Veins of Power, Threads of Fate

The next morning dawned with a strange tension hanging in the air.

The shaadi ka ghar - once buzzing with laughter and last-minute rituals - had grown strangely quiet. Lata sensed it. Veer noticed it. Even the servants whispered with unease.

And in the middle of this silence, he arrived.

Abhishek Rajput.

Prince of Rajasthan.

Feared mafia leader in the shadows.

And unknowingly, the long-lost brother of the soon-to-be bride of the very house he now entered.

The Guest from Jaisalmer

Rajnath Raghuvanshi, Dev's father, welcomed Abhishek with open arms.

"My friend's son," he said proudly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just like your father, Abhishek. You've grown into a lion."

Abhishek smiled respectfully. He wore a beige kurta and a deep green Rajput stole. His eyes scanned the house with purpose.

"Uncle, I came with a request. A personal one."

"Of course."

"I'm looking for someone. Someone who vanished from our lives as a child. My younger sister-Ekta Rajput."

Rajnath froze.

So did Dev, who had just walked in and overheard.

"What did you say?" Dev asked, stepping forward.

Abhishek turned to him, confused but calm. "I'm looking for my sister. She was kidnapped when she was five. My parents died still hoping we'd find her. She has a small mark near her left shoulder-burnt when she was saved from a fire."

Dev's eyes darkened.

Ekta had a similar scar. He'd seen it by accident when she had fallen sick two days ago and Lata had helped her change.

But it couldn't be... could it?

Ekta Overhears the Name

Ekta, walking past the stairs, heard the name she hadn't heard in over 15 years.

Rajput.

She paused.

Heart pounding.

She turned and saw Abhishek.

Her knees buckled.

The scar.

The voice.

The eyes.

A memory hit her so hard she staggered-two children in a palace, she calling him "Bhaiya" as he gave her a wooden sword to play with.

Her lips trembled.

"Ab... Abhishek Bhaiya?"

The moment the words left her, Abhishek turned sharply.

He stared at her.

Time stood still.

Then he took slow steps toward her. "Rajkumari...?"

She nodded, tears filling her eyes.

He touched her face, disbelief etched across his own.

"You're alive... You're really alive..."

He pulled her into his arms, breaking down like a man who had spent his entire life carrying a wound no medicine could heal.

Lata and Rajnath watched in stunned silence.

And Dev-

Dev watched it all from a distance.

Something inside him cracked open.

The Aftermath

Ekta sat with Abhishek for hours, learning of her true lineage.

She had been adopted after being rescued from a burning estate, lost and without a name. The Malhotras had renamed her "Ekta" and never revealed her past. It had been done to protect her from the people who had plotted her kidnapping-the enemies of the Rajput clan.

Now, her truth had returned.

And it came with two worlds crashing into one.

Dev Confronts Her

Later that evening, Dev stood outside her room again.

But this time, he knocked.

She opened the door, eyes red but peaceful.

"You found your truth," he said flatly.

She nodded.

"I'm sorry I never told you. I didn't know either."

He nodded, then stepped inside.

"Does this change anything for you?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied honestly. "But not everything. I'm still the girl who was engaged to you. I'm still the woman who... tries to see good even in you."

Dev clenched his jaw. "You're royalty. You don't need to marry a monster like me."

"You're not a monster, Dev. Just someone who's forgotten how to feel."

He looked away.

Then turned to her again. "You've changed things, Ekta. For me. I don't know what it is, but I don't feel like I'm drowning when I look at you anymore."

Her heart caught in her throat.

And then, for the first time-

Dev touched her hand.

It was just a light graze. A soft moment.

But for a man like Dev Raghuvanshi, who never touched, never reached, never let anyone near-

It was everything.