Sanskriti snapped out of the moment and stepped back at once,putting distance between them.

Atharva didn’t stop her.

He just looked at her once briefly,unreadable then turned away and walked out of the dressing room without another word.

The door closed behind him.

The silence he left was heavier than his presence had been.

Sanskriti stood there,her heart racing,her fingers curled into fists.

Why does he affect me like this?she asked herself angrily.

And why do I hate that he does?

Outside,Atharva walked down the corridor with long,controlled steps.His face was calm,but his mind wasn’t.

He didn’t look back.

But for the rest of the evening,both of them carried the same unresolved tension into the night one heading toward a dinner party,the other left behind with questions she didn’t want answers to.

                                 *********

The dinner party was everything royal and radiant.

Devika’s mother had turned their old mansion into a glowing dream.Crystal lamps lined the garden paths,soft music floated through the air, and long tables were dressed in ivory cloth, fresh flowers,and silver cutlery.The scent of jasmine mixed with rich food and laughter.

Atharva arrived with his friends.

Yuvansh whistled low the moment he stepped inside.

“Wow.If this is just a dinner,I don’t even want to imagine what her weddings look like."

Devika rolled her eyes.

“Please.You’d faint in the first five minutes.”

Shaurya smiled quietly.

“I think he already has.”

They laughed.

Soon Devika’s mother came to greet them, proud and emotional.

“You all look wonderful tonight.Come, inside. Tonight we celebrate.No worries, no debts, no fear.”

They sat together at one table.

Food was served in rounds rich curries,kebabs, pulao,desserts dripping in syrup.Yuvansh tasted everything dramatically.

This kebab,” he declared, pointing his fork like a judge, “deserves a standing ovation.”

Shaurya smirked.

“You talk more than you eat.”

“And Shaurya eat more than he admit,” he shot back at Shaurya.

Shaurya shook his head with a small smile.

Atharva laughed softly at their banter,but his eyes kept drifting away toward nothing and everything at once.He was atleast happy after a long time as he felt that Sanskriti is taking small steps.

Devika noticed.

“You okay, Prince Charming? You’re unusually quiet.”

He took a sip of his drink.

“Just tired.”

Yuvansh raised a brow.

“Tired from ruling hearts or breaking them?”

Devika kicked Yuvansh under the table.

“Shut up.”

But Atharva only gave a half-smile.

The party went on with music, jokes, and warm light but beneath the laughter,Atharva carried a restlessness he couldn’t shake.

Because somewhere,in a quiet palace room.

Sanskriti was sitting alone.

And no amount of celebration could completely drown that thought out.

                               *******

Sanskriti arranged her jewellery and poshaks neatly inside the wardrobe, placing each piece back where it belonged bangles in velvet trays, necklaces laid straight,dupattas folded with care.The soft click of the cupboard doors echoed in the room as she finished,as if closing off the day.

It had been four hours since Atharva left.

Now she lay on the bed,twisting and tossing beneath the covers,staring at the ceiling.Sleep refused to come.Her body was tired, but her mind wasn’t.It kept drifting back to the same plac Atharva… and Devika.

The thought tightened something in her chest.

She turned to her side.Then her back.Then her side again.

No use.

With a small sigh,she sat up and switched on the lamp.The sudden light filled the room with a warm glow.She slipped out of bed,walked to the shelf,and picked up a book at random.

Maybe words could quiet what her heart wouldn’t.

She settled back against the pillows and began to read though her eyes followed the lines,her thoughts were still chasing the same two names.

Atharva.

Devika.

And the space between them.

It was past midnight when Atharva finally came in.

The door to the dressing room,joined to the bedroom,opened first.Sanskriti heard him before she saw him.The quiet shuffle of shoes. The soft rustle of fabric.He changed there in silence,unaware that she was still awake.

When he stepped out and noticed the light,he paused.

Then he came to the bedroom.

He stood at the threshold,not crossing it, folding his arms loosely across his chest.For a moment,he just looked at her sitting against the pillows with a book in her hands.

“You’re still awake,” he said.

She lifted her eyes from the page.

“No,” she replied softly. “I was reading.”

It wasn’t the truth.

She was hiding the fact that she couldn’t sleep because of him.

Atharva nodded once.

“Okay.Good night.”

And just like that,he turned away.

He didn’t ask anything at all after that.

He walked past the door and went into the other room to sleep.The click of that door hurt more than it should have.

Sanskriti let the book slide down into her lap. Her fingers stayed on the page,but she wasn’t reading anymore.She had been waiting for a question,a pause,a reason for him to stay.For him to mention the dinner party or Devika.Even just the fact that he was home.

She leaned back against the pillows,eyes fixed on the ceiling,realizing something slowly, painfully.

She had no idea yet that she was part of the reason he had become this way.

In her mind,she was the one trying.

The one initiating.

The one,holding the relationship together.

And that belief made everything hurt even more.

The next morning, Sanskriti woke with a dull headache.A night without proper sleep always left her like this heavy-eyed, restless, and slow. She sat up on the bed, pressing her fingers to her temples.

A maid entered quietly.

“Rani sa has called for you.”

The words didn’t make her happy.Still, she nodded.

“Tell her I’ll come after getting ready.”

It took her nearly an hour.

When she finally reached her mother-in-law’s chamber, she found Nandini already sitting there.Sanskriti paused for a second, then

"Good morning, Maa,” she said politely. “Good morning, jiji.”

Mandira had been smiling and laughing with Nandini.But the moment she saw Sanskriti,the smile faded.She straightened,her expression turning neutral,and gestured for Sanskriti to sit.

Sanskriti folded her hands lightly.

“Ji Maa… aapne bulaya tha hame?”

Mandira looked at Sanskriti and spoke in her usual,composed tone.

“Yes,I wanted to tell you something.There will be a small gathering at the palace this evening.”

She adjusted the edge of her saree and continued,

“A few of my friends are coming over.I want you to take care of all the arrangements seating, tea, snacks, and the overall setup.”

Sanskriti nodded politely.

“Ji, Maa.”

Mandira added, “Everything should be done properly.”

“Of course, Maa,” Sanskriti replied.

Mandira gave a brief nod,as if the matter was settled.

“That’s all I wanted to say you can go now.”

Sanskriti folded her hands lightly.

“ji, Maa.”

She stood up and walked out,already thinking about what needed to be arranged.

Mandira hadn’t asked Sanskriti to handle the gathering just for convenience.

She had arranged it so she could show her guests that her own daughter-in-law was better than her step daughter-in-law.

Sanskriti, of course, didn’t know that yet.

She was simply doing her duty unaware she had been placed in a quiet comparison.

Sanskriti had just finished arranging the flowers and tea when Mandira’s friends arrived.She stood quietly,folding her hands,expecting at least a polite nod.

Instead,Mandira’s eyes scanned the room and she let out a soft sigh.

“Hmm… Sanskriti,”she said sweetly, but the tone was sharp enough to cut,“I think you should have asked Nandini before setting this up.She comes from a royal family she knows how things should be done.A princess, after all, understands these things better.”

Sanskriti froze.Her hands were still on the tea tray,her heart sinking.

The friends exchanged polite smiles,glancing at Nandini as Mandira continued,

“You see, dear, arranging a room like this is an art.It isn’t just about placing cups or flowers. Nandini,of course,knows exactly how it should look.”

Sanskriti nodded silently,her throat tight.

Mandira’s words weren’t just criticism they were a statement.

A reminder ,Sanskriti was not enough,not royal, not elegant,not like Nandini.

And she had made it clear,in front of everyone, without needing to raise her voice.

Sanskriti forced herself to straighten,hiding the sting in her eyes,while inside,a cold humiliation spread through her chest.

For a moment, the room felt tense.

Then one of Mandira’s friends smiled kindly and said,

“Oh,I actually like the arrangements.They’re simple and warm.And honestly, after such a long time,what matters is that we’re all together.”

Another woman nodded in agreement.

“Yes, exactly.We’ve come to meet each other, not to judge flowers and cups.”

Laughter followed soft, polite, meant to ease the air.

The mood slowly lightened.Tea was poured. Conversations picked up.The women began talking about old times,memories,and small joys.

Sanskriti stood there for a while,quiet,invisible in her own work.

After a few minutes,she folded her hands lightly and said,

“Please excuse me.I’ll just check on something.”

No one stopped her.

She walked out calmly,not rushing,not showing anything on her face.

When Sanskriti reached her room,she shut the door behind her and stood there for a second, pressing her back to the wood as if the silence might steady her.But it didn’t.The composure she had carried all evening finally gave way.

She crossed the room,sat on the edge of the bed,and then lay down,burying her face into the pillow so no sound could escape.

The tears came before she could stop them not in dramatic sobs,but in slow,helpless waves.

She cried the way people do when they’ve been insulted without being allowed to defend themselves,when pride and pain collide and there’s nowhere to put either of them.

Atharva wasn’t at the palace when all of this happened, and that absence somehow made everything heavier.

Sanskriti sat on her bed long after the tears had slowed,staring into the quiet room with a burning, restless anger coiled inside her.

It wasn’t only Mandira,and it wasn’t only Nandini.

The whole palace felt complicit in her humiliation every polite face,every carefully chosen word,every silence that had let it happen.

She felt surrounded by people and yet utterly alone, carrying an ache no one seemed willing to notice.

The door opened softly and Chanda slipped inside.

Her personal maid was young, barely past her teens,but she had learned early how to recognize pain when it sat in a room.She came closer without speaking,sat near the bed,and waited until Sanskriti finally looked at her.

“Rani sa,” Chanda said gently, “You didn't do anything bad infact the decoration and everything was really good.Its just Mandira rani sa doesn't like you that why she tried to make you feel bad.Don't pay attention to her.”

That was all it took.

Sanskriti’s control broke again.She turned away,tears returning in slow,helpless waves,the kind that come when dignity has been wounded and there’s no place to put the hurt.

Chanda just believed in her.She didn’t ask questions.She simply reached for her hand and held it.

She was young, yes but she understood sorrow better than most.

And in that moment,she was the only one in the palace who truly stood with Sanskriti.

After sitting with her for a while and making sure the tears had eased,Chanda finally rose to her feet and told Sanskriti she would bring her dinner and she should eat no matter how hurt she is.

Left alone again,Sanskriti pushed herself up from the bed and walked slowly toward the dressing area.

She changed into her nightwear without much thought,her movements automatic,her mind still heavy with everything that had happened. Nothing about the day felt finished,but her body was already too tired to carry it properly.

Chanda returned with a tray of dinner and set it on the small table near the bed.Sanskriti glanced at it and gave a faint,tired nod.

She told Chanda she would eat in a few minutes and that she should go and rest now it was already late.

Chanda hesitated,clearly unwilling to leave her alone again,but Sanskriti repeated it gently.

Finally,Chanda bowed her head and slipped out of the room,leaving Sanskriti with the quiet and the untouched food.

Hey beautiful Ladies ❤️

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