The Unwanted Royal Marriage

48. Stay back, Rohan.

Adhyay's pov

It has been a week. Seven days since Meera disappeared from my life, and each one feels like an eternity. The silence in the house is deafening. I wake up every morning, hoping it's all just some nightmare—a cruel joke—but then I remember, and the weight of it settles over me again.

She's gone.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about her, replaying every moment, every word. Her absence is a wound I can't seem to heal, no matter how hard I try to push it away. Every corner of this mansion feels empty without her. The way she used to laugh, the way she would look at me with those eyes full of warmth. It's all a distant memory now.

I can still hear her voice in my head, her words echoing like a haunting melody: "I will always be with you, even when I'm gone." But how? How is she still with me when I can't even feel her presence anymore? The world feels colder without her. The only thing that keeps me going is the small hope that somehow, in some way, she's still alive.

But I can't help but wonder: Where is she? Why hasn't she come back? She wouldn't leave me. She promised she wouldn't. And yet, here I am—alone, with nothing but the unanswered questions gnawing at me.

I've been trying to hold myself together, for her. For the love we shared. But every night, as I lie awake in bed, I can't help but question if it was all just a dream. Was it all real?

The house has changed since she left. It feels like the air is heavier, like it knows something I don't. The people around me have noticed too. Dhruv keeps telling me to stop drowning myself in alcohol, but I can't help it. The numbness is all I can rely on right now.

Siddharth and the others have been trying to keep me occupied, but I'm just going through the motions. I can't focus on anything else but her. Every time I think about her, it's like a dagger to my chest.

I found Siddharth at the Kala Mehal. The moment I stepped foot inside, the place screamed her name—Meera.

"This was her base," Siddharth later confessed, his voice weighed down by something I couldn't place yet.

Flashback

The moment I arrived, a strange familiarity washed over me. My car came to a halt in front of the towering, imposing structure, and the men stationed at the gates didn't so much as flinch. Instead, they bowed their heads with respect.

Confused but resolute, I stepped out and walked towards the Mehal.

From the outside, it looked like nothing more than a cement fortress—a stronghold. But as I stepped inside, I was struck by its surprising opulence. The interior was regal, dripping with luxury, and yet there was something icy, almost haunting, about the atmosphere.

At the center of it all hung a massive portrait. It was of Meera and me, taken on our wedding day. I froze, my breath catching as I stared at her face. The room seemed alive with her presence, like she'd carved herself into every corner of this place.

But the silence was short-lived. As I moved further inside, voices carried through the hallways.

"I know! But we have to do something! Hum aise haath pe haath dhare kab tak baithe rahenge, Siddharth?" (How long are we going to sit idle like this, Siddharth?) a girl's voice demanded.

"I know, Shivani... par hum kuch nahi kar sakte abhi! She left no access! Woh Rani thi, hai, aur rahegi!" (But we can't do anything right now! She was a queen, is a queen, and will always be a queen!) Siddharth replied, his voice heavy.

"Shivani, Siddharth sahi keh raha hai. Aur humne try kiya na!" (Shivani, Siddharth is right. And we did try, didn't we?) That voice—it was Abhimaan.

What the hell was going on?