Page 120 of Trapped By the Maharaja

Her fingers curled around the warm cup, and she took a careful sip. The sweetness spread over her tongue, easing the tight knot in her chest. “Thank you, Rajesh. Really.”

He leaned against the edge of the counter, watching her. “Congratulations on the surgery. Not everyone would’ve taken the risk, but you did. That boy’s alive because of you.”

Sanjana felt her cheeks warm faintly at the praise. “It was a team effort.”

“You led the team,” he corrected gently.

For a moment, there was a comfortable quiet between them, broken only by the ticking of the wall clock. It felt almost normal—like the years before her life had been swept into Ram’s world.

She finished half the cup and pushed herself to her feet. “Rounds won’t wait. I’d better get back.”

But halfway across the room, her steps faltered.

Her hand shot out to the back of a chair for balance. A sudden wave of dizziness blurred the edges of her vision.

Rajesh straightened, frowning. “Sanjana?”

She shook her head, trying to clear the sudden fog. But the haze deepened, her surroundings warping, tilting. She blinkedrapidly, her pulse thudding in her ears. The cup she had set down blurred into two, then three.

She knew it wasn’t lack of sleep because she normally could function well without much sleep.

Something is wrong.

“Sanjana—” Rajesh’s voice reached her, low and strained.

Through the blur, she saw his face. Strangely, he didn’t look alarmed or asking if she was okay. And neither was he rushing to grab her vitals or call for help. His expression was oddly guilty.

She tried to speak and call for help, but her lips barely formed the sound. Soon, her knees gave way.

“Ram…” she whispered before everything went black.

CHAPTER 53

The master bedroom felt too quiet.

Ram sat at the dining nook, untouched silver platters laid out before him, the food still steaming faintly. He had no appetite, not when Sanjana wasn’t here. He wanted his wife across from him, snapping at him and calling him a ruthless, arrogant maharaja.

Earlier that morning, during breakfast, she had told him she would be late due to a critical surgery. She was still not done, because according to his security updates and the discreet tracker embedded in her phone, she was still inside the hospital.

Ram drummed his fingers against the polished table, jaw clenched tight. He could have the helicopter readied and be there at the hospital within minutes. But he knew, she would hate it. Sanjana had always bristled against his overprotection, pushing back harder the more he tried to shield her.

So, he remained home.

He reached for his phone and typed a message to the head of security.

Is everything okay?

The reply came quickly.

Her Highness is still inside the hospital wing. Guards in position. No anomalies reported.

But Ram felt restless. He wanted to see his wife, even if she was scolding him for his arrogance or overprotectiveness. He knew he was obsessed. Because there was no one like her. She would always be in his mind, haunting him forever.

Just when he thought,To hell with itand decided to go to her, his phone buzzed with an incoming message.

Sanjana’s name lit up the screen.

I have an emergency surgery. I won’t be back until morning.