Betrothed

1 \ my cheeks hurt

June 3, 2022

Vikram crinkled the corners of his eyes in an attempt to make the smile look genuine as he nodded and thanked Maharaja Rawat of Bundelkhand. The camera flash that went off every minute or so was nearly blinding him. He felt the phone in his pocket vibrate again. He wanted nothing more than to find a quiet place, sit down and take the damn call. But again, leaving the stage on such a supposedly important day wouldn't look good, would it? He was supposed to stay there smiling at the never ending guests, nodding and thanking them alongside his wife.

Wife.

That sounded so foreign. Even though the idea of her being his wife had been known to him since the past two decades. They could have been friends, he thought, had they been in normal circumstances, not having had each other shoved down their throats. Probably that was why, they barely spoke in the numerous parties and gatherings. The only time they really spoke to each other was in the conference room, negotiating deals.

He knew Rajkumaari Divya Rajput Tomar, the only child of Maharaj Shreshth and Maharani Meera Rajput Tomar, was as ruthless as him when it came to business. She knew what went inside the head of her rivals in one glance. Her entire composure screamt royalty. It was as if she always knew what had to be said and done. She wasn't exactly the submissive kind. Following orders and nodding away to anything and everything was not like her. But tonight, she seemed to play the part of a coy bride to perfection.

He glanced at the woman standing right next to him, putting on the mask of a royal bride, very much in love. How did she do it so well, he had no clue.

Divya looked up to let her eyes meet his when she felt his glance. She had known him since the past two decades. Yet she could count the number of times their conversation had exceed two lines on one hand. She hated the circumstances she was in. From the very core of her being. He was the reason why she had to give up on the idea of love. For she knew, they could never be in love. But that was okay. She had seen her parents lead their lives together without letting as much as a chirp outside of their home. Everybody around them knew them to be still in love.

If they could do it, so could she. It did not have to be so difficult. The concept of love seemed overrated to her anyway. The man beside her was going to be someone she was to spend her life with.

She knew they looked great together. But how he looked wasn't something he had accomplished. Rather it was something he was born with. If at all there was anyone to take credit, it was Maharani Gayatri and Maharaja Pratham. Just like the good looks, he had inherited the business from his parents. However, she had to give this to him. He had definitely impressed her with his business acumen. He had grown the business ten fold if not more. And well, she did not want to be called a hypocrite.

She realised she had zoned out when she heard him whisper softly.

"Rajkumaari?"

She looked up surprised to find him calling her, curious of what he had to say. She had always been called Rajkumaari by him, something that everyone called her. And he had been Yuvraj.

"Yes?"

"The photographer. We- uh. He needs to take couple portraits so we are to go to the suite where he has got the studio equipments."

Divya nodded curtly. She was glad she could finally drop the pretence for a couple of minutes. Even if it was just the elevator ride to the suite. She shut her eyes as thoughts about taking stupid couple portraits came to her mind. That was going to adorn the family wall of both their homes. It hadn't felt anything different since the afternoon today when they were pronounced man and wife. But a portrait on the wall was going to make it official. And more than anything else, real.