“So?” she asked. “I wasn’t alone. My friend Pooja was with me.”
“That isn’t enough,” he replied.
That made her snap, and she sprang up in outrage. “You don’t get to control me. I agreed to a contract marriage, not being trapped in a golden cage.”
He finally looked up then, his golden-brown eyes brighter in the sunlight.
“Sit down, Yamini,” he said.
His voice hadn’t risen. There was no fury, but the command was absolute.
Her legs moved automatically, obeying him before her mind caught up, just like her body did when he said ‘again’ during the nights.
Her cheeks burned at the memory.
She wanted to remain standing, but the palace staff standing discreetly at a distance froze in place, and everyone seemed to hold their breath, bracing to witness a confrontation.
Yamini sat down slowly, gritting her teeth.
“Any other commands, Maharaja?” she hissed, her voice dripping with anger as she watched him.
His gaze swept over her angry face and then lingered on her mouth, where she realized honey stuck to the corner of her lip.
Her cheeks heated, and she dabbed the napkin to her mouth furiously.
“The places you are visiting are not secure,” he said.
“They are secure for me,” she shot back. “As a photographer, I have navigated several cities without armed security tagging me along.”
“You’re not just a photographer anymore,” he said. “You’re my wife.”
The words made her stomach flutter. She ignored that.
She clenched her jaw.
“So, your wife is not allowed to open a photo studio? It’s something I’ve always wanted. I’m not going to just give up on my dream for some misguided sense of—”
“There’s a commercial property in North Dalview,” he said, as if she wasn’t getting worked up and in mid-rant. “It belongs to the Jogra estate.”
Yamini blinked. “What?”
He continued, unperturbed. “It’s on the top floor.”
“I don’t want your charity,” she said.
“It’s east-facing.”
“I said I don’t want your charity!” she repeated.
“The light enters between eight and eleven in the morning,” he went on. “Consistent, diffused. Ideal for portrait work.”
She stared at him.
“The ceilings are higher than standard commercial builds,” he added. “That reduces heat retention. The windows are reinforced but clear with no distortion. There is 24/7 power backup to the entire building.”
Her anger faltered.
“You’d have enough space for a primary shooting floor and a smaller editing room,” he said. “Sound insulation is adequate, but additional panels would help if you plan to do video.”
