Page 87 of Sumanika

"And we need to discuss it with everyone so that they’ll be prepared," he added, and I stood up, offering him a hand.

"We will. Everyone is in Suryagarh, and despite it going against my heart, we still have to shatter everyone's cheerful facade,” I said as we turned back to find horses tied around the Mehrangarh in someone's grass fields, ready for a feast.

It turned to afternoon by the time we found them during our walk.

Wasting no more time, we began our journey back home.

Darkness overtook the bright sun, turning it into midnight by the time we arrived. We quietly left our horses in the stable, and I walked back to my chamber without drawing anyone's attention.

After taking a long bath, I stepped out to sit in my open private garden attached to the chamber, hoping to shake off the cold.

I gathered some wooden pieces and lit a fire before sitting in silence. Today, there was a different kind of peace—a silence akin to tiring sleep after a grand celebration. Everyone had retreated to their chambers, and I noticed an attendee walking in.

"Shall we get you something to eat, Kunwarsa?" she asked, and I nodded weakly in response. "Umm, can you ask Suman to meet me?"

Her eyes lowered, and she nodded silently. She was the same attendee who had seen both of us together.

Honestly, right now, I don't care about anything.

Things were worse. We could be dead in less than a month. And after death—fear, happiness, and judgments—nothing would matter. It felt like I had only these three weeks to live my life fully.

No, I hadn't accepted failure, but the possibility was fifty-fifty, and it would be foolish to deny that we could die since there was only a small chance we could escape the end.

I waited until I heard her faded footsteps. I felt my hitched breath return as I looked at her.

She said nothing and silently sat beside me. The soft crackling of wood catching the fire filled our ears like a melody amid the dark silence.

She pulled her knees closer and wrapped her arms around them, making me notice the beautiful guava-green bangles on her wrist.

There was only a two-foot gap between us, which I closed by taking her hand and gently pulling her closer to me.

She didn’t hesitate or protest. I wrapped my arms around her, gathering her into my embrace. Her back pressed against my chest, and I shielded her with my shawl, leaving our faces exposed. "How did it go?" I asked softly, resting my chin on her shoulder. She gulped and closed her eyes, our cheeks grazing one another.

After a deep breath, she muttered, "I rejected him."

I silently gulped and held her hands in mine beneath the warm shawl.

Silence enveloped me as I closed my eyes, inhaling her essence with each breath. Her sweet, captivating natural scent surrounded me. There was a peculiar comfort in her embrace, something that transcended soothing.

Or maybe I had never felt anything like this with any woman before. Well, I had never experienced this with anyone before.

I didn’t know, but with her, it felt like I could remain natural and silent and express my pain.

“Suman,” I called slowly, and she responded with a soft hum.“Ji,” her voice tightened my chest. It was lazy, giving, and primarily divine. I felt her fingers intertwining with mine, strong as if she were filling me with strength.

I gulped with a slight weakness and a lump in my throat.

"Why did you reject him?" My voice was slow, audible only to her. She tilted her head slightly to the side, nestling into my neck. The warmth of her face made me feel lost in a world where no one could reach me, but she found me only.

“I cannot marry anyone,” her soft voice brushed against my cheek, sending a slight shiver down my spine. Her submission felt like the most beautiful thing in the world.

She was the silence, relief, and answers to my chaos.

“Does that mean you accept me as your husband?” I asked in the same slow voice, and she inhaled audibly, making me feel intense.

“You didn’t give me any option while doing a stunt of cutting your thumb and flooding my hairline with it,” her words brought a smile to my face, reminding me of that day.

“Do you regret it?” I asked lazily, rubbing my thumb against hers inside the shawl.

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