Praise The Husband

Chapter 17

Sundari laid in bed, her back turned to Rudransh. Ever since he had forcefully kissed her, she had been ignoring him. Rudransh knew he was in the wrong and had apologized profusely, but Sundari refused to even acknowledge him.

"I'm sorry, Sundari," Rudransh said, hoping for some sort of response. But she remained still, not even looking at him.

Rudransh sighed and got out of bed, the weight of his mistake settling heavily on him. As he was getting dressed, a guard came in and told him he was needed. Rudransh nodded to the guard before turning to Sundari.

"I have to go, but I'll be back soon. Don't leave the house," he said. Sundari still didn't respond, and Rudransh left with a little heavy heart.

As Rudransh made his way to the court, he couldn't help but think about Sundari and their strained relationship.

"Does she not like me?" he asked himself, "Am I not good enough? What does she not like about me? Am I not the type of man women like?" The questions swirled around in his head, causing him to feel even more lost.

When he arrived at the court, Abhimanyu greeted him. "Your uncle and brother-in-law have arrived," Abhimanyu informed Rudransh.

Rudransh simply nodded, lost in his thoughts. Abhimanyu noticed this and asked, "Is everything alright, Rudransh?"

Rudransh didn't know how to answer, he didn't want to burden Abhimanyu with his personal issues. "I'm fine," he said with a forced smile.

Abhimanyu wasn't convinced, but he didn't press the matter. Instead, he asked for Rudransh's permission to increase security around the borders. Rudransh nodded tiredly, not even fully processing what Abhimanyu was saying.

Abhimanyu noticed Rudransh's exhaustion and called for a maid to bring food for him. "You need to take care of yourself, Rudransh," Abhimanyu said before leaving him to his thoughts.

Rudransh was lost in thought when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he called out absentmindedly. The maids quickly came in and set up the table for him to eat. Rudransh noticed that all the maids were women and he had an idea that they might be able to tell him why Sundari was avoiding him.

But Rudransh was hesitant to ask them directly. He didn't want to offend them or come off as a creep. It took him a few moments to gather the courage to speak up. "Um, excuse me," he said, stopping the maids from leaving. "Can I ask you ladies something?"

The maids looked at him curiously, wondering what the king wanted to ask them. Rudransh took a deep breath before continuing. "What do you like in me, as a man?"

The maids were shocked and almost dropped the plates they were carrying. They couldn't believe the king was talking to them, let alone asking them such personal questions.

"Um, excuse me?" one of the maids stuttered.

Rudransh realized his mistake and hastily tried to fix the situation. "I mean, do you guys think of me as a good man? Just tell me the truth, I won't be mad," he said quickly.

The maids were still in shock and didn't know what to say. Rudransh continued to push them to say something, but they finally replied that he was a great king and a great man. "Any woman to marry or be your concubine is lucky," they said before quickly running out of the room giggle to each other.

Rudransh was left with his thoughts once again. He couldn't understand why Sundari didn't like him. He decided to ask around the castle to see if anyone had any insights into Sundari's behavior.

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Rudransh went around to all the women in the castle, asking them what they didn't like about him and what they thought of him. At first, the encounters were innocent and straightforward. But as word spread about Rudransh's questioning, rumors began to emerge.