Page 69 of A King's Oath

“No,” he shook his head. “He is a simple, good man. They are good people. But they have their concerns, rightly so. You know about Devgadh’s royal family?”

She shook her head. She didn’t even know where Devgadh fell on the map. Her parents would know though. She wasn’t into the royal family gossip and she didn’t live at home enough to listen to it anyway.

“Maan bhai,” Samarth cued.

“Oh,” she realised now. “The great Polo player Maan bhai? He can’t see now, no?”

“He can, just not completely in front of him. There was a coup in his family. Maarani’s parents are from that kingdom, and theyhave been firsthand witnesses to that internal war between him and his sister. It was brutal, they came to the point of killing each other. That’s why they said no to my Papa the first time he went to talk to them.”

“And now what? Your Papa just agreed to let you give up the throne and got married? That’s so sick…”

“He did not. He doesn’t know it yet.”

She reeled back.

“Areyoucrazy?”

He chuckled. “Maybe.”

Ava got onto her haunches — “Are you crazzyyy?! What the fuck, Samarth?”

“There’s more.”

She sank back down.

“They were concerned about the future of their daughter’s heirs. Claims and stuff from my family. So I also gave up marrying and having a family.”

She blinked.

“You’re joking, right?”

Samarth stared at her, unblinking.

“Right?”

His mouth opened, then closed.

Her brain fused off. Was he for real right now?

“I am sorry, Ava. So sorry. You were my first thought and my last thought that day but…”

“Does yourstepmotherknow this?”

“Don’t talk about her like that, please.”

“Does she know it or not, Samarth?”

“Yes, she was there.”

“Whoisthis whacko woman?!” She shot to her feet. "Fuuuccck! Is she crazy? Are you mad? Letting your father marry a selfish gold digger like that?! You should have stopped right then!”

“She is not like that.”

“Give me her phone number.”

“Ava, Maarani is not a bad person…”

“You are so good that even the medium bad seems normal to you. You are a crazy senti emotional fool but I am not. This Tara Maarani of yours needs to be knocked with something hard on her head to teach her common sense…”

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