𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧

53⚚ Her family

Author POV:

he X King continued the story, his voice low and heavy, "I was a teenager when I fell in love with Vaishu, and Ekansh fell in love with Sindhu. Me and Ekansh... we were inseparable as kids. He was my brother in every way that mattered. Only I knew about his feelings, and only he knew about mine. There were no secrets between us."

He smiled faintly, a bitter smile tainted with old, unhealed wounds.

"Then came Veerendra Oberoi—the Northern Kingdom's first crown prince."

At the mere mention of the Northern Kingdom, Amaira's body stiffened against Viraj. Her breathing faltered for a second.

Instantly, as if he felt every shift in her soul, Viraj lifted his head from her neck and cupped her face with a hand so gentle it could break hearts.

His dark eyes searched hers, asking without words: Are you okay, baby?

Amaira gave him the softest smile, her fingertips brushing his wrist in reassurance, and nodded.

Viraj sighed quietly and pressed her even closer to his chest, cradling her as if shielding her from ghosts of a past she never lived but is now paying for.

The X King's voice pulled them back. "At first," he said, voice trembling with regret, "Veerendra became our friend. Everything seemed good. He was charismatic... charming... said all the right things."

A shadow crossed his face—memories not forgotten, memories that haunted. "But Sindhu and Vaishu... they warned us. Again and again. They said something about him wasn't right. That when he spoke, his words were sweet, but his eyes... his eyes were cold."

He gave a weak, broken smile, the kind only men who have lost everything could wear. "Maybe it was the female instincts," he whispered, almost to himself.

"Maybe it was the kind of wisdom only women carry in them. But we were fools. We ignored them."

A long silence settled over the room, heavy like a boulder no one could move.

All the brothers exchanged glances, their jaws tight, their fists clenching in silent fury for the pain Amaira and Viraj now carried because of a betrayal planted decades ago.

Amaira's tiny fingers fisted into Viraj's shirt, anchoring herself to him, grounding herself in his steady heartbeat.

Viraj, feeling the strain in her, kept stroking her hair with endless patience, his touch whispering I'm here. I've got you. Nothing will ever touch you again.

No more words were needed between them. Only love.

The X King continued, his voice quieter, weighed down with years of regret. "We got married right after our graduation," he said, a small bittersweet smile ghosting across his lips.

"My father handed me the throne of our kingdom... and Ekansh—he took the throne of the Royal Kingdom, Kshathriya."

His eyes glazed over slightly, lost in memories that felt both a lifetime ago and yet painfully vivid.
"The Kshathriyas were always powerful. It ran through their veins like destiny. They were rulers by birth, warriors in soul. Their kingdom had never once known weakness, never once bowed its head before any other. And Ekansh..."

He exhaled shakily, the weight of admiration and loss crackling in the still air. "Ekansh was no less," he whispered. "He was the best king our kingdoms had ever seen. A better friend than I ever deserved."

He paused, swallowing hard against the lump forming in his throat, forcing the words out like peeling old scars. "Everything was going well... until the drought came."