The Royal Nightmare

31. Consequences

Tejas POV
15 days later

I opened the door to my wing as the help brought my luggage. I walked towards my bedroom and opened the door hoping to find Divjyot on it. It was 01:15 am and she was supposed to be asleep. I went to the next room and then to the gym, the study, the game room but it was all empty.

My heart raced and my palms felt sweaty.

"Where's the princess?" I asked as the help bowed his head down. I waved for him to call the guard stationed outside the door. She knew I was arriving back today so it made no sense if she had went back to her mother's and not returned yet. She wouldn't do that to me. I left her happy and satisfied.

The guard arrived and spoke in a single breath. "Yuvraj ji, she walked down to the stable sometime after dinner. I had assisted her, but then she wanted to be left alone and ordered me to return to my position." He spoke as I was clearly confused.

"Okay. Tell the cook to get me something to eat. Less spicy. I don't feel so good." I said, and walked down the stairs through the back door and into the stable. It was eerily silent as the light snoring of some horses and the rustle of the wind through the pathway made the only noise.

I passed by the stationed workers sleeping in their quarters as I made my way down the stables. Rustom opened one eye to look at the intrusion and closed it on seeing me, clearly unbothered. Paramveer was in no mood to wake up by my quiet footsteps and neither were the other geldings and stallions. I made my way down passing Katherine and Neelam, the sweet mares and Fiza who would be foaling in few days. Zara had foaled a week ago and her filly wasn't weaned away yet as they both turned to look at me and then turned away. It was in the last cabin that I saw her sitting there with Sultaan. He was Diana's son and the reason she had left us early.

A genetic testing had revealed that he was the lovechild of Apollo and Diana. I had sold Apollo, the stallion with a coat color as black as this night after finding out that his lust was the reason Diana left me.

"You're back." She says, without even looking at me. She sat near the manger as Sultaan stood by her side as if in defense looking at me with hatred and stomping his little forelimb.

"I missed you." I say, ignoring the existence of the little horse as I walked to her and hugged her from behind. She didn't answer but I did feel her back stiffer. She was clearly upset with me, for spending so much time away without any contact but I had told her beforehand. "Come with me." I say taking her hand and pulling her out as she didn't resist until we walked out and then down the corridor, towards an empty shed. "I'm so sorry." I say cupping her face to kiss her lips, backing her down to the wall and slowly but gently pushed her down on the paddy straw bedding in preparation for Fiza's foaling.

She was stiff and quiet but she barely resisted when I stripped her out of the clothes and was soon thrusting my length inside her, with my mouth latched on her nipple biting as hard as possible without drawing blood.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"How was Hyderabad?" she spoke after we had dressed up. I was ready to walk out of the stables but she seemed hesistant. I plan to take her back to the bedroom and ask what's weighing her down so I don't get the cold shoulder again but instead she turned towards Sultaan's cabin.

"Oh it was kind of..." I was saying and then paused. "Divjyot, I didn't go to Hyderabad. I was in the rural placements in Cambodia and..." she interrupted before I could complete. She stood firmly away from me, her arms folded and spine straight.

"Tejas, you have to appear at the station tomorrow for the murder of Raj Chautala, the journalist missing since he blackmailed the family regarding Tejpartap's pictures. I have already taken the court's order for a lie detection test. The papers are on your study table so we'll talk after that." She says walking out of the shed and towards Sultan's stable. I wanted to go after her, but knowing there were worker's sleeping down the hallway and could listen made me pause.

They were far away from the empty shed out and away from the main stable where we had fucked, but now we were already inside the main stable and are voices would echo added to our raised tempers causing gossip to stir in the palace.

"You can sleep in the next bedroom." I spoke in a low voice.

"No thanks, I'm fine here." She says as she takes her seat beside him as he covered her from my sight.

I huffed and returned from the stable knowing this wasn't the time. I returned the food untouched and took the papers from the study. I read through them and then tried to sleep for a few hours.

I had been tired beyond possible with all that had aspired in the past few days. I still had to face my mother for leaving without telling her and missing the diwali celebrations. I had managed to find the sea-links Pallavi wanted and then I had to fight my way safely out of the ring. I had just submitted the whole file a few hours ago at the HQ in Bombay and taken the next flight home wanting to be back in my space.

My emotions had been all over the place. At that time I had wanted to leave but now, I had wanted to come back to her as soon as possible. I thought it might be due to my new found addiction with sex, but being on this bed and not having her sleeping beside me had confused me even more.

I wasn't satisfied with the way I had hoped for.

The lie detection test was no big thing for me. I had been trained hard and tortured harder throughout the years. If it was an equipment that measured my heart rate, that would be easy. If it was the one that shocked me in a lie, it would be fun.

I had covered my tracks and the only thing that they could hold against me was the fact that Raj had done something against the royals giving me motive to kill him. Except that I'm sure they had nothing.

She was an Indian woman. She hadn't aborted when I played the emotions card and I wanted to cash on that very card in this test. I just didn't want that witty Dhruv to be a part of it. She would be easy to manipulate but who decided to give her a missing person's case?

It was way below her cadre and at most an inspector looking into the case would be sufficient and I'm sure she had more important work in the department to do than this case. I looked up at the clock, still wide awake as it was ready to declare the start of my day.

I shut it off as soon as it rang and got out of bed and went down the stairs to my parents bedroom. My father exited his room to go cycling on the dot, as I stood in his way.

"We have a problem." I say, as he nodded.

"Ambar told me. He couldn't refuse Divjyot for the lie detector test as that would be more suspicious, you'll need to go and hope for the best." He says, as there was no salutation even though we had seen each other after 15 days. This was our relation. We needed no hugs or formalities or long expressions of love and gratitude. We just did what we needed for each other. Infront of another person, I would have bowed and wished him a good morning, but between both of us, we didn't care.

"That's not the problem. The problem is... someone decided that this case was for the SSP to deal with." I say as he looks up at me half shocked and half surprised.

"You mean someone is using Divjyot against us?" he says, as I shrug.

"But someone is playing a game against us. Is Divjyot involved or just a pawn? This is for us to figure out." I said, as he looked around for the presence of guards and then whispered.

"Whoever it is... It should be handled before your presence is needed at the station." He says, and then stiffens patting my back. "Have a good day, son."

Handled?

I can't just investigate and then kill a high ranking police officer in four hours or find stuff shady enough to make him kneel.

But everyone has a price tag and that's my only option.