Page 124 of Trapped By the Maharaja

Ram pushed to his feet, towering over his fallen cousin. For a moment, he just stood there, fists trembling at his sides, his rage still burning like wildfire. Then his gaze turned, locking on Sanjana.

He crossed the distance, and then his arm went around her, pulling her against him.

Sanjana clung to him, her heart hammering as the sounds of the security team echoed around them. But none of it mattered. All she could feel was the strength of Ram’s arms around her.

???

The helicopter’s blades slowed to a whirring hum as it landed at the Devara Palace.

Sanjana’s legs trembled when she tried to stand. Hours of fear, adrenaline, and shock still coursed through her veins. Before she could take a steady step, Ram was already there. His hand gripped hers firmly, his dark gaze scanning her face.

As soon as she stepped out, in one swift motion, he swept her up into his arms.

Sanjana let out a small gasp, instinctively looping her arms around his neck.

“I can walk,” she whispered.

Ram looked at her, but didn’t say anything. His jaw was set and his hold on her unyielding as he carried her towards the palace.

The solid strength of him, the steady thud of his heart under her cheek, anchored her, even as her mind reeled with everything that had just happened.

As Ram stepped into the palace, the staff waiting inside froze. Their eyes widened with concern. Murmurs rippled through the hall, heads bowing low as the Maharaja carried his wife in his arms.

Sanjana forced a smile at Lalita and Kumari, even as heat rose to her cheeks. “I’m fine,” she said softly, her voice carrying just enough to reach the staff. “Please, don’t worry.”

Ram didn’t slow. He strode across the marbled foyer, up the sweeping grand staircase, and into the familiar corridor that led to their suite.

When the heavy doors to the master suite swung shut behind them, the palace fell away.

Ram carried her to the bed and set her down gently, his hand lingering at her waist as though making sure she was reallythere. His shirt was still rumpled from the fight, his knuckles bruised, but his eyes never left hers.

For the first time since the warehouse, Sanjana exhaled. Her body sagged against the pillows.

“How… how did you find me?” she asked.

“I went to the hospital to wait for you.”

Her chest tightened.

His dark eyes burned as he spoke. “I received a text from your phone stating that you would be late. But I wanted to wait at the hospital until you finished. When I got inside, you weren’t there. But your mobile was in the staff room.”

Sanjana knew Rajesh must have deliberately left her phone in the staff room after he sent a message from her phone.

Ram’s jaw hardened. “Rajesh was missing too, and his mobile was last switched off around midnight.”

Sanjana knew Rajesh was following Rishan’s plan.

Ram clenched his jaw with restrained fury. “We checked the hospital cameras. Rajesh was wearing a mask, pushing a stretcher with a covered body, pretending it was a dead body.”

Sanjana’s breath caught. The Devara security kept an eye on all hospital entrances. But no one would question a hospital staff transporting a corpse.

“It took us time,” Ram continued grimly, “to pull up footage of the street cameras, to trace the ambulance. But once we had the route, I knew exactly where you were being held and by whom.”

Sanjana swallowed hard, her throat dry. Her voice trembled. “I’m fine now, Ram.”

His jaw flexed. “He could have hurt you badly… or even killed you.”

He closed his eyes and shuddered as though reliving the harrowing moments.