They took their places at the dining table,the servants pulling out chairs with practiced grace.Saudamini,with a subtle gesture that allowed no refusal,guided Sanskriti to the seat beside Atharva.

"Here, sit here,"her mother said softly but the command was clear.

Sanskriti obeyed.She settled into the chair next to him,her movements careful,her posture perfectly composed.She could feel Atharva's presence immediately close,unmistakable, unsettling in a way she could not explain.

To anyone watching,it appeared proper and natural the prince seated beside the young lady of the house.But for Sanskriti,every inch of space between them felt charged.

Atharva turned his head slightly,just enough to glance at her.A faint,knowing curve touched his lips,as though he found the arrangement entirely to his liking.

Sanskriti kept her eyes forward,her expression polite, her smile intact exactly as she had been instructed.But inside,her heart was anything but calm.

The first course was served, and silence settled briefly over the table as everyone began to eat.

Sanskriti lifted her spoon with steady hands, though she barely tasted a thing.

Sitting beside Atharva made her acutely aware of every small movement his hand reaching for the glass,the quiet brush of his sleeve near hers, the calm confidence with which he carried himself.

He spoke occasionally with her parents,his tone respectful and warm,answering their questions with ease.Yet now and then,he turned to Sanskriti,including her gently in the conversation.

Atharva turned toward her with courteous interest.

"So, you're in college?"he asked smoothly. "Which year?"

She replied softly, "My final year, Your Highness."

Saudamini's face brightened with quiet pride. "And she paints very well too.It is not just a hobby for her."

Atharva glanced at Sanskriti with renewed interest.

"Is that so?Then perhaps I should ask you to paint my portrait one day."

Sanskriti was momentarily surprised,but she masked it at once with grace.A soft smile curved her lips.

"If Your Highness would permit me,"

she said gently, "I would be honored to try."

Atharva inclined his head.

"Then I shall look forward to it."

Her parents exchanged satisfied glances, and the dinner continued in refined ease, appearances perfectly kept though behind Sanskriti's smile,her heart remained restless.

Atharva observed her closely.Every graceful nod,every careful word intrigued him more than he cared to admit.

As the maid refilled their glasses,the space between Atharva and Sanskriti grew suddenly smaller.

Sanskriti reached for the jug at the same moment he did.

Their fingers brushed.

It was brief no more than a heartbeat but it felt louder than any word spoken at the table.

Sanskriti stiffened instantly.Her breath hitched before she could stop it.She withdrew her hand as if the warmth might betray her.

Atharva noticed.

He did not pull away at once.

Instead,he looked at her really looked at her for the first time that evening.Not as a prince.Not as a guest.But as a man who had just felt something uninvited... and unwelcome.

A slow, unreadable smile curved at the corner of his mouth.

She kept her eyes on her plate.But her pulse would not slow.

Dinner ended with soft laughter and polite words.The servants cleared the table, and warm silence settled in the room.Then Saudamini turned to her daughter with a gentle but firm smile.

"Sanskriti, dear... why don't you show His Highness your paintings?"

The words hit Sanskriti like a quiet storm.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of her chair.The last thing she wanted was to be alone with him.Not after everything.Not after the way he unsettled her,confused her,stirred things she did not wish to feel.

She glanced at her mother and saw the unspoken command in her eyes.

Be gentle.Be agreeable.This is necessary.

Her heart twisted.This was not about her wishes.It was about duty.About debts.About survival.

Sanskriti rose slowly,her face calm,her smile practiced.

"Ji, Maa," she said softly.

Atharva stood at once.

"I would be honoured," he replied, his voice smooth,almost pleased.

And he truly was.

For the first time, he would be with her officially.

No accidents.No misunderstandings.

Just the two of them... and a space where no one else could interrupt.

As Sanskriti turned toward the corridor,her steps felt heavy.

As Atharva followed her,his steps were light with quiet triumph.

Two hearts moving in the same direction for very different reasons.The painting room opened into her chamber like a quiet secret.

Sanskriti stepped inside first.

Atharva followed.

The door closed behind them with a soft, deliberate click.The sound settled in the air between them final, unavoidable.

She walked toward her easel,her back straight, her steps measured,as though calm could be worn like armor.Her fingers had just brushed the edge of the table when a hand closed around her wrist.

She inhaled sharply.

Before she could turn,he pulled her back.

Not roughly but with authority.

Her spine met his chest.His arm slid around her waist,firm and sure,drawing her into him as though she already belonged there.

"Ap ye......" Her voice broke despite her effort.

His lips were near her ear now.

"You have no idea,"he said in a low murmur, held tight with control,

"how hard it was to sit still while you walked towards me from those stairs.Every step you took... I felt it."

Her breath trembled.

"I behaved,"he continued quietly,"only because your parents were watching.I did not wish to scandalize my own proposal."

The weight of his words made her chest ache.

For a moment she was frozen caught between shock and sense.

Then she pressed her palms to his chest and tried to move away, gently but firmly.

"This is wrong," she said,her voice strained but steady.

"Someone might see us.This is not how a gentleman behaves,Your Highness."

He did not let her go.

Instead, his grip tightened at her waist,fingers spreading possessively over her back.

"I am behaving like a gentleman,"he replied softly.

Her eyes widened.She turned her head just enough to see his reflection in the glass his face calm,dark,certain.

"I am the Prince of Rajgarh," he said.

"And you... are going to be my wife."

The words did not ask.They did not wait.They declared.

Sanskriti's throat tightened.

She stood still for a moment,her breath uneven, her heart loud in her chest.

Then,gathering herself,she spoke softly, carefully.

"Your Highness... please,"she said in a low, composed voice,

"leave me."

He did not move at once.

She continued,her tone gentle yet firm with propriety.

"This is... not appropriate.We are not yet married,and I am the daughter of this house."

Her eyes lowered,not in weakness,but in modesty.

"I cannot allow anyone to see me like this.It would not be right for my reputation."

Then she lifted her gaze again,meeting his.

"So I request you gracefully... please leave me."

Her words carried no drama,no accusation.

Only dignity.



he had no wish to release her.

The warmth of her body against his,the soft scent of her hair,the quiet tremor in her breath it all held him captive.

Her gentle words should have sent him away.

Instead,they stole what little control he had left.

To him,she was no longer merely a woman standing in his arms.

She was an Enchantress.

Her grace disarmed him.

Her restraint undone him.

Her beauty struck his heart with a force he had never known.

Slowly, as if releasing something precious against his will,Atharva loosened his hold.

Sanskriti stepped away at once and turned toward her easel,as though the paintings could shield her from his presence.

"This... this one is my favorite," she said softly, gesturing to a canvas.

He barely heard her.His gaze stayed fixed on her instead on the curve of her profile,the nervous way her fingers brushed the fabric of her sleeve, the faint rise and fall of her breath.His eyes followed her every movement with such sharp intensity that it made her heart race in her chest.

She felt it.

That stare.

It unsettled her.

Her pulse quickened.Her throat went dry.

She moved ahead to the far end of the room, where one painting stood half veiled by cloth.

It showed only a fragment a garden path, moonlight touching old stone,something achingly familiar.

Atharva stepped closer.

"That place...," he murmured. "It feels known..."

He reached for the cloth.

Before he could uncover it,Sanskriti turned swiftly and caught his wrist.

With a polite,controlled smile she said,

"It's not complete yet,Your Highness."

And just as quickly,she pulled the fabric back into place.Only then did she realize she was still holding his hand.

The contact made him forget the painting entirely.

He looked down at her fingers wrapped around his,then up into her face.

A slow,dangerous smile curved his lips.

"Oh?" he said lightly."Then I shall wait,my lady.You may finish it... in our room,before me."

The words made her flush instantly.

She let go of his hand as if burned and stepped away without a word.

Just then-

Knock. Knock.

A maid's voice came through the door.

"Her ladyship requests you both for dessert."

Relief washed over Sanskriti.

She nodded and gestured toward the door."We should go."

She had barely taken a step when Atharva caught her hand again.

She turned.

He moved in front of her... and then he went down on one knee.

From his coat pocket he drew out a small velvet box and opened it.

Inside lay a ring deep red,a ruby that glowed like captured fire.



"I have already spoken to your parents," he said quietly, sincerely now.

"But I wished to do this."

He lifted his eyes to hers.

"Sanskriti...Marry me."

She stood frozen.

There was no romance in her heart only pressure.

Only memory.

Ved's face crossed her mind.

The words she had once dreamed of hearing from someone else.Her chest felt tight.The room felt small.

She wanted to run.But she knew she couldn't.

In her silence, Atharva understood.

Slowly, she extended her hand.

He slid the ring onto her finger.

And as the ruby settled against her skin, Atharva exhaled in quiet satisfaction as though he had just claimed what had always belonged to him.

The moment the ring slid onto her finger, something inside Sanskriti closed in on itself.

It wasn't joy she felt it was a quiet, suffocating finality.

The ruby's weight pressed against her skin like a promise she hadn't made with her heart.

She knew, in that instant,that there was no turning back now.

Her chest ached,slow and deep,as if her heart itself were protesting the choice her life had just made for her.

He lingered thereeyes fixed on her hand for a long,silent moment,as if sealing the truth of it into his soul.

Then,slowly, he rose.

Without a word,he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead soft,certain, irrevocable.

And with that,he turned and stepped out of the room.

Sanskriti remained where she was,frozen,her mind struggling to grasp what had just happened.

By the time she moved,he was already a few steps ahead.

She followed him down the corridor,her heart heavy,every step feeling like she was walking into a future she had never chosen.

When the prince returned to the hall, Saudamini and her husband were waiting beside the low table,where silver plates of sweets had been arranged with care.

Saudamini smiled."Your Highness, we have prepared a few special sweets for you.Please do try them."

Atharva inclined his head politely,then said with a faint, knowing smile,

"My apologies, Mr and Mrs Rana... but I have already had my sweet upstairs. And now,I find I want no more."

He added, calmly,"It is also getting rather late.I should take my leave."

For a second, Saudamini only blinked, confused by his choice of words.

Atharva's gaze, however,shifted slowly, deliberately to Sanskriti.

And he looked... amused.

Sanskriti stood still,her cheeks suddenly burning with embarassment.She understood at once what he meant.

Before her mother could speak, she stepped forward quickly and said, "Mother... I had arranged some sweets for His Highness in my room."

Her voice was steady.Her face was not.

He bowed slightly in farewell and took his leave.

Everyone followed him out to the porch to see him off.

The night air was cool,the lamps glowing softly as his car waited at the gate.

Atharva stepped toward it with composed ease, while behind him,the household stood in respectful silence watching the prince of Rajgarh depart.

Hey beautiful Ladies ❤️

Keep reading as it's going to be intresting.

Love_Qiana❤️