Page 96 of Trapped By the Maharaja

“What did you do to Rishan?” she demanded.

The door closed behind them with a soft thud. Ram stepped inside, unhurried, his presence filling the space. His voice was calm, too calm.

“I did what I told him I would do,” he said. “If he was ever found standing next to you.”

Her stomach dropped and anger filled her. “Do not treat me like that,” she hissed.

His brows lifted, calm and infuriating. “Like what?”

“Like I’m some… possession you’ve acquired.”

“You are my wife now,” he said evenly. “That makes you mine.”

Her pulse spiked in fury and something else. “I am not yours. I’m only here because you tricked me into this marriage with threats. And you dragged me into this palace and into your life without giving me a choice!”

“You had a choice,” he replied, his voice maddeningly calm. “You signed.”

Sanjana’s chest burned. “Because you left me no other option!” She stepped forward, glaring up at him. “You cornered me like prey, and you know it.”

Something flickered in his eyes. Suddenly, she felt the danger and heat as he stepped closer, closing the space between them. “Prey doesn’t fight the way you do. Prey is always weak and terrified. You are neither.”

Sanjana’s fists clenched at her sides, her heart hammering. She hated him. Hated his arrogance and his control. But her body betrayed her, shivering under the weight of his stare.

Sanjana’s fists trembled at her sides, her anger a wildfire she clung to for strength. “You think I’m yours just because of a contract? Because of a title?”

Ram’s gaze swept over her face, slow and deliberate. “I don’t think,” he said. “I know you are mine.”

Her breath hitched as he closed the last inches between them, the heat of his body searing into hers. She wanted to shove him back, to scream, but she stayed frozen, caught between resistance and surrender. “I’m not yours. I hate you and your touch disgusts me.”

His mouth twisted darkly. “Is that why you screamed my name the last two nights?”

Her cheeks burned.

“I let you touch me because it is my duty,” she said, her voice catching. “I’m fulfilling the terms of the contract. To give you an heir. Nothing else.”

His eyes darkened. “I see.”

Her breath caught in her throat at his dark tone. But she raised her chin in challenge. “The sooner I fulfil the terms of the contract, the faster I can gain my freedom.”

He didn’t say anything.

Sanjana broke eye contact first. She turned sharply, unwilling to let him see how much his words unsettled her. Without another word, she disappeared into the bathroom.

The sound of water filled the silence. She scrubbed her skin harder than necessary, as though she could wash away not only the day’s chaos but also the need that burned through her body lately. When she emerged in a fresh nightdress, her hair damp, the master suite was set with a quiet dinner with two silver-domed trays waiting in the dining nook.

Ram had already changed out of his suit and was wearing just the white cotton pants he wore at night. He sat at the small dining table, looking at the messages on the phone. He looked up, sensing her presence, but didn’t speak when she joined him.

They ate in silence, the scrape of silver against porcelain the only sound between them. The meal tasted of nothing.

Finally, she set her fork down and looked at him. “What did you do with Rishan?” she asked. Suchitra Devi’s disapproval already felt heavy enough without adding more to the mix.

His head lifted, his gaze falling on her.

She forced herself not to look away. “If your mother finds out you beat Rishan again, especially because of me—”

“You should worry about yourself, not Rishan,” he cut in. “Worry about what I would do to you.”

Her pulse spiked. “I’m not scared of you,” she said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her chest.