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He smiled before leaning forward to kiss her temple. “You already helped quite a bit by marrying Baba’s youngest son.” His voice was a whisper, and finally after months, she realized why he offered her the royal deal.
But how would it help if they went their own way after a year? Maybe he will be better by then.
Sanjana sent a silent prayer for the king’s speedy recovery and pulled back from Jai, a smile on her face as she looked up at him. “You are a good son, Jai.”
His brows furrowed. “Are you saying I’m a sucky husband?” he teased, and yet again, heat crept up her cheeks.
Just as she was thinking of a comeback that would bring the temperature in the room down to normal, she heard the beep of the main door opening. “Is that Aish?” she asked excitedly to see her new best friend.
“Must be her.” Jai got up from the bed and started walking toward the door when she heard Aish call out to them.
“I’m here, and if you are in the middle of a private moment, I can come back.” She laughed as Jai opened the bedroom door, laughing. She threw her arms around Jai and added, “And there is my least favorite brother,” she taunted before letting go and walking over to where Sanjana sat, leaning on the headboard.
“So good to see you, Aish.” She hugged Aish, glad to see the smile back on her face. She pulled back and asked, “Did you just say Jai is your least favorite?” Sanjana was sure he was Aish’s most favorite.
“Yup, I said my least favorite. He was my favorite until he took away all the online fun I was having on social media, then he sent Bharath to apologize to me, and then most importantly, he made you fall in the bathroom.” She winked, and Sanjana smiled as the siblings talked, and she looked at him as he smiled and ran his fingers through his hair.
Sanjana’s heart yet again melted for the guy who was not only a good son, a protective brother, a caring husband to his fake wife, and most of all—the perfect man!
Chapter 16
Finally, it was the day of the event they had talked about and Jai had been working on for months, as she was told by the family. What it was, she had no idea, but she was excited for the day. Unlike a few weeks ago, she now looked forward to going out with her husband. She enjoyed all the attention they got—the way he held her, how his lips grazed her skin—every bit of it.
Aish was out of town on a photo shoot for the new season. Jai’s parents decided to skip the event since his father was not feeling well from a recent change of medication, and she had no clue about his brother.
If it was such a huge event, why wasn’t the rest of the family going?
Her team was busy at work on her look when she felt his presence in the other room. “Hurry up, please. Jai is here.”
One of the women giggled. “Ma’am, that’s what you say every time, and the prince says take all the time you need.”
Sanjana glared at the girl through the mirror, who was working on curling her hair. “That’s because he is a gentleman, and I cannot delay him because he is saying that.”
She felt her team visibly stiffen, but she didn’t say anything else. She didn’t want him waiting for her or anyone, for that matter. “Make it quick, please.”
Shortly after, she walked toward the living area of their private chambers, her heart thumping in her chest. She had chosen to wear a saree instead of an easier-to-handle dress since she remembered his admiring looks when she wore sarees at her grandma’s village. The looks could have been amusement or anything else, but the media and the people who commented on every one of their posts said he looked at her romantically.
The comments made her blush when she secretly read them, making her wonder if he really did look at her that way. The only way to find out was to keep looking into his eyes when they were not in front of dozens of cameras.
When the final touches were done, the team stepped away, and Sanjana stood up slowly, the pleats on the saree coming together as she looked at herself in the mirror. The saree was a simple yet elegant one, specially designed for the event by Aish.
Sanjana smiled into the camera as one of her team members took a picture of her for Aish’s social media post. She nodded at the team and took a moment to thank them before slowly walking toward the living area where her husband was waiting for her. It was still very early in the morning, and the event was supposed to start later that morning.
All she knew was it was not the evening party studded with celebrities. Even as she took slow, tentative steps as she got comfortable with the outfit, she wondered why she didn’t ask him what the big event was. The contract didn’t restrict her from being curious.
Determined to know what the event was about, she dug her fingers nervously into the clutch she held in her hands. The soft silk of the saree barely made a sound, and she saw him seated on one of the chairs, his focus on his phone as he typed a message.
The disappointment was settling in that he didn’t look at her, and the moment the thought passed through her mind, he looked up, and she caught it—the spark in his eyes that the media talked about when he looked at her—but it was gone in the next moment, making her wonder if she imagined it.
She lowered her eyes as he slowly walked to her and stopped less than a foot away. “Sanjana, you look beautiful.” With those words, he slowly reached for her hand and raised it to his mouth. Her eyes rose to his as he kissed the back of her hand, a smile on his face. The simple gesture made her weak in the knees and jittery all over.
How did the man hold so much power over her?
Like he didn’t throw her off with what he just did, he wrapped an arm around her waist, his warmth seeping through the thin fabric of the saree right to her core. She was too shaken to realize he was merely posing for the standard picture, but her senses were heightened.
She had no control over her senses and didn’t look into the camera for the picture but held on to him. Her heart was on a rampage as she sorted out everything she was feeling. It was overwhelming, and she clung to him like she couldn’t stand.
As if sensing the shift in her manner, he held her closer and whispered, “You okay?” His voice was so soft and full of care she wanted to hug him. Instead, she could only nod as he stood with her body plastered to his and her eyes downcast even as they posed for the camera. “Let’s go,” he said moments later, and she felt herself glide next to him, her mind in a state of confusion while her body, well, had a mind of its own and was blissful in his arms.
