The Royal Beast & His Caged Princess (The Royal Beast #1)

CHAPTER – 18

I sha went to her room and slept on the floor, her thoughts kept revolving around her husband who is the biggest mystery of her life, when she looks into his eyes, she feels as if she is very important to him, though his eyes remain emotionless always, she understands him, but she is confused whether she is interpreting everything right or not...

she looked at the time, an hour passed and yet she didn't receive a call from her brother... She clearly told her brother to call her when he reached home... It's less than an hour's drive from the palace, why didn't he call till now?? Is he fine?? Fear gripped her heart thinking about his accident before...

She immediately called her brother...

"Bhai...", She said breathing heavily, as soon as he took the call...

"Ishu... Are you okay bacha?? Why are you breathing heavily?? Did that beast do something?? I will kill him....", Ranveer shouted, about to go back to his sister when her voice interrupted him...

"Bhai... thank god, you are fine... I was so worried for you, I asked you to call me when you reach home, didn't I?? Why didn't you?? I was like this because of you, he didn't do anything", she said the last part in a slightly defensive tone which Ranveer didn't like...

"Acha Bachu?? Now getting defensive for that useless husband of yours huh??", Ranveer said and Isha glared at her phone as if she is doing to her brother...

"Shut up bhai, I am video calling you, I need to see you", Isha said and hung up... before video-calling Ranveer...

"Bhai...", she gave him a wide smile greeting into the phone...

"Idiot, you just saw me an hour back, huh greeting as if I was in London and you in India...", Ranveer teased and Isha pouted...

"You are so rude bhai... You didn't appreciate me, that I learned video calling you, I now learned how to use a smartphone as well but you never appreciated", Isha complained bringing a smile to Ranveer's face...

"I'm proud of you Ishu... I won't say it but you are really doing great, despite being homeschooled and having no interactions with the humans outside the palace for 15 years, you are dealing pretty well with the outside world, you made friends at your workplace, and you are great at your work... I'm really really proud of you", Ranveer said with a proud smile on his face and Isha's eyes welled up...

"Thank you so much bhai...", she said rubbing the corner of her eyes to remove the moisture... "So, tell me, how is everything going?? Started searching for my bhabhi or not??", Isha asked

"Huh, Ishu, let's talk on a normal call, this video call is irritating, I know you learned it recently and it's exciting for you but understand me, sister, I can't tolerate your monkey face more", Ranveer said

"Bhai... shut up, you came today but I couldn't talk to you much, that's why this video call, and yeah you are right, this is so exciting... Technology is so magical bhai...", Isha squealed happily, and looking at her smile, Ranveer forgot all his worries...

"Now tell me... Have you found my bhabhi or not??", Isha asked again

"Huh... No, If I get time from worrying about my sister, then I would definitely search for a girl for myself...", Ranveer taunted, and Isha's smile faded...

"Bhai... Stop thinking about me, I'm happy...", Isha said

"How could you be happy with that beast Ishu?? Especially when he is treating you like that??", Ranveer asked

"Bhai... these days he doesn't bother me much, and as I told ma, I have you all to be happy now, I work bhai, I get to do a job of my passion now, I thought it would remain a dream in my life but it became a reality, for that, I would always be thankful to Maharaj... Now you don't have to worry about me, so go and search for a girl for yourself, so that I don't have to bear your tantrums", Isha said, and both the brother and sister forgot time while indulging in talks, it's midnight already...

Abhyansh assumed Isha to be asleep at this time, like every day, and walked towards her room, he craved her glimpse now... He stopped going to her room these days, but tonight he couldn't stop himself, her petite-self draped in that green saree and jewellery kept coming in front of his eyes... She looked like a goddess, an enchanting one... He couldn't keep staring at her in front of his whole family, but he really wanted to... He had to fight a lot to divert his gaze from her... and now, he could stare at his wife's innocent and kind face as much as he wanted but all his plans failed when he saw her wide awake and laughing looking at someone on a video call...

His blood boiled in anger, whom is she talking to at this time of the night?? And laughing?? He stormed inside to snatch her phone and smash it before he heard the voice...

"Ishu, stop laughing at me", Ranveer whined...

"Bhai... that is so funny, how did you assume that she wouldn't understand Hindi??", Isha asked...

"Arre, she is a foreigner, I wouldn't have dreamed of her staying in India for 5 years and learning about our language and culture, right?? She irritated me with her talks, and I cursed her in my mother tongue", Ranveer said, Isha burst out laughing again at the incident her brother just narrated...

Abhyansh stared at his beautiful wife who is looking more attractive while laughing... Suddenly she noticed a presence in front of her, and she gasped looking at her husband, staring at her, she dropped the phone down, which she picked up immediately as she is sitting on the floor...

"Ma...Maharaj... you here??", She quickly got up and greeted him bowing her head...

"What is he doing there at this time Ishu??", Ranveer questioned and just then she remembered her brother is still on the call...

"Bhai... I will call you later", she said and was about to tap the red button when Abhyansh snatched the phone...

"Answer me Ishu...", Ranveer said before he faced the BEAST on the camera...

"My chamber, my room, my wife", Abhyansh said before hanging up the call, shocking Isha... He called her his wife?? What has gotten into him?? Abhyansh gave her phone back...

"Maharaj... Aap??(you??)", Isha trailed, and Abhyansh understood her question...

"Headache, massage it", he said, in his cut-short words, Isha's eyes widened before getting to normal... It's okay Isha, he thinks of you as his slave, he has a headache and needed you to massage his head... come on, do it, she encouraged herself...

Abhyansh didn't know what to say when she asked about his visit to her room at this time, he shut her brother, by claiming her his wife, and indirectly telling him that what he does with his wife is none of his(Ranveer) business, but what would he tell his wife who still think herself as his slave, well he made her think so...

So, he came up with this massage... Well, he never let anyone touch his head till now, he never got a head massage...

"I'll bring the oil, please sit Maharaj...", Isha said and walked to the dressing table... He felt something inside his heart, it started beating wildly, none touched his body, or his hair till now... Especially a woman, that doesn't mean he never slept with a woman, he did but he never even saw their faces clearly, he just did his business and walked away... It's always outside India, some women there though knew who he was, didn't shy away or got scared, though they never dared to look into his eyes, it wasn't more than a casual f**k to keep himself sane... he had a very dark past and he hoped to preserve it only to his knowledge... He wasn't very proud of that phase or to be precise just those days of his life which he was now done and dusted with years ago, and he didn't want to remember that now.

But his wife is so different, her every feature, her every smile is memorized in his head and heart. She is the woman who looked into his eyes and trapped him unknowingly. Her angelic face is captured in his mind, and he remembers her every expression, her every word, her voice, her fear, her everything and when such a woman is about to touch his hair, he got nervous which his egoistic self didn't let him accept...

The situation is somewhat similar to Isha, how would she touch his hair, and give a massage to him?? The thought itself is scaring her, her heart is beating rapidly... She took the oil and walked to him...

Suddenly she saw her husband standing up, where he was sitting on the bed before...

"Maybe I will take a pill", He said and walked away making her sigh in relief... But then, worry filled her thinking about his pain... What if his headache is worse and maybe that's the reason, he came at this time to her for a massage?? Her heart screamed at her to go and give him a head massage but her body which is shivering even at the thought of it stopped her...

Abhyansh closed his eyes, to remove the image of her touching him, giving a head massage to him, that thought itself tempted him to go back, he wanted to feel her slender fingers in his hair, suddenly, his nervousness is replaced with excitement, but he controlled himself and laid on the bed, but sleep is far away from him... He closed his eyes for an hour, took some rest, and then again got up to start a new day...

Isha woke up after having a couple of hours of sleep, and started with her morning chores, as usual, she is about to send breakfast to her husband's study like every day, when she saw him walking towards the dining hall... Suddenly she remembered the feelings she felt the previous night or should she say the early morning, she did think how it would have felt to touch his silky yet bushy hair and give him a massage, the thought itself made her nervous but also wanted to do that... She couldn't depict the feelings as her heart is very innocent, unlike the BEAST who knew what was happening...

Despite vowing to stay away from her, he couldn't stop the urge to see her, so he decided to have breakfast and dinner like before, in the dining hall, with her serving him, he realized the previous night, just how much he missed her serving him and he didn't want to miss anymore...

He sat on his place, and the family stood up and greeted him before the breakfast started... He had his food and walked to his office and Isha ran behind him to ask about his headache... She is worried for him... Amruta looked at her daughter-in-law wide-eyed who is running towards her son, what’s happening?? But she shook it off thinking it to be something related to asking any permission...

"How is your headache, Maharaj??", She asked slowly, the couple are away from the dining hall, so they couldn't hear them... She didn't expect an answer, just a nod or shake of the head but he surprised her...

"Hm... better", He said looking at her face intently before walking away... her care always surprises him, she cares for him even after what he did to her?? How is that even possible?? But he had to agree, his day got better, seeing her face in the morning, who is he kidding?? It was never good in the first place, his day was always filled with his evil plans to defeat the enemy, he was never excited for his day to start, it was just a robotic activity for him, but now he waited for it to start as he might get to see her face... If he did, his whole day went well, and if not, it went bad, before he vowed to avoid breakfast and dinner, also the late-night visits but now he vowed to do all that, getting to see her face gradually became a necessary element of his day...

Isha quickly had her breakfast and Avyan dropped her to the main road, every day, the drive with her brother-in-law became interesting as Avyan started talking a bit more and she enjoyed every bit of it... He is just like her brother to her...

"You get the cabs easily in the evening, right?? Or do you want me to pick you up in the evening as well??", Avyan asked, he still wouldn't address her anything, he didn't know what to call her...

"No, cabs are available easily in the evening Avyan and yes, you can call me Isha", Isha said again with a smile...

"But you are my bhabhi sa... I wanted to call you the same but bhai sa... I don't want to call you by your name...", Avyan put his dilemma in front of her...

"Avyaan, I know you give the same respect a sister-in-law deserves, that's enough for me, what's there in the name?? It's okay, you can call me Isha...", Isha insisted, and Avyaan nodded...

"Okay, Isha... It still sounds very weird to me, what if bhai sa gets to know??", Avyan asked

"Your brother asked you not to call me bhabhi sa, he never said anything about my name, also, my name is Isha, everyone is supposed to call me the same right?? So, relax", Isha said with a smile and Avyan smiled at his kind and very cool sister-in-law, he just hoped his brother give his marriage a chance considering how beautiful of a human being his sister-in-law is, the very next second, he chided himself for even hoping that his brother gives this marriage a chance even after knowing how much of a BEAST he is, for him, feeling human emotions is next to impossible... He just felt bad for his sister-in-law who is stuck with his brother for life.

No one in the family has an idea of Abhyansh's changing behaviour except for Ranveer, Isha thought he was just being kind after she took a bullet caring for him. But only Ranveer knew something is changing but Abhyansh's confusing behaviour kept worrying him...

"By the way, I forgot to tell you, today's breakfast was yum, well everything you make is delicious but today, it tasted better...", Avyan said with a smile while driving...

"Really?? Thank you Avyan, I saw this recipe in a YouTube channel 2 weeks ago, and I wanted to try it, but was afraid that what if it turned out bad, today, I took the risk, and thank god, it tasted good, otherwise, your brother would have thrown the plate on my face...", Isha said the last part with a scary face... Avyan understood that she meant it, as his sister-in-law is too innocent to mock or taunt someone...

"Don't worry, whatever you make will be delicious...", Avyan said pulling the brakes as they reached the destination...

"Now you are making me complacent", she said with a smile and he laughed shaking his head... "Anyways, bye, have a good day Avyaan", she said with her kind smile and he reciprocated it, he thanked god every day, for blessing them with Isha, he could see the happiness in his mother's face after Isha came, before, she always used to stay sad worrying for her elder son, Avyaan couldn't stay with his mother the whole day and he worried for her health but she completely changed after Isha came... and Avyaan is thankful to Isha for that...

"Have a good day to you too bhabhi sa", he muttered to himself looking at her retreating self... He just wished God to give her all the happiness she deserved. In just a short time he began caring for her, after his mother she became the one who he cared for, there are only three people he loved the most in this world, his mother, his brother and now his sister-in-law... His brother didn't need his care whereas he wasn't willing to care for his father or grandmother, he didn't hate them, he just didn't feel anything for them, but he knew his mother and now sister-in-law needed his care and love. He would provide them with that... His mother would wonder if he said he loved his Beast of a brother but only he knew what his brother did for him... He would never forget that day... Never ever...

Thinking all this, he drove off to his workplace to handle his very difficult brother who would throw work at him like he is a robot and not human...

Isha entered her workplace and noticed everyone gossiping instead of working, she wondered what happened to all of them... As soon as Reetu saw her, she rushed to Isha...

"Isha... You know what happened yesterday??", Reetu exclaimed with so much anxiety and excitement that Isha wondered if her friend won the lottery...

"What ??", Isha asked...

"Come, let's sit and talk calmly... This news is so dramatic... ", Reetu said taking Isha with her...

They sat at their places; Isha waited for her friend to say something but she didn't expect her to say this...

"You know there was a royal dinner at the King's palace, Prince of Arab, the famous Farhn Al Qasimi visited them... ", Reetu said, and Isha's eyes widened thinking how do they know her family matters... Poor Isha is yet to discover how famous and powerful her husband is...

"How do you know this??", Isha asked...

"Don't you watch the news?? It's all over the news how the prince was visiting our country, especially to have the Royal dinner organized by the King and queen... But I have something which is not over the news... Don't tell anyone that I told you, though everyone knows this, they pretend not to know it as they fear the king", Reetu said

"What is it??", Isha asked getting afraid of the things they knew...

"The prince passed dirty looks at the queen, and so the king killed him...", Reetu said, Isha gasped cupping her mouth with shock...

"What?? What happened to you Isha??", Reetu asked looking at Isha's expression...

"No... Nothing, I think you got some wrong info... Maharaj didn't kill him, he just sent him back with a warning", Isha said hoping for that to be the truth...

"Isha... Oh my, Isha... Do you really think the king, His highness, Abhyansh Singh Ranawat would leave a man alive if he commented on his wife?? The news is he killed the prince and sent his body back, if you don't believe me, see this news, the Arab king announced that his second son is no more, as he was killed in an attack... Well, that was to save the honour, but the truth is what I am telling you", Reetu said...

"How could he kill the prince??", Isha muttered to herself with disbelief but Reetu heard her...

"The king did the right thing, that good for nothing Prince raped many minor girls, involved in women trafficking, killed his own wife to hide his misdeeds, got many students addicted to drugs, and a lot more...", Reetu said surprising Isha...

"How do you know all this??", Isha asked Reetu

"Isha... Baby you are too innocent, this is all been in the news for many years... The prince hides his deeds behind his father's power, though the king thinks a lot for his people, he failed to stop his son's misdeeds", Reetu said...

"That doesn't mean Maharaj kills him, who is he to kill a human??", Isha said more to herself getting angry and upset that her husband didn't listen to her...

"Isha, he is the king, and he is a great king, if he didn't kill him, more people would suffer because of him... Everyone call him The Royal BEAST because he is really a beast when it comes to people who suffer his people... His ways are cruel and fearful, but if you notice, people feel very safe here... If you go and see the nearby villages or even this city, you don't find people locking their doors, because they feel so safe here... All this is because of that very Royal BEAST... Honestly, I don't find anything wrong in his ways... You need not fear until you did something wrong...", Reetu said surprising Isha...

Her beast of a husband also has admirers?? She had an idea from Avyan that people will fear and also love their king i.e Abhyansh but she didn't know that they support his ways as well... Whatever it is she is upset that her husband didn't stand by the word he gave her, and she decided to confront him...

"You are excited to tell me this??", Isha asked remembering her friend's excited face...

"Yes, the king killed a prince, without any second thoughts, just because he looked at his wife inappropriately, how possessive he must be of his wife?? I heard he is as emotional as a stone, and you can see no emotions in him but hearing this I don't think he is emotionless for everyone, maybe he might have opened up to his wife... I wanted to see them together once, I wanted to see how he behaves like a normal husband with her...", Reetu said dreamily...

"Even I want to... ", Isha muttered thinking about her stony husband...

"You too?? Haha, see, staying with me, you also started dreaming the impossible huh... Seeing the king and queen?? As if they are going to walk here and stand in front of us and say, 'you wanted to see us together no?? Go ahead' ", Reetu mocked and Isha laughed at her acting...

How would her friends react if they knew that she was the queen they are talking about... And the first thing, is she a queen in all senses?? No... She is queen just for namesake, so she is not doing anything wrong by hiding her identity, she thought to herself...

"Okay... Now let's go and do our work... ", Isha said starting with her work but Reetu's words kept ringing in her head...

Is he really that possessive of her?? No way... She shook her head, but why did he kill the Prince?? Did he actually kill him?? She couldn't believe it, she trusted him, he gave her his word, so she is sure he would have followed whatever the prince's father said... But what's with the rumour?? She decided to call her brother and confirm...

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