When Aastha met Veer, she knew they had a connection.
However, the connection would be from two centuries ago, she never could have imagined.
A love story that remained unfulfilled, broken by evil, and destroyed to ashes - whose reference hide...
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Chapter 11
~1816
Mohan helped her to sit on the bench and sat next to her. He held her hands in his. His eyes were full of tears, and his heart, a frenzy. "I didn't get your letters until I reached Umangiri from Bengal. Due to some miscommunication with my lodging address, the letters remained at the British office. It took me months to settle everything and go back home. Once home, I was in for a piece of mind-numbing news. The death of your grandmother was shocking. But, finding out that you were imprisoned for the same and labeled as an evil witch? That shook me to the core. I knew you were innocent and all I wanted was to come to Rudragarh and save you. But my family didn't let me. They threatened me, they used my title as a crown prince and tied me to their orders. It was around that time, I received your letters. I was shattered and I didn't want to waste any more time. I was ready to let go of the crown, hand it to my younger brother and come to you."
Radhika was surprised to hear this. She was trusting him, with every word. His emotions, raw and painful touched her. She squeezed his hands showing him that, she believed him. He looked at her pale face that had her cheekbones poking out. He could feel his blood slowly boil watching her condition. How could her family treat her this way? His Radhika didn't deserve this! He wanted to give her all the world and fill her heart with happiness. This was a nightmare.
Inhaling sharply, he continued. "Before I could tell them my decision, your family sent Avantika's marriage proposal to me. My father rejected the idea but he hadn't sent the refusal to your family yet. He was considering how to politely refuse without affecting the friendship and state affairs. I was appalled. I didn't know what was going on in Rudragarh."
Mohan stood up and walked over to the cell door. He saw the long dark corridors of the dungeon built on the rocks, a small ray of light falling on the distant corner through a tiny hole between the walls. The dungeon was stinky - it smelled of rodents' piss, dirty damp water steeping through the walls, and rusted iron. Even with all that, having Radhika by his side, felt extremely good. However, her condition tugged his heart. He had to get her out, he had to nurse her back to health. He vowed to do everything to save her.
"What happened after that, Mohan?" Radhika asked bringing him out of his thoughts. Turning around to face her, he spoke, "Yudhisthira came to meet me secretly."
Radhika watched him in surprise. Her brother had gone all the way to Umangiri to meet Mohan for her sake?
"He told me everything while I told him of my decision. But Yudhisthira reminded me, that without my title, I am a nobody. I would have no reason to enter Rudragah and there was an odd chance, that I could never see you again. As long as I am the Yuvaraj of Umangiri, your family would show me the courtesy. Also, agreeing to marry Avantika would give me a free ticket inside the palace."
