Siya's life in Chandipur was marked by resilience and solitude, her days consumed by nurturing the vibrant blooms of her flower shop. Abandoned at birth and haunted by the mystery of her parents' disappearance, she had grown accustomed to the whispe...
📖 When the ruler of an empire turns into a cuddly mess, everything gets a little more... complicated. ﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌ ˚ ༘♡ 🪷🪕🪞🦢⋆｡˚ ❀
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Pain. That was the first thing I felt when I slowly drifted back to consciousness. A deep, throbbing ache radiated from my hand, pulling me out of the haze of sleep. I winced, my body stiff, my mind trying to catch up to the events of the past hours. I cracked my eyes open, squinting at the unfamiliar room. The sterile smell of antiseptic hit me first; a hospital.
The weight on my stomach brought me back fully. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my blurry vision, only to find Adhiraj, his head resting on my stomach, fast asleep. His hand was still gripping my uninjured one, as if even in sleep, he couldn't let go.
For a moment, I just stared at him, feeling a confusing mix of emotions stirring in my chest. Anger. Relief. Guilt. Everything hit me at once, but mostly, I felt... exposed. Vulnerable. My mind raced, trying to piece together how things had gone so wrong and so right, all at the same time.
The events of the last 24 hours slowly began to replay in my head. Adhiraj had saved me. I fainted because of the constant pain by Devraj once he twisted my wrist, and everything after that was a blur of fear, pain, and confusion. But Adhiraj had been there. He came for me, just like I knew he would.
I winced again, glancing down at my hand encased in a plaster cast. It hurt like hell, but I had expected that. What I didn't expect was the raw intensity of emotions flooding through me when I looked at Adhiraj, still asleep, his face drawn with worry even in his sleep. He hadn't left me. Not even for a second.
But none of this surprised me. I knew he'd been following me for months. Adhiraj Singh Rathore wasn't exactly subtle, not when it came to me.
F L A S H B A C K
When I first landed in Raipur and saw him after all those years, I knew. The moment our eyes met across that crowded street, I could feel it...his presence, his gaze, always lingering. It didn't take long for me to realize that he was following me. At first, it was just a glimpse of him here and there...at the market, outside the café, in the shadows. He thought he was being discreet, but I knew.
And honestly? I let him follow me.
I wanted him to. I needed him to see the danger I was in. I needed him to understand, without me saying a word, that things weren't as simple as they seemed. I was being forced. But telling Adhiraj the truth would have put him in even more danger than he already was. Mahendra Seth and his cronies had eyes everywhere, always watching, always waiting for me to slip up.
I let him watch. I wanted him to see how trapped I was.
I remember one day, catching a glimpse of him in the reflection of a shop window, watching me with that brooding intensity. I smiled to myself. If he wanted to protect me, then let him try. He didn't realize that by following me, he was making my work easier. He saw what I wanted him to see....that I was a prisoner in my own life.
