“Suman,” Daadi-sa’s loud voice echoed again, and I knew she had something to say.
She appeared confused, so I nodded with a smile.
“I hope you find it interesting,”
She rolled her eyes in disbelief and pushed me away.
“Go,” I bit my lower lip.
I didn’t know why, but my heart felt as if it were breaking as I watched her leave. I wanted to talk to her, listen to her, and keep her close, but that didn’t seem appropriate in our case.
I wanted her to stay, not just because I could make her. I wished for her to choose to stay, to remain even after knowing everything about me, after seeing all of me: my broken self, my angry self, my reckless self, my childish self, my mature self—all the versions of me that people barely ever saw.
I wanted her to stay, even after everything, with a choice.
She might’ve had a better option waiting for her outside. But I couldn’t keep her just because I could.
I wanted her to refuse this marriage proposal on her own.
Nothing is more beautiful than being a choice and yet being chosen.
I made my own choices and stood here before her. If this was the opportunity God offered me after a heartbreak, I wanted her to make her own choices and stand before me.
I intertwined our fingers. My heart was longing to claim her lips, to make her mine, to taste every inch of her, and to make her feel that she owned me, not merely because of our relationship, but because I truly belonged to her.
She widened her eyes, gesturing for me to leave, and I nodded, stepping away from her. I leapt outside through the window, stealing a last glance at her, savouring the exquisite taste and scent of her presence.
My heart ached. Perhaps that was the last time we were meeting. I had long desired it. I wanted to learn about all the pain she had buried inside her and tried to make her feel special.
But, for that, this bridge needed to be crossed.
I returned to where Eklavya was and saw him waiting at the palace’s main entrance. The palace buzzed with visitors, the feast still ongoing, and joy filled the air.
This was the perfect opportunity to reach Mehrangarh before the head commander returned.
Everyone was busy; they didn’t even notice we were gone.
I mounted my horse, and we both raced toward Mehrangarh in disguise.
We needed actual evidence.
The sun descended in the west to rest, and we reached the outskirts of Mehrangarh just as darkness enveloped the light like a blanket.
We both dressed in the Mehrangarh army uniform, Eklavya stole from the soldier who visited Mahabaleshgarh for the feast with Princess Rashmika.
We couldn’t enter through the main door; instead, we walked toward the back of the palace. It was darker, and people headed back to their chambers, so we chose a passage that directly connected us to the weapons warehouse.
During my previous visit, I gained a good understanding of the palace’s infrastructure. The warehouse was at the back, so if a war ever occurred, they would break the gigantic wall for quick, easy access to the weapons, while pretending to be unarmed to all visitors.
We couldn’t break through the high wall, but could dig down.
We both started digging, choosing a safer spot away from the watchers. The plan was to dig a small cave under the wall that would open onto the other side.
By the time we were done, it had grown darker, and thankfully, no one noticed.
We filled the hollow space with some mud, not entirely, because we also needed to get out.
We crawled slowly into the palace. A few soldiers were watching nearby. I waited for them to move slightly to drink water and then ran towards the warehouse without making a sound.
