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Prologue
Jai looked at his mother sitting by herself on the balcony and knew something was off. The view of the palace gardens was beautiful, and it was one of her usual spots for tea. It was more of how she looked lost that was very telling. He slowly walked up from behind and leaned down to gently kiss her on the cheek before sitting next to her.
He wasn’t the kind to beat around the bush. “What are you not telling me, Ma?” He looked at his mother, his eyes trained on her face, and she wouldn’t even make eye contact. He knew she was hiding tears behind her lowered lids.
Knowing his mother, he knew she needed time to open up. But whatever it was, he knew it had to be something bad for his mother to look so dejected. He slowly slid off the chair to kneel next to her, his eyes on her beautiful face that no longer glowed with joy.
“Ma, you know I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s bothering you. And whatever it is, I will find a way to fix it. I will do what it—” His words were lost when his mother let out a sob.
His chest tightened at the sight of his mother looking weak, a woman who was the pillar of strength for the entire family. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Ma, whatever you are dealing with all by yourself, you don’t need to.” He paused as she continued to weep.
Jai kissed the top of her head and added, “If you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay. Tell someone else, and I’ll get it out of them.” He smiled when she let out a laugh. His mother was known to keep secrets like she was the best vault in the world.
She pulled back to look at the youngest of her three children, wiping away the tears. “What I’m about to tell you, I don’t want you sharing with anyone, not even your brother and sister. Bharath would not take this well, and Aishwarya would be distraught.”
When he heard his mother’s words, he felt a lump form in his throat. “Is this about Papa? Did the doctor say something?” His father had been seen by the doctors more than a few times in the last couple of months for various reasons but nothing serious.
His mother slowly met his eyes. “The diagnosis is still not complete, but the doctor suspects it to be a rare disease that I didn’t even register the details.” She let out a sigh and added, “Your father is such an optimist he thinks he can walk it off, but I’m… I’m worried.”
“Ma…” He cupped his mother’s face in his hands. “Don’t be sad. Whatever the diagnosis is, we will find the right doctors and get the necessary treatment.” He wiped away the moisture on her face. “We will do whatever it takes… do you hear me?Whatever it takes.”
His mother sniffled and nodded. “I know we will pull through this. Your father is a strong man, but if it is really something serious, I don’t want him to miss out on his children’s life events. I want him to meet his grandchildren.”
Jai’s mother has always had a positive attitude toward life, and the woman in front of him had her resolve weakened with fear. He hugged her, rubbing her back to soothe her. “I was hoping Bharath would be married by now, but that boy does not like any of the girls he has met, and now he thinks it’s best to stay single to serve the people.” She sniffled and looked at Jai. “Aishwarya would marry anyone if it is for your Papa, but I don’t want her to feel compelled to get married now. And you—”
He interjected. “I have someone in mind I’d like to marry, Ma. She is still finishing her education, so I wanted to wait.” His tone stayed steady.
His mother’s eyes widened. “Really? You love someone, and you didn’t tell me?” He could see the shift in her manner.
He shook his head. “I… I saw her at her friend’s wedding a few months back, and I really like her. We haven’t known each other for long, but I know she is the one.”
His mother let out a laugh. “This is surreal. A wedding in the family… I didn’t expect it to be yours, but I’m thrilled.” She planted a kiss on Jai’s cheek. “When do we get to meet her?”
He shook his head. “Her family is traditional, and she has promised her father that she will marry the man of his choice. So, you’ll need to formally ask her parents for her hand.”
Jai’s mother was ecstatic. “We get to go ask for her hand? I’m going to enjoy this process so much.” He was glad to see his mother’s mood had shifted as she started talking about wedding arrangements. She was so caught up in the planning she left Jai on the balcony to plan the meeting with the girl’s family.
He looked out into the open gardens of the palace and took in a deep breath. Sanjana Bhargava was indeed the piece of the puzzle that had been missing all along. Everything will fall into place now.
Chapter 1
A few weeks later…
Sanjana pulled the hoodie over her head closer to her face. She never thought she would pull such a stunt, but she had no choice but to run away. No one wanted to listen to anything she had to say.
Instead of giving her a chance to explain why she wasn’t ready to get married, she was weighed down by such emotions that she could not say no to her father. She had to agree to marry the man her father had chosen for her, the Prince of Devaraya.
When she came home a few days ago for her older sister, Deepika’s wedding, the bombshell of her alliance with the royals was dropped on her. As the fact sunk in, she realized how miserable her life was going to be. Her father’s intentions were good—a marriage alliance from the royal family was not only good for his daughter, but it would also strengthen his connections in the region.
Her father retired from the Indian Administrative Service, and wanting to do good for the people of the region, he started a non-government organization that helped underprivileged families. Did her father agree to her marriage to relieve himself of all parental responsibilities, or did he think he could use the support of the Devaraya Royals and hence, agreed to the alliance?
When the entire family was on their way to the hotel close to the event center where the two weddings—her sister’s and hers—were scheduled to happen, she slipped out of the car when the family stopped for a break. She hoped they would not notice her missing as she placed her scarf on one of her cousins, who was sleeping next to her in the car.
Her marriage to the royal was supposed to be low-key for some reason, which annoyed her further. She had dreams about her wedding events, and what was planned for her sister was not what she wanted for herself.
Guilt twisted her inside when she thought of how shocked, disappointed, and embarrassed her parents would be, but she had no choice. She was not ready to get married and definitely not to the snobbish prince whose pictures surfaced online from time to time with actresses and models. Hopefully, her parents would be able to come up with a story about why she was not attending her older sister’s wedding. Would her standing up the prince at the altar impact her father’s work? Hopefully not.
Her family and other relatives would still have wonderful wedding fun and get a good vacation out of it while she headed to the city on a bus. As she thought through various options for the next steps, she wondered what her family would do if they discovered she was missing.
