Traded My Heart for the Crown Prince / Chapter 3: The Price of Loyalty
Traded My Heart for the Crown Prince

Traded My Heart for the Crown Prince

Author: Sai Patel


Chapter 3: The Price of Loyalty

Dupatte ke do tukde phaad ke zakhm bandha, MLA ke bete ko dekha—besharam ki tarah mitti mein pada tha.

Kapda khurdura tha, rang bhi chhoot gaya khoon mein. MLA ka beta karahta raha, chehra suja hua. Bazaar aadha khali, kuch bachche fal ki theli ke peeche se jhaank rahe the.

Tabhi Vice Colonel Kabir bheed ko chhant ke aa gaya.

Kabir ki moochh kaanp rahi thi, aankh mein fikr. "Hat jao, hat jao!"—uniform ekdum tiptop. Hamesha sahi time pe aa jaata, filmy hero ki tarah.

Arjun ka purana aadmi, meri wafadari ka gawah bhi.

Barrack ki chai, dukh-sukh ke raaz, Kabir sab janta tha. Dosti thi, par dil bhi saaf tha.

Bheed ki baatein sun ke, uska chehra laal ho gaya.

Mujhe sir se paon tak dekha, khoon se bheega kurta. "Arre baap re! Yeh kya kar diya usne?"

"Usne hadh paar kar di. Kiski wajah se, ek anjaan ladki ke liye yeh sab!"

Kabir ne mitti pe thook diya. "Bas, aur nahi."

"Idhar sambhal lo. Khoon zyada beh gaya hai. Doctor ke paas jao, abhi."

Halka se dhakka diya, zakhm pe dhyan. "Hero banne ki zarurat nahi, Amit. Abhi drama band karo."

Arjun ki sarkari awaaz yaad aayi, maine thandi saans li.

Kandhe ka dard chhota, dil ka dard bada tha.

"Kabir, woh raja hai, main praja. Yuvraj ka hukam, kaun tal sakta hai?"

Lafz kadve the, par sach. Kabir ne kuch nahi bola. Kuch baatein ek hi baar bolne se samajh aa jaati hain.

Kabir ke saath MLA ke bete ko uske ghar chhodne gaya.

Adhe ghaseet, adhe uthaye. Gali ke kone se padosi jhaank rahe the, MLA ke darwaze par bhari bawarchi. Bungla bada, gate par gusse wale pehredar, haath baandh ke.

Yeh beta—MLA ka laadla, shehar ka sabse bigda bachcha, baap ki chhatri ke neeche sab kuch chalta.

Uski badmaashi ki kahani har chai ki tapri par. Ladkiyon ka peecha, bill nahi bharna, goonde ke saath ghoomna. Maa ka dard, baap ka ghamand.

MLA ki nazar hum par aisi thi, jaise aankhon se jala ke rakh dega.

Moochein kaanp rahi thi, aankh mein aag. Sir jhuka ke khada raha, izzat bachane ki koshish.

"Abhi Yuvraj bana nahi, aur yeh haal!"

Chhadi zameen par bajai, awaaz tez. Naukar kaanp gaye. "Yeh samajhta kya hai apne aap ko? Mere bete ki haddiyan tod di!"

"Mera beta aise pit gaya, main Raja sahab ko sab bataunga. Nyay chahiye mujhe!"

Darbari ki dhamki, hall mein goonj. Rajneeti ki baazi—MLA ka khel.

MLA ne rajmahal mein saalon se taqat jamaayi hai.

Parde ke peeche chamche, aankh milate hue. Kuch log kal ki gossip ki tayari mein lag gaye.

Maine namrata se haath jode, sambhal ke bola:

"Maaf kijiye, Sir. Yuvraj galat tha, par aapke bete ne sadak par ek izzatdar ladki ko pareshan kiya. Rajkumar bas rokna chahte the, par haath zyada bhari ho gaya."

MLA ne thandi saans chhodi. "Sab ek jaise ho tum log. Yeh yahin nahi khatam hoga."

Bada mushkil se nikla, khoon sukh ke kurte se chipak gaya tha. Har kadam pe dard.

Kabir ne madad ki, par maine mana kar diya. Raat ki hawa tez thi, door mandir ki ghanti, chameli ki khushboo.

Wapas usi gali se guzra, jahan chai ki tapri pe koi kahani suna raha tha: Arjun-Priya ka romance.

Chai aur adrak ki mehak thi. Chhota sa jhund, aankhein badi, kahani mein dooba hua.

"Kismat ki jodi, shaadi likhi thi. Rajguru ki beti Priya, sawan mein sona lekar, apne piya ke liye jaan daav pe lagaayi..."

Sab wah-wah karte, kuch aah bhari. Shehar ko hero-heroine ki kahaniyaan bahut pasand hai.

Maine taana mara, "Kya bakwaas hai." Main, zakhmi side character, chupke se nikal gaya.

Sawan mein sona? Jab Arjun pe bura waqt tha, sabse pehle bhaagi thi woh. Jo nishani di thi, peeche ke darwaze se fek di thi.

Yaad hai, thandi baarish, khaali mahal, Priya ka scarf seedhiyon par—ek bhi palat ke nahi dekha. Log sirf hero-heroine ki muskurahat dekhte hain, asli struggle nahi.

Woh sardi sabse sakht thi. Arjun milta, kutto ke saath bachi hui roti ke liye ladta.

Ragda hua, raat ko kutte ke peeche daud raha tha. Hum hanste the baad mein, par tab bhookh sach thi. Sheher ke ameer rajai mein so rahe the, hum mandir ke kone mein thithur rahe the.

Vada pav ke do sikke nahi hote the, mandir mein chipak kar sapne dekhte the.

Hawa cheekhti thi, hum ek dusre ko thame rehte. Kabhi pujari ek mutthi moongphali ya chawal de deta.

Tabhi nayi duniya mein aaya tha, socha, TV serial ki tarah pooch hi loon:

"Agar woh kal tere liye aansu bahaaye, maaf kar dega?"

TV mein toh ek aansu, hero sab bhool jaata. Par Arjun alag tha—ya shayad mujhe laga.

Arjun ne mutthi kas li, aankh laal.

Raat mein andhera tha, awaaz bhari. Diye ki lau se chehre par parchhaiyan.

"Arjun Singh ko sabse zyada nafrat hai dhokhe se. Aansu kya, ghutne bhi tek de, maaf nahi karunga."

Awaaz mein sach tha, mein maan gaya.

Sir hila diya, aadha yakin tha.

Thandi si hwa chali, socha—pyaar itna nirmam bhi ho sakta hai?

Par ab, jab hero mar chuka, Priya ki himmat toot gayi, Arjun ne sab kuch uske liye daav pe laga diya.

Usne apne niyam tod diye, pyaar mein sab kuch bhool gaya. Shayad pyaar har kahani likh deta hai.

Ab samajh aaya: Priya ko maaf nahi karega, kyunki Priya ko kabhi aansu aane hi nahi dega.

Uski duniya mein Priya sirf surakshit hai, bechaari nahi. Ek aansu bhi uski shaan par dhabba hai.

Hero bhi khoobsurati ke aage haar jaate hain.

Mandir ke budhe kahte: "Beta, Ram bhi Sita ke liye roya tha."

Aankhein andhera hone lagi, par behosh nahi hua.

Lamp post pakad ke khada raha, gehri saans li. Dard ab sust ho gaya, par kamzori dikhana manaa tha.

Arjun ka hukam pura kiya, ab lautna tha.

Mahal ke niyam sakht hain. Adat, farz, ya majboori—kuch bhi ho, pair aage badhte rahe.

Varna tankha kaat jaati.

Kahani, dard, kuch bhi ho, accountant ko sirf sign chahiye.

Maa kehti thi: "Beta, paisa sabse bada devta hai." Payslip talisman ki tarah pakad li, aage badh gaya.

This chapter is VIP-only. Activate membership to continue.

You may also like

The Attendant Who Betrayed My Heart
The Attendant Who Betrayed My Heart
4.8
Banished to the palace’s coldest shadows, I poured my secret longing into Arjun, the gentle attendant who soothed my loneliness—never guessing he was hiding a king’s ambition and another woman in his heart. When palace whispers revealed his true loyalty to the Maharani, my love turned to bitter dread, knowing my family’s fate now hung on the whim of a man I could never truly possess. In a world where even kindness is a weapon, I must decide: expose his secret, or risk my bloodline for a love that was never mine.
Traded for Sweets: The Nameless Princess Bride
Traded for Sweets: The Nameless Princess Bride
4.7
Born nameless and unwanted, Shalu is bartered for a box of soan papdi—sacrificed in her sister’s place to marry a ruthless enemy king. In a palace where kindness is currency and hunger her only friend, she must survive betrayal, humiliation, and the wrath of a man who would rather see her dead than call her queen. But behind every sweet, every scar, lies a secret only she remembers—and a love that could destroy them all.
The Crown Prince’s Forbidden Bride
The Crown Prince’s Forbidden Bride
4.9
Betrayed by her own mother and forced into a life of palace intrigue, Princess Shreya becomes the silent pawn in a deadly game of power and desire. When her forbidden love with her stepbrother, the Crown Prince, is exposed, she faces humiliation, torture, and a fate worse than death at the hands of the ruthless Maharaj. But carrying the Crown Prince’s secret child, Shreya must choose: surrender to her tormentors, or ignite a rebellion that will avenge her fallen kingdom—and destroy everyone who ever used her.
Broken Prince, Eunuch’s Revenge
Broken Prince, Eunuch’s Revenge
4.8
Once the beloved prince of Rajpur, I now kneel before the very servant I once humiliated—Amit, the eunuch who rules my fate. Stripped of my power and pride, I am forced to beg him for my mother’s life, trading my dignity for her survival. But Amit’s revenge is cruel and intimate: he torments me with the same cold hands I once scorned, making me his captive in the palace I once ruled—where every caress is both punishment and reminder that even a prince can be broken.
Rejected by the Prince, Bound for Freedom
Rejected by the Prince, Bound for Freedom
4.6
Meera’s world shatters when her husband, Arjun, is revealed as a royal prince—and his true fiancée claims her place. Offered only the insult of becoming a second wife, Meera must choose between humiliation in a gilded palace or forging her own destiny beyond the border. With heartbreak in her chest and a border permit in her hand, will she trade her pain for freedom, or be caged by royal pride forever?
Sold to the Enemy Prince for Revenge
Sold to the Enemy Prince for Revenge
4.8
After her kingdom is shattered and her beloved sister sacrifices everything to save her, Ananya is forced into the palace as a lowly concubine—her only hope, a marriage to the enemy crown prince she secretly drugged. But behind her innocent face burns a relentless hunger for vengeance, and every step she takes in the Singh dynasty’s golden halls is a step toward their ruin. Will her forbidden love for the prince destroy her revenge, or will she bury her heart to avenge her family’s blood?
The Fake Princess’s Husband Defied the Crown
The Fake Princess’s Husband Defied the Crown
4.8
Raised as a royal decoy, Ishaan was cast out by the cold-hearted king she once called brother. Years later, hiding as the lowly wife of a loyal civil servant, she’s dragged back to the palace—where her secret marriage is exposed, and the princess herself demands her husband. When the palace orders her death, only Amit’s love stands between her and the fate the royals decreed. Will her true identity destroy them both, or can love defy a kingdom’s betrayal?
Chained to the Villain Princess
Chained to the Villain Princess
4.9
Feared as the ruthless Eldest Princess, I claim the defeated desert prince as my chained servant, humiliating him before my trembling, saintly sister. But the blood on my whip cannot erase his burning gaze—or the prophecy that he will rise, reclaim his crown, and raze my kingdom to ashes. Tonight, only one of us will survive the desires and betrayals that bind us tighter than any chain.
Rejected by the Prince, Reborn for Revenge
Rejected by the Prince, Reborn for Revenge
4.7
Once cherished as the Prince's beloved consort, Priya is reborn in modern Delhi—only to watch her sister chosen as the royal bride. Betrayed by fate and haunted by her lost love, Priya vows to seize her destiny, even if it means fighting her own blood and outwitting a rival who might remember everything too. This time, she’ll risk everything for a love that defies lifetimes—or destroy the palace from within.
Illegitimate Bride to the Prince’s Father
Illegitimate Bride to the Prince’s Father
4.8
Born a shadow in the Malhotra mansion, Asha is bartered as a second wife to the Second Prince—only for her secret affair with the Maharaja to explode in the palace’s sacred halls. Betrayed by her own blood and denied a title, she’s forced to bow before the man who once called her by another woman’s name. When her forbidden marriage is revealed, will Asha destroy the royal bloodline—or finally seize the power denied to her since birth?
His Prisoner, The Palace’s Princess
His Prisoner, The Palace’s Princess
4.8
Kidnapped and humiliated by Major Arjun, the royal princess must survive among rough border soldiers who see her as a pampered burden. Forced to prove her worth through pain and humiliation, she vows revenge—even as a dangerous attraction flares between captor and captive. But when palace secrets and Arjun’s true motives come to light, will her pride survive, or will her heart betray her family’s honour?
Swapped at Birth: The Tyrant’s Cursed Princess
Swapped at Birth: The Tyrant’s Cursed Princess
4.9
Born into royal splendor, baby Pari survives a deadly birth only to be betrayed by her own mother and cast aside for a cousin. Saved by her ruthless father, the infamous Maharaja, she grows up in a palace rife with poison, exile, and palace intrigue—her true identity a ticking time bomb. But as the kingdom’s only heir, every step she takes is shadowed by jealous rivals and the threat of another cruel betrayal.