Pooja looked at her. “What did Maharaja Bharat do when he saw you? Was he angry?”
Yamini’s pulse spiked again at the memory. “No. He simply looked at me… and then he walked away.”
Pooja frowned. “That’s strange. Maybe he didn’t recognize you. You said he barely noticed you back then.”
Hope stirred, hesitant.
Five years ago, she had been draped in blue silk and gold, weighed down by royal jewelry, makeup, and an elaborate hairstyle.
She looked at her now plain clothing with no jewelry or makeup.
Pooja might be right that Bharat Jogra didn’t recognize her.
“But if I keep working on this project,” Yamini said, “he will eventually.”
Pooja nodded slowly. “Maybe. But you are a part of an externally hired PR team. His company team will handle things. Not him.”
Yamini bit her lip. She knew Pooja was right.
And what little Yamini saw or knew of Bharat Singh Jogra, he didn’t seem the kind to sit around and plot revenge for what happened five years ago. He was probably relieved at that time that he didn’t have to marry his mother’s friend’s daughter as a duty.
“You may be right,” she said, steadying herself. “There are chances that he might not recognize me or care enough to take action. But we need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
“Don’t worry,” Pooja said. “I’ll handle it if something happens.”
Yamini saw a calculating look on her friend’s face. “How?”
Pooja smiled with confidence. “I have connections to media houses and publications. They would love a story of a beautiful, misunderstood princess who spurned Rani Suchitra Devi’s handsome maharaja son. You will make enough money to open ten photography studios.”
Yamini stared. “You want me to sell that as a gossip story?”
Pooja nodded. “Only as a backup if the handsome but cold maharaja decides to fire you and plot your downfall.”
Yamini groaned and dropped her face into her hands for a second. “Oh God. This is going to be a disaster.”
CHAPTER 5
The next day, Yamini’s phone buzzed at 6:12 a.m., just as she was balancing a cup of chai on the windowsill and trying to convince herself that today would be normal.
Nothing had been normal since the royal helicopter had landed at the environmental event.
PR Team – Ananya:Site visit confirmed. You’ll be covering Jogra Steel Plant today. Reporting time 10:00 AM. Security has your name. Please carry your photographer ID.
Yamini stared at the message until the words blurred.
Jogra Steel.
Bharat.
She set the cup down carefully, as if even a small movement might disturb the fragile control she was holding on to. For a moment, she considered calling Pooja, and for another, she thought about switching off her phone and pretending none of this existed.
Instead, she inhaled slowly and typed back:
Yamini:Confirmed.
She dressed quickly and without overthinking, choosing comfort over appearance, function over anything else.
When she clipped her ID to her pocket, her fingers paused for a second.
