One 'Hidden Secret' in the Palace

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"Yuvaraj, the dream is over,” she said, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face.

Manik stared at her, shock and confusion etching his features. The passion of the night had faded, replaced by the raw reality of her grief and the consequences of their actions, leaving them both to face the morning’s truth.

His jaw tightened, shock and anger flickering in his eyes. He moved closer, cupping her face, but she pushed his hands away, clutching her grandmother’s photo tighter.

“No, please, just go,” she begged, her sobs growing louder.

“I’m sorry, Amms. I’m so sorry.”

“Nandini, listen to me,” Manik said, his voice low but insistent.

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

“Everything’s ruined. Last night was a mistake. I was broken, Yuvaraj. I just wanted to forget my pain. I was lonely, stupid, and I let myself go too far. But this… this isn’t what Amms would’ve wanted. She taught me to respect my boundaries, to honor her dreams. I’ve let her down. I’m sorry, Amms. Please don’t hate me.” Her voice broke as she buried her face in her hands.

Manik’s chest tightened, realization dawning. He saw the depth of her guilt, the clash between her heart and her upbringing.

“Nandini, please, just hear me out,” he said, cupping her face again, his grip firm but gentle.

“Yuvaraj, Amms…” she whispered, her voice trembling.

“Enough,” he said, his tone sharp, silencing her.

“Last night wasn’t a mistake, Nandini. It was everything to me. You’re everything to me. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re not betraying her. You’re still her granddaughter, her pride.”

“No!” Nandini cried, shaking her head.

“I’ve shamed her. How can I face her now? She’ll never forgive me.”

Manik’s patience snapped. He grabbed her shoulders, his grip tight, his eyes blazing.

“Nandini, stop this. You’re not wrong. My heart knows it, and you told me once that our hearts don’t lie. Last night was real, and it was beautiful. You didn’t betray anyone.”

Nandini’s sobs grew louder.

“No, Yuvaraj. Amms believed in me, trusted I’d never let her down. She thought her upbringing would keep me strong, but I… I threw it all away.” She clutched her face, her tears unstoppable.

“She died because of me. She had cancer, Yuvaraj, and never told me. She worked herself to death for me, and I didn’t even know. I failed her, and now this… I’ve ruined everything.”

Manik’s heart ached, but her words fueled his frustration. To him, their night together was a natural expression of his love, a bond forged in passion.

But for Nandini, raised in a modest, traditional world where such intimacy  was unthinkable, it was a betrayal of everything she’d been taught.

Her middle-class roots, her struggle to survive, made her see this as a stain on her honor, a wound to her grandmother’s memory.

He pulled her into his arms, but she pushed him away, her voice desperate.

“Please, don’t touch me. Forget last night. It was a mistake. I was broken, Yuvaraj. I just needed someone to hold me, to make me feel less alone. But I forgot Amms, her sacrifices, her values. I can’t forgive myself.”