ᴅɪʟ ᴋɪ ɴᴀʏɪ ᴅʜᴀᴅᴋᴀɴ

c h a p t e r 24

Their small group had stopped for a while by a serene river to refill their water satchels and feed the horses. Parwati sat on a smooth rock, her eyes following two birds perched on a nearby tree. They seemed like lovers to her, pecking each other's beaks and occasionally flapping their wings, their cheerful chirping filling the air.

Vikram joined her on the rock, offering a water satchel. Parwati gladly took it, her throat parched from the journey. She drank deeply, the cool water a welcome relief from the afternoon heat, which felt almost unbearable in her dark green lehenga choli.

"Thank you" Parwati whispered, passing the satchel back to him. She resumed watching the birds, finding comfort in their simplicity.

"You seem to like nature" Vikram observed, taking a sip from the satchel himself.

Parwati only hummed softly in response.

"My sister did too" Vikram said, his tone taking on a reflective quality as he reminisced.

"Your sister?" Parwati turned to look at him, surprise evident in her eyes.

Vikram looked down at her. "Yes, she was eight years older than me" he said, then glanced away, hesitating before continuing. "My parents kept trying for another child after they had her—they needed an heir. I've been told, they almost lost hope before they had me. I'm somewhat of a miracle child, I guess" he shrugged.

"Is she...?" Parwati trailed off, hesitant to voice the words aloud, but it hadn't escaped her notice that Vikram spoke of his sister in the past tense.

"Oh no" Vikram quickly shook his head, understanding her unspoken question. "She's happily married to a foreign king—lives all the way across the sea" he explained.

"The palace gardens look the way they do all because of her. We used to spend most evenings there as a family—but after she left, those gardens never felt the same again." He smiled a sad smile, the memories tinged with bittersweet nostalgia.

Now it made sense to Parwati why she had rarely encountered anyone in the gardens except for the staff and Rajkumari Shivani. Despite the flourishing greenery, the gardens had felt abandoned, a sense of emptiness lingering beneath their beauty. Parwati hadn't thought much about it before, but Vikram's words cast a new light on the place she had come to love.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the gentle flow of the river and the occasional chirping of birds, until Vikram spoke again. "I've noticed you've taken quite a liking to the gardens. You can take over if you want. Janvi would appreciate someone as nature-loving as her looking after her plants" Vikram said, his voice carrying a tentative offer.

"Oh, um—" Parwati hesitated, unsure how to respond. So she decided to be honest. "I don't think I'm a nature lover" she admitted quietly.

Vikram turned to look at her, waiting for her to elaborate. She met his eyes for a moment before glancing down at her hands, feeling the weight of his gaze. "Don't get me wrong, nature is beautiful, but it would seem beautiful to anyone if they'd been deprived of it" she said, her words trailing off as she struggled to convey her feelings.

Vikram's brow furrowed in confusion. He could sense there was more to her statement, something deeper that she was hesitant to reveal.

Parwati played with her ring, reluctant to reveal too much about herself. She hated feeling vulnerable, but this was the first time Vikram had shared something personal, so it seemed only fair to reciprocate. Inhaling deeply, she began, "My husband, I mean Abhay—" Even speaking his name sent shivers down her spine, but it felt wrong to address him as her husband, especially when speaking to her current one. "—he did not allow me to leave the palace walls."