Page 9 of Trapped By the Maharaja

Ram stood by the large glass wall in his office overlooking the city. He could see the Devara palace seated majestically on top of a hill.

Behind him, his personal assistant and the legal counsel sat quietly at the conference table, waiting with the original version of the contract in front of them. All it needed was Sanjana’s signature. If she agreed, and if she didn’t tear it apart first.

A knock on the office door broke the quiet. The head of his security team stepped inside, calm but alert.

“Dr. Shetty is a few minutes away, Your Highness,” the guard said. “On schedule.”

Ram gave a slight nod. “Let her through when she arrives.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As soon as the head of his security team left, the room went still again.

Ram turned back to the city view. He didn’t need to turn around to know his personal assistant and the legal counsel were shocked and curious. He could feel it in the silence. They couldn’t understand why the Devara royal was determined to marry an angry, rebellious doctor who obviously hated him.

The previous day, his assistant, Armaan, had come to Ram nervously, stating that Sanjana had refused to work with the legal counsel they’d assigned to her. She’d made it clear she would only speak to Ram directly, and only on the day of the deadline.

Ram wasn’t surprised. He knew Sanjana wasn’t the kind to be arm-twisted into doing anything she didn’t want. If anything, she was the one who often demanded that others help her in whatever she set her mind to.

A strange ache tugged inside his hardened heart as he recalled their first meeting.