27. Raanisa.
Siya ~
Sometimes, distractions work.
Sometimes, they don't.
While the facade in front of my family had worked itself smoothly, Arjun's bodyguards weren't so easy to fool when I sneaked out of the house next morning, leaving everyone alone.
I knew for a fact that they were following me and that is precisely why I left two letters. One for my family and the other one for Ranaji.
" It it were that easy for me to forgive you all, I genuinely would have. I am not the one to keep a grudge but what you all did to me does not deserve forgiveness, at least not yet. If you all find it fit to screw with my life, I think it's okay for me to screw with your emotions too. The next time I want to see any of you, I will let you know."
I had written and left the note on the dining table for my family to read before sneaking out.
" Ranaji, I am going to Jaipur for two days to be alone with my thoughts. I also know that you would have already figured out that I left before you can see this note. If you have respected me once in your life, let me be. Your bodyguards are always watching me and I know that they will continue the same in Jaipur too. I will return unharmed but I really need to be alone. Just tell your witch of an ex-wife that I had a friend who met with an accident so I had to leave immediately if she asks. How can I truly be mad at you when the very people I trusted my everything with failed to care for me? That said, it does not mean that I have absolutely any interest in forgiving you yet."
~Siya.
I was completely aware of my recklessness but had I stayed there for one more minute, I would have probably choked due to the lack of air and my ability to breathe. It was exhausting and that's how I found myself, wearing a face mask to cover my identity, boarding the first bus to Jaipur. I had already informed my friends that I was coming and one of them was okay with me crashing in his flat.
In all honesty, I needed an escape and I needed it now. After seven hours in the bus, I was at the Jaipur bus stop at about two in the afternoon and the moment I stepped out, I saw five men, dressed in the Royal bodyguard uniform thingie waiting right outside.
" Ranisa, please come with me. Your car is here." One of them spotted me immediately, despite of a face mask and I rolled my eyes, sighing.
" I am not going anywhere in that car. I plan on being invisible for these two days, not be roaming around in this car, announcing Hey Look! Your Queen is here. Bow down or die. For fucks sake! The car has the Royal family sigil!" I exclaimed, revolted at the suggestion.
" Ranisa, with all due respect, anyone who sees you will know that you are the Queen. The news has been viral ever since yesterday. You will find your face in every local newspaper and in the glamour section of national newspapers. Your video has gone viral all over the internet. The damage control is going on but now is not the best time to try and hide in plain sight. It won't work." He spoke in the most calm and polite manner possible, annoying me further but there was no comeback that I could give him because he was right.
" Fine. But tell you Ranaji that he will not sit there and try to dictate my actions here. I will go where I want to, meet anyone I wish and do anything I want." I said as he took the duffel bag I was carrying from me and asked me to walk ahead.
" Actually, ma'am, why don't you tell him everything yourself?" He looked the tiniest bit guilty, extending his phone towards me.
Of course he was over a call with Arjun.
" I believe that you've heard everything." I took the phone and snapped at my husband.
" I did, Little Flower. The car will take you to the Palace and your bodyguards will ensure that you are safe. That is all I need to know." Came his defeated reply and for a moment, I let myself feel good after listening to his voice before getting back to reality.
" No. I am staying with a friend." I immediately argued, standing my ground.
" Why don't you invite your friends over to stay at the Palace. I am sure they will enjoy that prospect. You cannot be staying at anyone's house without risking their privacy Siya. The Palace is your safest option." For a man who I wanted to stay mad at, he was making a lot of sense. I couldn't do that to my friends, not now.
" Thank you for letting me stay at your palace Ranaji." I said before hanging up and giving the phone back.
I was just hurting people around me right now. Not the best version of myself, I was aware but I also had no idea how to process everything and I needed someone to take all that anger inside of me, out.
The Palace was about thirty minutes from the bus stand and as I reached, I found servants and maid hustling around to ensure that everything was in place.
I couldn't help but laugh.
" Okay. Stop, you all! I am not here on some inspection. In fact, I don't plan on coming out of my bedroom for the whole of my trip so I really don't care if there is a little bit dirt on the huge ass flower vase. You can also ask the cook to take a leave because as I said, for the next two days, I will be alive on my pizza and subways. Have a nice day y'all and just point me to my room." I told them all and would really have enjoyed their comical reactions to my little speech but I was exhausted, totally.
I also called my friends, telling them that due to their security, I wasn't going to meet them this time and after almost an hour of convincing, it was decided that they all will come to the palace late night to meet me, leaving no room for argument.
I ran a bath for myself with all the essential oils and stuff in the fancy bathroom and relaxed in the pool as my phone went off for the thousandth time today.
It was Mumma this time and I rejected it again, closing my eyes shut.
That is how I spent my four days here. Locked inside a Palace that I had completely to myself, stuffed my face with all the junk food and binged watched seven seasons of Brooklyn 99 and yet, I had zero heart of going back just yet. I found myself entitled to change my two days trip to four without a care in the world.
But yes, I really should get out of the room and look around. Locking myself up was enough already. I needed fresh air and I needed it now and I needed to change.
Siya's Look ~
As I reached the palace's courtyard, a sanctuary of serenity, was a symphony of colors and scents. Lush gardens bloomed with vibrant flowers, their petals painting a kaleidoscope of hues, while aromatic jasmine and rose bushes lined the pathways, perfuming the air with their delicate fragrance. Majestic peacocks roamed freely, their iridescent plumage adding a touch of natural splendor.
" Oh my God." I found myself whispering as I looked around in shock. This wasn't nearly as large as the Jodhpur palace but it was about a thousand times more beautiful.
As I ascended the marble staircase, adorned with delicate carvings and guarded by stone elephants, I found myself in the palace's inner sanctum. Here, every step seemed to whisper tales of bygone eras and noble rulers. Intricately painted frescoes adorned the walls, depicting legendary battles, royal processions, and scenes from mythological epics. Gilded arches stretched overhead, their elaborate detailing catching the light and casting enchanting patterns on the floors below and in the night lights, everything twinkled.
I felt goosebumps all over. Just the kind when I do when Arjun is around me and I found myself turning around immediately, only to find those brown orbs looking at me and I found myself walking near to him in some spell.
He was once again, in one of his expensive tailored suit as he leaned on to one of the pillars with arms folded and even though I caught him looking at me, he did not avert his eyes away from mine.
" What are you doing here?" I whispered as if there was some third person around here when truly, we were alone.
" I am done giving you space, Little One. This is all the distance I found myself capable of giving you before you drew me to yourself. I am incapable of staying away from you." He confessed as he took my right hand into his own and placed a small kiss on the knuckles and took one step closer to me.
" This is your palace Ranaji. I am sorry that I asked." I freed my hand away from his hold and tried to walk away with a clutch of heart but he once again, stopped me by holding my hand, turning me towards him.
" Siya, I know I don't deserve you but I am too selfish to let you go. I am too weak to handle the distance between us so please do me this favour." He said sitting down on both his knees and placed his hands on my waist. His hold was so weak that I could just walk off again but the power his vulnerable voice held over me did not let me move an inch.
" You did not give me the honesty I deserved Arjun. Why should I trust anything you say now?" I fought my tears back, trying not to fall weak in front of him.
" I am going to give you the whole truth Siya. All of it if you give me a chance." He asked me once again as a lone tear escaped his left eye and that was my queue to break too as I sat down on my knees in front of him.
There was something about seeing this man so vulnerable and raw that made me second guess my judgement and I immediately knew that I wanted to know what he had to say, even if it meant that it would help me forgive him.
I raised my hand and wiped his tear away from my thumb and hesitantly, took his hands in mine, not taking my eyes away from him.
" Okay Ranaji. I will listen to whatever you have to say but not like this. Not when we both have no idea what to do with ourselves." I said but he kept a finger on my lips.
" I don't think I will be able to gather this courage any other day once again Little Flower." He replied, moving his finger away and tucking a lose hair strand at the back of my ear before withdrawing his hand back to himself but I didn't let go of the other one which was still in mine.
" I was twenty two and a fool Siya. Vani is Mom's friend's daughter and we used to meet often in Royal parties, functions, festivals and other arrangements and that's how we became close to each other. We started seeing each-other and at twenty four, we were happy, in love and married. I was just a Prince then with hardly any responsibilities and foolish grand notions that woman. She was everything to me, including my reason to live. The first year of our marriage was something out of a fairytale but soon enough, as I got myself invested with the business while Amar looked after the royal duties. I used to be at work till late since we were establishing a few industries in UK and France. I was never busy enough for Vani thought, but she started avoiding me every chance she got after our first anniversary. She would take chances to pick fights with me, blame me for ruining her life and always keep a distance with which I was fine because I figured she was having a hard time adjusting to the new life. I gave her all the space she needed...." His voice choked and I held his hand even tighter to somehow just reassure him that I was right here.
" Arjun....it's okay if you don't want to talk about it." I honestly told him because it was breaking my heart, listening to him talk about her the way he did.
She was his first love.
" You were right Siya. You deserve my honesty." He said and I shook my head, keeping my palm on his cheek.
" I don't think either of us are at fault here. I don't know if I would have been able to tell anyone the truth either had I been in your place." I found myself confessing to him in all honesty without any remorse.
He needed this trust and I needed to trust him for some reason.
" One day, I found my brother and my wife in each others arms when they thought that no one was home. For a minute, I thought that I had lost my mind but when sense made its way back to me, they had already seen me standing there and they immediately parted away, looking away in guilt but before I could react, Vani told me that she was expecting a child when I hadn't touched her in months. None of my family believed me when I told them, even Samarth thought that I was doing this because I wanted to be King. Over the days, Vani tried to keep convincing me that it was our child she was carrying but I demanded a paternity test and it was just a formality. She and I both knew that it was not my child." He finished and I closed my eyes in pain.
His wife had cheated on his with his brother, that I had figured out but this, this was too much for anyone to go though.
I let my tears flow without trying to stop them for the first time and moved closer to Arjun, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer into me as I found his hands around my shoulders too and we stayed like that for god knows how long but one thing that was clear as hell to me was that he might have hidden the truth from me but he wasn't the villain my mind was making him to be.
" Arjun you are that morally grey man who have more white than black and I think I can put up with that. I want to put up with that. I forgive you, I truly do." I told him, running my fingers through his hair and I could slowly feel that heartache of mine fading away at the thought of his lies.
" Siya...." He started but then I shushed him.
" No. Come on." I said, standing up on my feet and he followed too.
" After what Vani did to me, I don't think I will fall in love with anyone but I am at your disposal Siya. You are the air I breathe and everything I need." His words were so incredibly honest and I gave him a smile.
" Take me home?" I found myself asking him and the corner of his lips tucked upwards too.
" As my Queen wishes." Was his reply and I grinned.
" In that case, your Queen also wishes to be carried back to her chambers." I tried to lighten up the mood but he took my words quite literally and before I knew it, I was scooped into his arms and he gently pulled me closer to his chest.
" I was only kidding Ranaji!" I shrieked but allowed myself to lean into him, finding a sense of comfort in his embrace.
" I don't joke around my wife's wishes, Ranisa." He replied with a small smile and I found heat rising in my cheeks at that endearment.
This was the first time he had called me that and I didn't know how to respond to that!
As we reached the bedroom, he gently placed me on the bed and the back of his hand brushed my chest, sending a shiver down my spine.
" Sleep well Siya. We leave tomorrow morning." He said and was about to leave when I held him by his wrist, stopping his from walking away.
" You can sleep here too Arjun. I trust you." I said, shifting to the other side of the bed, making space for him.
" I don't want you to regret this in the morning Little One because once I take my rightful place beside you, there will be no going back again." His words seemed like a warning but they literally had the opposite effect me me and butterflies erupted in my stomach because of hid words and they was he was looking at me.
" I am just offering you the bed, not a kingdom Ranaji." I muttered, averting my eyes away from him because suddenly, I felt extremely shy under his watchful gaze unsure of the depth of my own emotions and the implications of this proximity I had just offered him.
All he did was lean over me, covering me with the duvet and then distanced himself away and I looked on, confused.
" See if you feel the same way about asking me to be in the same bed as you tomorrow night Siya. If you do, I will gladly take that place next to you but if not, I am ready to wait a lifetime for you. Where else will I be if not with you, even if that means keeping a distance from you if that is what you need." He replied, lying down on the couch, leaving me alone with my very confused thoughts.
This man might be a lot of things but I was sure about one freaking this, he will never harm me intentionally, nor will be let any harm come to me and for now, that seemed enough.
To unlock the next one, 1800 votes are what I seek on this Chapter. Hope you liked it. Until next time.
I will only be able to update post 25th June because I have my exams.