“Papa, I don’t want to change my school. Please, papa, please,” she pleaded in front of her father, making puppy eyes.

“Princess, you will be safe in that school. It’s your uncle’s school, plus I don’t have to worry about security due to the royal guards,” Rehan Khurana told his daughter.

“But papa, I am scared of uncle and his son,” she whispered sadly, but her father heard it.

“Why are you scared of them?” he asked her, knowing very well that his wife was also afraid of his friend.

“They never smile,” she pouted.

“You should not judge anyone, Aadya. Bad manners,” he told his daughter.

“But papa, smiling is good,” she pointed out, looking at her father’s business files.

“Every person has a different nature, so maybe it is just in theirs,” he explained to his eleven-year-old daughter, poking her little nose. She removed his hand with an irritated look, but still nodded her head slowly, trying to understand what her father had told her.

She was about to continue when they heard a knock, and after a minute, the door was opened by the king himself.

Rana Jai Pratap Singh entered inside with his head held high and his eyes observing everything like a hawk.

Not knowing what else to do, Aadya said what her mother always taught her to do whenever she saw an elder.

“Namaste, uncle,” she said, her voice softer and quieter than the one she used with her father.

Jai nodded his head and took a seat opposite her father. Taking it as the right moment to leave, she nodded at her father and made her way outside the room. She headed downstairs toward the living room of her mansion to see the person she was scared of the most.

Rana Ekansh Pratap Singh, the crown prince. Her mother was serving him coffee.

Who drinks coffee at the young age of twelve? she thought.

“Aadya baby, did you have your milk?” her mother asked her, to which she shook her head no.

“I am hungry,” she nearly whined, making her mother smile at her before leaving for the kitchen to fetch her milk. She was about to head to her room when she heard his voice.

“When are you going to join our school?” Prince Ekansh asked her.

She turned around to face the cold prince, still looking downward.

“Papa will decide it,” she said and again tried to leave, but he stopped her.

“Don’t you want to change your school?” he asked, looking at her intently. Aadya was always told by her family to speak the truth even in the worst situations, so she did what she thought was right.

“No, Rana sa,” she said, shaking her head.

“Come here,” he requested, pointing at the spot beside him. Knowing very well that the cold prince would not let her go this easily, she took baby steps toward him and took a seat beside him, still staring at the floor.

“Look at me when I talk to you,” he commanded.

“Stop staring at me,” she said, playing with her blue frock.

“Look at me, Aadya,” this time he ordered more harshly, making her look up immediately.

“Do you really want to be in a school where your classmates bully you?” he asked.

She shook her head no.

“But I feel uncomfortable with new people,” she said.

“I will be there,” he stated, making her look into his eyes, which were soft for a change. Something inside her asked her to believe him.

“You won’t leave me, right?” she asked in her sweet voice.

“Not even if you want me to,” he said, making her childish self give him her best toothy smile, making him adore his little angel.

“Aadya, have your milk, shona,” she heard her mother call, coming in with her special mug filled with her favorite Bournvita milk, making her smile brightly.

As soon as her mother gave her the mug, she gulped it down in a single breath, making her mother shake her head—knowing very well where she got that habit from.

She handed the mug back to her mother and was about to head out into the garden when her mother’s words stopped her.

“Shona, if you are going outside, take Ekansh with you as well. He will get bored with me,” she said, making Aadya pause and turn around, waiting for Ekansh to follow her. As soon as he reached her, she held his hand and led him outside.

In the garden:

“Can you do one thing?” she asked him, eyeing her swing. He nodded his head yes, making her smile brightly.

“Push the swing, okay?” she said while sitting on her swing, which was covered in flowers.

When she felt a push, a giggle escaped her lips.

“Harder, Rana sa!” she shouted while giggling. Ekansh felt himself getting lost in her giggles and bright smile. He had always felt a connection with her, but today he was completely sure she belonged to him. And he suddenly felt that only he had the right to hear her beautiful laughter and see her gorgeous smile.

Time passed like this. With time, Ekansh became even more possessive of his angel. They were always in the same class, and he made sure that she sat either with him or with one of her female friends. He never let any guy come near his angel.

Aadya was now sixteen, while Ekansh was seventeen.

“You know, Aadya, Ekansh likes you a lot,” Aadya’s friend Aditi told her. They were sitting on the school grounds during games period. It was too sunny, so Aadya was unwilling to play in the harsh weather.

“It is not like that, Diti,” Aadya said, calling her by the nickname she had given her—the one Aditi hated the most.

“I don’t know what he likes in her. I mean, there are so many options for him,” Surabhi taunted while fixing her hair to look presentable and flashing a seductive smile at a group of boys from their class playing basketball. It was Saturday, so everyone was wearing their white uniforms. Due to the intense physical activity, their sweat made their shirts see-through, and she was thoroughly enjoying the view.

Aadya gave her a disgusted look and turned her attention back to her physics book.

“How can somebody like a nerd girl like you?” Surabhi said bitchily.

“How can somebody like a whore like you?” Aadya murmured to herself, but Aditi heard it and laughed out loud.

“I need water,” Aadya said before standing up from her place and making her way toward their sports teacher to ask for permission. He had his full attention on the game and nodded without even looking at her. She shook her head, not knowing what fun he derived from watching others play. According to her, if he loved sports that much, he wouldn’t be this fat.

She was feeling very low today. This always happened to her when she was on her period. Her thighs were hurting like hell along with her back. Who was she kidding? Her whole body was hurting, and on top of that, she had to wear a white uniform.

She felt so frustrated because of the pain. She wanted to cry out loud, but she couldn’t.

She drank some water when she ran into her friend Anushka, who was going to the washroom.

“What’s wrong with you? You look very pale and silent today,” Anushka asked her friend, who was normally always jumping around.

“Come here,” Anushka called her inside the washroom, noticing the tears glistening in her best friend’s eyes. Aadya complied, not really wanting to complain.

“What is wrong?” Anushka asked her as soon as Aadya stepped inside.

Aadya hugged her immediately and started crying due to her hormones.

“Periods again?” Anushka asked her, and she nodded while sobbing.

“You should have taken the day off today,” she scolded her gently.

“I would have, but today was the chemistry test,” she told her while washing her face, her voice heavy from crying.

“You love your studies, don't you?” Anushka asked her while wiping her face with a tissue, to which Aadya nodded with a small smile.

“That’s my best friend.”

“Thanks, Anu,” Aadya said. “Do me a favor. Check if I have any blood stains,” she added, turning her back to her.

“No, there’s nothing,” Anushka said reassuringly.

Aadya breathed a sigh of relief and gave her a grateful smile.

“Crying really helps, yaar,” Aadya said in her usual chirpy voice. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.

“I’ll go now. One more period to go at last,” Aadya whined and left for her class, leaving Anushka to shake her head at her best friend before heading to her own class.

“Hey Aadya, what is going on, cutie?” Abhay, her classmate, asked her.

“Shut up, you idiot,” she whisper-yelled, and he knew better than to mess with her—at least for the time being.

“Aadya, what is wrong?” she heard a familiar, husky voice ask. She turned to face him; he held his usual blank expression, but his eyes betrayed his worry for her.

“Nothing, today is just not my best day,” she said, smiling at him. He came near her and placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature, but it was normal.

“Did you have a proper sleep last night?” he asked.

“Yeah, just not feeling good today,” she said, looking at her chemistry teacher who was entering the room. She took her seat beside Aditi, who had already brought her book from the school grounds, and she was grateful for that.

At last, it was time for departure when Ekansh asked her, “Want to have ice cream today?”

“Coffee, maybe. But after reaching home... I am feeling suffocated in this uniform,” she said, lifting her bag. But before she could sling it over her back, Ekansh took it from her.

“Alright. I will meet you at 5:00. Take a nap before we go out,” he said, to which she nodded and followed him outside.

He made her comfortable in the car and gave instructions to her chauffeur to drive carefully.

She smiled at his protective and caring behavior, desperately wanting to hug him right then.

Whenever people said that he liked her the way a man likes his woman, she felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart swelled with happiness—but she knew he was off-limits. She never wanted to lose a friend like him.

“Aadya, babe, go home, have your lunch, and go straight to bed,” Ekansh said and kissed her forehead. She nodded and told him to stop worrying about it.

When her car started, he instructed his chauffeur to follow her.

He saw her getting out of her car, leaving her bag inside, which was so unlike her. He saw her place a hand on her lower back, only to remove it quickly. He immediately knew what the problem was and what he wanted to do; her mood swings and pain suddenly made complete sense.

He put on his shades and instructed his chauffeur to turn the car in the direction of the Udaipur Palace.