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Trisha POV

I woke up before my regular time. His thoughts and the way he left were still consuming me. Seeing my father's dull face amid all this was like standing between two rivers flowing on opposite sides.

I needed to talk to him.

I got up and finished my morning chores. Today, I also had to bathe the buffalos, so this time, I took them to the newly constructed well instead of walking them to the rivers.

"Oh, wow, Trisha, a new well?" one of our neighbours walked out, and I smiled at her.

"Yes," I muttered.

"Guruji built it for you," she said, stepping closer and looking inside. It was wide and deep, and the noise of fresh water was mild.

"Um, it is made by Yuvraj of Mahabaleshgarh," I corrected her, and her eyes widened.

"The man who was there with you on the Ghat the other day," she said, and I lowered my gaze before nodding.

"Oh, Pranam Guruji,"

Suddenly, my father walked in, and she wished.

"God Bless you," he replied, and another neighbour joined in.

"Oh, Wow, a new well," she was equally amazed and looked at my father.

"Guruji, this is good," she said, and he shook his head.

"No, this is made by Yuvraj Abhinandan. He wished to help us," he said, and she nodded, widening her mouth.

"Yes, I saw him near the washing Ghat the other day with Trisha," My heartbeat raced when she said it, and my father looked at me.

"Ah, yes," I immediately replied.

"He... he... umm, he wished to wash his clothes, so I told him to walk to the Ghat. I did not know he would arrive in the early morning. There, he showed interest in helping all the women. So, he decided to do this for everyone." I tried to cover it, and their smile grew wider.

"Oh My Goodness. He did this for everyone," the lady asked, and I nodded.

"Of course," I tried to convince them, but my father looked still unhappy.

I did not know what was worrying him.

Before the first light of the sun, the whole neighbourhood gathered to see and use the well. I excused myself and returned home.

"Trisha," suddenly, my father called, and I walked up to him.

"Ji, Pitaji," I asked, sitting closer to him and peeling the papaya for him.

"I have something to talk to you," he said, and I did not dare lift my eyes. I knew I had hidden the truth from him, and I felt utterly ashamed of it.

"Ji," I muttered, and he spoke.

"I think it's time that you get married," the moment those words dropped into my ear, my heart stopped beating, and I looked at him in shock.

"All of sudden, Pitaji?" my voice weakened, and I looked at him.

"You are twenty-six, capable of running a family and making a good wife. I cannot keep you here for the rest of your life," he said, and a lone tear rolled down my cheek.

"But, Pitaji. I do not want to leave you. And I know that you wish to become a saint like you. And I... I want to become that too," my voice trembled, and he smiled.

"You can become a saint even after having a life. For now, I think you should know a family. I also have a groom for you in mind, and they are willing to accept you as a daughter-in-law. They will love you, and it's not far from here. I shall come and see you often," he said, and I felt a pang in my chest.

I did not want to get married.

"Is it what you want for me?" I asked, and he looked into my eyes and nodded.

"It is best for you. Before your heart clenches beneath the pain, it's good that you change your path," he said, and I did not understand it.

"Okay," I agreed.

I could not oppose his wish.

Yuvraj wanted the same for me—a family, marriage and kids.

It was good.

"I have brought these for you," he said, putting a small red cloth in front. It's been long since you have done everything to please me. Now, I wish for you to have everything you want," he added, and I opened the cloth with trembling fingers.

A few more tears rolled down my cheeks as I saw the bright green-coloured bangles.

"Wear these and tomorrow, the family wishes to meet you," he informed me, and I nodded.

"Are you unhappy?" he asked, and I chuckled.

"No," I exclaimed.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked, smiling; I leaned forward to hug him.

"I do not want to leave you," I said, and he caressed my head.

"One day, I will leave this World and that day, you will have your family there to hold you," he said, and I hiccuped.

"Come on, calm down, Trisha," he caressed my head and kissed my forehead.

"You will love him. He is a gentleman and someone who will understand you," he said, and I felt timid about his mention.

I did not know who he was.

"And you should focus on yourself now," he said, and I leaned back slowly.

"I shall,"

I smiled weakly and talked to him for a while. I felt even closer to him now.

I wished to start my family, to know a person, and to have kids of my own. But something felt disoriented.

I wore the bangles at night and the next day.

The neighbours who wished to use the well and bathing facility contributed money to the welfare of the society in the royal funds. I denied taking that, but they pushed me to hand it to the Prince.

Everyone knew about the recent events of the Kingdom. I had no other option but to take them.

"Trisha, you are ready?" my father asked, stepping in later in the afternoon.

I was standing in plain orange attire. I kept it for special events like festivals.

"They have arrived," he informed me, and I nodded.

The spiders of nervousness crawled over my skin, and I formed my question.

"Should I bring the water along?" I asked, and he nodded.

We walked out together, and I noticed a family sitting in the courtyard. I carefully stepped down and approached them.

They whispered a little to each other, and I placed the water glasses on the small table. There was an old lady, an old man and two young men.

"Meet my daughter, Trishalini," my father introduced me, and I joined my hands to greet them.

"Our son, Shantanu Kumar," the old lady said, and I lifted my gaze momentarily to notice an adult man. He had a moustache, was tall and good-looking, and passed me a tiny smile.

"Trisha, why do you not take Shantanu ji to show around," my father suggested, and I noticed him standing up.

I felt excited and nervous. This was new and very fast, considering the chain of events that had just happened.

"How old are you?" I began as we came a little far from the family, near the backside of my hut.

"I am around twenty-nine. My family does not remember the exact time of my birth," he answered, and I smiled briefly.

"I suppose you are around twenty-six," he said, and I nodded. "Your father told us," he added.

"What do you do?" I asked, and he smiled, looking at me. For strange reasons, his presence made me feel comfortable. He gave me a provider's energy.

"I am a soldier to Mahabaleshgarh. My family is also farming," he said, and I nodded.

"I do farming, too. What do you have in fields these days?" I asked, and he replied.

"It's a good season, so we are doing Bottle Gourds, Grams, Jawar and taking care of the fruit trees," he said, and I nodded.

"Even we are having Grams and sugarcane," I told him, and he nodded.

"Why are you considering marriage at this age? Why not before?" he asked suddenly, and my smile vanished.

"I did not want to leave my father. Now, he has successfully convinced me to get married," I told the truth, and he nodded.

"Well, I was busy serving the Kingdom. Now, I finally got the leave for a few months, and my parents suggested that I should get married now, too," he exclaimed, and I nodded.

"So, it's parents' wish," I said, and he laughed.

"Seems so," he agreed, and we walked around the field a little far from the hut.

"It's our farm," I said, pointing at it, and he thinned his gaze and nodded.

"The sugarcane is good," he said, and I smiled.

"All thanks to the good weather this year," I said, and he smiled.

"I mostly stay out of my house, in the Kingdom. I hope it will not be a problem to wait for me after the marriage," he said, and I lowered my gaze.

The mere imagination of longing for a husband was giving me butterflies.

"Not at all. Work is important. And I believe having your parents with us would be quite time-consuming for me, too," I replied, and he nodded.

"Though they are good, my mother gets impossible sometimes," he laughed, and I smiled.

"I do not know what it feels to be loved by a mother. Though my father has never made me feel emptiness, having a mother, even if she gets impossible, is quite a blessing," I assured him, and he looked at me.

"You are quite mature," he commented, and I lowered my gaze.

"Umm, I mean, sensible. You are beautiful, though. I do not know if I am allowed to say such a thing in the first meeting," he said, and I laughed.

Yuvraj's thoughts blurred my mind, and out of nowhere, I laughed. I still had to apologise to him. And talk to him about his return.

"Shall we go back? They must be waiting for us," Shantanu suggested, and I nodded.

"Ji," I exclaimed, and we both returned home. The way was filled with small, nervous talk and touches of laughter.

Even our parents seemed closer.

Shantanu walked to them and sat beside her mother. She smiled, looking at me, and asked him in signals. I kept my gaze low but noticed that he stole a glance at me, and I lifted my gaze when he nodded to his mother.

My father walked to me and took me to an isolated place.

"So, what do you think about him?" he asked with sparkles of hope in his eyes. It had been long since I had seen his lips curving with a smile.

I nodded.

"He is good," I said, and he inhaled a breath of peace.

This wasn't easy. One answer could change my life, and I had already affirmatively replied.

"God Bless you, my child," he said, placing his hand on my head. Then he walked away to announce my agreement, too.

I waited until my future mother-in-law walked to me, and I bent down to touch her feet.

"God bless you," she muttered, caressing my head. Then, she handed me a coconut wrapped in red cloth with a few grains of rice.

"We accept you as ours. Our daughter-in-law," she said, and I gulped nervously.

The meeting ended, and I stepped into my home.

It was not my home anymore. A few days had changed everything. A person can prepare himself if he sees the light of the thunder coming. But in my case, there was no light, and yet I stood burned.

I could not understand what I was feeling.

When Yuvraj took the rigid step of making a well for me, I knew my father understood the strings between us.

The irony was that there were no strings attached. I knew he was just being helpful, but honestly, I did not expect him to be that helpful. It made me question our equation, too.

We were friends. I reminded myself again.

He was a prince, the next king in line with the Mahabaleshgarh and Pratapgarh. A Princess was meant to sit beside the throne. But, my heart ached to stare at his face, silently, hiding, for the rest of my life.

I just wanted him as a friend.

I was not ready for the marriage, and neither was my mind or heart opposed. There was no good reason to deny it.

If the direction of my life's river had changed from being the sage to marriage, I would have had to get married one day. And, there was no better day than today –at least for the decision making.

"I am so happy," my father's voice screamed happiness as he entered the hut too.

"Finally, a dream of every father to hand over the daughter's hand to the best man in the world," he said, sitting near me and looking into my eyes.

"What is it?" he asked, and I shook my head with a smile.

"Are you happy?" he asked, and I gulped, lowering my gaze.

"I am, but it's all of a sudden, so digesting will take time, I guess," I exclaimed and began preparing for the dinner.

"The wedding is fixed at the end of next month," he exclaimed, and I mentally counted the days. They were around thirty-five.

"It's so soon," I complained in my low voice, and he smiled weakly.

"Girls are like birds; one day, they have to learn how to fly," he said, and I nodded.

My enthusiasm was not like that of my father, and I could not figure out why. Shantanu seemed good, but I could not get over the thought of raising my voice on Yuvraj. It was like I needed to seek his forgiveness to be calmed.

"Pitaji," I called my father. "I wish to see Yuvraj. The neighbours collected coins to donate to the royal funds as a token of their thanks. Can I go tomorrow and hand him over myself?"

I asked, and my father looked at me for a few moments. The worrying lines on his face appeared again, but he nodded.

"Okay, you can go," he smiled, and I smiled in return.

Strangely, as soon as I dipped into my mattress, the thoughts of Yuvraj and mine's fight consumed my thoughts instead of my fiance.

I should be thinking about my life after the marriage like other girls. But, it happens to be Yuvraj, his memories that blurred my night vision.

The shadows cast over the wall from a tiny light lamp were of my hand playing with the strand of my hair. But, as I kept staring at him, my thoughts dwelled into the possibility of something happening between me and Yuvraj Abhinandan. As the mild smell of his long-lasting perfume wrapped me while I pulled my comfortable, homely maroon dupatta to cover my face, I dived into endless thoughts.

Him, smiling at me, sitting silently next to me, feeding the pigeons, lowering his shy gaze, and suddenly sounding possessive.

I reminded myself. He was younger than me. And, if that was not enough, he was a Prince, the next King, the royal blood, and I was now engaged.

I inhaled sharply and threw that dupatta away. I should not be dreaming of him, about him or anything related to him.

Tomorrow would be the last time I would meet him. I would apologise, hand him the coins, and come back home.

I care less about his return to the Kingdom. I could not afford to have more problems for myself. If I had not accepted his friendship six years ago, my father would have never decided to marry me in a hurry.

Even if he would never mention it on the tip of his tongue, I knew that he was suspicious of us. And I could not even tell him that there was nothing between us and that there would never be any possibility of anything happening between us, either.

The sleep was almost impossible to me.

But, as usually, I woke up on my regular time, finished my morning business and asked my father to leave to the Pratapgarh.

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