Rewa Palace
Rani Suchitra had known the same day Yamini left Jogra Palace.
Before the sun had set, before any gossip could travel beyond the palace gates, a trusted housekeeper had called Rewa, her voice trembling.
“She left with only one suitcase, Rani Ma. And the kitten.”
That had been four weeks ago, and now Mira stood in front of Suchitra in the study room with the same news.
“There has been no reconciliation,” Mira said carefully. “They are not speaking. Not even formally.”
Rani Suchitra closed the file she had been reviewing and set it aside.
“I am aware,” she said.
Mira hesitated. “Maharaja Bharat has not reached out to her either.”
Rani Suchitra didn't answer right away. She folded her hands on the desk and let the memories settle in.
Five and a half years ago…
Bharat came to her study.
He was twenty-six, had already acquired eight steel factories, and was already more disciplined than men twice his age.
When he walked in that afternoon, his expression was unreadable.
“Mouj,” he said.
He stood as he always did. Precise. Shoulders straight. Hands clasped behind his back. His sunglasses were tucked into his breast pocket.
“What is it, Bharat?” she asked.
“I would like to marry Princess Yamini.”
It took her a full second to understand what he said.
And that it was Bharat who had said them—her most controlled son, the one who seemed untouched by flattery, beauty, or admiration of any kind.
“Are you certain?” she asked carefully.
“Yes.”
“Have you spoken to her?”
“No.”
Suchitra was quietly thrilled.
For years, she had watched women circle him. Royal daughters, heiresses, models, the daughters of politicians. They had tried everything from laughter, boldness, and tears. None of it had ever moved him.
But Yamini was different.
Suchitra remembered her as a child running through the Rewa gardens during summer visits. Mud on her ankles, wind in her hair, laughing too loudly for a princess, and never once apologizing for it.
Suchitra went to her old friend Maheeta, Yamini's mother, with the proposal.
Suchitra recalled that during the last visit to Rewa, Maheeta had mentioned she was looking for a suitable match for Yamini, who was twenty-two at that time.
