Page 62 of Trapped By the Maharaja

But she knew mere files wouldn’t stop him if he wished to sit next to her.

She heard him rise and she could feel his eyes on her.

After a long moment of tensed silence, she heard the bathroom door shut with a soft click.

She wanted to let out a relieved breath. But she knew her reprieve was temporary.

???

Sanjana stood in the small, dimly lit hostel room, her heart pounding. Ram’s tall frame loomed in front of her, his eyes blazing with fury and devastation on his handsome face.

“Tell me why,” he demanded, his voice raw with betrayal. “Tell me why you did this.”

Her chest tightened. “I changed my mind,” she said coldly without remorse. “I no longer want you.”

His face stilled. For a moment, the fury faded, leaving only devastation.

Her trembling fingers reached for the thin chain around her neck. The chain around her neck was a cheap metal, but it held the Devara ring. Ram had given it to her as a promise. She yanked the thin chain free and took out the heavy ring and then hurled it at him.

The ring struck his chest before falling down at his feet. He stared down at it, jaw tight, eyes burning with betrayal.

When he looked up, the fury had returned.

“Leave,” she said. “Don’t come back.”

Without another word, he turned and left.

But seeing his broad shoulders hunched with devastation, anger left her. Panic filled her heart. She tried to run forward, but she couldn’t move. “Wait—” she tried to say. But her voice didn’t work. Nothing came out. Her lips moved, her chest burned with desperation, but no sound followed.

All she could do was watch as Ram walked away. Taking the ring. And taking every piece of her with him.

“Wait,” she whispered again, her lips moving faintly as her eyes fluttered open.

Moonlight filtered through the heavy silk curtains in the master suite. For a moment, she felt disoriented. And then, she felt warmth surrounding her.

Strong arms. A muscled chest beneath her cheek. The faint, familiar scent of sandalwood and citrus.

Her sleepy gaze lifted just enough to see Ram carrying her. His handsome face was unreadable, his jaw set, eyes fixed straight ahead as he carried her from the velvet couch where she had fallen asleep.

She wanted to protest. She wanted to pull away. But exhaustion pressed her down heavier than her will. Her body melted against him, and before she could stop it, her cheek found the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

By the time he laid her gently on their bed, she was already asleep again, curled into his chest, and trapped in his arms.

CHAPTER 30

It was Sanjana’s day off from work.

Normally, her days off from work were spent in laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning the apartment.

But now, she didn’t know what to do. The palace was spotless, every corner polished by dozens of staff who were quiet and efficient. There was nothing for her to clean or fold, nothing for her to arrange. She felt strangely useless.

But she knew she couldn’t just spend the day pacing inside the master suite. So, tying her long hair into a ponytail and slipping into a comfortable cotton dress, she stood before the carved double doors of the suite and made up her mind.

She was going to explore the Devara Palace.

She realized that though it felt like a lifetime, it had only been two weeks since Ram had married her in secret and brought her to the palace. The hospital had consumed her days, and her silent battles with him had consumed her evenings. Until now, she hadn’t spared a thought to discover the place she was expected to call home.

Stepping out, she walked through a sunlit corridor. Tall arched windows let in morning light that spilled across stone floors, glinting off ancient paintings framed in gold and sculptures resting in recessed alcoves. Portraits of past queens stared down at her with dark eyes. For a moment, she imagined their judgment declaring that her plain cotton dress hardly worthy of their royal bloodline.