Page 41 of A Royal Deception

“Are you two for real?” asked His Highness in astonishment.

I couldn’t believe they were still being so brazen about the whole incident. As if it were a small inconvenience instead of almost a crime. But I realised they were never going to take accountability for their actions because they didn’t know the meaning of the word.

“Where’s my sister?” I asked again.

I just wanted to find Zarna and get her out of here.

“You can take her away as soon as you set things right,” said Rani Sa. “Fix this, Shivina. Otherwise, the next time you see your sister, it will be in the visitor’s area of the nearest juvenile detention centre.”

His Highness took a menacing step towards her, but I put a hand on his arm to hold him back. This was not his battle. It was mine. And I refused to hide behind him or my temporary new title of Maharani.

“There is nothing I need to fix, Rani Sa, because I have done nothing wrong. I did my best to help you out of gratitude. I owe you nothing more. You can’t hold my sister hostage like this. And if you don’t bring Zarna to me right now, I will be the one to call the police, not you.”

“You and whose army?” asked Kavya Baisa with a snide smile.

“Mine,” replied His Highness grimly. “Shivina isn’t alone in this fight, and it’s time the two of you realise that. As the Maharani of Mirpur, she has the Mirpur royal family backing her, of course, but we also have our closest friends on our side. And not to be rude, but you Dodiyas are nothing compared to the combined royal might of the Mirpurs, the Trikheras, and theJadhwals. We will chew you up and spit you out like the trash that you are.”

“We’re not afraid of you,Jamai Sa,” spat Rani Sa. “Your combined royal might won’t help you when we tell the whole world how you came into our palace under false pretences and married a servant girl instead of Kavya. You’ll find it very hard to convince anyone that you were tricked into marrying her because why would you rush to her defence so willingly if that were true?”

Her words gave me pause because what if she was right? Any other man would have dumped me by the side of the road or left me to my fate in Sajjangarh. But His Highness had treated me with respect. Damn him! Why did he have to complicate matters?

“We’ll see you in court for a breach of promise lawsuit to begin with,” Rani Sa went on.

“You will,” agreed His Highness, and she was taken aback by his immediate agreement. “But you won’t be the one to file suit, madam. That pleasure rests with us. I will sue your family for breach of promise, but that’s the least of your worries because, you see, I am about to go nuclear on the Dodiyas.”

He put a hand out, and Rajiv placed a folder in his hand.

His Highness pulled out the incriminating pictures and flung them at Rani Sa’s feet.

“By this time tomorrow, even the man on the moon will have heard about what or whom your depraved daughter was doing at her bachelorette party. Good news, Kavya. You’re about to go viral,” he said wickedly.

With a shriek, Kavya dived for the photographs, but her mother beat her to it, each successive picture making her turn even paler. At one point, she dropped the pictures and lunged towards one of the palm trees that lined their driveway, making it there just in time to empty her innards at the base of the tree.

She retched loudly for a few minutes while Kavya Baisa seemed to be struck dumb.

“Where did you find these pictures?” she asked eventually.

“We have our sources. I can even get you the videos if you like,” replied His Highness with sweet venom. “Rajiv, remember to CC every member of the Dodiya family on the e-mail that goes out to the global news agency. I want them to witness their downfall one e-mail at a time.”

“Stop it,” said Rani Sa hoarsely as she wiped her mouth with the end of her odhani.

I’d feel sorry for her if I hadn’t learnt the hard way that, given a chance, she would do the same thing to me. Or even worse. And while I had a solid reason for destroying her illusions about her daughter, she was trying to destroy my world just for the joy of hurting me.

“I beg you, Your Highness,” she said bleakly. “Burn these pictures and delete any copies you’ve made.”

“Not until you release Zarna and promise you’ll my wife and her sister alone for good,” growled His Highness.

“Done,” said Rani Sa, without looking at me. “I’ll tell Diggi to bring the child out in a few minutes. The girls are dead to me from now on. And tell yourwifethat the doors of my palace are shut to her forever. She can’t come here begging for help when you get tired of her and cast her out, as you surely will.”

His Highness’s jaw tightened with displeasure at this slur, but he let it pass.

With a tight nod, Rani Sa turned on her heel and walked away stiffly, ignoring her daughter, who ran behind her, babbling incoherently.

“It’s not my fault, Ma…Those pics are fake! Let’s sue them all…”

I tuned her out and paced up and down the garden until it was time to collect my sister. Diggi Mausi was waiting for me at the front door.

“I’m here for Zarna,” I said softly.

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