Moniya sat in her room, her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms tightly wrapped around them. Tears cascaded down her cheeks effortlessly, and she made no move to wipe them away. After all, new ones would only replace them.
She glanced outside the window. The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon, the sky exploding with soft colours as it welcomed the new night and an end of another day. For Moniya, the dipping sun was her last hope that also disappeared. The only person that was the connection to her old life had decided to shear his ties with her and move on.
Could she do the same?
The door creaked open, gaining her attention. She hastily wiped her tears away, although that wouldn't be much help. It was quite obvious from her appearance that she had been crying. There was no point in hiding that fact.
"Princess," the familiar tenor voice uttered, poking his head in through the creak in the door. For the first time in a while, he didn't look at her with a smirk, a smug smile or one of utter contempt. She was surprised to see that he looked sympathetically and pity.
She turned her face away. "Go away."
He refused to listen, shutting the door behind him as he entered.
"I said go away."
Light footsteps were heading towards her bed. She instinctively curled into herself.
A slight sigh escaped his lips and he sat further away from her on the bed to give her space. "Manyata."
There it was. That name. The name erased any connection to her past life and connected her to a life that she didn't want.
He moved closer slightly, gauging her reaction. When she made no move in response, he took another chance and moved closer.
"Manyata, I didn't want to do this," he said finally.
Moniya scoffed. Of course he didn't.
He continued. "You have to understand, I had to do this."
She turned towards him sharply, her eyes narrowed. "You had to do this?"
He nodded. He reached for her hand, only to have it snatched it away roughly. A slight flicker of emotion played across his face but before it could make any impact, it disappeared and he was back to wearing his old mask.
"Yes, I had to do this." His voice was hard and oozed finality, like there wasn't any other option.
"Why?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"You had to realize that the life you had for the past sixteen years was all a sham. That wasn't your real life." He reached for her hands again, gripping them tightly in his when she made the move to pull them back again. "You're a Rajkumari, Manyata. You have to realize that, understand it. What I did downstairs was for your benefit."
This time, when she pulled her hand back, she succeeded. "For my benefit? This was for my benefit? In what universe is this for my benefit?"
He stood up, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wide in anger. He leaned down towards her until their noses were inches apart. He wasn't the nice Udayveer anymore. "Yes."
She turned her head away to avoid the look in his eyes. He held her chin between his fingers and turned her face so that she would look at him while he talked. He was serious.
"Yes, it was for your benefit," he growled. "Telling the truth about your secret escapades with Akash was for your benefit. Reminding Akash of who you were was for your benefit. Severing all ties with your past was for you benefit. Announcing the engagement was for your benefit. Damn it, everything was for your benefit!"
Moniya flinched, whether it was in surprise or fear, she didn't know.
Udayveer loosened his grip and let her go, though his eyes never left her face.
"How?" was all she could come up with.
"Fine. Telling everyone of your escapades would save you the humiliation you and the entire family would have to face when someone else ' maybe even the press ' caught you. Reminding Akash of your identity would save you from trouble. Akash is not meant for you, he is not your destination, nor will he ever be. It will only be easier if you sever ties with your past so it can help you accept who you are. The fact is, you are Rajkumari Manyata, the heir to the throne of Devgarh; and you are betrothed to me."
Moniya stared at him, speechless.
"Whether you like it or not, this is your life now Rajkumari Manyata."
Hindi TV Shows
Health and Fitness
