Page 116 of Trapped By the Maharaja

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end.

“Well,” Keya sneered, her voice brittle. “I suppose you’re calling to gloat? Congratulations, Sanjana. You’ve done quite well for yourself, haven’t you? Married to a royal, living in a palace, while I—” her voice cracked. “—while I’m chained to a man thirty years older, whose money was the only reason my parents pushed me into it.”

Sanjana took a steadying breath. “I’m not calling to gloat, Keya. I need the truth. Who told you to drug Ram that night at university?”

Heavy silence filled the line. Sanjana could almost hear Keya’s shock.

“It was my idea,” Keya replied cautiously.

Sanjana’s jaw tightened. “No, it wasn’t. You wouldn’t have access to those kinds of drugs, Keya. And you wouldn’t havetouched them. You were too desperate to please Ram. You knew he wouldn’t approve of anyone taking or dealing with drugs. You wouldn’t have risked it. Not unless someone pushed you.”

“No one was involved,” Keya snapped back, though her voice wavered now, cracks showing through her anger.

“I don’t believe you.” Sanjana’s tone grew firmer. “If you won’t tell me, then I’ll let Ram find out the truth. And you know what that means, Keya. He won’t be merciful. To you or your husband.”

There was a sharp gasp of outrage on the other end. Sanjana flinched at her own words as she wasn’t used to threatening anyone. The threat had slid from her lips almost automatically, born of desperation.

A long silence followed. Sanjana could hear Keya’s uneven breaths.

When Keya finally spoke again, her voice was lower. Defeated.

“It was… it was an older woman.”

Sanjana was shocked. “An older woman?”

“She approached me,” Keya rushed on, her words tumbling now, as though once the dam broke she couldn’t stop herself. “She said if I did this—if I drugged Ram, if it looked like he’d betrayed you, you would leave him. And then I could have my chance. She promised me that if I did this, I could be the one to marry into the Devara family. That I would be Ram’s wife.”

Sanjana’s hand clenched so tight around the phone her knuckles ached. Shock churned in her stomach. An older woman. Manipulating both her and Ram.

Her mind screamed with possibilities. Who had wanted to tear her and Ram apart so badly? Who had stood to gain from their separation?

On the other end of the line, Keya’s voice cracked, trembling now. “Please, Sanjana. Don’t tell him. Don’t tell Ram. If hecomes after me, if he comes after my husband… it’ll destroy us. Please.”

Sanjana stared blankly at the opposite wall of her office, her pulse thundering in her ears. The memory of Ram’s anguished anger seeing her with Rishan. Ram had suffered. She had suffered. And because of someone wanting them apart.

“I won’t tell Ram. Not for now.”

And before Keya could say another word, Sanjana ended the call.

Her hand fell into her lap, the phone slipping from her grip. Her heart raced as an image formed in her mind.

An older woman who disapproved of Sanjana and didn’t think her worthy of Ram.

Suchitra Devi.

CHAPTER 50

The helicopter began its descent. Through the window, Sanjana caught the glimpse of the breathtaking Rewa Palace.

She had visited the palace before on her wedding day, but at that time, she was too nervous and shocked to truly appreciate its beauty.

Not that her nerves had disappeared. They hadn’t. But Ram’s steady presence at her side steadied her, even if she’d never admit it aloud.

The helicopter landed smoothly on the private pad. Guards in traditional Rewa uniform stood at attention, their gold-embroidered tunics gleaming. Sanjana smoothed the edge of her peach saree, telling herself to hold her head high. She was Ram’s wife now, the queen of Devara, at least in the eyes of the world.

The moment the door opened, a burst of warm air mixed with the scent of roses drifted in. Ram stepped out first, his presence drawing immediate bows from the assembled staff. Then he turned, extending his hand to her.

Sanjana placed her fingers in his, and immediately the warmth of his palm, steady and strong, enveloped her.