The golden rays of the early sun bathed the terrace in warmth, casting a soft glow over the sandstone walls of the royal haveli. Niharika, the radiant princess of Jaipur, stood barefoot on the cool marble floor, her anklets tinkling softly with each step. Draped in a light anarkali suit- she cradled her one-year-old niece, Shubhi, in her arms.

Shubhi giggled, her tiny hands reaching out to catch the fluttering ends of Niharika's dupatta. The sound of her laughter blended with the chirping of pigeons perched along the terrace edges. Niharika twirled slowly, delighting the baby, her eyes reflecting both mischief and affection.

"You're being such a troublemaker" She said while cupping shubhi's cheeks-gaining giggles from her.

Below, the city slowly stirred to life, but on this terrace, it was just the two of them - a royal morning moment untouched by the world.

"Rajkumari sa, Nashta tayar hai" One the maid called out her From the middle of the staircase.
(Rajkumari sa, breakfast is ready)

"Aayi" Niharika replied and came down with shubhi in her embrace.
(Coming)

Inside the grand dining hall of the Jaipur palace, morning light poured through the intricately carved jharokha, scattering golden patterns across the marble floor. The long sheesham-wood table was set with silverware, brass bowls, and platters filled with fresh parathas, poha, fruits, and masala chai.

Niharika entered with Shubhi still in her arms, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her family gathered around the table.

"Finally," Rishank said with mock impatience, looking up from his plate, "Aapka swagat hai rajkumari sa! Kirpa khana khane ka kasht kare-Din bhar meri beti ke sath Khelti rahenti hai"

(You are welcome princess! Please do me a favour by eating food-you keep playing with my daughter all day long)

"Excuse me," Niharika said, settling Shubhi into her high chair beside him, "Shubhi or main ek bhut zaroori kaam kar rhe the"
(Shubhi and I were doing very important work.)

Rishank laughed, gently brushing Shubhi's curls. "Ye toh abhi se hi rajkumari jaise bartaav kar rhi hai. Zarur aapse hi sikha hoga" he said looking at his year old daughter (She's already giving a royal attitude. Must be your influence.)

"Aapse sikha hai isne" Niharika replied sweetly, pouring herself a cup of chai.
(She is influenced by you)

Their father, Anirudh Singh Rajawat, smiled. "It's good to hear laughter in this house every morning. Makes the food taste better."

"Niharika,beta kuch toh kha lo,Tum hamesha aise hi bina khaye chali jati ho." their mother, Rashmika, said, passing her a bowl of fresh fruit. "Your schedule is always so full."
(Niharika, eat something, you always leave without eating.)

"Only because you trained me that way, Maa," Niharika said, plucking a grape. "But today is mostly free. I promised Shubhi a tour of the lotus pond."

Amid the gentle clinking of plates and the soft buzz of conversation, Shubhi calls her while pulling the corner of her dupatta.

"Yes, Shubhi?" Niharika leaned in with a grin.

Shubhi giggled and pointed at the buttered paratha on Niharika's plate.

"Oh, so you want to share now?" she said, breaking a piece and offering it. "Your Highness approves?"

Shubhi nodded enthusiastically, stuffing it in her mouth as the family watched with affection.

Rishank smiled looking at his little one.

___

I stepped out of the palace, the sun now stronger, casting a sharp glow in my laptop bag hung over one shoulder as she slipped into the backseat of white vintage Ambassador, still used for short routes around the city.

"Hospital chaliye," I told the driver.

The car rolled through the sandstone alleys of Jaipur. Just as they neared a sharp turn outside the university gate, another car-a sleek black Thar-suddenly swerved out of nowhere, trying to overtake a slow-moving scooter.

SCREEEECH.

The driver slammed the brakes. I lurched forward, catching myself against the front seat.

"Dhyan se!" I said sharply, my voice was still shaken.

(Be careful!)

Before I could even catch my breath, the Thar door opened.

A man stepped out.

"Yeh koi raja-maharajaon ka road hai kya?" he said coolly, walking toward my window.
(It's not some royal private road, is it?)

Inko tamiz nhi hai kya? Aise kon bolta hai? (Don't he have manners, who speaks like this),
I narrowed her eyes. "Aur aapke liye kya Formula One ka track hai?-" I shot back stepping out of her car.
(And for you, is it a Formula One race track?-)

But the moment he came in my gaze I paused.

Tall, broad-shouldered, his sleeves casually rolled up. His dark hair caught the sunlight just so, and for a heartbeat, the world around me slowed.

He pulled off his sunglasses with one hand, revealing eyes so intensely calm they made the noise in my head go quiet.

I stared.

The anger I was about to hurl froze on my lips.

The man looked at me for barely a second-just enough to register me as someone-then turned to check his vehicle's bumper. No damage.

"Relax. No harm done," he said, voice low and clear, not unkind, but distant-like someone who never lingers longer than necessary.

I opened her mouth to reply... but nothing came out.

Why?..my throat is jam? I stayed like that but-

He didn't wait for a response.

Just walked back, got into his car, and drove off like a breeze that stirred everything and took nothing.

The white Ambassador stood still. My driver called me out "Rajkumari sa? Chaliye. Vo gaye"

(Rajkumari sa? Let us go, he's gone)

Coming from the unknown world I nodded and sat in...finally exhaled, my heart echoing in my ears.

"Who...was that?" I whispered to myself, a slight burness rising to my cheeks.

Even the psychology notes couldn't explain what just happened. It was something unexplainable?

The car started again, but Niharika barely noticed.

Outside, Jaipur was its usual self - vibrant streets, vendors calling out, the scent of marwari spices dancing in the heat - but inside the car, everything had quieted.

Her mind kept flipping back to him.
His eyes. That deep, unsettling calm.
The way he didn't look through her - but neither did he see her.

Just a stranger... but why did it feel like something shifted?

She shook her head and tried to focus. Trauma responded, her inner voice insisted. You're presenting today. Focus.

But even her well-disciplined thoughts couldn't help wandering:

She sighed, staring out of the window.

A part of her - the one that still believed in coincidences with meaning - hoped she'd see him again.
Even though logic whispered that she probably never would.

___

Later
Jaipur Hospital

Niharika stood in the hospital hallway, sipping water from her bottle, still slightly distracted as her friend Priyanshi walked up to her.

"Hey, you good?" Priyanshi asked, noticing the faraway look on her face.

"Hm?" Niharika blinked. "Yeah. Just... thinking."

Priyanshi smirked. "Tum kabhi kuch sochti nhi ho. Ya toh tum logo ko padhti ho ya fir din me sapne dekhti ho apne sapne ke rajkumar ke"
(You're never just thinking. You're either analyzing people or daydreaming about fictional lovers)

Niharika laughed softly,. "Shyad aaj dono ho"
(Maybe today, it's both)

Her friend tilted her head. "Ooh, wait. What happened?"

Niharika hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer, voice low and dreamy.

"I almost had an accident this morning... and the guy who stepped out of the other car -"

"Was rude?"

"No. Worse," she whispered. "Unko undekha karna namumkin"
(He was... impossible to ignore)

Priyanshi grinned. "Aur?"

"Bas chale gaye"
(He just walked away,)

Niharika shrugged, but her voice softened. "Dubara mukar dekha bhi nhi"
(Didn't even look twice.)

Priyanshi gasped dramatically. "Vo kaise jaipur ki rajkumari ke pyaar me nhi pade?"
(How dare he not fall for the princess of Jodhpur?)

Niharika giggled, but her smile was wistful.

"Strange, isn't it?" she murmured. "Kaise koi tumhari zindagi me sirf kuch pal ke liye aakr bhi... tumhari yaad me itni der tk rhe jata hai, jitna koi itne saalo me bhi na rahe"

(How can someone appear in your life for some seconds and still... stay longer in your head than most people don't in years?)

Priyanshi nudged her. "That's called a first crush. And in your case, it might be... fate."

Niharika didn't respond.

But her heart?

It was already waiting for a second encounter.

___

Later that day
Haveli, Jaipur

As the sky turned a dusky indigo, Niharika stepped out of the shower, in a simple light chikankari suit. her damp hair cascading down her back like silk. The faint scent of rose water clung to her skin. She stood by the tall arched window of her room, looking out at the quiet street that ran alongside their haveli. Her eyes, however, weren't focused on anything in particular - they held a strange, faraway gleam.

Her thoughts wandered again - to that brief, surreal morning moment.

That face.

That stranger.

There had been something in his silence. A pull - a gravity. Like her soul had paused without warning, just for a flicker - and nothing since had felt quite real.

"It feels so unreal"

___

At night

Dinning table

Everyone looks quiet, eating the meal. Niharika plays and feeds shubhi well-until the words from anirudh echo the whole haveli.

"Kal nandani delhi se wapas aa rahi hai" Everyone looked at him and smiled eye to eye except somya and moksh. They are meant to be like this-mean, not Happy with others, pretending only for money and properties.

(Nandani is coming tomorrow from delhi)

"Sach me? Dii wapas aa rahi hai?" Niharika exclaimed smiling warmly-excited to her elder sister after years.

(Really? Dii is coming back)

Rishank didn't say anything just smiled over the news but suddenly a thought popped in his head.

"Nandani wapas aa rahi hai, toh aap usse rajkumari ki jagah denge?" He said looking at anirudh-now already there was a tense atmosphere.

(Nandani is coming back, so are you going to give her the place of the Princess?)

Enjoyable for somya and moksh.

"Vo is ghar ki badi beti hai, aur humne tay bhi kara tha ki jab vo wapas lotegi toh hum usse Jaipur ki rajkumari ghoshit karenge" Anirudh declares.

(She is the eldest daughter of this house, and we had also promised that when she returns, we will declare her the princess of Jaipur.)

Rishank eye frowned, his mother already getting where it is going through.

"Per rajkumari banne ke insaan ko apni praja ki sewa or dhyan rakhna chahiye, aur jahan tak mujhe lagta hai ye sab kaam sirf Niharika ne hi kiya hai"

(But to become a princess, a person should serve their people and take care of them, and as far as I think, all this work has been done only by Niharika)

He paused.

"Mujhe maaf kariyega pita ji, per mujhe laga tha aap rajkumari Nandani ko nhi Niharika ko banayenge"

(Please forgive me, father, but I thought you would make Niharika princess, not Nandani.)

Anirudh stopped in mid and looked at rishank who was looking straight to him.

Niharika tried to calm down the situation "Rajkumari main banu ya nandani di, isse kya farak padhta hai bhai. Waise bhi aap sabko is baat se khush hona chahiye ki nandani dii kal wapas aa rahi hai, kitne saalon baad"

(What difference does it make brother whether I am a princess or Nandani Di. Anyway, you all should be happy with the fact that Nandani Di is coming back tomorrow, after so many years)

Rishank sighed.

"Stop being, this much kind Niharika. You deserved to be a princess-I'm not against nandani, she's too my sister but the thing is 'It's unfair'."

He stood up. "Mera khana hogya"
and left without a word any hearing. Nothing.
(I'm done eating)

"Bhai-" Niharika was halfway to standing but Anirudh's voice made her stop.

"Niharika, Kahan jaa rahi ho aap?"
(Niharika. Where are you going?)

She shook her head and sat back.

After the dinner Niharika went to the terrace knowing her brother would be there only.

The fluent sound of her anklets made him look back only to see his daughter playing in his sister's embrace.

He smiled and forwarded his arms, Niharika passed her to him.

"Inka khana hogya tha, toh socha ye thoda aapne papa ke sath samay bita le"

(She had done eating, so thought she could spend some time with her father)

Rishank smiled and ruffled Niharika's head.

"Tum, aisi kyu ho?, tumhe pata hai pita ji sabse zada bas Nandani ko samjhte hai. Tumhe khud ke liye bolna chahiye tha." He felt a little disappointed.

(Why are you like this? You know that father understands Nandini the most. You should have spoken for yourself.)

"Rehne dijiye na bhai, mujhe bura nhi laga. Dii merse badi hai-or ek badi behen hi toh pahle Rajkumari banti hai, ye toh kab se chalta aa raha hai"

(Leave it brother, I did not feel bad. Sister is older than me-and one of the elder sisters becomes a princess first, this has been going on for a long time)

We both spend some time, talking, giggling and sharing their day-to-day incident just then I split.

___

"Aaj maine kisi ko dekha aur phir-" I stopped as soon as I realised what I was about to split.
(Today I saw someone and then-)

He brows "Phir?"

"Uh-vo...bas dikha hi toh tha" I shattered under the tension.

"Sirf dekha tha? Dekho main driver se puch lunga" he said already knowing something is fishy because till now my cheeks were all red.

"Bhai vo-mujhe" I stopped a bit but bhai didn't

"Chalo thik hai, mat batao. Main jaakar driver se hi puch leta hu"
He was about to walk away.

"Nhi bhai, main batati hu" he nodded I inhaled and spoke in one breath.

"Aajmujhekoidikhathaormainejabinkodekhatohmujheusnephelinazarwalapyaarhogya"

Rishank bhai frowned but the last words 'pyaar hogya' were enough to shock him.

"Aapko pata hai na aap kya bol rahi hai niharika?" I nodded.

He exhaled, shubhi already slept in his embrace.

"Aap usse janti hai?" I shook my head.

"Kahan rehte hai" No

"Naam?" Nahi

"Umar?" No

I just met him or just saw him how could I know these things?
I shook my head every time I heard a sigh from him.

"Then maybe There's no chance" I looked at him.

"Shayad mai unko dubara dekh paau kabhi?" He nodded.

(Maybe I will see him again?)

"Han tab kuch ho sakta hai" he looked around "khair chodein ab der hogyi jaaker so jaiye aap"

(Yeah, then something can happen)
(Nevermind, now go and sleep it's already late)

I nodded and walked-after me bhai was coming with shubhi in his embrace.

___

Same night
At the luxurious hotel of jaipur.

"Han maa, maine khana khaa liya" I said looking outside the moon was peaking through the clouds making the sky look devotionally grey.

(Yes mom, i have already eaten the food)

I smiled, feeling warm and something more.

"Maa?" She hummed.

"Mujhe aapse ek zaruri baat karni hai"

(I want to talk to you about something important)

"Zarur bolo beta, kya hua" I hesitate a little.

"Maa, mujhe shaadi karni hai" so dumb of me that I'm saying this on call.
(Mom, I want to marry)

A pause.

"Kya shaadi?" Her tone already made me realise that it's shocking for her.

(Marriage?)

Before I could say further another voice echoes my ear.

"Kisse? Kahan? Or kyun bhai?" Advika, for god say shut your mouth at least for now!!

I sighed and answered her "Nandani. Kahi bhi. Hum dono ek dusre se pyaar karte hai"

A gasp was audible of course from advika she's the trouble.

I called maa again.

"Maa? Main vo-"

(Mom, I uh-)

"Vo kaha raheti hai? Unka pariwar?"
(Where did she live? Her family?)

I chuckled-a little push off myself from the porch(gallary), "Vo Jaipur ki hone wali rajkumari hai maa, Rajwat khandaan se."

I paused the continued "Mujhe pata hai aap meri shaadi uhi kisse se nahi karenge, per maa main Nandani se bahut pyaar karta hu, or vo bhi"

She didn't reply-seconds pass

"Thik hai Niskarsh, tumhare pita se baat karke hum rajawat haveli jaakar rishte ki baat karenge zarur"

I smiled craved my face, genuine-real.

"Shukriya maa," we talked further.

"Chalaiye main rakhta hoon ab, aap apna khayal rakhiyega maa"

(Okay now I'm holding up, take care of yourself mom)

She hummed "tum bhi" and cut the call..

I popped down on the mattress. Messaged her

'Maa hum dono ki shadi ke liye maan gayi hai. Bs kuch dino me main aapke ghar rishta lekar aane wala hoon, tyaar rahiga'

Smiled. Closed the lamps and drifted back to sleep.