THE RULERS OF RISHABHAPRIYA

Love?

Surabhi's POV

"Mam, please hurry! Something is wrong there! Maharaj seems to be furious. He is very out of control", I dropped my bow and the quiver full of arrows immediately and ran with the attendee to go see what was wrong. I leave him alone for a minute and he does something reckless. How did he even survive all these years without me?, I thought. As soon as I reached the place where all the drama was going on, the attendees looked relieved. But my attention was on that rude girl and Maharaj who were arguing about something. I stood among the attendees and decided to interfere only if absolutely needed. 

"No, Bhargav! From the second I saw you both whisper in each other's ears at the house, I knew something was off. You kept looking at the door as if you were expecting her to walk in and relieve you from your torment. Even in the palace, you both stick with each other all day. What is she to you, Bhargav?", suddenly a small fear in me grew. What if one day our little moment in the training grounds and in my room this morning fell on her ears?, I feared. "WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HER???", she yelled and my eyes fell on Maharaj. On one side, I wanted to know what he would call me in front of everyone. One another hand, I feared if his answer would start a new problem for us. "Why does that matter to you? What ever relationship we both have-", I was kind of relieved, also disappointed but still curious why he wouldn't say what I actually meant for him.

"So, as soon as you became a king, you also started making habits like one? And now are you addicted to whores now? Tell me!!! Is that what she is to you?? Your whor-"

"ANOTHER WORD ABOUT HER AND I WILL BEHEAD YOU!!!!!"

Absolute silence wrapped around the whole place. She gasped and took a step away from him in shock. The crowd of attendees too gasped seeing their king lose his temper like that. And in me, a whole mix of emotions filled up each and every corner of my mind. I was shocked at how he had shut her up. I was proud about him for standing up for me. I was guilty for making him go against his family member for that but also equally curious for what else he had to say. But before that, I asked the guards to dismiss all the attendees and leave them alone and in just a few moments, they were all gone.

"Do not utter another word against her. Do not say one more thing about the only person who was my backbone all these months. Your aunt and uncle here, left me the second they got to leave without turning around to see how their son was doing. They did not care if I was sick or not. They did not care if I ate something or not. If I got some sleep or not", his parents put their head down in embarrassment. "She was the only one with me from day one to support me, to stand with me at times of emergency. The same woman who you called a maid, an attendee, a whore just moments ago was the only one who stood up for me when the whole kingdom was against me. Even when she was healing from her own wounds, she stood by my side and became my strength", I did not know how to react but one thing was for sure true. He was saying everything from his heart. There was not one small hint of lie in his words. 

"Yes, she was a prisoner. But do you know why?", my eyes widened in fear. He had no control over what he was saying and I did not want them to know the truth. "She did nothing wrong to rot in those dark dungeons. Her whole, beautiful life was snatched away from her and she was reduced to nothing. Right now, Sunaina, if I had to say who the strongest woman was among every single woman I have know my entire life, I would take her name with no hesitation".

"What relationship I have with her, you asked. I don't know what to tell you, Sunaina! I have no idea what to call her! She has protected me like a mother. She fights me like we were siblings. She takes care of my each and every need, sometimes even if I don't know what I need, even before I say anything like a wife. She makes me smile even when I feel like the whole sky would fall upon my head like a daughter. What name would you give to a relationship like that?"

My eyes were filled with tears by the time he ended his words. This was not going in the right way. He would only end up hurting himself.

"So, you love her", she stated as tears flowed down her face continuously. My heart was racing when I waited for his answer. He tsked and was about to say something when she cut him off. "That is what it sounds like, Bhargav. Like you are in love with her. Like she completes you. She has become a mother, a sister, a wife, a daughter, a friend and everything else one would want in life. So that means you love her"

I saw the need to step in and stop her from making this a bigger thing than it already was and I did the same. "Maharaj", he turned towards me and was shocked for a second, "could I interfere?". "Sure, do interfere, Pranahita. He would never say no to you. Would you, Bhargav? Because he is in love-", I put my hand up to stop her. "I don't know how well you know him but the past few months have taught me a lot about him. Enough for me to defend him from you. Everything he said was true. And everything you said was true too. Except for the part where he was in love with me".

"When the responsibility of the whole kingdom fell on him, someone had to stand with him and guide him as he knew nothing at that moment. He had no one with him. His parents and sisters were everything to him all his life and suddenly, he had no one overnight. It is common for everyone to search for comfort in someone all the time and he found that in me. I had to stand with him, as his mother, as his friend, whatever you want to call it, we don't care. Because we don't need the necessity to name our relationship something", she tried to say something but I did not stop my words. 

"You have all arrived here after the toughest part is over. You are seeing these grand decorations and gold and luxuries and are in a belief that we had no problems. But you don't see the countless sleepless nights the both of us have spent for the kingdom, searching for any way to improve our situation", I turned to his parents and continued, "You both keep putting distance from your son even after he has crushed his ego under his foot and has brought you here to make sure that you are all safe. You did not trust him with the kingdom and disowned him. That day, our kingdom was the poorest kingdom in Akhandadesh. Have you checked what our financial status is now? We are the sixth richest kingdom today. In less than a year. How? By his hardwork and dedication to do the right thing to the kingdom. And who was with him during all this?", I turned to Sunaina and said, "Only me and his sisters. You all could have accepted him at least when he came back. But no. You did not. Not one second did you people treat him like normal. You gave him the treatment a king would deserve, not a son of your family"

"And, yeah, before you people blame him for complaining against you to me, he did not say anything. The defeat and hopelessness on his face told me everything but the guards who were with him just confirmed it", each one of their heads were down in embarrassment. "She is right, you know", all eyes turned to Radhika who walked to her parents and held their hands, "I did not tell you. But he misses you both a lot. He even cried saying that one night when he thought I was asleep".

Sunaina ran away from us and her siblings and mother followed her. Her father placed a hand on Maharaj's shoulder and both nodded while looking at each other before he walked away to find his wife and children. Janaki walked to her parents and said something but my eyes fell on Maharaj who was looking at me with an unknown emotion. The whole world around us faded and it was only him and me that mattered to me at that moment. "I am in love with you, Surabhi", he whispered suddenly. I completely stilled and my eyes widened at his confession. "I love you, Surabhi", he said again and his voice broke a little bit. 

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Told ya!!

Finally the confession is here!

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Lots of love💗