze fell on her shoulder and the back. I immediately looked away. Her blouse was smaller. I could see everything.

But the colour looked beautiful on her, and I brought my gaze back.

Her braid rested between us like a snake, stopping and threatening me to shift closer to her. The hem of her blouse curved perfectly along her edges. Only a single knot covered her back. It was beautiful.

Her waist was small. I looked at my palm, and a smile appeared on my face. It was perfect for my hands.

And suddenly, my gaze noticed the mole under her nape. It was dark, pitch black, and tiny. She was tanned, and the difference was visible through her arm and waist.

"Trisha," I called again. My voice hardly came out. I did not know even if she would answer what I had said.

She never answered. And I gulped silently, staring at her, noticing every minute detail of her shoulder, back and nape.

I could not dare to touch her. She was way too precious. She was way too pure.

The fact that she was to be a saint meant that lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego never touched her. I did not even know how I would make myself go near to her, let alone make a baby, that too when she was this angry.

It was not like she was denying to sleep with me. But, her using the words and intention of sleeping with me was threatening, not welcoming.

Suddenly, she moved, and my heartbeats raced. I immediately closed my eyes with fear. I felt her changing her sleeping side, and I opened my eyes once she was calm again.

My breathing slowed down when I saw her sleeping face. It was the first time I had seen her sleeping. Her eyes were closed, and the curved, thick lashes rested on her cheek. The almond and spotless glow on her face were attractive. I never knew that she could be this beautiful. Her lips made me inhale deeply, and I could not help but remember roses.

They were just an inch away from mine that day.

It was not like I wanted to touch them, but I did want to touch them. I wanted to know how they would feel, what a man would feel touching a woman like hers, and how I could cover the distance of miles between us. Whatever it was was only in my head, and I could not bring it out. I looked away, gulping silently.

It was inappropriate to look at her like this when she was sleeping.

But I could not help but notice her hand between us. It was painted in attractive red. Her nails were trimmed, and her fingers were covered by that an inch. There was a big circle in the middle.

She was my bride.

She was my wife.

Knowing this, I touched her hand with my finger and gently tried to flip it. But suddenly, she opened her eyes and immediately sat up, pulling her hand to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a slightly frightened voice.

"Nothing," I breathed out. "I was just trying to see your palm," I added, and she shrunk a little. The way she brought the comforter to her chest made me look away.

I made her uncomfortable.

"I am sorry; I did not mean to frighten you," I said in a slow voice, and she sat still.

"Do you want to... do that?" she asked in a slow voice, and I exhaled deeply, closing my eyes and shaking my head in disbelief.

This was not why I married her.

I wanted to marry her because I wanted to talk to her, to hear her speak, to see her smile, to see her do her work. And nothing of that was happening.

Because she could not understand the actual reason, she could not digest that I wanted to marry her because I just wanted to marry her. She asked me for a different reason. What could it possibly be?

I did not say anything and turned my face around. She would never understand. She was not even trying.

She did not want to talk to me momentarily without being angry. It was like, suddenly, all she wanted was to leave me as fast as she could. All she was asking was for the act of making a baby, which was not that easy.

At least not for me.

I could not touch her until she would not make me touch her. I did not know what it was. But it was messed up.

After some time, I felt her lay back in the bed, and I fell asleep.

When I woke up in the morning, she was not in bed. Even so, she was ready in her fresh new yellow attire and had fruits with Daadisa in her tent.

I peeped a little and went away from there. At least she looked happy with her, unlike with me.

After I got ready and everyone had breakfast, we resumed our journey towards the temple.

And, by the afternoon, we reached the base of the mountain on which the temple was located.

The soldiers and attendees set up the tents, and we changed into regular clothes—the plain attires. Daadisa could not climb those stairs; she chose to stay behind with the convoy.

Only Trisha and I had to do the rest of the journey.

We both bid goodbye to the convoy and silently moved ahead. The way was through a slightly dense forest; it was cloudy, too.

She walked silently beside me, taking care not to slip on the damp and decaying leaves scattered around. It was silent here. The only noise was our footsteps and her wedding bangles and anklets.

I could not help but watch her. She looked like the old Trisha in plain yellow attire, but her face seemed upset.

"Trisha," I called out, but she ignored me and kept walking. We passed a few tall trees, and I tried to call her again.

"Trisha," my voice was louder this time. Yet she walked silently, and when the tiny puddle came in the way, she lifted her skirt a little bit. My gaze noticed her inked feet in the tiny bellies.

I wanted to know how she felt, what she wanted, and why she was not talking to me.

"Trisha," I called out again, and she walked ahead. I immediately raced up and said.

"Trisha, hamari baat to suniye,"

"Trisha, at least listen to me,"

She immediately turned around and looked at me. Her eyes were slightly red.

"Ji, boliye Yuvraj,"

"Ji, Yuvraj,"

Her voice sounded weak, and I could not help but stare blankly into her eyes. I felt lost for words.

"Why are you not talking to me?" I asked, and she gulped, lowered her gaze, and counter-questioned.

"What should we talk about?"

I looked away for a moment.

"Anything, nature, walking, why is it so silent?" I asked, and she lifted her gaze to me.

"You can tell me whatever you want," she said with a slight smile and turned around.

"Please do not be angry with me," I requested, walking beside her.

"I am not," she muttered slowly.

"Are you unhappy with our wedding?" I asked further, and she shook her head.

"I was getting married, and I am married. Why should I be unhappy?" She asked in response.

"Because I am not Shantanu," I said, and she inhaled deeply. "By any chance, did you love him?" I asked, keeping the heavy burden on my chest. My fingers almost shook with the consequences of my actions if she said yes. I would never be able to forgive myself.

"No," she muttered, and I lowered my gaze with a slight relief.

"Then why are you angry? Do you hate me that much?" I asked again, walking beside her, and she shook her head.

"I am not angry," she said, and I could not help but hold her hand. She turned around to look at me with questioning eyes.

"You are not happy either," I said, and she shook her head.

"Why should I be happy?" She asked, and I immediately stepped closer to her.

"Because you are married to me," I said, and she smiled weakly.

"Only for the child," she muttered, and I gulped, shaking my head.

"That is not the only reason I married you," I said, and she knit her brows.

"I simply wanted to marry you," I clarified, and she chuckled all of a sudden.

"Ji, Yuvraj," she said, and I did not know what it was. All of a sudden, her laughter made my stomach ache.

"And I was angry that you hid all those things from me. I wanted to punish you," I said, and she smiled even wider.

"That's great," she said, and I tried to look into her eyes.

"Trisha, do you not want to talk to me?" I asked again, and she kept focusing on her feet.

"I am listening to you," she answered, and I lowered my gaze.

"What do you want?" I asked further, unable to digest her silence. It was painful.

"I have everything," she said, and I gathered my courage to walk near her. She did not even look at me, but I wished to hold her hand.

"Trisha," I spoke slowly and touched her wrist. She slowed down and did not do anything.

I stopped, and she turned to look at me. "What?" she asked and sighed deeply. "We will get late,"

"I do not care," I said, pulling her closer. I cannot see our Gods see my newlywed bride with a sad face," I said, and she smiled weakly.

"I am not upset. I do not feel anything," she said, and I shook my head.

"Trust me, I know you enough to distinguish if you are sad or not," I said, holding her hands in mine.

She shook her head. "That means you know nothing about me. I am perfectly fine," she said and tried to pull her hands away. And do not worry if I am upset or not. We are not the real husband and wife," she added, and I lowered my gaze.

I could not say anything else and just walked silently beside her. I knew she was still angry but not showing it. All I wanted was to see the reason. It was because she did not want to marry me, or the way we married, or there was something else.

I knew that I should hate her for whatever she did to me. I knew she deserved to be upset, but I just could not see her being upset.

Because if I did not, nobody would ask her how she was doing. Her father did not talk to her well, and she was not very open when talking. But she was the best listener.

Suddenly, my sight fell on a blackberry tree.

"Trisha," I immediately called her, and she turned to look at me.

"Blackberries," I said, picking one from the ground, but she did not show any interest.

"You can eat," she said and continued walking.

I sighed deeply, wondering what else I should do. I could not see her like this. She was not showing interest in anything.

I threw that blackberry away and kept walking after her. We trekked for a while and finally reached the temple's den. It was almost late evening, and the priest was to begin the evening Aarti.

It was a different kind of silence here. The bells rang, sending a wave of peace into my body.

I noticed Trisha kneeling and placing her forehead on the floor. I could not help but follow her. 

As we both walked inside, the smell of incense and the soothing vibrations of the temple gave me goosebumps on my arms. There was a different energy here. Amid the coldness, I could feel the warmth of a Godly presence. It was like something was alive here, and I could feel closer to the Almighty.

As we approached the deity's statue, Trisha kneeled and joined her hands. I followed her silently but could not keep my eyes away from her face. I noticed the silent tears rolling down her cheeks with her eyes closed.

It ached something in me.

I immediately looked away, waited until she finished praying and stood up to her feet again. We both took part in the evening Aarti and, after that, did the offerings.

"Pandit ji, she is Trishalini," I said once the priest noticed us. He knew me already, and when I bent down, I looked at Trisha bending down to touch his feet.

"God bless you," he said, placing his hands on both of us.

"The new member of Mahableshgarh," he said with a weak smile, and Trisha straightened up after me.

"Ji," I said, looking at him, seeing her face.

"A great deal of patience you have," he muttered, placing his hand on her head. "Keep it that way, and it will lead you out of the darkness, my child," he added, and I knit my brows with confusion.

And, suddenly, he looked at me. "Take care of the eyes; they always tell the truth,"

I gulped and nodded.

We both did the rest of the rituals and by the time we were done, it had turned dark.

"I think you both should spend the night in the nearby den. It is good to step down the forest at this time," the head priest said, and I looked at Trisha, who looked at me with questioning eyes.

I simply nodded. I could not take any risk with her. We could leave early in the morning.

"Okay," I said, and one of the temple members guided us through a small way to show us the dens meant for priests and members.

"Here it is," he said, and I noticed Trisha holding my hand. I immediately lowered my gaze to our hands. So, she was finally holding my hand.

She looked at me, slightly afraid, as no woman was there. I could sense her discomfort, so I held her hand firmly while shaking my head at her.

There was no need to worry.

I had been here many times. It was absolutely safe except for the wild animals making the noise.

"There is no one around. So, you can rest well and keep a fire torch lit all night in case any wild animal walks in," he informed me, and I nodded.

Hooking the fire torch in the hanger, he left, and we both looked at each other.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and she gulped frightenedly.

"It's scary," she said, and I could not help but chuckle.

"So, the scary was meant to make you talk," I said, taking her further into the den. We both noticed a single mat on the floor. It was utterly empty—just a water pot and a glass inside.

She glared at me momentarily and walked inside with slow steps. I could hear her anklet bell echo in the den. I silently followed her and asked.

"Trisha, are you hungry?"

She turned around and looked at me. "It's beautiful and so silent here," a timid smile on her face. "Like you love," she added, and I sucked on my lips, nodding slowly.

"I like coming here and spending time. It brings me closer to what I want," I said, and she nodded.

"Do you want to eat something?" I asked again, and she stared at me briefly before slowly shaking her head.

"So, we should sleep?" I asked, and she lowered her gaze to the single, small mat on which we would hardly fit.

"You can be comfortable here. I am okay with the bare floor," she said, and I took a few slow steps towards her.

"We can adjust," I suggested and stood before her. She inhaled profoundly, looking into my eyes, and nodded, looking away. "Okay," she breathed.

"I will take the right side," she muttered, and I nodded.

"As you wish," I muttered, seeing her sitting to the right side. I walked around and sat at my side, too.

I saw her taking her bellies off, and I noticed her red, swollen toes.

"You are hurt," I said, and she immediately shook her head.

"It's alright. It's just that I am uncomfortable with wearing toe rings. They are heavy and really big," she muttered. I immediately turned towards her and touched her feet. She flinched before pulling them back.

Her eyes widened with shock.

"You do not have to wear them if they hurt you," I said, and she shook her head.

"Maasa said that I cannot take them off since I am married," she explained, and I knit my brows.

"You can," I said and took my hands closer to her feet.

"Yuvraj," she tried to stop me, and I pulled her feet towards me. She hissed in pain when I touched her toes. There were three silver toe rings in her three middle toes. It was covering her tiny toes from tip to end, and I could not stop myself from firming my grip around the first one to take it off.

"Yuvraj, you cannot," Trisha warned me and held my hand.

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