Chapter 1
I'm standing right outside the door to the "lunatic" Prince's bedchamber. contemplating whether or not I should enter and do my tasks as a servant, or to just turn and run the other direction.
While I mule around in front of the door, however, a figure suddenly stands behind me and coughs once to get my attention.
"So, you've finally shown up, hmm?"
"You do remember, don't you? I took you in as a child you were meant to serve me."
Now, I'm extremely nervous, because everyone under the sun of this City knows that voice; that the one who is speaking to me is none other than the deranged prince Raghav Malhotra
The black-haired, coal black-eyed prince leans against the wall with a disinterested look on his face, though I could tell that there was a hint of curiosity within his expression, too. His arms are currently crossed across his chest, and his long eyelashes flutter as he waits for my reply. Just his mere height alone is intimidating a little bit as he just continues to look down on me.
"Well? Are you going to answer your owner or aahh no no your master or not?"
"Ye..es...i remember..mbe.r eve.rt..hing"
Hearing my meek little reply amused him somewhat, and the corner of his pink lips immediately quirks upwards into a smirk.
"Now is that any way to respond to your owner?"
The Prince slowly leans closer towards me, effectively trapping me against the wall as he looks down on me with an expression of both condescension and curiosity now. His arms uncross and he places both hands on the wall just above my head now as he continues to stare down at me, almost as if he's inspecting me, looking up-and-down in scrutiny.
"No sir, I'm sorry" I replied nervously with my eyes downcast. I does not have any power to look up into the eyes of the prince
The smirk on his lips grows wider at my little response, and one of his hands gently lifts to touch my chin, tilting my head back a bit more and forcing me to look directly at him. His smirk grows into a smug grin when he notes my clear nervousness towards him.
"That's a good response. Much better than the first time." The Prince lightly chuckles now, which makes me shiver slightly. He leans in even closer and whispers into my ear now, his warm breath tickling my skin. "What is your name, my dear servant..?"
"Nandinii?" I replied in shock, fully aware that he knew every little detail about me
and yet, he asked my name... just to mock me.
The Prince murmurs my name under his breath, as if to test out how it feels saying it. He then leans back a little bit, and his hand moves to brush my hair back from my face so that he can see me more clearly. The whole time, however, that smirk never leaves his face.
"Nan..di..ni.."
He slowly rolls the familiar syllables of my name on his tongue, his eyes locked with mine as he does so. Then he murmurs my name once more, this time more slowly and carefully.
He moves his hand from my chin to my cheeks, and he gently caresses the skin of my cheek with his thumb. His smirk softens into a small, amused grin, and he chuckles softly as he continues to simply look at my face in contemplation, his cold azure eyes flickering over my every feature.
"Pretty name, darling," he said with a soft smile, like it was the first time he'd ever heard it.
I stared at him, disbelief tightening in my chest.
As if he didn't know.
As if that name wasn't his own creation whispered once with affection, now used like a stranger's greeting.
He gave me that name.
And now he acted like it meant nothing.
I fought to keep my emotions in check and turned to walk away from him.
But his nearness just being so close was making it hard to breathe, like my chest was tightening with every heartbeat.
I tried to move away from the prince "i need to go"
The Prince suddenly moves his hand down to grab my shoulder, effectively stopping me from moving any further as his smirk slowly returns to his lips.
He then tightens his grip on my shoulder, and he moves to stand directly in front of me instead of beside me now. He still has a smirk on his lips, but there's a slight hint of agitation within his cold eyes now as he continues to look down at me"Where do you think you're off to, hm?"
"I need to clean the room"
"Ohh yaa right, my little maid go on do your work" The smirk on the Prince's lips grow once again. He still has a firm grip on my shoulder, and just then, he steps to the side and suddenly gives a swift shove toward the door to his room.
"Go in then, and start to do your work, little bird"
The Prince follows directly behind me as I make my way into his room, and he casually closes the door behind the two of us, shutting it with a soft click. He then saunters over and takes a seat on the couch, making himself comfortable as he still has his eyes on my form, watching me closely like a hawk as he casually stretches his arms up and behind his head, getting comfortable.
"So, get to work, darling"
I slowly started arranging the things
After that Wiped all the mirrors and artifacts
The chamber was the biggest and the most beautiful of all the other
The whole time I continued tidying up his room, the Prince just sat on the couch watching me silently. He doesn't say much - just quietly observing me and whatever it is that I'm doing in his room. He just quietly watches me ,eyes never leaving my figure as I keep tidying and cleaning the rather grand room.
After almost 2 hours I looked up at prince
The Prince has his arms crossed behind his head now as he lies down on his back on his bed, though his eyes are still completely focused on you, never straying from my figure, even for a second.
"You look tired, little bird."
"No im fine
My work is completed
I shall take my leave sir" I replied softly keeping my eyes lowered
"Ohh yaa leave" The Prince raises an eyebrow when I say that I'll take my leave, and a small smirk once again appears upon his lips. He watches me silently for a few seconds, before casually sitting up and getting off the couch to approach me, still keeping his arms crossed.
"Why are you so eager to leave so soon? What's the rush, hmm , ohh i remember is it your useless bastard husband for whom you have to leave "
The Prince mocks, and moves a hand to hardly grip my chin, lifting up my head so that im looking up at him, i can see the anger in his eyes, the hatred of my betrayal
I shot the prince a glare and snapped "You have no right to speak badly about my husband."
The prince's eyes narrowed, his voice cold and sharp. "And you think I care about your loyalty. Im Raghav Malhotra not someone you should ignore."
His grip tightened as his nails dug cruelly into my arms making me flinch in pain
"Watch your tone I've tolerated enough of your innocence."
"I gave you everything every damn thing! From food to shelter, education to love everything and you? You showed your true colors. People like you don't deserve kindness..."
He growled, his face inches away from mine "you deserve to be crushed underfoot like the filth you are!" The prince spat, his voice trembling with fury.
He slammed me to the floor, a sharp cry escaping my lip as pain shot throw me
"You know what?" He sneered, towering over me "from this moment on, you will see the real me. I have given you everything until now- but from here on out, all you will get is my worst."
I felt numb.
Some part of me had always known this moment would come but no amount of reasoning could soften the weight of it.
This is the truth now.
I betrayed him.
His love, his care... every ounce of emotion he gave me.
I shattered it all.
But my soul... it knew. It always knew. This was the only path left to me. The only way to survive.
Because no matter how much he gave me no matter how much my heart ached. I could never be his.
Not his equal.
Not his companion.
Not his lover.
Just a maid. A shadow at his side, never meant to stand in his light.
Choking on my sobs, I shoved him away, my hands trembling.
Tears blurred my vision as I turned and stumbled out of his room, barely able to keep my balance- each step heavier than the last, like my heart was shattering with each step.
