(Chauhan Palace )

Vihaan came—

Guards now ,

Maids looked down as he passed by

He entered a Room

Smirked

And said ,

"Dekhiye toh.... kaun he idhar? "

Aarika.

Trapped

In a room

She looked up

And said ,

"Ap yaha? Hum apko keh rhe hai na

Hum nhi hai chor"

He smirked as he sat across her and said ,

"Par apki.... nahi nahi—

Humari Krittika ne apke liye sandesha bheja hai"

His eyes darkened as he continues,

"Sach sach bataiye , Varna sabko dhundhenge aur... "

She flinched.

But she stood up and said ,

"Apko Galat Femi hui hai

Hum koi Chor nhi haj ya gupt nhi hai humara yakeen Karo "

And then he showed her letter

Krittika's letter

Hope.

Relief.

But she masked it

It didn't go unnoticed by him

He kept the letter in his hand and said ,

"Par humari pyaari behana? Ap aur hum dono jaante hai aap kuch chupa rhe hai , To bataiye "

Her jaw tightens —

She said , "Hum kuch nhi chupa rhe hai "

He smirked and said , "Par hume , humari Jaan ne sab bata diya "

She froze—

But she masked it and said,

"Sab bataya? To bataiye kya kya bataya? "

He stopped.

She noticed and said ,

"Rajkumar, ap isse jitna dur reh sakte hai , rahiye kyuki agar ap fas gye? To phas gye , Hume vo sandesh dijiye "

Her eyes sharp

Voice firm

He didn’t move.

For a moment—

he just looked at her.

Not like a captor.

Not like a prince.

Like someone trying to solve a puzzle.

Slowly…

a faint smirk appeared on his lips.

“Dilchasp”, he said softly.

He stepped closer.

Too close.

“Aap jaanti hai,” he murmured,

“darr aur himmat ke beech ek bahut patli si rekha hoti hai…”

His gaze darkened.

“Aur aap abhi uske bilkul beech khadi hai.”

Aarika didn’t step back.

Didn’t flinch.

“Galat,” she said quietly.

A pause.

“Hum uss rekha ke is paar hai … jahan darr khatam ho chuka hai.”

That made him stop.

For real this time.

Silence stretched.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

Then—

he slowly unfolded the letter again.

But didn’t hand it to her.

Instead—

he read a line out loud.

“Tu bas reply kar… main sab samjhaungi…”

His eyes lifted to meet hers.

“Kitni ajeeb baat hai,” he said.

“Aap dono ek jaise bolti hai.... aur ye bhasha ? Aise to hum baat nhi karte..... hai na, Rajkumari?”

Aarika’s breath hitched—just slightly.

He noticed.

Of course he did.

He stepped even closer.

Now there was no space left between them.

“Kaun ho tum log?” he asked.

And for the first time—

She had no safe answer.

Not angry.

Not loud.

Just… certain.

Because now—

he wasn’t guessing anymore.

He was getting closer.

But then—

She held his gaze.

Just for a second.

Then—she smiled.

Not nervous.

Not weak.

Calculated.

“Shayad,” she said softly,

“aap galat sawaal puch rahe hai, Yuvraj.

His eyes narrowed.

“Sach jaana hai?” she continued.

A pause.

“Phir pehle… hume woh sandesh dijiye.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

For a moment—it looked like he would refuse.

Then—

he folded the letter again.

But instead of handing it over—

he slipped it inside his robe.

“Abhi nahi,” he said.

A step back.

“Jab tak hume yakeen na ho jaaye… ki aap sach mein kaun hai.”

And just like that—

the distance returned.

The control returned.

But so did the game.

And this time—

she wasn’t the only one playing.

The silence lingered—

thick, suffocating.

Somewhere between truth and lies…

a line had already been crossed.

And neither of them—

was willing to step back anymore.

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How's the chapter? Bechari Aarika 😂 but ab aage majja aayega 😎 follow my Instagram account