Yashvardhan’s POV*

The palace was grand as always, but tonight,it's quiet  The moment I stepped inside, I didn’t head to my room or the study I went straight to Dadi. My meeting in Udaipur could wait. She couldn’t.

I found her seated in the living area, wrapped in her shawl, sipping tea like nothing had happened.

“Dadi… are you alright?” I asked, walking in with a furrowed brow.

She looked up with that calm smile she always wore. “I’m fine, beta. Mujhe kya hoga?

(What could possibly happen to me?)”

I clenched my jaw slightly. “Please… don’t act innocent. Ramesh told me everything. You almost got into an accident today. Why don’t you take better care of yourself?”

Dadi chuckled softly. “Haan bach gayi… dekh toh rahi hu theek hu All thanks to that girl.”

(Yes, I was saved… and you can see I’m fine.)

I narrowed my eyes. “Girl…?”

She nodded. “Yes. A girl saved me. Looked like she belonged to a decent family. Very graceful. She reminded me of someone… maybe a younger me.”

Something in my chest stirred. “And you said thank you to her, right?”

Dadi blinked. “Umm… I didn’t. In the rush, I forgot.”

The more I heard about it, the more uneasy I felt. My grandmother the Rajmata of Devgarh could’ve been hurt today, and I wasn’t even there.

I stood near the window,

“Ramesh, find that girl. The one who saved my Dadi. She didn’t just help a stranger she saved the soul of Devgarh.”

Ramesh gave a small nod. “Yes, Yuvraj.”

“And make sure...” I turned to face him. “Jo bhi tohfa bhejein, woh aam na ho. Understand?”

(Whatever we send as a gift, make sure it’s not something ordinary.)

“Ji, samajh gaya."

(Yes, understood.)

As Ramesh left, Dadi let out a soft sigh from the couch.

“Bohot fikr karta hai mujhe… par jabse is sheher mein aaye ho, ek pal mere paas baitha bhi nahi.

(You worry for me a lot, but ever since we came to this city, you haven’t sat beside me even once.)”

I turned, “Dadi, aap jaanti hain naa… is sheher mein hum sirf kaam ke liye aaye the. Aapki zid thi, isliye aapko saath le aaye.

(You know I only came to this city for work. You insisted, so I brought you with me.)”

She clicked her tongue,“Haan beta… ab mujhse baat bhi kaun karega?

(Yes, son… who even talks to me now?)”

I walked to her, knelt beside the couch and held her hand gently.

“Aisa mat kahiye, Dadi. Aap aur Maa ke siwa hamare paas hai hi kaun?

(Don’t say that, Dadi. Apart from you and Maa, who do I even have?)”

she pulled my ear like she used to when I was younger. “Chal, jaa muh-hath dho ke aa. Khana khate hain.

(Go now, freshen up. Let’s eat dinner.)”

“Okay, Dadi,” I said with a smile, getting up. But as I walked away, my mind wasn’t at peace.

The warm aroma of home-cooked food lingered in the air as I sat beside Dadi, quietly eating dinner. For a moment, there was peace a rare thing these days.

But then she said it.

“Beta... shaadi kar lo."

(Son... get married.)

The spoon froze mid-air. My appetite vanished in an instant. I set the plate down slowly and looked at her,

“Dadi... phir se nahi. (Not again, Dadi.)”

She exhaled with a tired sigh. “Par beta, aur kab tak? Devgarh ko agla uttaradhikari chahiye. (But for how long? Devgarh needs its next heir.) Someone to carry the legacy forward, to shoulder the name, the throne, the history…”

Her words echoed with purpose, but I only heard the pressure.

I stood up, frustration simmering just beneath my skin.

“Humein shaadi nahi karni, Dadi. (I don’t want to get married.) You want me to marry and then... what? Watch her leave too?” My voice dropped, heavy with bitterness.

“Maa bhi toh chhod gayi thi, aur Papa… Papa ne toh dusri shaadi mein khushi dhoondh li. (Maa left us too, and Papa… he found happiness in someone else.)”

Dadi’s eyes filled with pain. “Yash…”

I stepped back, jaw clenched. “Bas Dadi, aur nahi. (Enough, Dadi. No more.)”

I turned and walked away, my heart thudding in my chest. Each step up the stairs felt heavier than the last.

Back in my room, I slammed the door shut. The silence was loud. The shadows on the walls felt like memories chasing me.

Love? Marriage?

To me, it wasn’t companionship.

It was abandonment dressed in tradition.

🌷

I tried to sleep, closing my eyes and forcing my body to rest. But rest never comes easy when the past still breathes beneath your skin.

Flashes. Screams. Smoke.

Blood.

I was ten again.

Standing in the middle of the marble-floored corridor...

Crying.

Screaming.

"Maa...!"

The echo of crashing glass. The blinding smoke. The screech of tires. My small hands trembling, drenched in blood that wasn’t mine.

And then, nothing. Silence, followed by endless weeping.

My eyes flew open.

Gasping. Sweating.

I sat up, hand clutching my chest as if I could steady the storm. The room was dark, but the nightmare had painted it red.

I reached for the glass of water by the nightstand, my fingers cold. Each sip only reminded me how real it felt.

I pushed the curtains aside and stepped into the balcony.

This city…

Rajgarh.

The name still tasted of royalty and ruin.

I grew up here. In this very haveli. These walls had heard my laughter once. My mother’s songs. Her bangles. Her warmth.

And then… that one day.

That one accident took everything.

After that, no one dared return to this place.

Not Papa.

Not me.

Not even Dadi.

We moved to another palace on the edge of Devgarh, only a few kilometers away, but far enough to bury the grief.

Until now.

I came back only for work. To rebuild what was left. To expand the legacy And Dadi her stubborn heart refused to stay behind.

She wanted to breathe the same air again.

But me?

All I got were ghosts.

Now, at thirty-one, I stood in the place that had raised me and destroyed me. And even after all these years…

The nightmares still knew my name.

Just as I tried to calm the storm inside me, my phone buzzed lighting up with a name I had no desire to see.

“Vivaan”

Of course.

I picked up.

His voice hit me like a slap. Loud “You’re still in that haunted palace? Playing with Dadi’s emotions like a good boy? Or plotting something else, Yash?”

I said nothing.

“You think the empire will be handed to you just because you’re the 'responsible one'? Because you wear the crown of silence and duty?”

Still… nothing.

He hated that. My silence was louder than any of his insults.

“I’ll make sure Devgarh is mine, bhaiya. Rajpath ho ya rajgaddi… it belongs to me. And you know why? Because I dream bigger than you ever will.”

Click.

I ended the call.

Vivaan my stepbrother. The son of the woman Papa married after her.

The woman whose name was never spoken in front of Dadi The woman who birthed a hurricane.

Vivaan was everything I wasn’t.

Spoiled. Reckless. Addicted to power and obsessed with luxury And now he wanted Devgarh. The legacy. The throne. The bloodline.

But why should he get it?

He wasn’t even raised in these walls. He didn’t know the weight of this crown. He didn’t watch it fall.

He didn’t lose her.

And yet… he had one advantage He’s my father’s legal heir too The world wouldn’t care about love, loss, or legacy Only names. And law.

And that made him dangerous.

I cannot will not let the empire fall into his hand Not when he sees Devgarh as a playground for his whims.

Not whe

n he dreams of kingship… while I carry the burden of survival.

If protecting my bloodline means getting my hands dirty…

Then so be it.

Thanku for reading!!

And stay tuned for next chapter!!