The whole Yaduvanshi family was settled at the dining table discussing the meeting they had with Meera. Aashrit and Adwait also came back from their trip some moments ago and soon will be joining them for dinner.

"I like her. She is so sweet and pretty." Revati said still gushing about Meera while her family agreed with her.

"Who is pretty?" Adwait said entering the dining room.

Yaduvanshi family looked at their 2nd elder son as he took a seat beside Shivansh.

"Is it the girl you went to see today for Bhai?" Adwait said serving himself food.

"Yes, bhai. She is the best girl for bhai. She is intelligent, pretty, sweet, kind." Shivansh gushed about Meera but Adwait didn't seem impressed enough.

Adwait looked at his bade papa and said "She is not just going to be our bhabhi but also the future queen of our kingdom. Is she just kind, sweet or is she strong enough to handle a kingdom and the business Bhai spread all over India?"

Everyone stiffened on his question and harsh tone.

"You decide yourself when you'll be meeting her," Ranvijay answered his question and focused on food.

"You'll like her once you meet her Adwait," Varsha said knowing well how much her son loves his elder brother and never wants anyone in his life who could make him weak whether it's a thing or a person.

Adwait nodded at them thinking about the future.

"I want her to be my bhabhi. She is so..........." Shivansh words stopped once he heard those specific footsteps.

Everyone's head turned towards the source of footsteps and they saw the eldest son of the family entering the hall with an emotionless expression on his face. This expression is not new for them but if someday they saw him smiling it would be a shock for the family.

Aashrit took the seat on the right side of Ranvijay just beside Adwait. A maid came forward and served him food. He joined his hand thanking God for the food and stayed away from any conversation while having food. That's how he is, he won't talk unless it's necessary.

"Aashrit you are going tomorrow to meet Meera, right?" Rashmi asked her son not knowing his plans.

Aashrit looked up at his mother and reminded about the conversation he was trying to avoid. He didn't want to talk about it so he just nodded looking at her.

And the whole family heaved a sigh of breath. As he took another morsel his thoughts went to the conversation he had with his grandfather some days ago.

Aashrit was in his room when he got a message from his father to come to his grandfather's room. As he looked at the message, he sprinted towards his room. In his life, if he loved someone the most it was his grandfather. He loves his family but his love for his grandfather was something that couldn't be measured.

Some months ago, his grandfather was diagnosed with the last stage of cancer and he was given just some months to live. Aashrit took him to all the best doctors in the world and best hospitals around the world until his grandfather stopped him. He remembered his grandfather telling him that he wanted to spend the last days of his life with his family and not in a hospital bed but that didn't stop Aashrit from searching best doctors for him.

As he reached his grandfather's room, he saw his father sitting there with a picture in his hand.

His expression changed from concerned to blank and he sat beside his dadu's feet.

"Aashu!!!!" His dadu spoke with a serious face which got his attention.

Aashrit knew something big was coming as his dadu always greeted him with a smile even though he rarely replied with a smile.

His father spoke "Aashrit, it's time."

Aashrit didn't understand his words.

"It's time for you to take your role of king and retire me from this position." Ranvijay finished.

When Aashrit didn't say anything Ranvijay continued "And as per the custom you need to get married

before being crowned as a king."

That got Aashrit's attention and he looked at his father with some unsaid emotions.

Before Ranvijay could speak, Pratap Singh raised his hand making Ranvijay stop.

"We found a girl for you Aashu. She is the granddaughter of my best friend. Some years ago when my friend was on his deathbed, he asked me your hand for his granddaughter but he didn't put any pressure and said to make sure his granddaughter get married to a better family if you deny this proposal." Pratap Singh said.

"Then you could get her marry to any well-known person. It's quite easy." Aashrit said not understanding why he needed to marry some girl he never met.

"We can..... but her family would not let us interfere in their family matters." Pratap Singh said

Aashrit was now more confused and his brows furrowed "If she has a family, why would we ever be concerned about her marriage??"

"That's not our place to tell you. We won't force you for the relation but we just want you to meet her and give it a thought." Pratap Singh said with hope in his eyes which didn't go unnoticed by Aashrit.

"What If I don't like her?" Aashrit questioned and looked at both his father and dadu's eyes. And he saw a look of fear crossed their eyes but they soon morphed it in a blank one. He smirked thinking that even the king and the former king couldn't hide their emotions well in front of him and it just boosted his ego somehow.

Pratap Singh took a deep breath "If you don't like her, we won't force you but give it a chance at least. At least meet Meera once."

Aashrit could never deny his dadu's wish and he agreed.

Aashrit was standing on his balcony with a cigarette between his lips. He released a big puff thinking about his meeting tomorrow with a girl he knows nothing about.

He felt a hand on his back and he threw his cigarette in an instant and turned back knowing well who it could be.

"Dadu!!"

"Stop puffing this dangerous thing." His dadu said making a weird face and amusing Aashrit.

Aashrit could do anything for him but he just doesn't seem to leave these stupid cigarettes.

"You should have called me. Why are you here at this hour?" Aashrit asked worried about his health.

His dadu didn't answer instead gave an envelope to him "It has the information about Meera."

Aashrit took the envelope from his hand but didn't open it.

"Aashu don't think I am using my disease as the reason but I want to see you coronated as a king before I die." He said sitting on the bed as Aashrit helped him.

"I never thought about marriage dadu." He said putting his head on his lap.

"Then let's go with the flow and see where it takes you." His dadu said caressing his hair.

"What if she couldn't become a good queen for my kingdom.?" He said putting forth his dilemma in front of his dadu.

"Then support her at every step of life and help her become the best queen."

Aashrit didn't speak a word when his dadu spoke again "I observed her for a year Aashu before taking such a big decision. She is fragile but strong-minded, she is kind but smart enough to know people's intentions, she is silent but her stare holds power more than words, she is sweet but that sweetness came after a much bitter experience. She would be the best partner for you. You would become her healer and she would become your support system to achieve your dreams." His dadu said making Aashrit think about Meera.

"I'll see that tomorrow after meeting her dadu." He said

"And don't focus on her being a good queen but focus on being a good husband for her." Pratap Singh said making Aashrit think about his words.

◊

Meera was sitting beside her bed with Jugnu hugging her. Jugnu was her German shepherd dog who was brought by her dadu 2 months before he died. After her dadu's death, no one wants to keep him but Meera requested them to let Jugnu stay with her, and everyone agreed as long as they don't have to spend money on him or he won't cause trouble. And it's been 3 years since he was with Meera protecting her from her inner demons. Her hand rubbed Jugnu on his back as he snuggled more into her.

"I am worried Jugnu. If he rejects me, then my life will be ruined. And if he accepts me, his life will be ruined. I want him to accept me, love me, and care for me but I am worried his feelings might end up hurting us both due to my bad experience in life. My trauma could make his life hard just like mine............................. but I want to experience love too Jugnu." She said hugging Jugnu who licked her to show his support.

◊

Aashrit was lying on the bed with the envelope in his hand. He opened the envelope and brought out the picture from it. One look at the picture and he felt his heartbeat stopping for a minute. The small doe eyes, full plump lips, small locks falling on her cheeks, slender neck with collarbones protruding. His hand itched to touch her photo.

"Beautiful!!" Words left his mouth without his permission.

He shook his head realizing what he just uttered.

"Control yourself Aashrit. Don't get distracted by outer beauty. You need to focus on your kingdom and business. Let's meet her tomorrow and discuss your conditions. If she accepts, she'll be your wife, and if she doesn't you both will take different paths." He said putting the pic aside and closing his eyes but that beautiful face kept on appearing even in his dream.

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