Love and Redemption

Chapter 38

“This is too insulting, Aparajita”, the infuriated old king, Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore said shaking his head negatively as he paced fast in his chambers from one direction to another. His eyes were bloodshot red and anger was bubbling inside him.

Aparajita was visibly shaken to see her father getting angry. Her heart began to pump really fast as she flinched looking at the bloodshot eyes of her father. She flinched at once as an unknown fear crept in her mind.

She regretted reverting back to the letter written by the prince of Shivgarh and her head was hung down in shame. She knew she had not made any mistake but at the same time, she was also well aware that her father would not consider her act as decent. She flinched thinking how her father would react after knowing about her interaction with the prince of Shivgarh, Yuvraj Veerbhadra Singh Rajput. She flinched wondering her reputation was ruined as she contemplated that perhaps, her father got to know about her interaction with Veerbhadra.

Her hands trembled as the old king passed her a letter. Aparajita took the letter and opened it as she prayed the Almighty to give her strength to prove her innocence. She was shocked looking at the contents of the letter ad her fear was replaced by anger. Her eyes became red in anger as she let out an exasperated sigh.

Taking a deep breath, she read the letter again, which said,

Dear big brother

I hope you are doing well.

I know you feel ashamed to call me a brother and hence, you broke all your ties with us asking your daughter to banish us. I would apologize profusely for having caused any inconvenience to you ever in my life.

I am always concerned about your health and welfare of your daughter, Aparajita. Hopefully, things are fine in kingdom.

I am writing to you to inform you that my son, Vikrant Singh Rathore is getting married to the daughter of the headman of Pranathgarh, Nandini Singh Shekhawat.

We had always expected that my son would be married to a royal princess but unfortunately, my son is banished from his royal legacy.

Nandini is a good girl and her father, Avinash Singh Shekhawat is a great help to us in our bad times. Hence, this alliance is really good.

As a younger brother, I would be happy if you could grace your presence at the wedding on this Sunday at eleven in the morning.

Even if you cannot come to bless my son, it will be okay.

Regards

Your younger brother
Ajeet Singh Rathore

Having read this letter, Aparajita was beyond irritated at the audacity of her uncle who was blaming her father. She knew her father loved her uncle and his family beyond anything. She realized her father’s anger was justifiable because the old king had no harsh feelings against his brother. Moreover, her father loved them so much that he overlooked their misdeeds.

However, before she could say anything, the words spoken by her father shocked her beyond control leaving her infuriated.

“I knew you were capable of handling the kingdom so I personally crowned you the ruler but your greed for the power knew no bounds. You saw my nephew as a threat so you banished him.” Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore shouted at his daughter who flinched at his loud voice. Never had her father spoken so rudely to her ever and hence, Aparajita was glaring at her father angrily. The accusations her father had alleged on her were false. Being the ruler of the powerful kingdom of Vijaygarh and deserving contender of the throne, she had to defend herself.

Aparajita did not mean to disrespect her father but her anger knew no bounds. Furiously, she spoke to her father maintaining the pitch of her voice, “I don’t see that shrewd piece of meat as a threat for me. Your good-for-nothing nephew was addicted to ale and women. Though he was elder to me, yet he never participated in the proceedings of the royal court. Just because he is a man, it does not make him qualified successor to the throne.”

Taking a deep breath to calm down her angry nerves and watching her tone, she said, “I am capable to handle everything and he is nothing in front of me. I know I am deserving ruler for my kingdom, my people and my clan, dear father, because I strive to bring the best version of myself. I know everyone does not trust me yet in the royal court too, but I don’t leave any opportunity to prove myself”, leaving her father astonished as he tried to understand the turmoil of his daughter. However, never had her father expected Aparajita to answer back and hence, he could not control his anger.

“This is not my daughter, it is the Queen of Vijaygarh who is speaking”, the old king taunted glaring at his daughter.

“Yes, Maharani Aparajita Singh Rathore is defending herself for the false accusations you have alleged on me, dear father. Your upbringing is not shallow to make me a greedy girl, dear father”, Aparajita said angrily trying to control her tears that brimmed in her eyes as she remembered her sly uncle and his cunning wife along with her guileful cousin.

“Why do you hate them so much?”, Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore asked his daughter in a meek voice as he sat on the royal chair in his chambers.

For once, his daughter’s tears affected him. He flinched looking at her unbreakable daughter breaking down at his words and he immediately regretted whatever he had said. He trusted his values and he knew his daughter was not at all greedy. He sighed infuriatedly as he could never understand the outburst and hatred of his daughter towards his brother Ajeet Singh Rathore and his family.

“You will break down after knowing the truth, dear father. It is always shocking for me to see that you could not see anything else beyond your unconditional love. Trust me, they don’t deserved to be loved or respected”, Aparajita said with tears in her eyes. Her facial features had softened. She slumped on the luxurious royal couch which was clad in elegant, soft silk fabric as she planned to tell her father everything.

Aparajita knew her father would be shattered to know her pain but at the same time, she also knew it was high time to reveal the truth.

“Tell me, Aparajita. I want to know the reason behind my daughter’s pain”, the old king said with tears in his eyes but he chose to stay strong after all, a Rathore ruler was not expected to have an emotional breakdown.

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Hi everyone

Hopefully you are doing good. 😊

Sincere apologies for delaying this story and the plot. 😔

P. S I will be updating tomorrow bringing up the turmoil of the queen. Actually the chapter was getting too long and had to bifurcate!😊

Till then, shower the love on the story with your valuable votes and lovely comments. 💕

Love you all
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