ROYAL HIGHNESS

61. choosen

The house was painfully silent.

Amyardh sat on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees, palms trembling in a way that even he couldn’t explain. His jaw still carried the faint sting of the slap Ovie’s father had given him earlier—
not because the slap hurt, but because of everything that moment meant.

He kept staring at his phone, waiting for a message, a call, anything from her. His chest felt painfully tight, as if someone had wrapped a fist around his heart and was squeezing slow, steady, cruel.

He didn’t know if she was crying.
He didn’t know if she was angry.
He didn’t know if she was safe.

And worst of all—

He didn’t know if she was distancing herself from him forever because of everything that had just happened.

He rubbed his face with both palms and exhaled shakily.
He hated feeling helpless.
He hated feeling out of control.
But right now, the fear of losing her made everything inside him twist.

His phone vibrated once.

A single message.

A name he knew like his own breath.

Ovie: I am sorry

Amyardh’s throat closed.

His heart didn’t just skip—it crashed.

Sorry.

He stared at that word as if it carried the weight of the entire universe.

People say “sorry” for two reasons—
for hurting someone… or for leaving.

And he didn’t know which one this was.

His mind spun through every possibility, every fear. His breathing quickened, his hands went cold. He swallowed hard, suddenly feeling as though his entire world was tilting.

*God, please don’t let this be the end. Please…*

His fingers shook as he typed.

Amyardh:Ovie, I am sorry. Please maaf kar do. Mujhe pata hai main gusse mein aa gaya tha… lekin main tumse sach mein bahut pyaar karta hoon. Main darr gaya tha isliye waisa ho gaya… please.

The phone felt too small in his hand.
His own message looked like a desperate confession, because that’s exactly what it was.

He stood up abruptly and paced his room, hand clutching his hair. His heart was beating too fast, his breaths coming uneven. His chest hurt with the fear he couldn’t name.

He wasn’t scared of anyone else.
Not her father.
Not her mother.
Not society.

But he was terrified of her silence.
Her distance.
Her walking away.

His phone lit up again.

He stopped breathing.

Ovie:Cool down baba… cool down. Tumne kuch nahi kiya.

Relief didn’t hit him immediately.
Instead, the knot inside him tightened.

She sounded calm.
Too calm.

People sound calm when they’ve already made a decision.

He swallowed dryly and typed quickly, unable to hold back the panic clawing inside him.

Amyardh :Tum chhod toh nahi dogi na…?

The moment he sent it, he felt exposed. Vulnerable in a way he wasn’t used to.
He was a man who acted before thinking, who fought without fear, who faced the world with a straight spine.