Chapter 10: Condemned by Blood

They said I was seductive, just like my mother, bewitching the heir.

"Uski maa bhi aisi hi thi," they’d say. "Now the daughter is worse."

They said that in Rajpur, the Crown Prince and I were siblings in public, but acted as husband and wife behind closed doors.

The gossips loved that story, turning it over and over like a piece of sweet paan.

They said the Crown Prince delayed returning to court and refused to marry because of me.

Matchmakers were furious, palace mothers scandalised. Kabir ignored them all.

I wasn’t angry, because everything they said was true.

I had no reason to deny it. My only regret was for Kabir’s reputation, not my own.

But my mother could not sit still.

Her pride could not bear the stain on her name, not with her son’s future at stake.

For the sake of the Prince of Fortune and her own reputation, she asked the Maharaj to sentence me to death.

Her voice was icy, her words sharp as a blade. "Khatam karo is ladki ko. She will ruin everything."

Kabir had been protecting me, but my mother’s actions confirmed my crime of seducing the heir.

Her allies in the court pressed the matter, fanning the flames.

The favourite consort’s daughter was unfilial and shameless, disregarding propriety.

I heard them call me names—"besharam," "khandan ki sharam."

So this daughter should die to atone for her sins.

The order was written in the Maharaj’s own hand. Kabir raged, but was helpless.

I wasn’t surprised by my mother’s actions, nor was I sad.

My heart felt nothing but a dull ache. I had lost her long ago.

I even understood her a little.

Maybe, in her place, I would have done the same. In this world, only the ruthless survive.

The coldness and selfishness in my bones ultimately came from her.

Her lessons were etched in me, deeper than blood.

Kabir still tried to protect me. I heard he confessed everything to His Highness, taking all the blame for our affair.

He knelt for hours, refusing food, refusing to rise until the Maharaj listened.

He said he could give up his position as heir.

His voice was clear, steady. "Let me go. I ask for nothing but her."

I could give up my title as princess.

I wrote a letter, sealing it with my own ring. I was ready to disappear forever if it would save us.

He wanted to marry me.

He promised to renounce the throne, to take me away to the mountains, where no one would find us.

Silly Kabir, how could that be possible?

My tears were bitter. The world does not allow love to win, not here.

His Highness had only one Crown Prince; he would never make the Prince of Fortune the heir.

The dynasty demanded a legitimate heir—one born of the Maharani, not a favoured concubine.

My mother was a consort from the previous dynasty. No matter how favoured the Prince of Fortune was, his birth was not legitimate.

Court law was clear. Only Kabir had the right.

How could he compare to Kabir, the Maharani’s legitimate son?

Even Kabir’s worst enemies knew it.

The once-promising Crown Prince Kabir, admired by all, ultimately fell because of me.

I wished I could spare him, but it was too late.

His Highness was furious and placed the Crown Prince under house arrest.

The guards were doubled at his doors, every movement watched.

He wasn’t truly ill; he just wanted to force us back from Rajpur.

His illness was a lie, just another way to tighten the noose.