Page 4 of A Royal Deception

It wasn’t that I intended to stare at His Highness so openly. For some reason, every time our eyes met, it was impossible for me to look away. It was as if his eyes cast a spell on me. Damn him and his Harry Potter eyes! They were going to get me fired from my job!

Ranvijay Singh Rathore was the most beautiful man I had ever met. Actually, he was more like a mountain than a man. He was huge! I had to crane my neck to meet his eyes. And he was built like a tank, with those wide shoulders and powerful arms. And that stubble, uff! I had no idea a bad-boy stubble could besuch a turn-on. I shuddered at the thought of how it would feel against my skin.

Get a grip, Shivina,I said to myself as the women in front of me began to move again.

I passed my tray along the line to Kavya Baisa’s aunt and hung behind as our entourage followed her to the dais. The rules at the palace were very clear. Servants had to stay out of sight at all times, and I was never allowed to forget that I was nothing more than a servant. It didn’t matter that my father had been the estate manager for years. After his death, my sister and I were treated as burdens on the royal family and tolerated only because of my father’s service to the family.

I knew my place and had never aspired to be anything more to them. If I had my way, I’d walk out of the palace and make my own way in the world. I had a degree in hotel management, but I had no work experience because my father had died soon after I graduated. That was a little over a year ago. The new estate manager had moved into our little house overnight, and I’d had to beg Rani Sa for a place to stay for the sake of my younger sister, Zarna, who was only thirteen at the time.

Zarna was brilliant. A genius, even. And someday, she was going to be an astronaut. The Dodiyas paid for her fees at the expensive school she attended. After my father died, Rani Sa gave us a room in the palace and agreed to keep paying Zarna’s fees as long as I made myself useful in the palace.

That was the only reason why I swallowed my pride and put up with Rani Sa’s insults and Kavya Baisa’s slaps. I couldn’t deprive my sister of an excellent education just because they treated me badly.

But if they ever discovered that I had the hots for Kavya Baisa’s fiancée, they’d burn me alive. I wisely kept my eyes averted through the traditional meet and greet, where both sides exchanged sweets and presents.

I had assumed the actual ring exchange would happen after that, but Kavya Baisa wanted to take pictures. While the photographer urged the happy couple to pose together, Baisa wanted some solo pictures before the natural light went down at sunset. Strangely, His Highness didn’t seem to mind that. I wondered what kind of man he was to walk away from his fiancée so willingly without a backward glance. A quick glance at his hard profile almost made me feel sorry for Kavya Baisa. He looked like a man you wouldn’t want to cross. Ever.

I had heard a lot about him from Rani Sa. His Highness was a hotshot lawyer who had lived in the US for years. Apparently, his first wife was ethereally beautiful, and everyone said he still mourned her untimely death. Maybe his grief had turned him into stone. Mine sat like a ball of agony and fear right in the middle of my chest. I missed my Baba’s love for sure. But more than anything, I missed the security of his presence. I had no idea that his death would mean the death of my freedom as well. For overnight, I had turned from his pampered older child into little more than a bonded slave.

Kavya Baisa was busy with her pictures, and I was no longer needed, so Rani Sa nodded at me - a sign for me to disappear until she called me. I made my way to one of the stone benches at the back of the terrace and admired my surroundings. Mirpur Palace was beautiful, way more beautiful than Sajjangarh Palace, which was a showpiece rather than a home. This place retained a cosy feeling even though it was one of the stateliest homes in the country. The yellow sandstone of the palace glowed in the light of the setting sun. I settled my odhani over my head and wished Rani Sa had allowed me to wear something other than this drab sky-blue poshak that made my skin look dull.

My phone buzzed in the pocket of my skirt, and I snuck it out slowly to see if it was Zarna. To my surprise, it was a message from the recruiter for a big hotel chain in Jaipur, offering me anentry-level job at their new hotel. It was tempting to jump at the offer, but I forced myself to be sensible. The salary she offered was decent, but it wasn’t enough to cover the rent in a good neighbourhood.

All I could afford was a small two-bedroom apartment in a very seedy area in Jaipur. Even if Zarna was in school for half the day, she would still be alone at home for the rest of the day. I knew from my training days that the hours in the hotel industry were very long. How could I guarantee my sister’s safety if I had to leave her alone every day while I went to work? And how could I even afford her school fees on a starter salary?

With a sigh, I placed my phone in my pocket and looked up when all the guests cheered loudly. What was happening? Maybe they were finally getting on with the ring ceremony, and we could get out of here soon. To my dismay, the photographer requested His Highness to join Baisa for their engagement pictures. Ugh! Was this evening never going to end, I wondered.

The couple posed with the beautiful palace in the background.

“Hukum, smile,” ordered the photographer cheekily, but that only made His Highness glower at him fiercely.

I wondered what it would take to make the grumpy Maharaja smile. An act of God, probably, I decided with a smile of my own. As if he could hear my thoughts, he turned that glower on me across the terrace, and my heart leapt into my throat when his angry gaze burned into me. I wanted to get up and run, but for the life of me, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to run away from this beast of a man who glared at me like I’d stolen his family’s crown jewels or if I wanted to run right into his arms.

“He’s very handsome, isn’t he?” murmured someone next to me.

I turned around in surprise and found the Yuvarani of Jadhwal staring at me thoughtfully.

“Khamma ghani, Yuvarani Sa,” I murmured, making sure I kept my eyes on the ground.

My heart beat a frightened tattoo as I wondered if she had seen me lusting after the man who was a close friend of hers. I knew how palace grapevines worked. If this princess told anyone that she caught me drooling over Kavya Baisa’s fiancé, the news would find its way to Baisa’s ears, and I shuddered to think about what she’d do to me in retaliation. Baisa was not a kind woman. And her mother was even worse.

“Call me Isha,” she replied, and I had to restrain a snort of disbelief.

As if!

Rani Sa would skin me alive if she heard me address the princess so familiarly. I knew my place.

“Can I help you, Yuvarani Sa?” I asked pointedly, and the princess smiled gently.

“Have you eaten, Shivina? That’s your name, isn’t it?”

I was perplexed by the smile on her face. Why was she being so friendly? It was freaking me out. And how did she know my name?

“The staff will eat after the guests have eaten, Yuvarani Sa,” I said warily. Didn’t she know the ways of a palace?

Just then, someone called out to her, and she hissed in annoyance.

“I’m coming,” she replied loudly before she turned and winked at me. “Don’t move, Shivina. I’ll be right back.”

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