𝟏. Beginning

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...✨ मैं तुम्हारी हूं पर तुम मेरे कभी नहीं ✨...

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"Miss Navy, I want something special for my wife. Today is our first anniversary-and she's pregnant," the man said softly, his eyes glinting with tenderness. I offered him a warm smile before walking into the back to handpick some flowers. I knew exactly which ones to choose-my personal favorites, each petal symbolizing love, devotion, care, and admiration. The bouquet came together like a whispered promise, gentle and fragrant, bursting with life and meaning. I inhaled the sweet scent of the blossoms, the aroma almost healing, before returning to him.

His eyes lit up as he saw the bouquet. "It's beautiful... thank you. How much?" he asked.

"It's actually around twenty euros," I said, then paused, my heart softening, "but for you-just five."

He gave me a sheepish smile, handed me the five-euro note, and walked out with the bouquet in hand. I watched him leave, feeling a bittersweet ache tug at my heart-the kind that only surfaces when you give something beautiful away, knowing you might never receive the same in return.

I glanced at the clock. It was nearly closing time.

"Let's go, sweetie," I whispered to the life growing inside me, a smile flickering on my lips as I locked up the shop. My steps were small and measured, not just because of the growing weight I carried, but because exhaustion clung to me like a shadow these days. Each passing evening felt heavier, slower.

The street outside was eerily quiet, as though the world had stopped spinning for a while. I was the only one walking through the emptiness, and that silence-it made my heart race. I remembered the recent news, the rising crime, the warnings to women walking alone. My hand tightened around my bag. My other hand instinctively moved to cradle my belly.

I couldn't lose him. Not now. Not after everything. Not after I'd already lost everyone else.

Then I heard it-footsteps behind me. Heavy. Steady. I didn't stop, didn't look back. But fear spilled through me like ice water. My grip tightened. My pace quickened. My heart thundered. And then-suddenly-a hand touched my shoulder.

"Ahh-please, don't hurt me!" I cried out, panicking.

A familiar voice answered, laced with laughter. "I will, if you don't make me something good to eat."

Relief hit me like a wave. I turned and met his eyes.

"I'll kill you, Jaden Moretti!" I snapped, my voice half-laugh, half-tears.

He chuckled and took the bag from my hands like he always did. "Didn't I tell you to call me before leaving? Every single day?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why should I, when your secret agents are always lurking around me anyway?"

"At least call me for the sake of my godson," he said dramatically, placing a hand over his chest.

"Godson, huh?" I gave him a look.

Every day, he called-talked nonsense-made jokes-but always ended the call with the same plea: stay safe. Because he worried. Because he cared.

We reached my apartment building and he helped me up the stairs, as he did almost every evening now. "Please, shift to my building, Jahnavi. You'd be safer. I wouldn't have to worry every damn second."

"I'm happy here," I said with tired finality. "And don't call me Jahnavi. That girl no longer exists. I'm Navy now."

That name-Jahnavi-it haunted me. It belonged to a version of me that had died long ago, buried beneath betrayal, heartbreak, and the kind of pain that burns everything good to ash.

We entered the apartment and Jaden sat beside me. "How long are you going to hide, Jahnavi? One day... when the truth comes out-"

"What truth?" I cut him off, my voice sharp.

"You know it. I know it. Once he finds out you're pregnant... he'll want his child."

I laughed, hollow and bitter. "His child? Jaden, you didn't see the hatred in his eyes that day. If he ever finds out... he won't just turn his back-he'll destroy us. Both of us."

Jaden looked at me with a mix of pity and anger. "No man... no man would kill his own child, even if he hated the mother."

"You don't know him."

"Maybe not," he admitted, "but I know what it means to be a man-to be a father. And no real father could ever do what you fear."

I sank onto the couch, the weight of my past and future pressing down on me. He sat beside me quietly, then spoke again.

"At least tell your parents. Jahnavi, you're royalty. You don't belong in this cramped little apartment, struggling to get by. You were born to lead. You were born to rule."

"You don't know the whole story, Jaden."

"Then tell me," he said gently, his voice breaking. "I'm your brother. It hurts me to see you like this. You used to be so full of life... so gentle, so generous. And now? You look like someone who's been begging the world to let her disappear."

I looked at him, eyes brimming. "Once, I was all that. Once, I believed in love, in family, in dreams. But life-life made it crystal clear that I was never its favorite. I was nothing more than a pawn in a game I never agreed to play. Not to him, not to his family, and not even to my own. I was used. Broken. Discarded. And still... for Ruhaan, I would have given up everything."

"But in the end," I whispered, voice trembling, "I realized I was nothing to him. Not even a piece on his board-just collateral damage in a war I never wanted to fight."

18 Months Ago

"Please welcome on stage our university's superstar, Jahnavi Karki!"

As soon as I heard my name, I got up from my seat and walked towards the stage. Our principal greeted me with a warm and proud smile before handing me the mic. Holding it firmly, I took Mahadev's name in my heart and began my speech.

"I know a lot of people here don't like me because of my attitude. Yeah, I admit I have some issues with my behavior, but honestly? I don't care. It's my graduation, and once again, I scored the highest. So, I won't waste your time with a long, boring speech. You all can go enjoy the afterparty. But before I leave, I just want to say-never give up on your dreams, never crush your self-respect, and never stop believing in love. Thank you."

As I stepped down from the stage with my degree in hand, I heard the sound of applause from the audience.

"It wasn't boring at all, Jahnavi," a familiar voice reached my ears the moment I got off the stage. I turned around and saw her-wearing a knee-length black dress, smiling at me. My best friend, Ruhaani. Or should I call her my enemy?

"Are you mocking me?" I shrugged. "Who listens to my speech anyway?"

Ruhaani laughed as we started walking toward our dorm room.

"So, when are you leaving?" I asked.

"Tonight," she replied, and my heart sank a little. This might be the last time we meet like this.

She's from India, and I'm from Nepal-but that was never the real problem. The real problem was our families. Rivals in the royal world, competitors in business, sworn enemies for generations. But when we came to Oxford for our studies, we accidentally became roommates. And then-best friends forever.

For a while, we forgot how much our families hated each other. Here, in a foreign land, we had no one but each other.

"You're leaving tomorrow morning, right?" she asked as I opened our dorm room door.

I nodded. "Yeah, my flight's at 8 AM."

She sighed. "Well, my flight is in four hours. I have to leave soon. Can you help me take my stuff downstairs?"

I nodded again and helped her carry her luggage down. Her car had already arrived, waiting to take her away. Just as she was about to leave, our eyes welled up with tears.

"You never let me feel like I wasn't home, Jannu. Promise me... our family issues will never break our friendship," she said, holding my hand tightly.

"Of course, stupid," I chuckled through the tears. "Even when I visit India, we'll meet. Secretly."

We both laughed, wiping our tears away.

She got into the car, and as it started moving, I waved for a few minutes. Then suddenly, the car stopped. Ruhaani leaned out of the window and shouted, "I left a gift for you! Let me know how it is!"

And then she was gone.

I returned to the dorm, greeted by silence. It hurt-being alone. This room, once filled with our laughter, teasing, arguments, and late-night talks, now felt empty.

I found a sister in Ruhaani. She was everything I could have ever asked for. If only... if only our families weren't what they were.

We had been friends long before Oxford too. We even attended the same school.

Sighing, I sat on my bed and stared out the window. Tomorrow, I would be gone too.

Baba and Amma must be waiting for me. They were so happy when they found out I had topped again.

Shaking off the emotions, I decided to take a quick shower before finishing my packing. After changing into my night suit, I started organizing my things-gifts for my family and friends, some important documents...

That's when I remembered.

Ruhaani said she left me a gift! I had completely forgotten.

Opening a drawer, I found a small package with a note attached.

I tore open the letter first.

𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒥𝒶𝓃𝓃𝓊,𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓉, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒. 𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒹𝓇𝑜𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝒶𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝑔𝒾𝒻𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹-𝓂𝓎 𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇-𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈. 𝐼 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒾𝓉.

With a shaky breath, I unwrapped the gift.

Inside was a photo frame.

And the moment I saw the picture inside, I forgot everything else.

It was him.

Looking as handsome as ever.

Ruhaan Rajvardhan.

There was another small note taped to the back of the frame.

"I know you like him. That's why I'm leaving him behind for you."

-Your crush's sister, Ruhaani.

A smile spread across my face as I read the word crush. She knows me too well.

I glanced at the photo frame again, my eyes tracing his sharp features-his fair skin, those piercing blue eyes, the small mole on his chin, and my favorite-his rare, heart-stopping smile. Every time I saw him; my heartbeat ran a marathon. I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me, how deeply I felt for him. But instead, I had to pretend. Pretend that I couldn't stand him, that I despised even being in the same room as him.

Being the only heir of my family, I had to attend countless business parties with Baba and Thulo Baba (Bade Papa). And every single time, I would find myself crossing paths with him. But he never stayed. The moment I joined a conversation; he would quietly leave and walk over to his father. It didn't take me long to understand why.

But knowing the reason never stopped me from looking at him, from admiring him from a distance, from thinking about him every moment of the day.

Baba noticed. After one such party, he pulled me aside and told me-ordered me-not to like him. I denied it, of course. But who was I trying to fool? He's, my father; he saw right through me. That night, reality hit me hard. Our fate, our destinies, were set in stone. We were never meant to be lovers-only enemies.

So, I decided that I would hate him. Just like he hated me.

But I failed miserably.

The very next day, I booked a flight and came here to study, hoping to leave him behind.

But fate had other plans.

As if my bad luck wasn't enough, the very next day, he arrived too. With Ruhaani and his cousin, Dev.

The only silver lining was that now, at least, I could see him every day.

Years passed. After graduating, he and Dev returned to India. Ruhaani stayed, and we became inseparable.

And that's the story of my forbidden, one-sided love.

All these years, I heard his voice every morning as he called Ruhaani. But he never once saw me. The moment he learned she had a roommate, she would be somewhere else, ensuring he never even glanced in my direction.

Lost in memories, I didn't realize how late it had gotten. My stomach growled, reminding me of my hunger. I ordered some food, ate quickly, and went to bed-tomorrow was a long day.

Hugging Ruhaan's photo frame close to my chest, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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Helloo Cupcakes 💗 ✨

Hope you like the change of chapter 1 if you read it before you know what change now. I will update all chapter soon.

Thankyou ✨💟🧿

Love's

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