"Some destinies begin with love.
Ours began with abandonment."
Twenty-Two Years Ago
The corridors of Singhania Palace echoed with hurried footsteps.
Doctors rushed in and out of the royal suite.
Servants stood outside with folded hands, whispering prayers under their breath.
The entire Singhania family waited anxiously.
Every passing second felt heavier than the last.
Then—
A baby's cry pierced through the silence.
For a brief moment...
Everyone smiled.
The heir's wife had delivered a healthy baby girl.
But that smile disappeared almost instantly.
The operation theatre doors opened.
The senior doctor lowered his head.
"I'm... sorry."
"We couldn't save Maharani Aditi."
Silence.
A silence so deafening that even the newborn's cries seemed distant.
Mahendra Singh Singhania stood frozen.
His world had ended in four words.
He didn't hear anything after that.
Not the condolences.
Not the crying.
Not the doctors.
Only one thought echoed inside his mind.
She's gone...
The love of his life.
The woman who had filled every corner of his world with laughter.
Gone forever.
Hours later...
A tiny baby girl lay peacefully inside a beautifully carved cradle.
Wrapped in a soft white blanket.
Completely unaware...
That the moment she entered this world—
She had already lost the only person who would have loved her unconditionally.
No one came near the cradle.
No one picked her up.
No one whispered,
"She's beautiful."
Instead...
People whispered something else.
"If only..."
"If only she hadn't..."
"Poor Mahendra..."
"What a tragedy..."
"God took the mother and left the child..."
The words were never spoken to her.
But somehow...
They reached her destiny.
Years passed.
The palace remained as magnificent as ever.
Its marble floors still reflected crystal chandeliers.
Its gardens still bloomed every spring.
Its halls still witnessed grand celebrations.
Nothing changed.
Except...
One little girl slowly disappeared within them.
Birthdays came and went.
She watched cakes being cut from the staircase.
Family photographs were taken.
She stood outside the frame.
Festivals filled the palace with laughter.
She celebrated quietly in her room.
School achievements decorated her cupboard.
No one asked to see them.
Report cards were signed without being read.
Her paintings remained locked inside drawers.
Her medals gathered dust.
When she fell sick...
Medicines appeared on her bedside table.
No one asked if she was feeling better.
When nightmares stole her sleep...
No one heard her silent tears.
When loneliness became unbearable...
No one noticed.
Eventually...
She stopped expecting them to.
People often say...
Children become stubborn when they don't receive enough love.
Ishika didn't.
She became quieter.
Every unanswered question stole another word from her vocabulary.
Every forgotten birthday dimmed another hope.
Every family gathering convinced her she simply didn't belong.
She learned to smile politely.
To nod.
To apologize for things she never did.
To disappear before anyone noticed she was there.
And then...
One day...
She stopped waiting.
Stopped hoping.
Stopped dreaming.
Because dreams were dangerous.
They made you believe someone would eventually choose you.
No one ever chose Ishika.
So she chose herself.
While the world slept...
She studied.
While others celebrated...
She worked.
While everyone admired the Singhania Empire...
She quietly built one of her own.
Brick by brick.
Company by company.
Surgery by surgery.
Painting by painting.
Secret by secret.
The forgotten daughter became a legend the world admired...
Without ever realizing she was the same invisible girl standing quietly inside the Singhania Palace.
The greatest neurosurgeon.
The mysterious Business Queen.
The artist known only as Black Rose.
A name whispered with reverence in boardrooms.
A name feared in another world hidden beneath shadows.
Yet every evening...
She returned home.
Walked past people who never looked up.
Ate dinner alone.
Took her medicines.
And disappeared into another sleepless night.
Miles away...
Another palace stood beneath the Rajasthani sky.
Filled with laughter.
Arguments over dinner.
Grandparents spoiling grandchildren.
Brothers teasing one another.
A family where every member was loved loudly.
At its center stood a man the world feared.
A king.
A businessman.
A ruler whose heart had long ago been buried beneath responsibility.
Abhimanyu Singh Rathore.
He believed destiny could be controlled.
He believed emotions made people weak.
He believed marriages were alliances...
Nothing more.
He was wrong.
Because destiny...
Has a cruel sense of humor.
It brought together—
A king who had everything except love.
And a princess...
Who had everything except a family.
Neither of them knew...
That somewhere in the future...
One bride would run away.
One forgotten girl would be forced to take her place.
One marriage would begin without love...
Without choice...
Without hope.
And from that unwanted union...
Would rise a story powerful enough to change two kingdoms forever.
"Sometimes fate doesn't choose the perfect people.
It chooses two broken souls...
And dares them to heal each other."
A quiet thank you to everyone who supports my work ♡ Your kindness allows me to keep creating stories, moments, and worlds that mean so much to me. Every bit of support is deeply appreciated.
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