Phool for You |Royal Retelling 1|

Chapter 7: Bittersweet Backstories

Humiliation plagues me like an infectious disease. How dare he make a fool out of me like that?

He could have at least had the decency to escort her out before everyone was awake. But, of course, he wanted to make my life more of a misery than it already was.

To sleep apart from me on our wedding night is one thing, but to sleep apart from me and with someone else is unacceptable. I'm not jealous or hurt, but I'm definitely bewildered and disgraced. It's the sense of shame that weighs heaviest on me—a newlywed bride couldn't satisfy her husband enough to keep him in their bedroom. Of course, most people don't know our circumstances, but I would assume that he would extend the courtesy of keeping our situation a secret past the public eye and into his home. My assumption was, most certainly, incorrect.

Periodically, Rukhsaar has been giving me sympathetic looks as I finish my breakfast. If there is one thing I detest more than shame, it's pity.

Poor Mahroosa, she's probably thinking, she has to deal with the torment of being a newlywed bride to an unfaithful imbecile.

I doubt she's thinking that last part, but I'd prefer to entertain the notion that she is.

Cas pokes my arm. "Want to explore?"

I raise my eyebrows at Rukhsaar, asking silent permission on his behalf.

"You better not abandon her somewhere, Casmir. This place is big and she isn't familiar with the layout yet," Rukhsaar says warningly, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel after washing all of the dishes.

"Come with us," I say. I could use some female company, especially since I don't have Afshi anymore. A sharp pain goes through my chest at the thought, but I ignore it.

"I—," she hesitates, peeking around the house. "I don't know if Prince Rafay has any more work for me. I wouldn't want to run off like that."

I roll my eyes. "I don't think a small break would cause any disruption to your daily work. I would love it if you would come along."

Rukhsaar gives me a big smile, her dimples making an appearance. She finishes putting the dishes away into the cabinets and straightens out her lavender peshwas. "Alright, let's start with the family room, since you have already seen the kitchen."

The large kitchen flowed into the even larger family room, enforcing an open concept layout. The color scheme of the family room was the same as the rest of the house: gold, champagne, and various shades of ivory. There were dashes of maroon in the decor and furniture, imposing dark accents in the overall light room.

An arch to the left gave way to a corridor that led to the mehel workers' bedrooms on the main floor. Rukhsaar explained that the guest bedrooms and master bedroom were on the second floor. The third floor had a library and a rooftop garden. Each floor had separate staircases with various entry points and exits, contributing to the overall complexity of the layout.

I was definitely most interested in the third floor.

"I don't have access to it," Rukhsaar says, shattering my hope. Something in this dungeon had finally caught my interest, but of course I wouldn't be allowed the pleasure of it.

"Do you know who does?" I ask, fully knowing the answer to my question.

Rukhsaar gives me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I wish I could help you. Your eyes lit up when I mentioned the library, so I imagine that you love reading as much as I love cooking."

I nod, glancing wistfully at the staircase that led to the third floor. "Reading is the perfect escape for me. It is amazing how a whole new universe is created with just words on some paper."