------------------------------------
Volume : 1
Chapter : 15[15]; Would you give up on me....if you had her?
-------------------------------------
"Wait a minute. Remember to drop Mr. Daniel Rothemere at the Queenstown dock, so he can return home and provide shelter for his family," Aaryan said, watching as the security guards led their prisoners away. He smiled calmly.
"Yes, Mr. Aaryan," the security guards replied, nodding in unison, not daring to look at him.
Many people on outside of the room, wished that Aaryan would leave the ship as well or he will be kicked out, however even steward Anton didn't say anything to him who the hell they are, And no one dared say a word.
After all, if he had the power to challenge the strongest family in Europe, perhaps even the world, who were they to oppose him?
So they kept their heads down and simply watched the scene unfold. Catherine, who had been observing quietly, spoke to him.
"Let's go." Aaryan nodded. He left the suite with Catherine, who carried a medical box in her hands, and together they walked toward his stateroom.
Within a minute, they reached the suite Aaryan shared with Devika.
Knock, knock.
Aaryan rapped lightly on the door and waited for Devika to answer.
A moment later, the door finally opened. Devika, having just returned from dinner, wore a pale green saree with the anchal(a part of saree dress) draped gracefully over her shoulder.
As she unlocked the door, her gaze landed on Aaryan, then flickered past him to the woman standing behind. "Catherine Von Habsburg," she murmured.
The sight rattled her, and for a moment her emotions threatened to spill over.
But as soon as she saw the blood on Aaryan's shoulder, her concern shifted entirely; suddenly, the stranger's presence meant nothing.
"Husband, what happened? How did this happen?" she asked, her voice trembling with fear and worry.
"It's all right, Devika. I'm fine, it's just a superficial bullet wound on my shoulder, nothing more," he replied, trying to sound reassuring.
Still, every word stabbed at Devika's heart.
"Come inside, quickly, let me bandage your wound first."
Catherine and Aaryan entered the room.
Designs and mechanical sketches were spread haphazardly across the bed and floor, but Devika ignored them.
Gathering the papers absentmindedly, she gestured for Catherine to sit down before heading to the cabinet to fetch the medical kit, as the every Titanic suite was equipped with one.
While she searched, Aaryan shrugged off his shirt, revealing the right side of his torso stained deep red with blood.
Catherine, on the other side, looked at Aaryan's shoulder and opened the medical kit box.
Although, as a princess, she usually hadn't done anything like this, for the person she loved, she hoped she could. And it was the same for Devika.
Because of Aaryan's care, she had never been hurt or injured.
Soon, Devika also returned with a medical tool kit in her hand and saw Catherine picking out the tools needed to remove the bullet from Aaryan's body.
She didn't say anything, just looked at Aaryan's expression and sat down beside him on the bed.
"Aaryan, who is she and what is she doing here?" Devika asked Aaryan in Hindi(language), not wanting Catherine to understand what they were saying.
Aaryan understood Devika's intention and replied in Hindi as well.
"Uh… she's someone who almost got hurt by someone else, and out of kindness, I just saved her. As for why she's here, her suite was destroyed. Although there are other suites, tomorrow the ship will reach Queenstown, so people will definitely come. Because I saved her from that man, I got shot. So she followed me here to help remove the bullet."
"What is your relationship with her, that you went so far to save her? You were also staring at her quite a few times during meals. Do you like her and want to marry her?" Devika asked directly, her voice neutral, without any hint of indifference.
"To be honest, I'm not beautiful like her, I don't have a powerful family behind me like she does, and your ambition to make India independent would be much easier with her help. But I want to ask: would you give up on me… if you had her?" By this time, even though her tone was still neutral, her hands and feet were clenched tightly, the grip around the scalpel in her hand the tightest yet.
Catherine, sitting on a chair, listened to Aaryan and Devika's conversation, and was surprised by Devika's words.
At first, Catherine hadn't wanted to interrupt the husband and wife, so she kept quiet and just watched them. But then she got up from her chair and walked over to Aaryan.
"Sister Devika, hello… I'm Catherine," she said, sitting on Aaryan's other side. But her voice was not in English; it was in Hindi.
The moment she spoke in Hindi, the room went silent.
Even Aaryan, who was listening to Devika's words, was shocked to hear Catherine speaking Hindi.
A thought flashed through his mind, Catherine must have understood everything they just said.
For a moment, he felt like his whole world was collapsing.
What will Catherine think, that I chose to save her because I wanted her help for India's independence? He realized, truly, he had never thought of using Catherine for help. His plan was enough to make his country independent. And no matter who the other party is, it still hurts to find out you're being used like a chess piece.
Sitting beside the Aaryan, she took his hand in her own hand spoke in hindi.
"Sister Devika, don't worry, i dont think that Aaryan would ever chose to let you go because of me. Earlier he has already rejected my proposal to him, that i love him. If weren't for the incident, i don't even know, whether i will meet him ever. I Know, i am the one who came later than you, but still coming into yout relatioship of the husband and wife, but when you were coming to europe, i met him at that time and we promised each other to marry once we grow up. And even if he is married to you, i dont want give up on him."
----------------------------------
[End of the chapter, 15]