Chapter 5: Secrets and Unraveling Threads

My interactions with Arjun were always respectful and restrained. Occasionally, when the mood struck, we would only kiss and embrace.

We were careful—always behind drawn curtains, making sure not to leave a wrinkle on the bedsheets or a trace of perfume out of place. Even our laughter was hushed, stifled by the weight of watchful eyes and listening walls. But somehow, he learnt ways to please me, so that even without being fully honest, he could make me taste pleasure and reach ecstasy.

He was gentle, inventive. He seemed to know my every wish before I voiced it—his touch as light as rose petals, his words as sweet as gulkand. But I had often seen him endure until his body was burning, unable to sleep all night. I offered to help him relieve himself. But Arjun always refused with restraint. I thought he was just self-abasing.

I imagined he feared overstepping, that the chasm of class or fate was too wide. Or perhaps he believed I deserved someone better, someone whole.

Until, I saw those strange heavenly books. They said, Arjun was not a real attendant. He had a man’s abilities, just never gave them to me. He was the protagonist in the picture books, and even more, the future king, destined for greatness. The current Maharani would become his queen. And I was just one of his dispensable women. In the near future, to please the Maharani, he would kill my entire family.

The words burned into my mind. My stomach twisted, nausea rising as I pictured my family—Papa, Mummy, even little Bhaiyya—lost forever because of a whim, a secret, a misplaced trust.

I clutched my trembling chest. The fear of destruction, and the pain of a lover’s change of heart, like wild vines, overtook my mind. I couldn’t breathe.

My breath came short, panic rising like the Delhi summer heat. The world tilted, shadows lengthening around me. The palace, once a haven, felt suddenly hostile—a labyrinth of hidden threats.

Ignoring the barrage above my head, I called my maid. “Where has Arjun been on errands lately?”

“Besides his normal duties, he comes to see you most often, My Lady.”

“But recently, he also went to the Maharani’s palace.”

“I heard the weather’s been hot, the Maharani can’t sleep at night, and Arjun has a folk remedy for sleep, so he went to serve her.”

I gritted my teeth. My maid, always so eager to spill palace gossip, didn’t miss a beat. A folk remedy? It sounded innocent, yet it twisted my insides. My brow twitched. He never mentioned this to me.

“Keep an eye on Arjun.”

My voice was sharper than I intended, but the maid just nodded, used to my sudden moods. Outside, the sky rumbled—another storm was coming.