The Lost Crown.

chapter 14 - shadows of the past.

Chapter 14: Shadows of the Past

The faint light of dusk streamed through the cracked window, casting long, eerie shadows across the room. Ishaani sat at the edge of the bed, her hands trembling as she unfolded the crumpled letter she had found hidden in Arnav’s belongings. Her heart pounded in her chest, every word stirring a storm of confusion, betrayal, and long-buried memories.

"My dearest Arnav,

You are now the only hope to reclaim what has been lost. But the price you must pay is heavier than you realize. The truth lies beneath the shadows, hidden in the bloodline that we both carry. Don’t let her find out. She must never know…

Signed, Your uncle, Devraj Singhania."

Ishaani’s breath caught as her eyes lingered on the last line. "She must never know." The words echoed in her mind like a dark incantation, refusing to be dismissed. Who was Devraj Singhania? What truth was Arnav hiding from her?

The room seemed to close in on her, suffocating with unanswered questions. Ishaani had always known that Arnav was guarding secrets, his past often wrapped in vague excuses and incomplete stories. But this letter confirmed her worst fears—he wasn’t just protecting his own truth. He was protecting hers.

Her eyes darted toward the door as footsteps echoed in the corridor. Arnav. He was coming. Ishaani hurriedly folded the letter, her fingers shaking as she shoved it back into the envelope. As she placed it under the cushion, the door creaked open.

“Hey,” Arnav’s voice was casual, but there was something in his eyes—a shadow of wariness, as if he sensed the shift in the air. “You okay?”

Ishaani forced a smile, but her mind raced. Did he know? Could he tell she had discovered something? “Yeah, just thinking.”

Arnav leaned against the doorframe, his dark hair falling messily over his forehead. He looked like he had been outside for hours, the wind catching on his skin, his usual composed expression now tinged with fatigue.

“Thinking about what?” he asked, his voice casual, but his gaze intense.

Ishaani shrugged, trying to keep her voice steady. “About everything. The past… the future. This crown business… It’s overwhelming sometimes.”

He moved toward her, sitting on the bed beside her, too close for comfort with the letter hidden beneath her. She felt her heart pound in her chest, her body stiffening as if he could feel the letter beneath the cushion. But he didn’t. He just reached for her hand, his touch warm, familiar, and yet, now it felt foreign.

“You don’t have to carry this burden alone, Ishaani,” he said softly, his thumb grazing her knuckles. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”

The sincerity in his voice made her heart twist painfully. She wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that he was on her side, but the words of the letter were a heavy weight pressing down on her. "She must never know."

Why? Why was Arnav keeping this from her? What was so terrible that her own knowledge of it could endanger everything?

Her mind raced back to all the moments that felt off. The hushed conversations he had when he thought she wasn’t listening. The way his face darkened whenever the crown was mentioned, or her mysterious childhood—the lost years—was brought up. It all made sense now. He had been hiding something monumental.

Ishaani pulled her hand away from his, her voice cooler than she intended. “And what if I’m tired of not knowing, Arnav? What if I want answers?”

Arnav stilled, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied her face. “What do you mean?”

She bit her lip, unsure of how far to push him. She needed to know, but she couldn’t reveal she had seen the letter—not yet. “I mean, we’ve been chasing this crown for months. We’ve found fragments of clues, but I still don’t understand the full story. My parents’ death, the exile, the reason they were killed. It’s all linked to me, but no one tells me why. Why am I so important?”

His jaw tightened, and she could see the conflict flashing in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something, but something held him back. Always, there was something holding him back.

“You’ll know soon enough, Ishaani,” he said quietly. “But there are things that… you’re not ready for.”

Her heart thudded painfully. Not ready? The truth was about her, yet he deemed her unfit to know it? Her frustration bubbled to the surface, the pressure too great to bear. “How can I not be ready for my own truth, Arnav? If it’s about me, if it’s about my family, I deserve to know.”

His gaze flickered with something—guilt, perhaps? But his voice remained steady. “I’m trying to protect you.”

Ishaani stood abruptly, her patience worn thin. “Protect me from what? The truth? Or from yourself?”

Arnav stood as well, his face tightening with frustration. “Ishaani, you don’t understand—”

“Then make me understand!” she snapped, her voice rising, a tear slipping down her cheek before she could stop it. “I can’t keep living in the dark, Arnav. Not anymore.”

Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. Arnav clenched his fists by his side, clearly torn between keeping his secrets and telling her what she needed to hear.

After what felt like an eternity, he sighed, his voice barely above a whisper. “If you knew the truth, you’d never look at me the same way again.”

Ishaani’s heart sank. Whatever he was hiding, it was bigger than she had imagined. But now, more than ever, she knew she had to uncover it.

Even if it destroyed them both.